We got to the port around 11 am and headed straight onto the ship. We headed to the dining room and signed up for My Time Dining for the first time for any of us. We also went to Chops to make our reservations for that for the first time. The ship is still just as beautiful as we remembered it!! There weren't very many people on there when we got on, so I got some good pictures.We had a great time on this cruise, but it was very relaxing. We really didn't do anything major at all this time(which was okay, but unusual for us). I read 3 whole books during this cruise. I am sure that is a record for me. I have decided that this must have been for 3 main reasons:
- We had our first balcony on this cruise. Not just any balcony, but an aft balcony which is much larger than normal. Our room was bigger than we are used to, and our balcony had enough room for 2 chairs, a table, and 2 loungers. Since we paid extra for the balcony, I felt like we should use it and enjoy it.
- Next, our balcony was right next door to Steve and Dana, who do absolutely NOTHING when they cruise. We joke each other that we do everything and they do nothing, so we make good cruising companions. Sometimes they do things(like go to the shows, for example) because we are with them. Sometimes they don't even go to the dining room unless we are with them. But this time, I think we cruised Hill-style and didn't do very much. We ordered room service a few times so we didn't have to leave the balcony. We even did sail-away from their balcony(which was even bigger that ours). I think this was the first time I didn't even hear the normal cruise music the whole time. Now...Steve and Dana would tell people they cruised Jones-style since they went to Most of the shows and dinner every evening. Oh, well--I just want to get my money's worth!!
- And lastly, we were just so tired going into this cruise. I didn't have much time beforehand to plan any excursions, so it was all going to be last minute-whatever we felt like. I was planning on doing the zipline at Labadee, but after we got over there, I need shorts and tennis shoes and had neither. Looks like we will have to go back again!! This cruise, neither of us pushed to do anything. But we did get a lot of relaxing in. And I think I got a nap every afternoon. With the MTD (My Time Dining), we were able to go to bed earlier than usual too, since we could choose which show to go to. We caught up on our sleep that week, which was nice.
At Labadee, we just hung out on the beach and read books and laid in the SHADE! It was hot (94) and unless you were in the ocean (which felt great!), it was just plain HOT!! Dale & I tried to snorkel but where we were there wasn't any fish.
At Jamaica, we went shopping and got some coffee. Then headed back to the ship (cruising HILL-style, remember!). I do have to add that we have already spent a week in Jamaica and visited here other times as well. I love Jamaica but won't do much on my own here.
At Grand Cayman, we didn't even get off the ship. We enjoyed the extra time to do things on the ship, like go to Johnny Rockets. We hung out by the pool some today with some friends that we had made pre-cruise on our roll call.
At Cozumel, we shopped a little with the Hills, then went back to the ship for lunch and headed back out (minus the Hills) to go over to Chankanabb Park. The last time I had been there was over 20 years ago and I loved the place. So, we took a cab over, bought the tickets, and headed in. About 3 minutes later, it started to rain and it rained for about 15 minutes. After that, we grabbed a hut and I headed in the water. The water here is VERY clear and you can see all the fish from the side which I think freaked Dale out some. I got in and swam out to the dock and spent a few minutes out there and headed back. The fish can freak you out if you think about it, though. Then we headed over to the pool area to swim and watch the dolphins (where you can swim with them). This is DEFINITELY on our bucket list, but we wanted to do it with the kids, so we will wait. But we had a lot of fun just watching them. Then we asked another couple that was on our roll call if they wanted to share a taxi back to the ship. It ends up that they had rented a jeep and so they invited us to ride back with them. He actually took us downtown and gave us a little tour. They had been in an accident that morning downtown and luckily had no damage to their jeep. We had a good time talking and getting to know them better on the way back to the ship. Thanks Noreen and Paul for the trip back!!
We had a pretty active roll call this trip and met several new friends. We actually had a slot pull for a large group of us, where we paid $12 each and all pooled our money to go and cheer each other on and see if we could win big. We each got 4 pulls while betting the max. I actually won $10 with one of my pulls. Then after everyone went, we were up $1 each. So, we decided to go again. I won $20 this time around, but when we ended we were right where we started so everyone got their $12 back. It was fun and we didn't lose any money. Here is a pic of Dale taking his turn.
This is a picture from our meet and mingle where we finally got to meet all of the people we had been talking to for months before the cruise.
Other than that, we just had a really relaxing good cruise. I definitely recommend trying a cruise if you have never been on one. And I will be glad to go along to give you advice!! :)
If you would like, you can watch the below video to see some highlights of the cruise:
1 comment:
Looks like you all had a great time!
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