Caribbean Cruising Review

Caribbean Cruising By Rachel Hawthorne

18 years old Lindsay Darnell is going to the University of Texas in the fall. Her mother is going to be remarried to a rich guy named Walter Hunt tonight and they are holding the wedding while the cruise ship named: The Enchantment, is at dock at the port of Galveston. By Midnight the guest leaves, because then the cruise takes of on a 10 day trip to Carribean, that will be their honeymoon and Lindsay is tagging along. In Lindsay´s free time her and her best friend Julie is working at the movie theater, but Julie has got to work so she can only be there at the wedding where Lindsay is going to be a bridesmaid. Lindsay has decided she is going to have a great time, because she usually is a lot about homework and hasn´t dated many boys, so she has made a list of what she wants to do:

+ Soak up the rays.
+ Shop until I drop.
+ Drink margaritas by the pitcher.
+ Dance all night.
+ Climb a waterfall.
+ Snorkel.
+ Kiss a lot of cute guys.
+ Sleep with a guy for the first time.

Now Julie and Lindsay are on the big ship and in the elevator on the way to her room, they meet some boys and one of them talks to Lindsay. When they get too her room, they are suprised because it is a amazing big room and it isn´t beside her mom and Walter´s like it would usually be until you are 21, so Walter must have pulled some strings. After Lindsay goes to find her mom and they go to a big salon to get pedicure/manicure and all that. When they get to the deck where the wedding is going to be Walter introduces her to his best man, his godson Ryan McKenna, who is a total hottie. Walter tells her that he is staying in the cabin next to Lindsay to keep and eye on her since she doesn´t know anybody and since you have to be 21 to live without supervision. But Lindsay doesn´t like that at all because she wants to go beyond wild on this cruise, and she wants to have sex with a guy she will never see again and that doesn´t work with Ryan and she can´t get anyone if he is there. The ceremony starts and after there is the reception where Ryan and Lindsay dance. Lindsay and Julie is the only people under 40 so Ryan joins them and he tells that he is a junior at the same university that Lindsay is going to go on. later the guest gets of the ship and Lindsay slowly get more and more drunk and dance with Ryan until 2 in the morning, where he takes her down to her cabin because she is way drunk. But when she gets to the cabin she remembers that her purse is with the hip crew, so they go to Ryan´s room, where she unfortunently comes to tell Ryan some things from her list, before she goes to sleep.

Day 2 on the cruise Lindsay wakes up in bed with Ryan and remembers telling him some things. Her purse is there so she slowly slips out of the room. Later she goes to the adult pool, where she meets a girl Brooke Hastings, who ask Lindsay too put sun cream on her and they decide to hang out on the cruise. Brooke talks about sleeping with guys, so Lindsay doesn´t want to admit that she is a virgin. So when Ryan comes and gives her and earring she left in his room and walks away, Brooke ask if she slept with him and Lindsay just says yes and that it was a one night thing. they get massages and decide to hang out at a bar: Cruisin' tonight. After she sees Ryan in the gym room to thank hi for the earring and he tells her that he thinks Brooke is pushy and he ask why Lindsay hangs out with her. Later Lindsay have dinner at The Eiffel Tower with her mom, Walter and yes Ryan. And Walter gives her a Ryan tickets to a dance show that night, but Lindsay doesn´t say anything about her other plans. After she tells Ryan she has plans and he makes sure that they get to see the show another night. After her and Brooke goes to the club, were they meet 3 guys from Oklahoma and Brooke quickly disappears to her cabin with one of them. Leaving lindsay behind with 2. She also sees Ryan dancing wild with a girl. Ryan calls her over and she gets him to take her out of the club like they are together, and he tells her he heard her and Julie talking about not wanting him around and he tells her that the only reason he was with her last night was because Walter expected him too. She tells him it because she wants to do things she haven´t done before and he say sleeping with a guy, and Lindsay now know that he definently knows. And before he goes back to the party he ask her to go parasailing with him the next day because he doesn´t want to do it alone. Later Lindsay goes up to bed and Brooke calls and tells her she is sorry for disappearing, but that her and her guy came back. Brooke ask if she can come over and Lindsay gets out of bed and then someone is at the door. Turns out to be Ryan asking if she wants to see a movie, but she says she cant and then Brooke comes.

