I am looking at several feet of snow piled up outside my home office window and wishing I was looking out at the Caribbean Sea as I was last week on our Norwegian cruise. I guess this year (2011) is a record in many ways for snowfall and cold.

Our cruise from Jan. 22-29 was wonderful and the combination of the Brookes, Grammy, the Huckers and ourselves worked out great. Quinn and Madeline got along perfectly for the whole vacation. They were always in sync with wanting to do the same thing. The DS systems really came in handy at times...it was great to have them at dinner, so the grown-ups could relax with their wine and desserts. The water slides were fantastic (although I confess I don't have first hand experience). Chris went down the Epic Plunge three times with the help of some great crew members.

Other highlights of the cruise included:

--Mouthwash happy hour

--The shows: Legends, Blue Man Group and the comedian/magician. Also, the Howl at the Moon pianists were really talented, and played all of our requests right away!

--Going bowling

--Getting the daily crossword puzzle....it was just the right level for me...I could almost finish it every day; it wasn't my fault that a few of the clues were lame.

--Eating, eating, eating!! I'm not sure what my favorite was in this category. It could be the eggs benedict, or the great french fries, or the feeding of the animals (I mean passengers) the chocolate chip cookies at 2:00. I loved how our cabin was so close to the buffet...we could grab morning coffee and happy hour cheese and crackers with no problem. The dinners were great and we loved every restaurant we tried. I think the most pleasant surprise was Cugino's. It was a great meal for a $10 surcharge...well worth it! And Matt got us off to a great start on the cruise by sending us to the sit down restaurant for lunch instead of fighting the crowds on deck.

--Playing roulette at the casino. Although Matt and I lost, we kept it going for a while and our numbers came in occasionally. I always look forward to playing for at least a little bit. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any of the roulette machines that we've had great luck with in the past.

--Roatan, Honduras. What a pleasant surprise we had from this island stop! The beach was incredible and we had a great tour guide for the day-- "Ronnie" who was with us for the entire excursion. Lee set up our ride and I am sure that this is the way to go...to find our own excursion as opposed to setting up the same thing through the cruise ship for twice the $$. Ironically, Matt was close to not even joining us for the day, and he agreed it was one of the best parts of the trip! I have never seen a more perfect beach. White sand, perfect water temperature...blue blue blue water and sky, and just enough teeny tiny seashells to beach comb through. The banana boat ride was a blast and I enjoyed getting a peek at the end of the island where it looks like they're building a beautiful resort. I wonder how prices compare to stay there as opposed to something like the Ritz Carlton on St. Thomas?

--I wasn't that impressed with Costa Maya, but I'm so glad Jackie signed us up for the dolphin encounter. Quinn didn't last too long in the cold water, but I made it through and so did Jackie and Madeline. There wasn't too much else to see here, so I'm glad we did it!

--My last favorite was the spa! I loved spending a little bit of time in the "stations" hot tub, although I fell in at first and almost lost my swim suit in the waterfall. I think it's impossible to go to a spa for the first time and not make at least a little bit of a fool out of yourself. Oh well, by the fourth visit I had it down pat. I really loved the scented steam room; it helped sooth my nasty dry cough.

Those are the highlights: If the weather had been a little better, and we didn't have a cold and cough bug running through us, I would rank this vacation a 10. But in spite of those two minor complaints, I give this vacation a solid 9.