Homeward Bound

Sunday, August 21 - Homeward Bound

The next morning we awoke in Miami. I immediately used the cell phone to call Northwest Airlines to check on the status of our flight. The recorded message said there were no changes due to the strike but I was still a little on edge.

Being nervous about the flight situation, I wanted to do the self disembark. I wasn’t sure if we could handle all of our luggage, but I was willing to try. I thought maybe getting to the airport early would be a good idea if we were going to have to look for another flight. Unfortunately when we attended the debarkation talk the previous day they told that if you had bought over the amount of duty free liquor allowed then you could not take advantage of the self disembark (it had something to do with dealing with customs agents to pay duty tax on the extra bottles.) Oldest son had been so excited by the low prices on liquor he had bought way too much so that meant the self debarkation was not an option for us. The night before we had set our luggage out into the hallway and that meant we would get to play the game of “luggage, luggage, where are you?” once we got off the ship.

Passengers with flights at 1:00 or earlier qualified for the privilege of getting off the ship first…our flight was scheduled for exactly l:00. We had gone to the Purser’s desk to inquire about what needed to be done and without even looking at our tickets were told to just grab some Spa Deck luggage tags and be at the Ionion Lounge by 8:30.

When we arrived there were so many people in the lounge that they were spilling out into the area around the elevators. Eventually they announced that we would be getting off the ship. This process sort of resembled “follow the leader”…we formed a long, long line and went through the Ionion Lounge, past the internet library, through some strange hallways, through the Atlantic Dining Room, down the stairs and finally out the doors on Deck 3. This probably took a half an hour at least. Customs agents were waiting to collect our declaration forms, but no one even looked at them…and no one even mentioned the extra duty tax that our son was supposed to pay.

Finding our luggage amongst the thousands of pieces didn’t prove to be too difficult. (I had tied bright green ribbons to the all of the handles…otherwise every piece of black luggage looks just like the next.) Outside we got a couple of cabs without much of a wait and it was off to the airport.

My fears about NWA were for naught. I do believe that checking in our luggage and getting to the gate was about the easiest that I’ve been through (at least since 9/11). There were picketers outside the airport, but the NWA employees we encountered were overly friendly and helpful. It was almost like they were compensating for all of the bad press that NWA had been getting.

After grabbing some food from the airport Burger King, we enjoyed watching a slide show of all of our cruise pictures on oldest son’s laptop computer while waiting on the flight. The trip home was uneventful but seemed so much longer than the trip down…all of the anticipation was over and we knew it was back to “real life” once again.

Note from the future: I am happy to report that this family cruise was not our last. If you would like to read about our next adventure together, you can check out the blog posts from our 2010 Family Cruise on the Carnival Legend. 

Last Sea Day

Saturday, August 20 - Sea Day

The last full day of a cruise is always such a let down.. Breakfast was in the Mediterranean Restaurant and Bob, sister and I all went through the buffet and had hot food. For a change, the lines weren’t tremendously long so I even waited to have an omelet made to order. Sister and I spent the morning browsing through the shops…there was a sale on t-shirts…2 for $20 and sister also bought some magnets and some cologne. I looked at the rings…I had bought a couple on the Paradise that I really like, but didn’t see anything special this time. The rest of the crew was off at the pool and playing shuffleboard I believe. At 11:00 we all met in the Caribbean Lounge to hear some of the debarkation talk…how depressing!

From there the whole family went for one last lunch in the Pacific Dining Room. Lunches were always open seating and held in the Pacific. Even though it was open seating, we were always taken back to our regular table or nearby…probably because they filled those tables first before staring on the ones in the center of the dining room. I loved our table with the great views of the ocean and it was nice seeing “Fun Bobby” (as the kids called him) and Barbara…our regular waiters. Most of the group ordered hamburgers which are available with a multitude of choices for toppings…even guacamole…they were very good.

Giant fish sculpture hanging outside dining room entrance.

Sister and I spent the afternoon on the balcony trying to savor one last day at sea. The others went to the pool for awhile. Bob went to a class on folding towel animals and even bought the book. Now guests in our home are always treated to some sort of towel critter on their bed!

