Caribbean Day 7: The Last Day

Today is our last day on our Caribbean trip.

My day has been a very relaxing day at sea. We woke up pretty late and ordered room service for breakfast. We lost an hour because we’re traveling back to Miami where we started.

We left the room for the Explorers Lounge so our room could be cleaned. The rest of our group met up with us and we discussed future trips and what we liked most about this trip. We didn’t leave until it was lunch time.

We had a quick lunch at the buffet, went to afternoon tea and started to pack. Packing is one of my biggest dislikes about traveling.

After we packed we had dinner at the Italian specialty restaurant on board. I got the veal scaloppini, the same one that I got on the last cruise, and it was as amazing as ever! It’s one of my favorite dishes that this cruise line makes.

Tonight’s show was an ABBA tribute show. They performed As Good As New, Ring Ring, Rock Me, Honey Honey, I Have a Dream, Winner Takes It All, Voulez Vous, Fernando, Money Money, Summer Night City, Gimme Gimme, Does Your Mother Know, Take A Chance On Me, I Let The Music Speak, Dancing Queen and ended with Thank You For The Music.

This trip has been a lot of fun. It started out pretty rough as most trips do but I was able to do some extremely touristy things, eat some amazing food, take some awesome pictures, learn some interesting history about Key West, Belize, Cozumel and Merida, ride an innertube through caves in Belize, watch some awesome shows, explore Mayan ruins, sample tequila, drive down Paseo de Montero, visit St. Ildephonsus Cathedral and meet some awesome people along the way.

This has been an awesome trip! Here’s to many more!

Caribbean Day 6 (Merida, Mexico): Paseo de Montero, American Businesses and a Broadway Cabaret Show

Let’s start with waking up… Well, we did it. We were going to break our normal routine of heading to the buffet for breakfast so we called room service. Room services wasn’t going to be able to get to our cabin in time for us to eat and make it to our excursion so it was up to the buffet. We are docked on one of the longest piers in the world. It’s about four miles long and we were at the very end! Good thing we were able board a bus near our berth.

Our bus took us along Paseo de Montero where most of the notable buildings in the city are located. Our guide pointed out important government entities, banks and other important buildings as well as a surprising amount of American businesses like McDonalds, Starbucks, Costco, Walmart and Sam’s Club. He seemed very excited about those.

We stopped in the middle of downtown by the government building, St. Ildephonsus Cathedral and Francisco de Montejo’s house. There was a very small group of protesters outside of the government building. I’m not quite sure what they were protesting. We didn’t have a lot of free time to explore.

St. Ildephonsus Cathedral was built on the Mayan ruins of Tiho and is one of the oldest cathedrals on the continent. The main doors of the cathedral are called the “Doors of Forgiveness” and is only open during special occasions. The front of the cathedral was very interesting. It’s outfitted with slits around the door for weapons as a defense mechanism. Our guide also told us that This cathedral contains the largest wooden crucifix on the continent.

On our way back, we stopped by Monumento a la Patria, located in the middle of the busiest round about in the city on Paseo de Montero. I don’t remember much about the fountain but it was designed by Romulo Rozo depicting the history of Mexico.

We explored a small number of shops on the pier when we got back and headed up to the ship’s poolside grill for lunch. I was hungry!

After lunch we had afternoon tea and attended a farewell reception in the main atrium. There were performances and we were served champagne. At the end the cruise staff paraded around thanked us for traveling with them.

Tonight’s show was a best of Broadway cabaret show where everyone’s talents were showcased individually. Even staff outside of the cruise ship’s entertainment cast performed. They performed On the Street Where You Live from My Fair Lady, Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Lily’s Eyes from Secret Garden, On My Own, Stars and I Dreamed a Dream from Les Misérables, It Takes Two from Hairspray, This Moment from Jekyll and Hyde, Corner of The Sky from Pippin and finished with All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera. It was a pretty good show.