Days 3 the ship docks at Charlotte Amalie the capital of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Lindsay and brooke goes shopping until they have to go parasailing, where Brooke has invited herself + the 3 guys from last night and Ryan isn´t happy about dumb, dumber, and dumbest tagging along, but is a good sport. she also gives Ryan a toering she bought to him earlier, because they have had a joke going on about it. they all pir up and Lindsay goes with Ryan and when they are up and doing their turn he kisses her. Later Lindsay and Brooke goes to a club at the island where they meet Chad, who instantly claims Lindsay, Marc and Shooter who also travels on the ship and they go from club to club having fun and drinking. Later they go back when the ship is heading out and Lindsay and Brooke go above deck and plan to meet by the pool the next morning and Brooke tells her she will let the guys know = all 6 of them.

Day 4 Lindsay wakes up on the deck in a lounge chair with Ryan by her side. She is totally stiff and he gives her a massage and ask her if she got anything done last night on her list and what she did. She tells him that she drank Margarita and that she and Brooke where clubbing with 3 guys and he tells herr he was clbbing with a girl and They make plans to get together at 8 for the concert. Later Lindsay goes to the pool and Brooke come with the 6 guys in tow. After a while they go over to rock climb and Ryan is there climbing and is really good at it. Then it is Lindsay´s turn an she actually reaches the top and when she gets down all of the guys are all over her and Shooter, who she haven´t spent time with at all gives her a big wet kiss. Ryan comes by at 8 and they are both dressed up, in the elevator Lindsay tells him that they will be docking at Ocho Rios tommorow and ask if he wants to hang out with them, but he says no. brooke is waiting for them and they fnd a table and Brooke is all over Ryan constantly touching him. When the show starts she tells Lindsay that she has gotten Ryan to hang out with them tommorow and Lindsay is a little mad because he has just said no to her and he has said that he doesn´t like Brooke or the guys that much. Through the show Brooke and Ryan is talking and laughing and Lindsay feels completly left out and can´t wait to get away. After when Ryan and Lindsay are on their way to the room Ryan tells her that Brooke talks too much and that he only said yes to go with them because it is not as much fun going alone. When they get too the room he ask if she wants to get something to eat and see a movie and it can be a chick-flick if she wants. They go eat a burger and go to see a chick-flick and Ryan tells her that she shouldn´t have a on night stand her first time because he likes her and doesn´t want to see her get hurt.

Day 5 the ship docks at Ocho Rios and Ryan and Lindsay meet on the balcony´s and she ask him if he is still going, he is. The meet outside and head to the deck where Brooke is and she tells them she has hooked them up with Jake and activity director to show them Dunn's River Falls. They go as a group with the 6 guys and 2 girls they don´t know. It is really hard but worth it. When they are halfway up to the top and bathing in a little pool on the mountainside Brooke tells Lindsay that she really likes Ryan and on their way down Brooke quickly takes Ryan´s hand when they buddy up and later on the way down she sees Brooke and Ryan kissing in the shadows. Later Lindsay is at the Starlight deck at the singles' meet. Jake is there too and he ask her too dance, so the other people will. They dance and he hands her over too another guy too get the others to dance after he comes back with a girl he introduces to Lindsay´s dance partner and Jake and Lindsay stroll off. He tells her he likes her and that he can see if they can get some alone time tommorow at the snorkeling excursion.

Day 6 they arrive at Grand Cayman, Lindsay goes out for an early morning Jog and run into Brooke and Cameron kissing, and she ask her what she is doing with him when she was with Ryan yesterday and she tell Lindsay that Ryan is boring and that there is no chemistry. She eats breakfast with Brooke and admit that she haven´t slept with a guy and that Jake is interested in her. Later they go out for the snorkling expedition, where all the people from yesterday is with them. Lindsay talk with Ryan when he comes up too her and Ryan seems to have a little problem with Jake coming on too her. He also comes over when Jake is trying to find a mask to Lindsay and tells Jake that the mask that Ryan has is better than that and Lindsay have to admit that it is. Ryan becomes her partner in the water and when they are done snorkling which Lindsay loved, Jake ask her to go with him to take the snorkling equipment back to the renting store. When they are outside of the store Jake kisses her when they are on their way back to the others they meet Ryan who ask how they would like to go to Hell. So they find a bus and go to a small town Hell. Later they all meet on the
Cruisin' and Jake comes too eventhough he is at work and he whispers in Lindsay ear if he can by her cabin an hour later. An hour later Lindsay is in her cabin and then Jake comes, but when Jake and Lindsay starts kissing Ryan is suddenly out on her balcony banking on her door. He comes in and Jake tells him it isn´t what it looks like. And Ryan ask Lindsay if she knows what Jake was doing when they were out snorkling, and he tells Jake to tell Lindsay who he was with and tells that he used an half an hour comforting her. Lindsay then says that she knows Walter wanted Ryan to look out for her but that he doesn´t have too and Jake seems to panic when Walter´s name is mentioned and when Lindsay mention he is her stepfather and he tells them to not tell Walter Hunt. Ryan tells him that he better quit tommorow or he will tell Walter. Jake disappears and Ryan tells Lindsay that Walter owns the cruise ship and that Jake was a player and that she deserves better and then he disappears. Lindsay begins to cry, but soon Brooke shows up with ice cream and candy because Ryan called her. They talk and Brooke tells Lindsay that he first time should be special and Lindsay ask her if she wants to help her remake her list. And Lindsay is sure now that it doesn´t really mean anything to be a virgin.