The interactive TV was one feature that wasn’t available on our Paradise cruises. Each day we would use it to check the dinner menu for the night and ponder what we would order. One could also check the balance on the Sail & Sign account. At one point during the week I was alarmed because I thought we were getting someone else’s charges on our account. It turns out that the two younger sons’ charges (and tips) were shown on our TV because their account was linked to our credit card. They didn’t have any excessive charges…it was just confusing till I figured out what was happening. Another piece of information…you can only access your account from your own cabin…not on anyone else’s TV. Because of the room switching that went on (due to us having to book an adult with the two sons) we had to deal with this.

At some point during the day a letter was slipped under our door informing us that Northwest Airlines mechanics had gone out on strike. The letter stated that if you had booked your air through Carnival then they would make sure you found an alternate flight if necessary. This wasn’t much comfort to me…I had booked our air independently and was worried we were going to have a hassle getting a flight in Miami.

The evening entertainment was a singer billed as the “soul man of Bourbon Street” and a comedian, Allan Ball. Neither was exceptional. Throughout the week we had stopped in to hear some of the music in the various lounges along the Promenade Deck after the show was over in the Caribbean Lounge. The Piano Bar was too smoky. The band playing in the Red & Black lounge wasn’t the greatest and the place was almost empty when we were there. When Bob got his way we went to the lobby to listen to the classical trio playing. The “kids” and sister did spend some time in the casino, but Bob and I aren’t gamblers and so avoided the casino and the smoke that went with it.

By far the best entertainment that night was watching the full moon from our cabin balcony. There were also thunder storms off in the distance providing numerous light shows in the darkness. Sleep that night was fitful…I was worried about how the airline strike was going to affect our flight home.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Friday – Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Each morning I would flip on the cabin TV to check out the latest news on the impending Northwest Airlines mechanics’ strike. The strike was set for Saturday, August 20th and I was concerned how this was going to affect our flight home on Sunday, the 21st. On Friday it wasn’t the strike news that caught my attention however. The headline news that morning was that a tornado had struck Stoughton, Wisconsin…one person was killed and a large part of the city had been destroyed. My daughter-in-law is from that area and her parents, brother and sister live there.

I called the oldest son's cabin and told him to turn on the TV immediately. My daughter-in-law could tell from watching the news coverage that the damage was in the neighborhood where her parents lived and she was frantic. We were scheduled to meet up with Phil Lafayette for a tour a half an hour after the ship docked so I told her to wait and call from shore rather than trying to use a ship phone. A representative for Phil was waiting for us at the end of the dock and I explained our situation. She showed daughter-in-law where to buy a phone card and also the location of the pay phones. I’m sorry we held up the tour a bit that day, but I know that I would have understood if it had been someone else. The phone call home brought good news…no damage to her parent’s home, even though homes only a block away had been destroyed. Daughter-in-law was greatly relieved and able to enjoy the rest of her day in Ocho Rios.

Leaving the dock area at Ocho Rios we were loaded into one van and then transported a short distance to where we switched vans. This time we were with Phil Lafayette who was to be our guide for the day. Our tour started with Phil driving us around the Ocho Rios area showing us a school, an affluent area in the hills where we had a great view of the ship and also a small “kitchen garden” along side a country road. As we walked through the garden, Phil would stop and tell us stories about the different plants and let us smell some that had unique fragrances. 

Phil Lafayette, our guide for the day.

There was a woodcarver’s stand right next to the garden and a few people made purchases before getting back into the van to continue the tour. Three years ago we had done a tour of Ocho Rios with Peat Taylor and had visited the very same place.

Eventually we came to the place where we were to do the river tubing. Not all of the people on the tour chose to do the tubing…probably about half of 20 people or so. We walked down a set of rustic stairs to the river and got into our tubes. There were a couple of guides helping us since the river was flowing fairly swiftly at this point. My sister chose not to do the tubing so she and the others who didn’t take part left with Phil. She said he drove them around to see additional sites and then they met us at the take-out point for the tubing.

Tubing down the river gave you the feeling you were a million miles away from civilization. The forest provided a thick canopy that covered the river. The current was fast enough to provide a bit of excitement, but not so swift that it seemed scary. The tubes were fitted with a wooden “bottom” that provided some protection from rocks in the shallower waters. At times one of us would get carried over to the side of the river and get hung up on a branch or a rock. Within moments a guide would be there to help free us and send us on our way down the river.