After the show we went to the buffet for dinner but had to cut it short because the jewelry store was picking the winner for a “guess the carat weight of a gem” contest they started at the beginning of the cruise. I didn’t win…

We went back to the buffet after the contest to eat a little more and then to the rooms to retire for the night. We lose an hour tonight because we’re traveling through another time zone but we also get to sleep in because tomorrow is another day at sea. Fun stuff!

Caribbean Day 5 (Cozumel, Mexico): Mayan Ruins, Tequila and Downtime

We woke up before our alarms go off. I hate it when that happens! We had our routine breakfast at the buffet but this time we ate outside. How adventurous! It’s still super humid out here.

Today we were going to the Mayan ruins in Cozumel. This island is 32 miles long and 9 miles wide at its widest point making it the largest island in Mexico. On our bus ride out we passed through San Miguel the largest city in Cozumel. Most of Cozumel’s revenue comes from tourism. In 1974 the first cruise ship came through and returned once a month. Currently, the biggest ship in the world comes through once every other week, the Harmony of The Seas.

When we arrived at the Mayan ruins it wasn’t what I expected. The site was small and the structures were unrecognizable for the most part. I had a lot of fun exploring and taking pictures. We went to different structures and were told what each structure was used for. Everyone that lived here was a person of nobility—religious leaders, musicians, doctors etc. Common folk were allowed in the city but they had to bring an offering. Because there wasn’t any currency at the time goods were used. Farmers would bring produce, hunters would bring meat etc. It was their form of taxes. Our guide told us about Ixchel. She is the goddess of fertility and medicine. She is always depicted as an older woman with a snake. The Mayans respected the elderly and the snake is a symbol of knowledge medicine and wisdom. The Mayans had 2 types of calendars. A sun calendar and a moon calendar. Each had a different number of months and a different number of days in each month. They lined up every 54 years.

On our way back, we stopped at a tequila factory where we learned how an agave plant was grown and turned into tequila. It take 8 to 10 years to grow a single plant! I wouldn't have the patience to wait that long. We were also told about different types of tequila and which ones were more refined. Tequila is the only single ingredient alcohol and certain tequilas can only come from certain regions. I’m not a big tequila person but the samples I tried were very good. I didn’t care much for the flavored tequila and our tequila expert didn’t seem to be too enthusiastic about them either. The samples were much different than the tequila I’ve had in the states.

When we headed back to the ship we had a late lunch at the buffet, had afternoon tea and lounged around for a couple of hours before dinner. I fell asleep by the pool.

We were going to go to dinner at the sit-down restaurant tonight but some of us came in shorts and flipflops so our group split up between the sit-down restaurant and the buffet. I ended up at the buffet.

Dinner went by quick. Since we skipped the show we had a lot of downtime before we had to go to bed so we did a little more lounging around. We had a lot of downtime tonight. Time to get some sleep!

Caribbean Day 4 (Belize city, Belize): A little Info, Tubing Through Caves and A Cabaret Show

The excursion we planned was late in the morning so we didn't have to be up super early. Today we’re going tubing through caves in Belize! We had breakfast at the buffet and headed out to the excursion site.

We had an hour ride so our guide had some information to tell us on the way out. We learned that English is their official language but in a casual setting most everyone speaks Creole and most every is Catholic. There are only 2 major residential areas in Belize City, we were in Kings Landing. They gained their independence on September 21, 1981. While we were driving through Hattieville we learned that Belize city was the capital of Belize until Hurricane Hattie in 1961. The capital was moved but Belize City remained the commercial capital of the country. The streets in the city are very narrow because it was built for horses. We passed by Pallotti High School on our journey. Apparently, it’s the most elite all girls high school in the area. He also told us about the great blue hole discovered by Neil Armstrong. The Belize cemetery is in the Guinness Book of World Records but we were never told why. The cemetery is in the “dead” center of the town and the bodies face east to west. Belize is involved in three major industries—tourism, marine and agriculture.

When we arrived at the site we rented lockers and shoes and headed out to the lunch area. Who knew we needed that stuff? We were served rice, beans and chicken for lunch. Not bad!

