Cruise Feb. 2008

For some reason this post remained a "Draft" on my account for the past 5 years... I just noticed it today and thought it deserved to be more than a draft.
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(written February 2009)

For the past two years, Brandon and I have taken a cruise in the month of February. We enjoy going during a time when not a lot of people are there and the prices are a little lower!

Last year we left from Mobile, AL and traveled on the Carnival Holiday. Even though I took a cruise when I was younger, this was basically both of our first times. We were SO excited the whole way driving down there but Brandon was super nervous. He wasn't sure what to expect but was looking forward to it. We stopped and spent the night on the way down, but neither of us slept a wink I don't think. The next morning we drove the rest of the way down but were a little too early; you cant board the boat until they start letting you in the parking lot. To waste time, we wandered around downtown Mobile and practically witnessed a bank robbery! That was exciting...

View of Mobile from cruise ship

As we approached the loading area, we were AMAZED at how large the boat was. This is actually Carnival's smallest boat and is going to be retired soon but it was still much bigger than either of us ever expected! Once we loaded the boat and wandered around, we took in the sites of the area before we set out to sea. The dock was
in an industrial area but it was still nice to look around.

Being on board a cruise ship was so much different than I remembered and so much more than Brandon ever imagined! The first thing we did was EAT...and that's pretty much what we did the whole 5 nights!! There is food available 24 hours a day- and boy did we take advantage! We didn't participate in the "formal" dining experience each night because we were placed at a table of eight; 4 couples. We did have a really nice waiter who even performed for us one night. We tired it for a night or two but realized it just wasn't for us...so we dined in the less formal 'buffet' type area that had a lot of varying options.

Our first stop was Cozumel, Mexico. There were several other boats at the dock at the same time as us, so we had to 'tender'. This meant they sent little boats out to our big boat...we loaded on and they drove us to shore. We had to go in groups but it didn't take very long. The skies started out a little overcast but it turned out to be a beautiful day!

Since this was our first time and we weren't sure what to expect, we booked a Mini Jeep shore excursion directly thru Carnival. What a great idea! We were picked up right after getting off the boat and driven to the Jeep (really, a Rhino) rental place. Here they taught us how to drive and then we set out in a line. Brandon drove (of course) so I got to take in all the beautiful sights. We drove our mini jeeps to a secluded beach area on the other side of the island and visited some old ruins and an alligator-infested area. Then we headed to a lighthouse at the edge of the island where we had lunch and took tons of pictures. (none of which I seem to have scanned right now..I'll have to add those later!)

After that we drove our little mini-jeep all the way back to the other side of the island and stopped at a resort. This was the starting point for our snorkeling lesson! We changed into our gear, learned how to breath thru the snorkel mask..and then crossed the street into the ocean! They had roped off an area for us to learn so we followed our guide and did our best. Brandon was pretty good- I was not. The waves were kinda rough which made it very hard to swim against the current..and I'm not the best swimmer in the world. Towards the end I had kinda gotten the hang of it but was exhausted! We went back to the resort where we were able to shower and swim in a pretty pool. Then we headed back to the downtown area where we were able to do some shopping, eat, and take in the sights before it was time to load back on the boat. The horses wore sombreros ..How cute is that?!

The next day we docked in Calica, Mexico..also known as The Middle of Nowhere! The dock is in an industrial area so there are no pretty sights to see until you catch a ride out of there! For this adventure, we had booked with an outside tour company that we read about online. They had a van waiting for us right when we got off the boat. There was also an older couple that was using the same company and rode with us back to the office. We were supposed to have our own tour guide but the older couple, Sally and Bill (I think..), had all of the same plans we did. They seemed pretty cool so we decided to just go together.

Barracuda

This was the BEST day ever! We went to an underground cave where we learned to snorkel. Our tour guide was young and he was very patient with all of us. There are all kinds of rivers and such that flow under the roads in Calica (near Playa del Carmen) and this was a prime example. I was much better at using the snorkel this time and the place was beautiful!! The water was really cold at first, and since we were underground, it was very dark. We had little flashlights that did a great job of lighting our way. Once we got into the 'cave' part underground, we saw the beautiful rock formations and there were some very interesting fish. There was no hurry...we had all day to float around, swim in and out of little tunnels and stuff...it was perfect!

After we left the cave we stopped to see a monkey!! This is the part I was most excited about! Some people on the property had a 'pet' monkey. He was on a leash but you could feed him and hold him- too bad he didn't like females! The monkey loved Brandon but didn't want anything to do with me! I was still happy I finally had a chance to actually hold and touch one though- life goal fulfilled!

The next adventure was to swim with sea turtles. We went to a private beach area where our guide led us out to an area in the ocean that was filled with sea turtles. While we couldn't touch them, we swam side-by-side with them and all kinds of other fish. By this time, we had all gotten pretty good with the snorkel so we were able to take tons of underwater pictures and just relax and enjoy it. The water was calm and the perfect temperature!

After all that swimming we went to eat. Our tour guide...Hector! Finally remembered his name!...took us to this adorable 'local' place right on the beach. It was set up like a tree house..thatched roof and all. There were tall trees that had 'treehouses' in them..you could climb up to the top of the tree, take a seat, and use a bucket on a pulley system to get your cold beer up and down! This place was amazing and the food was SO good!

The last stop was at this place (I wish I could remember the names of all of these places) that was a mixture of the salt water and fresh water..a combination of the two bodies of water. This combination created an amazing mixture of plants and fish. The water was SO clear..you could stand on land and see straight to the bottom of the water. It felt like swimming in the bathtub; no waves, perfect temperature...so perfect. We spent a lot of time here, exploring and relaxing, before it was finally time to head back to the ship.

After a little mix up at the ATM (pesos vs American dollar..can be pretty confusing!) we made it back to the ship with just minutes to spare. Nothing could have made this day better.

On a funny note..Bill, the older gentleman that was with us, had to use the restroom every time we turned around! So we were constantly looking for a bathroom and waiting on him- while it was somewhat annoying at first, it became very comical very fast! Also, when we were in Cozumel the day before, snorkeling in the ocean, Brandon was looking for artifacts and souvenirs he could take back. He ended up finding this folding comb that he stuck in his backpack, just because he thought it was funny. At the end of the next day in Calica, Bill asked if we had a comb he could use because his wife was taking pictures of him. Brandon explained that he had found this comb, floating in the water, the day before in Cozumel but told Bill he was welcome to use it if he wanted. Bill went on to explain that he had packed a travel comb that folded up, but that he had lost it somewhere in Cozumel the prior day. When Brandon pulled out the comb, Bill just started laughing- it was his comb!! What are the chances that we end up meeting, and spending the whole day with, the man that the comb we found in Cozumel belonged to!?