Europe Trip 2012 Day 17 (July 8, 2012): Diving Into Bodrum

You know a trip is going well when you have no idea what day it is, what time it is, or what's coming up next. That was the case waking up this morning, it was just that pure sense of vacation, without a care in the world. We did have to wake up a bit earlier today at around 8AM to get down to the Palladium Theater at 8:45AM for our excursion in Bodrum, Turkey. Going into Bodrum I really didn't have any expectations and I think that goes for everyone else in the family as well. It doesn't appear to be all that popular of a cruise port for any other cruise line outside of Royal Caribbean, but after today I think that is a shame.

For our excursion we chose to go on the Blue Voyage which had us boarding a boat that took us two different beach stops and also allowed us to relax while we cruised around the surrounding areas taking in the beauty of Bodrum. We boarded our boat and took the hour boat ride to our first beach stop which was Camel Beach a beautiful bay nestled into the hills. We had about an hour at the beach to lay around, sunbathe, and enjoy the beautiful bay. It was an extremely relaxing time and I think everyone really enjoyed the slowed down pace from the recent tours.

When we first boarded the boat for the excursion we stayed downstairs and sat both inside and outside. After the bay the five of us (Ally, Amy, Jake, Jenn and I) decided to go to the top of the boat and lay out and that may have been the best decision of the day. Being able to lay out and just enjoy the beautiful Bodrum Sunshine was incredible. Our second and final stop on the “Blue Voyage” was to Aquarium Bay where we anchored in the middle of the bay and were allowed to jump from the boat into the bay. Everyone was a little freaked out when people from the boat threw food in the bay and saw the fish start coming up and eating, but we all got past that and dived right in. The boat also had a few higher points to jump from and we all did it including Jenn. I was so proud to see her just go up there and take the plunge, especially since the water was a lot cooler then the almost pool-like water in Dubrovnik.

After a little under an hour at Aquarium Bay we boarded the boat again and went up to the top deck to lay out on the nicely cushioned deck to make our way back to the cruise. After the hour ride back we once again boarded the ship at around 2PM and Jenn went straight to getting ready for our second of three formal nights. Jenn went and got her hair done right when we got back and Jake and I hung out in my room ordered room service (burgers with fries) and did everything we could to find the Wimbledon Final on TV with Federer and Murray. When we realized that wasn't going to happen we even tried to watch the ESPN ticker on TV but even that wasn't giving score updates.

Jenn got back from her hair at 4PM or so and went straight to doing her makeup. I know there are pictures, but words nor pictures can do justice for how stunning Jenn looked. We went down to take pictures a little before 6PM and had a photographer literally just sit there and smile at us before telling us that we were the best looking couple on the cruise. Then we walked into the dining room and I kid you not it was like everyone stopped what they were doing to watch Jenn enter the room. Every head turned when she walked through the dining room to our table and I can say I was as proud as ever to be the one escorting her to her table. She was simply a knock-out.

Dinner at the main dining room on formal nights is always better then on casual nights and tonight was no exception. Jenn started with the cream of mushroom soup which was she devoured and I went with the shrimp cocktail which was simple but good. For our main entree we went with the surf and turf (steak and shrimp) which was by far the best meat we have had in the main dining room. For desert I went light and had pistachio ice cream which was great and Jenn had strawberry mousse which she loved.

After dinner Jake and I ran up to the room and went on his laptop to check the tennis scores and were overjoyed to find out Roger Federer had won his 17th Grand Slam at Wimbledon. Jenn, Amy, and Ally went down for drinks in the main bar in the middle of the ship and Jake and I went out to the Viking Crown Lounge and got drinks. Jake got a White Russian and I got an Old Fashion which is quickly becoming one of my favorite drinks.

We met up with the girls at 10PM at the Palladium Theater to watch the end of Bingo and the start of the Love & Marriage game show. They seem to have these on every cruise and sadly this one wasn't the best. The couple that had been married for over 50 years were from Scotland and were hard to understand and overall it just wasn't the best. Still plenty of laughs but we have seen better.

The show ended at close to midnight and we all retired to our rooms to get ready for our second Greece stop tomorrow, Santorini. It's amazing to think that early today Jenn was jumping off a boat in Bodrum into the Mediterranean and only a couple of hours later looked good enough to be on the cover of Vogue. I truly am a lucky man.