After lunch we got our tubes and our guide took us on a 20 minute hike out to the entrance of the caves. Our guide had to take some time to tie our tubes together so we had time to play in the water. Its super cold for a split second but your body adjusts quickly.

As we were drifting through the caves we saw some beautiful spots of daylight, families of bats, and waterfalls. It was amazing! I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. I couldn’t grab any pictures because I didn’t have a waterproof camera. Most definitely worth the hike, stinky rental shoes and wet clothes. I have to go back with a Go-Pro!

When we got back everyone got a snack and took a shower. My sister and I took this time to grab a couple of salads from room service. I seem to be getting room service quite often on this trip. Bad habits! 

Before the show tonight we met up with the rest of our group and headed up to the buffet for dinner. Tonight’s show was a cabaret show performed by the female performers on board. We had seen a cabaret show on the last trip but this one was different. Good thing we didn't skip it. They performed Raise The Roof from Wild Party Musical, In The Mood featured in Sun Valley Serenade, La Vie en Rose, Fever, Secret Love made famous by Doris Day, Sway, a Celtic song called The Water Is Wide, Feeling Good, the title song from Three Coins in the Fountain, When A Man Loves A Woman, and they ended with Feeling Good from The Roar of the Greasepaint.

After the cabaret show we went up to our rooms for the night. Today was exciting!

Caribbean Day 3 (Location Unknown): Lazy Day, Lectures and A Whimsical Musical (Again)

Today was a super lazy day at sea so there’s not much to report. I got some much needed rest and spent most of the day lounging around with no real objective.We were able to sleep in today and we also sailed through a different time zone so we gained an hour. SCORE! Time to sleep and an extra hour. The stars just might have aligned.

We attended a photography lecture where we learned tips and tricks to improve our travel photography. There will be a part 2 at a later date. My grandma and mom went to a cooking demonstration shortly after while my sister and went back to the room and took a nap and caught up with social media and email. The next class they hosted by the ship’s resident historian. From what I understand the lecture was about exploration. I attended but fell asleep during the class so I can’t tell you much about that one. Reminds me of my college days!

Before the history lecture we went to the regular sit down restaurant for lunch. I ordered the shrimp as an appetizer lasagna bolognese as my main course and an almond pudding topped with dark chocolate and mango for desert. All of it was delicious! We went up to the buffet after but they had the same food that the restaurant had so I ended up with a glass of wine. How did that happen?! Some trickery must be afoot.

Tonight’s entertainment was a whimsical musical, “Songscape- An Operatic Fantasy,” put on by the ship's resident singers and dancers. We have seen this show before on our last trip. It was cool to see different performers performing the same show. The show was a mash up of Phantom of The Opera, Queen, The Pirates of Penzance, Turandot, Rent and other opera, broadway and contemporary selections.

After the show we got dinner at the buffet and went up to bed. I needed a lazy day like this!

Caribbean Day 2 (Key West, FL): Touristy Stuff, A Lot of History and Seafood

Last night my grandma said we had an early excursion planned so I woke up early. Guess what?! Our excursion wasn’t scheduled until later this afternoon! Ugh… What to do, what to do?

Since we had a lot of down time the only way to properly use that time here would be to eat! Right? Room service it was! We got a couple of salads, a fruit plate, orange juice and lounged around until breakfast. That’s right… Breakfast before more breakfast!

We ended up at the breakfast buffet later than I anticipated and we didn’t take too long to eat. My mom went to see if we could change our excursion time to an earlier one so she left a little earlier than us to the purser’s desk. No such luck! We had to wait until our scheduled time so we went out to explore Key West on our own.

While we were out we discovered many bars, gift shops and establishments of questionable credibility. A couple of the major land marks around here are Mile Marker 0 and the Southernmost Point of The US. We made an effort to take pictures at Mile Marker 0… I’ve never felt like more of a tourist in my life! We didn’t make it out to the Southernmost point of The US yet. There’s also a Senior Frogs here but I don’t think it the same as the one in Ensenada. We wandered around the immediate vicinity and made it back in time to have lunch on the ship and head out to our excursion.