After floating for some time, the guides motioned for us to go over to the side and get out of the water. We walked up to the top of a small cliff where some young boys were jumping into the river. My family wasn’t going to miss out on this opportunity so Bob and the kids all took their turn jumping off the cliff into the river below. This frightened me since there were rocks jutting out of the water nearby. My first thought was…” I wonder if there is a hospital nearby?” And if this didn’t cause enough worry, my oldest son did a flip off the cliff! Once the daredevils were finished, we climbed back into our tubes and floated down the river to where Phil and the others in our group were waiting.

There was no place to change out of our wet swimsuits, but Phil had plastic seat covers in his van so it wasn’t a big problem. Except for our family, all of the others in the van were going to climb Dunn’s River Falls next. We had done this previously and decided we would pass on it this time. Phil offered to take us to a beach to hang out until the others were done with the falls, but instead we opted to be dropped off at Island Village and then just walk back to the ship. My sister wasn’t feeling well so Phil took her directly to the ship.

Island Village near the cruise ship dock.

Shopping in the “Island Village” we felt very safe but it was also much more “touristy” than our shopping experience in the craft village on our last visit to Ocho Rios. We browsed through the shops and also stopped in at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. Prior to the cruise we had all found the “lost shakers of salt” on the Margaritaville website and had coupons for free margaritas. Besides the drinks we ordered some buffalo wings and nachos to share. It was relatively calm and quiet in the upstairs of Margaritaville where we sat…downstairs loud music played and guests danced through the building in conga lines. Margaritaville boasts a slide going from the second floor down to the pool below. After finally getting dry from our river tubing, we opted to not try the slide.

Island Village is just a short walk from the ship. Upon returning it was too late for lunch, but too early for dinner so middle son and I grabbed a hotdog from the grill on the Lido deck. It was good, but would have been better if some toppings were available…I had my heart set on grilled onions! I think they were in the process of closing up so nothing extra was set out. As I look back, I think I only remember getting hot food from the buffet in the Mediterranean Restaurant one time…at breakfast. Otherwise I just grabbed cold Danish for breakfast, a sandwich from the deli, the hotdog from the grill or pizza. Most of our lunches and dinners were eaten in the Pacific Dining room where we could relax and be waited on!

Ocho Rios

It is a long walk from the ship to shore in Ocho Rios.

Passengers returning to the ship at the end of the day.

Friday night was the second of the formal nights. Once again…it was a treat for me to see my family looking so spiffy and even better is that they enjoyed it too and didn’t whine and complain about getting dressed up! 

The show that night was “Vroom”…a montage of rock and roll songs throughout the years. It started with a movie about some guy on a motorcycle which I thought was strange, but the live show was pretty good.

The Grand Gala Buffet was also held on Friday night. On our Paradise cruises, the gala buffet was held in one of the formal dining rooms. On the Victory the buffet was set up in the buffet area of the Mediterranean Restaurant…not quite as classy in my opinion. Bob, sister and I sat and watched them assemble the large ice sculpture of the sea monster and arrange all of the food displays to perfection. 

Instead of standing in line to actually eat the food, Bob got a tuna sandwich at the deli and I got some pizza and then we finished with an ice cream cone.. By the end of the week we were starting to crave “common, down to earth” food!

Grand Cayman

Thursday – Grand Cayman

The tender situation in Grand Cayman had me worried. On our previous cruise Bob had stood in line alone to get tender tickets for the four of us traveling together. Things were different on the Victory…each person had to show up at the Caribbean Lounge to get a ticket. (Only those who had NOT booked a Carnival tour had to go through this ritual to get off the boat.) I had made arrangements with Nativeway to do an 8:30 a.m. Stingray tour. To complicate matters even further, the island was an hour behind ship time so that meant our tour was to start at 9:30 “ship time”. I had visions of waiting and waiting to get off the ship and then missing our tour.

Only five of us were to see the stingrays…Bob and the oldest son were going scuba diving again. Their plan was easy…get off the ship whenever and walk to Eden Rock Diving Center. Since they are both certified they were just going to dive alone without a guide.

Being nervous about getting to shore on time, I made sure everyone was up early for breakfast. Around 7:30 the announcement was made that tender tickets were ready to be given out. We all went down to the lounge just to “check” on the situation and they were still giving out tickets for the first tender. Taking the tickets would mean that we would have to go to the tender immediately and none of us had brought our “stuff” for the day with us.