Day 7 they dock at Cozumel and Lindsay/Brooke´s group decide to go out on their own and do something crazy and they decide instead of taking a bus to the ancient Mayan ruins at Tulum, they rent two-passenger mopeds and Lindsay and Ryan is partner up. They also partner up going to see the ruins and after some time Shooter and Brooke finds them because they have found a cave on the beach, so while the 2 guys goes out in the water The 2 girls are in the cave talking and Brooke ask Lindsay why her and Ryan doesn´t hook up and Lindsay tells her its because of the whole friend of the familie thing and how awkward it would be if broke up and Brooke tell her to dont break up. Ryan comes and her and Lindsay goes back to the ruins back she twistes her foot and Ryan has to carry her back to the ship were the doctor tells her she has a slightly sprained ancle and shouldn´t walk on it tonight, so Lindsay can´t go out partying with the other tonight and is majorly bummed. Ryan had taken care of her and then left. But as Lindsay is watching the sunset there is a knock on the door and the whole gang comes in and tells her that since she couldn´t come to the party they brought the party here. They have a nice party and stay to 2, and they all say goodbye exept Ryan who starts to clean. He ask her if she wants to ride in the morning because that wont put to much pressure on the ancle. She say that he should go scuba diving with the others, but he tells her he has done it before. Before he goes he gives her a light kiss on the mouth.

Day 8 still in Cozumel Ryan and Lindsay goes horseback riding through a forest not excactly intersting but better than being in her room. When Lindsay say she is sorry that he is here with her instead of doing something interesting. He tells her he isn´t here because of Walter but because he wants too. Later the ship is on and about again and Lindsay is on her balcony while the gang is at Cruisin', suddenly Ryan comes out on his balcony and crawls from his too hers with a bottle of champagne. Lindsay says he is crazy and he says he is crazy about her. She tells him it was stupid to make a list and she ask why he isn´t hanging around with the others and he tells her it is because the reason he was with them was because of her and not as a babysitter. She tells him is things didn´t work out between them it would be weird and he tells her that he didn´t want to be something she checked of her list. And that he didn´t show interest in her that he was intersted because Walter might not like it. And he kisses her when he is about to go and tells her that tommorow they should forget about who they are and see how things goes.

Day 9 they dock at Cancun at today it is just Ryan and her. they meet up and the first thing they do is to go snorkling and they spends the rest of the day on the beach and kissing. At night her and Ryan eats at Hard Rock Café and walk on the beach before heading back to the ship. This is their last night on the port and then the day after tommorow they will be back at Galveston.

Day 10 they uses on the ship. the gang is at the pool and playing and at night they go to Cruisin' with the gang. By midnight her and Ryan takes of to her room and make love. And Lindsay hadn´t expected that she would fall in love.

Day 11 Lindsay meets up with Brooke at the pool and Brooke tells her she is in love with Shooter. And Lindsay tells her that her and Ryan had a little party of their own. Ryan comes and Brooke disappears and he ask her if she has a problem waking him up before she disappears. He tells her he loves her and she tells him she loves him too.

This was a really good, sweet, fast, fun and romantic teen book. And also one of my favorites books of this author. After reading it i really (more than i have before) wanted to see a beach and the water somewhere exotic. I want to do all the kinds of sports they did, go clubbing and be on a cruise. I really enjoyed this book and it is one of my favorites.



Grade: 10-12