Our excursion would be best described as a tram ride around Key West. Key West is only 2 miles by 1 mile, but there’s a lot packed into that space. We started out in Malory Square drove by Truman’s Little White House, Jackson Square and the Kpoc Tree, Sandy Cornish’s Church, Bahama Village, Ernest Hemingway’s House and Museum, and a lighthouse.

We learned that the oil from the Kpok tree is used to make soap and how a slave named Sandy Cornish became one of the richest men in Key West. He bought his freedom and sold produce to residents to make a living. He was a leader of the black community and founded the Cornish Chapel. Key West was originally called Cayo Hueso by the indigenous people. The original name was lost in translation and became Key West. Ernest Hemingway’s house is home to 60 polydactyl cats. Key West has to import sand because the coral reefs prevent waves from forming. No waves, no sand. The coral reefs caused shipwrecks and everyone rushed out to the scene when it happened. The first person out was the Wrecking Captain and they got to keep 80% of the wreckage. At this time Key West was a republic, The Conch Republic, united by José Martí, and became the richest city per capita until the Great Depression. The governing body gave the deed back to the federal government but they didn’t know what to do with it. Key West was worthless. Tourism was supposed to save the city but the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 happened and everything was destroyed. Freeways were built by out of work veterans to stimulate the economy and bring trade to the city. Henry Flagler also built an overseas railway. Everyone told him he was crazy but he succeeded and it led to the construction of 29 other railroads. Key west is the home of Jimmy Buffet’s original Margaritaville. Our guide also told us that Key West’s cemetery Is located in the “dead” center of the town… Sounds like a Disneyland Joke.

Our tour ended right where we started at Malory Square. We did some more shopping at the $5 souvenir shops and headed back to the ship for dinner.

Tonight is seafood night! One of the best nights on any cruise line! We pigged out on crab, caviar and sashimi. There wasn’t any lobster… I wonder why...

After dinner we explored the ship, ordered room service and went straight to bed. We learned a lot today!

Caribbean Day 1 (Miami, FL): No Sleep, Gourmet Asian Food and Lost and Found Sushi

 Today is 2 days mashed into one, we didn’t really sleep.

 Because of the time difference, flight time and layover I wasn’t going to get much sleep during the trip out to Florida. I’ve come to realize that sometimes the first day out is the hardest.

 We are on our way out to the Caribbean and our journey starts out in Miami. I’m a big fan of Burn Notice (currently on Netflix for those who are interested) and it was kind of cool to be in the same city the show takes place in… Even though I didn’t recognize any of the sights from the show.

Our flight arrived early in the morning and we had to wait in the port lobby until we boarded the ship. It was a good time to catch up with social media and email. We’ve never had to wait to board because we always arrived after boarding has begun. 

 After boarding we had to wait a few more hours until our rooms were ready. We used that time to eat, book excursions and make dining arrangements for the rest of the trip. Look for a blog entry about us drifting through caves in the next couple of days. I’m exhausted! We’ve had bits of down time here and there but never enough to take a nap.

 The buffet on this ship is very similar to the buffet on our cruise to Europe. Almost identical. It was missing the sushi bar! How disappointing.  We’re traveling with the same cruise company that took us along the Mediterranean and around China. 

 Back at our room we had time to unpack, order a snack from room service and lounge around before our safety drill. We haven’t spent much time on this ship and I’m already eating too much! After our safety drill we had a little more down time. I ended up taking a shower and worked on my blog. Nothing too eventful.

 Earlier today we made reservations for one of the specialty restaurants here. Tonight’s set menu consisted of gourmet Asian food. This is something we wanted to try on our last trip. We were served king crab, lobster and chicken shu mai, a lemongrass and red chili palate cleanser, Peking duck and an Asian trilogy desert. Each course was served with a wine pairing.

