Tuesday Travels – Cruisin’ Away Part II

 

Last Tuesday I told you all about the fantastic excursions we did while on our Anniversary Cruise in the Western Caribbean. You can read all about them here, and while you read that keep in mind that there were a ton of other excursions that you could choose, such as diving in a submarine, or going to the Sting Ray Cove in Cayman, or even visiting a Rum Cake Factory in Jamaica. Since we only had enough time in each port for two dive we chose to dive.

In Part 2 of our cruise adventure I’d like to tell you a little bit more about what you can expect on the ship. It really was very different from what we had in mind, and exceeded our expectations by leaps and bounds.

I never got a picture of our stateroom, but it looked something like this. We had a balcony room which I’d highly recommend if you have scuba gear with you that needs to be spread out to dry, otherwise an inside cabin (which are much cheaper) is fine since you end up spending very little time in the room.

Our room attended was also amazing and I wish I had brought along more cash to give him extra tips. Our room was always made and ready to go. I felt that if we stepped out of the room even for half an hour we’d come back to our clothes folded, the bed maid and anything extra removed from the room. Not to mention we kept coming back to these babies:

      

 

The only complaint I had about our room was that the shower was TINY, and if you tried to shave your legs you encountered a bit of a problem. But I can’t really complain since we were in the middle of an ocean and had the ability to have hot water to shower with.

The room service was also excellent and you could order food at almost any time of the day and night. Of course tips were always welcomed by the room staff, so again I wish our travel agent had told us to bring more in cash with us.

Speaking of room service and food… the food was AH-Mazing, way better then some of the expensive restaurants we had dined at. Every night we had a more formal dinner, with two nights of black-tie dinners. You also had your choice of several buffets you could go to for breakfast, lunch, dinner and anything in between.

At the first formal dinner, I wore my wedding dress

      

And this is what we had, lobster ravioli for me and pot roast for Donald. Both were fantastic, and we both wish we had some wine to go with it, but since we were diving the very next morning we strained ourselves from putting alcohol into our system.

 

The last formal dinner, with my parents.

At our last dinner with our server, Guro who was fantastic. We also got a Royal Caribbean cook book.  

 

The buffets had a tone of food, and always fun decorations with fruits and veggies to go along with it.

 

There was also a ton to do on the ship while out at sea. On our first full day at sea we explored the upper decks were you could find the pools, hot tubs, gym, spa, recreation room, several bars and lounges. There was also an ice skating rink, a theater, and a movie viewing room.

There was lots of drinking and some karaoke singing

 

     

There was also some laying out by the pool and enjoying the sunshine

Not only this, but the ship was HUGE!! And it was constantly being cleaned.

This is the Royal Promenade where you could shop, eat, hang out and so on.

Over all, this was one of the best vacations we’ve ever been on, and one that was very affordable, even with a balcony room. 

This picture pretty much sums it all up.

OH… and we got to witness one of the most beautiful sunrises in the world.

Tuesday Travels – Cruisin’ Away Part I

 

Last November, for our 1st Anniversary the Mister and I took a Western Caribbean cruise, and it was one of the best vacations we have ever been on.

Initially, we were going to do our official wedding ceremony and reception on the cruise-ship in port at Galveston, TX, since we got married in a courthouse with only our immediate family and Best-Man of Honor.

However, since the cruise was over Thanksgiving and a 8 day commitment none of our extended families really wanted to come, so we said screw it and went on the cruise anyways.

After a great deal of consideration, and research we decided on Royal Caribbean cruise lines. Royal Caribbean was a bit more expensive then Carnival, however we thought it was worth it because the reviews and recommendations stated that the food, accommodation, staff and atmosphere were much better. The other deciding point was the Carnival is known more as a party boat with lots of drunks and small children, while Royal Caribbean makes sure that children are entertained at all times and not running around wild.

 

 This was our itinerary, we made three stops and the first on the list was Cozumel!!!

Welcome to beautiful Cozumel Mexico! The weather was beautiful, the water was warm and the people friendly as ever.

   

We met this little big guy at the dive shop, operated by a lady from Denver, as we walked over to the boat to head out on our first set of dives.

Donald and I at about 90 feet! The temperature was about 78 degrees, the visibility was fantastic. Cozumel happens to be one of the top 3 dive sites in the world. There are a ton of reefs to check out, in addition the dive is a current dive, which means it’s super easy because the current simply pushes you along. Because the current helps you out your oxygen supply lasts longer, in turn you get to enjoy the company of all kinds of creatures longer, including these guys:

Yup that’s a barracuda. I personally think they are scarier then sharks, especially since they are attracted thing shiny!

We also had the pleasure of meeting this guy, who came out from under the coral to greet us. He was defiantly a cutie.

Our next stop was Georgetown Grand Cayman!

The Cayman Islands are part of the British Isles, and are absolutely beautiful. They are also one of the top 3 destinations for divers around the world. Throughout the year, the Cayman Islands see thousands of divers who come out to enjoy the fantastic underwater world.

This was one of the several party pirate ships that was hanging around the coast. People seemed to be having a grand ol’ time on the boat.

    

Our first dive was on a wrack, which has become an artificial reef for all kinds of little fish.

Donald found a bike And decided to take it for a spin.

Our final stop was Montego Bay, Jamaica!

  

We had decided in advance that we did not want to dive in Jamaica but rather lay on the beach and enjoy the sun. So we did just that.

We also made a stop at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and enjoyed a $19.00 margarita.

Overall, we had a fantastic time on all the excursions, and next Tuesday I will let you know all about the cruise ship, things to do, the food and the days at sea.

We are planning on another cruise this year, sometime in the summer and possibly another for our anniversary. A cruise vacation can be surprisingly affordable, and I will talk all about this in the third and final post for our first cruise recap.