Getting off the ship at 7:30 seemed a bit early so we trudged back to the cabins to get our gear. I figured this would chew up enough time so that by the time we made it back to the lounge we would get a later tender number and be right on schedule for our tour. What do you know…back at the Caribbean Lounge we got the last seven remaining tickets for tender ONE!! I had envisioned long lines and we just walked right up and got the tickets with no wait whatsoever!

Tender boats loading to transport passengers to shore in Grand Cayman.

Besides the Victory, there were only three other ships at Grand Cayman that day…two Royal Caribbean ships and the Conquest. Still the dock area was a mob scene when we got off the tender. After all of my worrying about missing our tour, it was only 7:00 a.m. island time and we had an hour and a half to kill!! Bob & #1 son left us and headed off for their scuba dive. The day was incredibly hot and humid and none of the stores were open. I spotted a couple of benches across the street in the shade of a store awning and that is where we went. Just sitting there was miserable…my youngest son is very sensitive to the heat and I truly think he was about to have a “melt down”! Eventually some of the stores started opening and the “kids” left to seek some air-conditioning. I made a couple of trips across the street and eventually located the guy from Nativeway to let him know we were there.

Around 9:25 we went to our designated spot to meet up with our tour, but then we waited another 15 minutes or so until the rest of our tour group showed up. There wasn’t any place to sit down and by this time I think we were all just ready to head back to the ship and cool off. Eventually the group was all assembled and we were lead down the street and around the corner to some waiting vans. Part of the group was doing the Stingray tour with us and the others were doing a tour that combined the stingrays and a trip to Rum Point Beach.

At this point we weren’t separated by tours…we just were told to get in either van. Finally being able to sit down and get cool was wonderful and the day started to improve! The ride through the island was interesting…there were many signs of the hurricane that had ravaged the island the previous year.

The vans arrived at a marina area and at this point the two tour groups were split according to destination and loaded onto separate boats. Our boat had 19 people headed out to visit the stingrays. Ah…the sea breeze felt great. Besides three Nativeway staff, there was also a photographer on board who explained she would be taking still pictures that we could purchase at the end of the trip. On our first visit to Stingray City back in 2002 a videographer had accompanied our tour and we bought the VHS tape as a souvenir of our day. The video was set to Caribbean music and was well worth the $50 or so it cost. 

As I had expected, there were many boats once we reached the sandbar where the stingrays congregate. Our boat was carefully backed into position so we could join the throngs of people feeding the rays. I was very impressed with the individual attention that we received from Nativeway. The guides caught rays and made sure we each had a chance to hold them, feed them and get pictures…multiple times if we wished. At one point a few people from one of the huge tour boats tried to join our group and were told “no” that they should go back to their own group.

After a lengthy time with the rays, we boarded the boat and went a short distance to a spot where we could snorkel. After three cruises, I’ve finally gotten the hang of breathing through a snorkel and I could have floated for hours watching the marine life below.

When we got back on board, we started back to shore but after a few minutes just stopped. Turns out we were running ahead of schedule and rather than wait at the dock for the van, the guides decided it would be cooler out on the water. I was sorry that they hadn’t figured this out earlier so we could have snorkeled longer. The boat was bobbing up and down and my poor daughter-in-law started getting sea sick. We stayed put for about 20 minutes before resuming our trip back. During this time the photographer went around letting people look at the digital photos on her camera. We had taken many pictures with our disposable water cameras and decided not to purchase any of the ones she had done. I might have considered a video if it were available.

We were dropped off at the tender dock in Georgetown. Daughter-in-law was feeling better by that point and headed off to do some shopping. The rest of us (myself, sister & two sons) shopped for a short time but headed back to the ship fairly quickly. (We did manage to sample several rum cakes however!) Dinner time that night was spent sharing stories of stingrays and scuba diving. I’m sorry that Bob and older son couldn’t have gone with us, but they had a great time scuba diving instead.

The evening entertainment was the Victory Idol show…an interesting twist on the usual cruise talent show. The singers that performed in the show were outstanding…at least all but one was anyway. He was merely there for “comedy”! Hector (the super shopper) was one of the judges of the contest and was quite entertaining himself! Hector is a Cuban and an “interesting” character! The boys always made it a point to talk to Hector when they saw him around the ship…he usually responded by blowing his little whistle!! I’m sorry I didn’t get a picture of Hector to add to my album!

