Spring Travels, Pt. 2--Carribean Cruise

Reader beware... this post is longer than I usually do. I debated doing a short blog about cruising, but in truth this was our first one. It was special and I wanted to share some of the details. And since my family reads this, it was the best way to share everything with them. So grab a beer, or a glass of tea and read on...!

Larry and I have talked about taking a cruise for a long time, and we finally did it. I was the main holdback. I had some hesitancies and little things like hearing about ship wide illnesses or watching the Costa Concordia lay on its side in the Mediterannean probably didn't help. Last year we started to really plan a trip. We had been to the Bahamas and Bermuda, and I wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been. We settled on the western Carribbean, a 5 day cruise on  Carnival Cruise Lines to Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

I've been fortunate to have traveled to some extraordinary places in my life. I enjoy travel, but I probably take it for granted sometimes. This trip was different. I started dreaming about it weeks before we left. We talked to other cruisers to get advice. Up to the last night before we left we were still getting tips.

I woke up early Monday morning, before the alarm went off. I had slept soundly the night before, which really surprised me. I never sleep before a trip! I had a To -Do list on my phone of last minute tasks. Larry had the same list running in his head. He hadn't slept as well. We finalized the packing, stopped at the bank for small bills--(a travel tip), picked up a couple bottles of wine since we were allowed to carry on one bottle each,  and made some last minute phone calls. I was so excited I wanted to call everyone and say, "We're getting on the ship now!!!"

So what was it like? It was fabulous! I've heard the usual comments. "The food was fantastic. We were never hungry. There is so much to do."

Do I agree? Yes, Yes, and Yes. But it was even better than that.

The Surprises
Our room was our first surprise. I had expected a tiny cabin with little room to move around. Ours was more spacious than I expected. We unpacked our clothes, stowed our bags, with room to spare. The shower was bigger than the one in my house! We had asked for a room with a window and assumed it would be a porthole, but it was a full-size window. At night we left the curtains open and I could lay in bed and see the stars.

Another surprise with the room was how quiet it was. I never heard or felt the engine. That was a concern of mine. I will say the air conditioning was a fan in the ceiling that always ran. Perhaps it drowned out the engine noise, but nothing would have drowned out the vibration of the engine. It just wasn't there. The fan itself provided a white noise in the background. At any rate, I slept well.

It wasn't until the trip was almost over before I became aware of a very big surprise. I have a fear of heights. Balconies, bridges, and atriums make me very uneasy. I had wondered if that would be an issue.



On Friday afternoon, (Day 5) a friend from our dinner table and I met by the pool. We wanted to go down the slide, and decided that mid-to late afternoon was the best time to go. People who had been by the pool all day were heading to cabins to get ready for the evening. The line of kids was pretty short. The slide wasn't all that big, but we still had to climb the ladder and go down. I couldn't wait. Cathy and I headed up, waved at Larry and took off! Giggling and lauging, we headed back up for a 2nd go.
 That's when it really hit me. We were at the top of the ship, and I didn't care. Likewise, glass elevators, the atrium, the balconies, none of it bothered me. I never felt the sense of height.For those who know me, that will be a surprise! (The only other time I have felt that way was the first time I saw the Grand Canyon. Normally I would have clung way back from the sidewalk that follows the rim. Instead I was sitting on the wall. Unheard of for me!)

The Food. I know. Everyone says you'll never be hungry. But it still took me some time to really get it. I won't bore you with details about the buffet breakfast and lunch. But it took me a few days to realize I could order EVERYTHING on the appetizer list from the menu at dinner. The third night out I did order the salad, the frogs legs, and the soup.

The main course was no different. One night we had lobster tail and after we had all devoured ours the waiter asked if we would like more! Wow! That doesn't happen at Applebee's! Of course, several of the guys did have seconds.


The Treats
Shore excursions--I highly recommend to first time cruisers to do at least one excursion. They add the highlight to your trip.

Our cruise took us to the Grand Cayman Islands, and to Cozumel, Mexico. (Have you ever seen water this blue?

  We booked shore excursions at each one. In the Grand Cayman's we did an excursion called Snuba Diving. It is a cross between scuba diving and snorkeling. In snuba the mouthpiece is connected to an air tank that floats in a raft on top of the water, allowing us to swim 15-20 feet under water. It took me a while to get used to it, and for my ears to acclimate, but I loved the experience. We had heard that one of the problems with this is that people can get tangled in each other's airhoses, but with 2 people attached to a tank it was pretty cool. A family of 4 did  get a little tangled at one point and the guide got them straightened out. Larry and I had our own tank so we swam where we wanted with no problems. The biggest problem I had was getting under him in the water without realizing it and kicking him, but usually he was deeper than me.

The biggest downside to this excursion was that it was held right off shore near the harbor. Because there was so much boat traffic, the fish were few, but we saw Tarpon, conch, and a ship wreck and some interesting coral. And truthfully, I just liked the experience. It was new to me.

There was one other downside, but it had little to do with the excursion. After we got out of the water, we dried off and put our shoes on. Larry felt fine but it turned out his equilibrium was off. As he stepped down a step, he lost his balance and fell. He landed hard on his right arm. It ballooned immediately. Fortunately it was not broken, but the muscle was badly bruised.

Of course, as soon as he did this we realized we had no health insurance with us. Both of us were covered for international travel, but he had left his insurance card in his briefcase in the car, in TAMPA!! OOPS! So he iced it frequently and we kept a close eye on it. We would have gone to the ship's doctor if we felt there was a serious injury but each day he had more mobility so we counted our blessings instead. (10 days later, it still looks ugly. Our doctor here says it probably will for another week or two.)

At Cozumel we swam with the dolphins. This has been a dream of mine for a long time. I made sure the trip we chose included a chance to hold onto them and be pulled through the water. Larry wasn't able to do that part since his arm was injured so they gave him a different activity with the dolphin.

I was very impressed with this trip. The group was broken into groups of 6-8 and placed with a trainer. Each of us had 5 opportunities to interact with the dolphin. Our trainer obviously loved what he did. He was quiet, smiled a lot, included everyone and kept things moving. One family in our group had 2 young boys. The youngest was hesitant but the trainer just coaxed him along, and stayed by him encouraging him. In the end, he did everything with the dolphin and we all cheered for him.

Just as we got out of the water, it began to rain, hard. How lucky for us! Other groups kept on going. I was glad we had missed it. Instead we sat in the outdoor restaurant and ate lunch. I think our table was open because people thought they would get wet, but we didn't. It was the perfect seat. We had a birdseye view of the pools and the dolphins.

We enjoyed our trips, but we did decide for future trips, we would not do an excursion at each stop. We had little time to actually explore the towns. But since we were newbies, I'm glad we did them. It gave us a chance to get a feel for the port and see what we might want to do next time. And they were great.

Our trip was so relaxing. We had a great time with the people we ate dinner with and all became good cruise friends. Larry discovered he really can unwind and relax. And once again, we discovered being trapped together on a boat for 5 days was fun! In fact, I had one more surprise where that was concerned.

Larry and I have lived with different internal time clocks for years now. He heads to bed around 9:30 and is up at 6:30...even on weekends. I like to stay up until 11:00 and get up around 8:00. By the end of the cruise he was staying up until 10:30, going to shows. Even better, he was sleeping in until .... whenever! As for me? I was ready for bed at 10:30 too, and we were waking up together.  I can only surmise this.....

If this is what retirement will be like....then bring it on!!! (sigh...we still have 2 years to go.)