 The gourmet Asian food was different than I expected. I might not have a taste for this kind of food. The king crab was served with a coconut milk foam that I didn’t care for too much. the lobster and chicken would have been really good but they put ginger in it. I’m not a fan of ginger at all. The red chili in the lemongrass chili palate cleanser stood out more than I thought it would but the lychee foam that it was served with was good. The Peking duck was served in a crepe with egg pancakes on the side and a hoisin sauce. The hoisin sauce was more of an orange sauce and there was just too much egg in the dish. I liked the Asian trilogy desert for the most part. It had a banana spring roll, crème brûlée and a green tea cheesecake. I think I might prefer traditional Asian food 

 After our dinner we went up to the buffet because we found out that they had sushi there. SCORE! They do have sushi on this ship! While we were up there my mom reminded me that we didn’t have to eat everything in one day.  

 What a day!

Europe: Day 4 (Monte Carlo, Monaco) - "Shaken, Not Stirred."

Today we're in Monte Carlo, the playground of the rich and famous! Monte Carlo is part of Monaco, surrounded by France. Monaco is 2 square meters with a population of about 36,000, the second smallest country in the world after Vatican City. Their government structure is a constitutional monarchy run by the Grimaldi family, the oldest ruling house in Europe. On our tour we we walked through a beautiful garden to Cathédrale Notre-Dame-Immaculée, a New Gothic cathedral where most of the Grimaldis are burred. The original entrance of this cathedral faced east like normal cathedral but it was moved when the cathedral expanded. This is also the final resting spot of Princess Grace. We know her as Grace Kelly.

Monte Carlo is also the home of the world famous Monaco Grand Prix, one of the most prestigious motor races in the world and part of the Triple Crown. This is one of the most demanding races in the Formula One. The elevation changes, tight turns and tunnels also make this the slowest, most dangerous race.

This is where things get good:

Casino de Monte Carlo is THE must see in Monaco. We walked from the port for what seemed like forever and a half to get there. It was originally built to save the Grimaldi family from bankruptcy. You can probably guess how that turned out! We were told that there was a €10 entry fee and we weren't planning to go in but we had to gamble a little while we were here so we went to Casino Café de Paris, the casino next door. I wasn't going to gamble much but I thought a players card from another country would be cool to have so I signed up for one. The attendant told me I could go to the "famous" casino for free now that I had a players card. SCORE! I played a little bit at Casino Café de Paris then I went off to explore what the big boys do around here. After dropping my back pack off at the bag check I went to the door attendant, handed him my card and nervously waited for conformation to cross over into the main room. It was almost ceremonious. There I was at Casino de Monte Carlo, with barely any money in my pockets! That was anticlimactic. The main floor is absolutely gorgeous with huge vaulted ceilings. There isn't much there though, just a bar, a few slots, table games and a lot of empty space. While exploring I came across another door in the back. I'm pretty sure that's where the rest of the casino was, the door that all of the high rollers go through. I walked past the attendant and got a peek through the door way, I couldn't see much. I awkwardly walked past the door a few times, contemplating going through but I wasn't dressed for the occasion and I felt out of place, which is weird... Me? Out of place? In a casino? I also didn't want to risk getting rejected at the door so I didn't push my luck and try to go in. In hindsight I should have tried to go through the rest of the Casino. I don't think I'm ever going to get that chance again. Ugh! Hindsight is always 20/20.

I went back to Casino Café de Paris and played a little more. At the end of the day I ended up winning a little bit of money. Not enough to write home about.

What an adventure!

Europe: Day 3 (Toulon, France) - A Little History, Another Street Market and a Whimsical Musical

Today was a short day. We went on a driving tour around Toulon. I've never been on a driving tour so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Toulon is a port town, founded under Roman rule. It was designed by Baron Haussmann,who Napoleon later enlisted to carry our a massive public works project to unify Paris, commonly referred to as Haussmann's renovation of Paris. Currently the city has a population of about 170,000. One of the things I remember the most is the citizens work a 35 hour work week. This city is also the home of Mt. Faron, a 600 meter high mountain.

On our own time we went back out to the town and wondered around Cours Lafayette, a diverse street market that spans several blocks. Locals and tourists shop here daily. It's suggested that you come here early as the market only goes until 1pm and there's so much to see. It's easy to lose track of time here, there's always something else around the corner.  We also stopped at the stores and found many outdoor cafe's that look just like the cafe's in the movies!