Sea Day #2

 Wednesday – Day at Sea

  

Oldest son wanted to eat breakfast in the dining room again, but couldn’t convince anyone else to get up that early so he went alone. He was seated with some “interesting” (not in a positive way) type people. The breakfast was not a total bust though in that he saw several dolphins swimming alongside the ship! Sister and I went to the Mediterranean Restaurant but again the lines for the hot food were so long I just opted to grab a couple of danish and a cup of coffee. Bob joined us after his morning run.

Later in the morning the guys (Bob and sons) had gone to play shuffleboard and sister and I were roaming around the ship not doing much. I had my digital camera with me and at one point got it out to take some photos and realized that the LCD screen on the back had cracked. I was not happy. I had bought this camera (a Canon SD200) specifically to use on this cruise and it was only a couple of months old. To this day I can not think of a single reason why the screen broke…it just did. After getting home I did some research online and realize now that broken LCD screens are a major concern with this model (and others in the SD series.) I checked out several different photography boards and saw many posts from others who had their screens just break for no reason. The warranty specifically states that broken LCD screens are not covered, but I sent the camera in and just received an email saying that they would fix it for no charge provided the inside of the camera doesn’t indicate any type of water damage, corrosion, etc. (which it shouldn’t). I was able to keep taking pictures using the viewfinder until Friday when the whole camera just died. Since two older sons both had digital cameras we were able to still get photos from the last few days, but like I said…I was NOT happy. 

The family met again for lunch in the dining room and this time had a gentleman from New Jersey join our family. He was traveling with his wife and kids but they didn’t want to eat in the dining room so he came alone.

Following lunch everyone (but me) went to the pool. I chose to go back to the cabin and sit on the balcony and read. I’m not sure if I would spend the extra money to book a balcony, but I must admit, it was a luxury that I thoroughly enjoyed this time!

After we found out that we had been upgraded to the balcony I started reading posts about how wonderful it is to prop open the balcony door and hear the ocean waves lapping on the ship. Following suggestions I read, I made sure we packed a bungee cord and also Bob “made” a wooden door wedge covered with sand paper just in case the bungee plan failed to hold open the door. Guess what…the balcony doors on the Victory stay open by themselves…all you had to do was open it fully and it stayed. I will also share another revelation from this cruise…it is too hot and humid to leave the door open! The air-conditioning in our cabin was “adequate” although sister and I both would have preferred to have it cooler. (Hot flashes might have something to do with that. 😉) A maintenance worker even checked it out (on our request) but said the vent was wide open and nothing more could be done. We did not leave the balcony door open…ever.

In contrast to our cabin, the inside cabin where two younger sons were staying was “frigid”…about the same as living in a meat locker! They could have closed the vent a bit, but they liked it that way. Youngest son declared that his cabin was the best place in the whole world to sleep…I’m sure it was due to the cold temps AND the extreme darkness of the inside cabin. Also Carnival has replaced all of the ugly orange bedspreads with wonderful white down comforters…AND gotten some new pillows that are so comfortable…both make sleeping an “experience”!

Back to the day’s events…since Wednesday was a sea day, tea time was held in the Ionion Lounge at 3:30. I think the family must have felt guilty for making me go alone on Monday and all showed up this time. I appreciated the effort, but could tell that three sons would have rather been anywhere else but there! They ate a few of the finger sandwiches and even tried a cup of tea, but then oldest & youngest had enough and left. Middle son had fallen asleep sitting up (guess the classical music was too soothing) and didn’t wake up until we were almost ready to leave. The only reason he woke up then was that he was drooling down his arm! Oh well…Bob, our daughter-in-law, my sister and I did enjoy tea time…it’s such a relaxing respite from the heat and crowds on the Lido deck.

Wednesday night was the Past Guest Party on the Victory which reminded me that I need to back up and explain about our room situation. Carnival’s policy is that kids can not be booked in their own cabin…someone over the age of 25 must be included in that room. The only exception to this rule was if guests are married…that meant our oldest son and his wife could at least be together even though neither one is yet 25. However it meant that our middle son (aged 21) and youngest son (aged 17) could not be booked together. So…for booking purposes only, Bob and I split up and each was booked with one of the boys. This really doesn’t make much sense since the first evening on the ship we went to the Purser’s desk and they cheerfully made new key cards for Bob and son #3 so they could change rooms. That meant they each had to carry two cards for the week…one was strictly a door key and the other was the Sail & Sign card that got swiped for purchases or getting on & off the ship. However it also meant that now the two boys were together like we had wanted in the beginning!

