With one gigantic ear-busting blow of the horn we were officially on our cruise! Now, between five cameras I have nearly 400 pictures of this vacation. I am not going to post them all...but organizing them was tough. So I have decided to post them in three main groupings. Activities on boat, activities off boat, and food. Today's post is all about activities on the boat. Really the focus is on the pictures, but if you want some commentary to give color...I'll do my best.
How do I describe entertainment on the boat? Cheesy fabulous? Ghettolicious with a touch of do-me-right? This Asian rock group covered some of my favorite hits from the 70s and 80s almost every day for hours. There were probably 5 main bands on board, from steel drum to crooning piano.
The boat had a water slide - which was actually quite impressive for being on a boat.
Sun tan lotion. We clearly needed a lot of it for our mayonnaise white skin.
In many ways this vacation was chosen because we all need a freakin' break. We spent a lot of time like this - lounging on chairs, reading, listening to ipods, and soaking up sun amidst laughter and dirty jokes.
When not in the sun, you might have found some of us in the pools. This was probably the most disappointing part of our Carnival cruise. The pools were tiny, filled with salt water, and kind of gross. I always imagined huge pools all along the deck. But there was actually more space dedicated to hot tubs than pools, which can someone EXPLAIN THAT TO ME????
Another way to enjoy the outside was to run on the track or just cruise the decks to look at the amazing blue Caribbean water.
Or how about 9 holes of miniature golf to pass the time? We tend to get a little crazy when the camera comes out. This is my mom disappointed by the amount of obscene gestures and comments we were making about balls during our game. That's what you get when you have three boys mom.
But outdoors wasn't the only place to have fun. Imagine an indoor world full of games, shows, songs and dancing. For example, some times we'd just get crazy with a few games of pool.
Or slow it down with some Ticket to Ride. I am proud to say I am the clear winner of this vacation. I believe I won 75% of all games played. I choo choo choose myself as the awesomest.
Sometimes playing the penny slots was the best bet for an evening of fun. Michelle learned to gamble for the first time ever on a boat! Dad was so proud.
She was amazing and earned $6 on slots. Who ever wins on slots???? What she really wanted though was those 90,000 pennies. Come on Beeps, don't get greedy. When Shell pointed at the 90,000 when we told her she had had enough, that might have been a Caitlin favorite moment of the trip.
Some brothers weren't as lucky as Shell with their gambling. WHY MEEEE????
What does one do at night on a Carnival ship? Well, there is the big screen TV outside with movies and NBA finals.
There's 80s night dancing!!!!
There were a million opportunities to have your picture taken amongst cheesy backdrops and then you can pay $11.99 for a print.
Sometimes it was just elegant night - an opportunity to get all dressed up and take your own pictures in your sexy outfits. I can't tell you how fun it was to watch people get dressed up in their skimpy dresses and suits and prance around for the evening like they were at the adult prom. We looked very trashy, and yet not.
We went to lots of comedy shows, dancing and singing shows, game shows, and whatever other shows they had to offer on the ship. I give the entertainment a solid 2 thumbs up for its efforts. I was surprised at how busy and entertained we were on the ship at all times.
But sometimes the most enjoyable thing to do was to just go back to your cabin and relax and nap.
But eventually we'd get the itch to get off that boat and go out exploring at the ports. But that, my friends, is another post.
We weren't always on the boat amidst its cheesy decor. Sometimes we were amongst the ridiculous cheese that is a cruise port. 
I'll take you through our excursions chronologically. First off was Grand Cayman. The indisputable thing to do there is go to Sting Ray City. Big D was psyched - he loves all sorts of animal encounters.
Our guide and sting ray specialist gave us all the dos and don't to sting raying. It was crucial to pay attention cause those things can and will sting you big if you mess around. Don't mess around.
The fam, lookin' go0d and getting ready to sting it up on the ocean floor. Caitlin was a little bit nervous because she had been stung by a small sting ray during her recent visit to Puerto Vallerta with the Mulcock family a few years ago.
We got there and they weren't messing around...sting rays were abundant.
The helpers would help you wrangle up a sting ray to hold and kiss and touch. It was awesome. At first we all freaked when they would swim up against your body - especially Caitlin. But then we started warming up to our friends and eventually made out with them.
Mike - cheating on his fiance with a fish.
Pam, cheating on Big D with a fish. Dude staring at her awkwardly is my favorite part of this picture.
Now, here is the sad story. This is one of the last pictures I have before my camera died. I thought, "my camera has been rained on...I'm sure it will be fine if a few drops of water get on it as I take pictures in this still water." I was wrong. It began malfunctioning and acting weird, so I turned it off and put it in the bag. Over the course of the trip it never came back to life so I ran it in to the shop and found out that SALT WATER WILL KILL YOUR CAMERA. It corrodes the metal, even if just a few drops get on it. It literally was just the wetness from my fingers and now it is beyond fixing. Dang. Were these pictures worth $800? You tell me.
Our next stop was Roatan, Honduras. We didn't have anything planned for this port, but just assumed we would do a kayaking excursion with any random group off the boat. Wrong. We got sucked into the gorgeous beach that was right there. Yes, the beach was fabricated and reserved only for tourists...but man was the water and the sand nice. We couldn't resist. Naps were taken, books were read.
In some ways I feel lame for not exploring more of Roatan. By far it was the most beautiful of our destinations. Mountainous, green and lush.
But did I mention that the beach we went to was right there next to the boat- and free???
Don't worry about us - we had a blast swimming and playing. 
And taking family pics near the boat.
2262 - the pimpinest cabin room ever dude...know that. There is just no question bout it.
Our next destination was Belize City, Belize. We decided to split up because interests varied when it came to Belize. Big D, Mike, Stephen and Devin decided to take a bus a few hours towards Guatemala to see some ruins. Shell, Caitlin, Jeff and Pam decided to go cave tubing. We have no pictures of our tubing adventures, but the men got some rad pictures of their ruins trip.
If Mike were alive in Mayan times, he would have been king. Or prince. Or the artist formerly known as Prince.
But his brother Stephen might have tried to have him killed to take over the thrown.
Good lookin' bunch.
Apparently they had to cross a hand crank bridge to get to the ruins - sweet! Belize has many ghetto things about, but I guess that is part of its charm. I believe their driver also fell asleep at the wheel.
Next station - Cozumel! Devin shopped for a few things for himself before we went over to start our dune buggy excursion.
We got in our buggies and started a day full of Cozumel exploration. Mulcocks had been there before, but only at the port to do some snorkeling.
Don't fret though, we did some snorkeling as well...just off the road where we were cruising.
We drove and drove and drove and sang until Stephen wanted to punch his co-riders.
We made a family pit stop at a small village to check out their church. It brought us together.
The mood may seem somber...but inside we were becoming the strongest family ever.
Thuggin' and dune buggin'.
As we came around the backside of the island, we were blown away at the beauty and serenity that was Cozumel. There was practically no one back there and the beaches were insane. We all sat quietly and took it in.
We stopped for lunch (tacos, chicken, guacamole, beans, yes!) and swam in the ocean and took pictures with Stephen's new camera.
Caitlin and I - we really had a great time even though we missed Max like crazy.
Big D and Pam - I swear he's not sucking in...
And the fam. An amazing day - probably my favorite simply because I got to play in the ocean waves for an hour and body surf and just soak up the sun. I'm pretty easy to please on vacation. We had a great time and I think we chose the perfect cruise itinerary for our family. Amazing.
