Labadee, Haiti—this land is owned by Royal Caribbean. We saw many improvements since we were last here. The beaches are beautiful with nice calm water because it is very protected.
There are now 2 market areas, an Artisans Market and The Market Place. We'd told everyone that the vendors could be aggressive. You were pretty much left to browse in the artisans market. That was not so in the regular market. Our son's girlfriend went in, bought something and said as soon as she did the other vendors were grabbing her arm, which she really did not like. Apparently the woman from whom she bought ended up walking with her to the exit. Despite that all in all a nice relaxing day.
Ocho Rio, Jamaica—It was raining when we arrived. By the time we got from the pier to the pavilion for shore excursions, it was pouring! Everyone was wondering whether or not their excursions would be cancelled. None of ours were.
Our son and his girlfriend did a zip line in the rain forest. They said the zip line was not a problem but the walk to it was muddy and slippery and the wooden steps up to the platform were slippery. They had a blast.
Our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter did the "Best of Ocho Rios" tour which our granddaughter pronounced boring. The adults enjoyed it. Finding excursions in Jamaica that included a young child was a problem because she was younger than most of the age limits.
Paul and I did the quintessential tourist thing: Calypso rafting on the Martha Brae River. We had a wonderful, informative guide on the bus to the raft (About an hour's drive from the ship). She had warned us the raft captains would try to sell us some crafts. They did, and they did not like it when you said no thanks even though they were given a pretty good tip. One of the men on our excursion tipped his captain at the beginning of the trip (must have done this before). He had no problem with a sales pitch. The rafting itself was a wonderful, relaxing journey.
We loved some of the expressions our bus guide shared with us. We've all heard "No problem, mon." But there is more to it than that. It is "No problem, mon. It's a situation." On seeing a woman decked out in way too much jewelry, "She's a walkin' haberdashery."
We did a little shopping and picked up some Blue Mountain coffee for gifts. This time we remembered to buy some for ourselves.
St. George, Grand Cayman Island—More rough seas. There were 4 ships in port and the terminal was chaos. Everyone but Paul and I was scheduled to go on the Atlantis Submarine. Paul and I opted to do something called the Sea Spi.
When our guide met us, he asked if we had any problems with sea sickness. Neither of us ever have. There was only one other couple with us, and they too said they never have a problem.
The Sea Spi is a 2 person electric raft that is steered using a joystick. There are windows in it so that you look down as if you are snorkeling. Unfortunately, the whole thing was very disappointing. First of all we saw very few fish and the coral was not very colorful. In addition, there was a boat with snorklers near by, and you had to be careful not to run into them. We had a "guide", but she did absolutely nothing except sit on her raft.
Paul finally said he'd had it and was going in—fine with me. As it turned out both couples were staying out only because they thought the other wanted to do so. All 4 of us got really sea sick. Our guide told us one of the reasons the terminal we'd used was so crowded was that the ships could not moor for the tenders to the new terminal because of the rough water. It was either use tenders to the old terminal or not come in at all.
Our kids didn't fare any better. The Atlantis cruise before theirs had been delayed. They were told that they would take them, but they could not guarantee that they would get back to the ship on time. Talk about no brainers! Perhaps it is a good thing they could not go because of the water being so rough.
Back on the ship we kept seeing people in pirate costumes. Some of them really elaborate. One of the men in a Johnny Depp costume from the Pirates of the Caribbean looked just like him. (It wasn't)
Cozumel, Mexico—Beautiful, sunny, calm water—finally. Our daughter, granddaughter, Paul and I went on the Folkloric Show and Shopping excursion. Paul and I had seen the Folkloric Show on our first cruise, and thought that it was a great way to introduce our granddaughter to another culture. It is a very professional show and the costuming is gorgeous.
The shopping part in the Forum was fun too. We went to del Sol and bought our granddaughter a "magic shirt." The products they sell are white until in the light then the colors come out.
I'd promised my next door neighbor that I'd look for some larimar earrings for her. I not only found them, but found a wonderful store for Mexican silver jewelry. We bought the earrings before the show, and I told the sales men I'd be back. He was very surprised when I really did come back. The store, Plata Magna Jewelers, had only been open 5 days, but I'd go back without hesitation especially after showing my purchase to a jeweler here.
Our son, his girlfriend and our son-in-law went on the Segway tour with snorkeling at the end. Apparently quite a few of the participants did not know about the snorkeling. They were given some extra time on the Segways. Then one guide took them back and the other stayed with the snorklers. Unfortunately, the age cut off for the Segways is 65.
We are still in shock because Paul, of all people, suggested that we have lunch in the restaurant at the Forum. He's always said he'd never eat or drink anything in Mexico. The portions were huge. The food was very good.
Our daughter, granddaughter, Paul and I took a walk to the town square in San Miguel. It is lovely. Very quiet and peaceful and away from the hustle and bustle of the main drag.
At Sea Day—Another day to just relax. Kind of a down day because we all knew the cruise was coming to an end. When we asked our gang if they would take another cruise they all grinned ear-to-ear and said yes.
Back to Port Canaveral—The exit process was much smoother and better organized than any other cruise we have taken. Before we knew it we were off the ship and on the bus to Orlando. This was a long, long day of travel. Our granddaughter is such a little trooper, she never complained or whined about anything during our 14 hour day.
Summary—Royal Caribbean has made a big deal out of the upgrade in the bedding, etc. It is very attractive, but we found the duvet way too heavy. It must weigh at least 5 pounds. We asked if we could have a regular blanket. That was not a problem, and they do still have them on-board. Our kids all liked the duvets.
We keep going back to Royal Caribbean because of their crews. They have always made us feel completely pampered. We also have really enjoyed the various ships no matter what size.
Sue