The day before the Past Guest Party, the room steward delivered invitations to the cabins. Sister and I each got our invitation but Bob didn’t get one. I just assumed it was an oversight so went to the Purser’s Desk again and they printed out an invitation for him without any questions asked. That night at dinner the topic of the Past Guest Party came up and youngest son announced that he planned to go since he had gotten an invitation! Turns out since Bob was really booked in that cabin, his invitation had been delivered there. The youngest son just “assumed” that since he had an invitation in his possession he was going and going to take his older brother as his guest!

Neither boy was happy, but I made it clear that they were “not” invited to the party! We had checked and found it was OK for the oldest son to attend with his wife (who had cruised on Carnival in the past) so the five of us went on Wednesday following dinner…and I do mean “immediately” following dinner. The party was held in the Adriatic Lounge and when we arrived there was a very long line waiting to enter. By the time we handed over our invitations and got into the lounge, the only available table was waaaaaaay in the back of the room.

Bob and I had skipped the Past Guest Party on our Paradise cruise last summer since our traveling companions were not previous cruisers. I felt bad knowing we had missed out, but after attending this party I realize it wasn’t such a big deal. There were plenty of free drinks and hors d'oeuvres but since we had just eaten we didn’t even try the food. During the “party” they gave away a bottle of champagne as a door prize and then showed a movie showcasing all of Carnival’s ships. The guests would cheer when they saw one of the ships that they had sailed on. Not being big drinkers, I’m not sure if we would attend this party on future cruises or not. The fact that they try and squeeze the party in between dining times really makes it inconvenient for the earlier diners.

The evening entertainment was a magician. There’s something about watching a magician that just bugs me (guess cause I can’t figure out his tricks) but anyway it was my least favorite entertainment. We tried to go to karaoke in the Adriatic Lounge again, but they were holding auditions for those wanting to be in the “Victory Idol” competition and the place was so packed we couldn’t get in. My mind is fuzzy, but I think maybe we (the old folks) made it back to the cabin a little earlier than usual. The kids were out and about till all hours….

Cozumel

Tuesday – Cozumel

 This port was one factor that helped sway my decision to book the Victory over the Conquest as we had originally planned. Both ships stop in Cozumel, but the Victory is there from 7 a.m. till midnight…the Conquest leaves much earlier…around 6 p.m. I think. (Also the fact that the Victory alternates sea and port days where the Conquest has all three ports back to back made this itinerary better in my opinion.)

The original plan was for Bob and oldest son to scuba dive and I had booked the Cozumel Beach Break with Island Marketing for the rest of our group. The Beach Break excursion was to be a day at Nachi Cocom Beach with an open bar and Mexican buffet for $32/person. It also included the use of any water “toys” for one hour. From the pictures it looked like a wonderful place…the beach seemed nice AND there was a Jacuzzi and fresh water pool with a swim up bar. I had contacted Chellie at Eagle Ray (whom the guys were going to dive with) and we had it arranged so that they would be dropped off at Nachi Cocom once they had completed their dives where they could join the rest of us at the beach. Ah….a perfect day in Cozumel…at least until Hurricane Emily paid the island a visit in mid July. The restaurant at Nachi Cocom sustained structural damage and the beach was shut down (re-opening date is set for September 22.) Island Marketing was very good about keeping us informed of what was going on and when we ultimately decided to not book any other excursion they were prompt in refunding our deposit. We had booked two tours through this company on our cruise last summer and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again in the future. They have a “live chat” feature on their website so it is easy to contact them and get questions answered when booking one of their tours. Plan A didn’t work so the week before the cruise I scrambled and came up with Plan B…..

There was an hour time difference between ship time and Cozumel time and the kids decided we had time to get up and have breakfast in the dining room together. The new arrangement had two sets of plans for the family in Cozumel…Bob and our oldest son were to scuba dive with EagleRay Divers and the rest of us had some beach time planned. The breakfast in the dining room was nice…we had already docked and our window table overlooked the port of Cozumel. However it turns out the divers were a little rushed for time…especially when son remembered he still needed to shave his beard so his scuba mask wouldn’t leak! Several of us ordered the eggs benedict (which isn’t available at the buffet on the Lido deck) but it was a disappointment…the English muffin was so hard that you couldn’t even cut through it with a knife! Still it was nice being waited on and not dealing with the lines in the Mediterranean Restaurant.