After dinner we went to see a musical in the main theater, Soundscape- An Operatic Fantasy. It was a whimsical musical mashup with classic opera and rock n' roll songs and stunning visual effects. The cast on this ship is small but each performer has a very dynamic range.

Europe: Day 2 (Barcelona, Spain) - More Food, Cathedrals and La Boqueria

Today my sister and I unintentionally woke up at 4:30am!!! The rest of our group wasn't up yet and I didn't think anything on the ship was open at that time so we ordered room service. I ordered a salad and mac and cheese and worked on my blog for a while. When we met up with our group we had breakfast again!

We headed out to the buses for a driving tour around Barcelona. This place is beautiful and the architecture is amazing! We drove around Olympic Park, Christopher Colombus Square, Picasso Street, and Plaça Catalunya. While on the excursion we learned a few things. Barcelona is separated into 10 districts, we were in Katalonia, They have 2 national languages, Catalan and Spanish. Rome had ruled Barcelona for 429 years. Factories are no longer permitted in Barcelona but there are still chimneys around from when there were factories. Barcelona also hosted the 1992 Olympics.

After the bus tour we headed for Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in the Gothic Quarter. This is the oldest part of Barcelona and streets are small and closed off to most traffic. This is the most beautiful cathedral I've ever seen! The main basilica is surrounded by 9 chapels . Our guide showed us the collection of coat of arms around the choir stalls and it's supposed to be the most prestigious collection to date. Afterwards we headed out and explored the area on our own. I was surprised to see a lot of the same stores that we have back home. We even found a Disney Store and had to go in!

After lunch we took a shuttle back out and explored La Rambla right outside of the Gothic District. This place is full of culture and art. We also found La Boqueria, one of the most notable markets in Europe. The atmosphere was fun and it had a certain charm about it. There were numerous vendor stalls, each one different from the next. I thought it was cool how there bars and restaurant stalls next to butcher stalls and bakery stalls. This has been one of the best finds of the trip.

Europe: Day 1 (Barcelona, Spain) - Dogs, Cross Airport Marathon and Lots of Food

In case you guys were curious, I'm sitting in a cruise ship cabin in Barcelona!

Today was one of the longest travel days I've ever had and we met a few unexpected friends along the way... Therapy dogs! On the way to LAX a passenger in the seats across from us was traveling with a therapy dog. He was very well behaved and listened to instructions well. The dog traveled great too!
Some PUP's (Pets Un-stressing Passengers) were also wondering around the airport. We were able to interact with these dogs. We met JJ, Sergio and their humans. They had trading cards too!

We landed in Terminal 8 at LAX and had to get to the Tom Bradly International Terminal on the other side of the airport. This airport is huge! We walked for what seemed like an eternity following an never ending sequence of signs and arrows. I wasn't sure we were going to make it on time but we did and had time for a little shopping too.

The next leg of our trip takes us to Frankfurt, Germany. On the way I binge watched a whole season of Big Bang Theory and didn't sleep much. I'm starting to fall in love with that show again. For dinner we had salmon with a horseradish sauce over rice with spinach. The vegetarian option was a pasta with pesto and marinara sauce. They also served us hash browns, scrambled eggs and spinach for breakfast before we left the plane. Because of the time of our flight we got dinner before breakfast.

Our last plane ride was Frankfurt to Barcelona. Then we had a 30 min bus ride to the port.

We checked into our rooms but our luggage wasn't there yet so we headed out for food. On our way out we got sidetracked by a Port Talk presentation where we learned about the activities and excursions for tomorrow. We actually left in the middle of the presentation for the dining room because we were so hungry and tired. We finally got food!!!

Our luggage was probably back by this time so we went back to our rooms to unpack and settle in. Then my Sister and I went to explore. We found the buffet and ate even more. We haven't on this ship very long and we're already eating everything we find! This is not looking good for my girlish figure.