Bob and oldest son took a cab to La Caleta Marina and made it on time for their scuba diving with Eagle Ray. The guys ended up with Arturo as their dive master. Bob and I had dove with Eagle Ray back in 2002 and also had Arturo with us at that time. Arturo has his master’s degree in marine biology and has done research work with whales along the Pacific coast…a very knowledgeable and fun guy to be with. The guys were the only two on the boat…talk about personal service! This was son’s first real dive since getting certified and he loved it…he got to see a nurse shark and sea turtle among many other aquatic creatures. The idea of the two guys meeting up with the rest of us at a beach was scrapped since we weren’t sure just where we would be.

The rest of our crew (five of us) got off the ship and headed towards the taxi stand. My sister has some problems walking so she grabbed one of the “bike taxis” waiting by the ship and was pedaled down the long dock, through the stores and out to the waiting cabs. The guy said “no charge…just tips”…I think she said she gave him $5.

I had done some research on cab prices and figured with 5 people that we would need a van cab (cars will take up to 4 people for one price.) From what I had read, a van usually charges double the price of a car plus $2. There is a sign with prices to many destinations and our destination of Dzul Ha was listed as $7. I assumed that meant that we would pay around $16 so was pleasantly surprised when I asked the cost and the man arranging the cabs said $12. As we were getting into the van I asked the driver how much and he said $10!

I was trying to decide whether to go to what is called the Dzul Ha “beach club” or go across the street to Palmar Beach Club. In reading reports, Palmar Beach Club had been described as a “mansion with a pool” across the street from Dzul Ha. When we arrived, I was somewhat surprised to see just how “run down” this area really was. No one was around at Palmar Beach Club and it really didn’t look that great so we found a table overlooking the water at the Dzul Ha Beach Club. I use the term “beach club” quite loosely here…there was a large palapa roof over a deck with a bunch of plastic chairs and tables. Part of the roof was gone…I assume damage from Hurricane Emily that had struck the island just a few weeks earlier.

Only one other couple was at Dzul Ha and when I tried to start a conversation I found out they were from Italy and spoke very little English! Our main goal of going to Dzul Ha was for the great snorkeling that I had read about. We had our own equipment, but I think you could rent equipment there if needed. Before getting into the water I started to smear middle son with sun block. An employee of the beach club came running over and said that no sun block was allowed. (There was a sign but I hadn’t seen it.) He insisted that son go wash it all off at an outdoor shower down the beach a ways. I am very fair skinned so cut my time in the water short for fear of coming out toasted.

The snorkeling in front of the beach club was OK, but two sons snorkeled down the beach for a long ways and said there was more to see where they went. 

Most of the morning we had the beach to ourselves…later on more people showed up including a jeep tour group with an obnoxious leader barking out orders on what to do. They were only going to be there for about an hour and he collected $2/person from each one of them for the “marine park fee”. No one mentioned anything to us about paying anything for snorkeling there. We did all buy some drinks…Pepsi…but it tasted different than what we get in the states.

  

Our next stop was to be Palm Beach. As I was walking up to the little food service stand to inquire about getting a cab, one was just coming by. I flagged him down and he was willing to take us (and luckily it was a van)…I think we paid $15. The drive to Palm Beach was a little further than what I had imagined, but it gave us a chance to see more of the island (and some more of the hurricane damage.) Just as we were getting to Palm Beach, the driver told us that he thought we would enjoy Paradise Beach more…the two beaches are right next to each other. I had considered Paradise Beach, but was afraid it would be too crowded. We took his advice and went to Paradise Beach first and weren’t disappointed…the beach was much larger than Palm Beach and was beautiful.

The kids decided that we should go way down to the far end of the beach where there were several chairs with umbrellas available together. We plopped down in the chairs and as I was messing around trying to get settled I hear my middle son (age 21) say…look!…”coconuts”. I assumed he was talking about vegetation growing on the trees but quickly realized he was referring to the topless young lady coming out of the water!! Both sons decided that switching to this beach was a good decision! Unfortunately (for them) we didn’t stick around long to enjoy the “sights”. A dark cloud had come over the beach and it was starting to sprinkle so we gathered up our stuff and headed under the protective roof of the outdoor restaurant.

The five of us got several orders of nachos and an order of guacamole and also some drinks. The storm amounted to just a few sprinkles so after filling our stomachs it was back to the beach. Sister decided she wanted to get her hair braided so we stayed on the end of the beach by the hair braiding and massage tents (no coconuts there!) Youngest son also decided maybe it would be cool to get a few braids in his fairly long hair. (Sister’s braids stayed in for a couple of weeks…son’s fell out the next day!)

I saw Paradise Beach Tom making the rounds on the beach and spoke to him by name when he came up to our chairs. He sat down and visited for some time. The kids were impressed to think I personally knew the manager of these fabulous beach…I didn’t tell them that he is just that nice to all Cruise Critic people!

Middle son and daughter-in-law took their snorkel gear and went out by the pier. Some little kids were screaming in Spanish and they realized that there were stingrays under the dock! Daughter-in-law is majoring in Spanish so she had fun talking to the family. They taught her the Spanish word for “shark”…she was a little nervous about being in the ocean and wanted to be prepared to yell just in case! 

I think we all could have stayed at Paradise Beach much longer, but around 3:30 I decided we should be getting back to the ship…I knew the guys would probably be getting back soon too. There were several cabs waiting, but no van…one driver insisted he could take all five of us in his car so we crammed in with daughter-in-law sitting on middle son’s lap…cost back to the ship was $15.

Bob and oldest son had made it back to the ship just before us. They had showered and were filling out their dive log books when we returned. Bob had rinsed all of his scuba gear and had it drying on the balcony…another plus for a balcony cabin! Dinner was open seating that night and again we had a single lady placed with our family of seven. She was a bit strange and after sending back one meal hardly touched a bite of the second one she was served.

  

After dinner we headed back to the area around the pier for some shopping. The kids went off on their own direction and sister, Bob and I just wandered through the shops. Sister found a couple of t-shirts for gifts but other than that we didn’t buy anything and decided we would rather just go back to the ship. To get back to the ship, you must walk through a long building containing various duty-free shops. On previous visits there was more of a variety of merchandise, but since the new shopping area has been constructed it is now mostly liquor. I did buy a liter bottle of vanilla for $12. It was pouring rain when we reached the end of the shops so we waited a bit for it to let up.

Back on the ship I checked out some of the family photos that we had taken on formal night and bought one that I think is actually quite good! Since coming home I called Carnival and asked if they would send me a copyright release so that I won’t have trouble getting copies made. The guy I talked to said “no problem…I’ll send it today”…that was three weeks ago and it still isn’t here.

There are nice padded lounge chairs on the outer deck just off the lobby on deck 3 so Bob, sister and I sat out there enjoying the evening. I was also wanting to watch to see that the kids made it back on board… they knew that the ship sailed at midnight but I was worried that they didn’t know they needed to be onboard by 11:30. You could hear the loud partying going on at Fat Tuesday’s bar on shore and we were entertained by the line of drunks trying to walk down the dock. Around 11 p.m. I still hadn’t seen the kids and was starting to get pretty worried (that’s my job as a mother.) I called both of their rooms but got no answers so left “urgent” messages on their voice mail. By 11:15 I was mentally trying to figure out what we should do in the event that the ship did sail without them. For some reason I ran back to our room to get something and just happened to notice the message light was lit on our phone. It was oldest son saying…”Mom…we got back on the ship around 10:30 and are going to play shuffleboard…just didn’t want you to worry!”

Full of relief I decided we should all celebrate by going to the midnight Mexican buffet. Right away we spotted the kids who had the same idea! Turns out after we had left them to return to the ship, they took a cab into town to see the “real” Cozumel. They were laughing about all of the shop owners who had tried to get them into their stores to buy something. Daughter-in-law had found a bottle of vanilla for a few dollars cheaper than what I paid, but that was about it.

Bob and sister went on to bed, but I went with oldest son to his cabin so he could download the pictures from my digital camera onto his laptop. Altogether we had 3 different digital cameras in the family and every couple of days son would dump all the memory cards onto the computer. By the end of the week we had hundreds of wonderful photos.