My first cruise

My first cruise.. Mom and I had a great time and met lots of wonderful people. The crew aboard Royal Caribbean’s ‘Legend of the Seas’ was fabulous. Our caption was a riot. He would pop on with announcements from time to time which were heard throughout the entire ship and in all the rooms. He would always start off with “bing bong” so this is something I'm sure I'll be saying in my mind a lot. LOL He was quite a character. Each day that we were docked/tendered at our ports he would say something like.. “The last tender boat is at 4:30pm and if you are a few minutes late getting to that last tender boat make sure to take a nice picture of the ship's back end as we leave and congrats.. You are now a native.” LOL All of crew were friendly and lots of smiles. It was interesting that there were 39 nations represented with the crew. The food wasn’t all that great but it was such a small part of the experience. I can't say that all of the food was bad but there were certain items that were far superior than others. I've always loved warm eggs benedict. Have you ever had it cold? It's not quite as good that way. LOL

The best part of the cruise was the time that Mom and I were able to spend together. We’ve never done anything like this before and it was very special to me.

We danced in the disco one night which was tons of fun. Talk about a great workout! LOL

We watched some shows which were quite entertaining!

We gambled a bit and drank a lot. LOL Luckily I didn't lose too much money and Mom came out even. It's amazing how quickly the money disappears into those quarter slots. LOL

Our excursions or lack thereof..

GRAND CAYMAN - we were signed up to do the “Rays & Reef Combo”. Here’s the description of this tour: This is a combination of two of the most popular excursions in the Caymans. Stop at the Coral Gardens, to go snorkeling at one of the most beautiful sites in North Sound. Mask, fins, snorkel and floatation devices are provided. Enjoy great snorkeling, and if lucky, you may see Hector, the crew's pet moray eel. Depart the Coral Gardens and it's on to the famous Stingray City, as seen on National Geographic. Enter the water and swim or snorkel with these wondrous creatures. This is a great way to take in two of Grand Cayman's best natural experiences.

The reefs part would allow us to snorkel among some of the worlds most beautiful coral reefs. Unfortunately the sea was very rough so they cancelled that part of the tour. The Stingray City tour should have been cancelled since the water was very rough but it wasn’t so we went out on this boat that took us to a place where there were many, many huge Stingrays. We were supposed to be dropped off in waist deep water but unfortunately we when we jumped off the boat we were in over our heads. The waves were so strong that we couldn’t get ourselves out to the more shallow part where we would have been able to touch and hold these huge creatures of the ocean in our arms. There were a number of people from the boat we went out on that weren’t able to do this part of the tour either. Mom and I were most disappointed that we didn’t get to do the snorkeling on the coral reefs.

COSTA MAYA - we were signed up to do the “Clear Kayak and Lobster Lunch Beach”. Here’s a description of this tour: A short distance from Costa Maya Pier you will find a fishing village of great contrast. Far from the hustle of everyday life, the town of Mahahual boasts one of the few Lobster fishing sites in the Mexican Caribbean. You will be transported via van to a beach. Your bilingual guides will give you a quick explanation on the use and safety measures of the kayaks. You will have a moment to practice and AWAY YOU GO! You will be kayaking in a state of the art transparent acrylic Ocean Kayak. Viewing colorful reef and coral formations has never been so easy, comfortable and safe! Your guides will take you through an amazing circuit of coral and marine life.

Look for the Caribbean Lobster but not in the ocean. It will be on your plate! Lobster is the traditional cuisine in this quaint fishing town so do what the locals do and open your appetite. All you can eat Lobster tacos and beer. A perfect fishing village, great kayaking with sub ocean view, lobster galore, and a beautiful beach club with full facilities. Play a volleyball game or relax under the shade of a Mayan palapa.

Again.. The water was so rough that we didn’t even want to attempt this tour. I’m sure it was cancelled anyway since it was not only rough, it was also raining during the time we would have been doing this tour.

BELIZE - we didn't have anything planned for Belize so we decided to spend part of the day shopping. After enjoying some shopping we came back to the ship to take in some spa treatments. We both had a mini spa facial and mini massage. This was a great way relax those sore bones from all the walking and dancing.

COZUMEL - we were signed up to do the Deluxe Reef Snorkeling and Beach Combo. Here’s the description of this tour: On this tour you’ll enjoy two of Cozumel’s best attractions. First, you will take a boat ride to two of the most beautiful dive sites of Cozumel’s National Marine Park: Paraíso and Dzul Ha Reefs. There you’ll drift snorkel and discover the exotic reef fishes, the magnificent coral formations and countless marine life that these spectacular reefs have to offer. Your PADI certified dive masters will provide you with professional snorkeling equipment and advise you on how to fully enjoy your snorkeling experience. After snorkeling and while you enjoy a scenic boat ride with a soft drink or a tasty cocktail from the open bar, you’ll be taken to one of the finest Beach Clubs in Cozumel: Playa Mía Grand Beach Park.

At Playa Mía, you’ll enjoy a delicious buffet lunch. Afterwards, you will have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the sun or have fun with the many different activities which are included: the iceberg water mountain, kayaks, pedal boats, hobiecats, floating mats, inflatable tubes, and much more. You may also visit the mini zoo or try your bargaining skills at the Mexican souvenir shopping center.

After a fun time at Playa Mía, let the good times continue with your open bar and music while you enjoy your boat ride back to the cruise ship pier.

I must add.. Mom and I were so sad for the people of this island. There were many building damaged by Hurricane Wilma, while she just sat over Cozumel for days. People, although very kind, were really pushing us to come in and shop in their stores. This region of the world has some of the prettiest sterling silver items you will ever find. Mom and I purchased some jewelry. My heart goes out to the people and I hope they will be rebuilt soon. We were told that we were the first cruise ship to be back only 22 days after the devastation took place. We saw 2 to 3 other cruise ships in all of the ports we visited but we were the only one here in Cozumel.

As stated before, we met some wonderful people. We were lucky to have some great dinner companions that were assigned to be seated with us from day one. Four of which decided to move to the earlier seating, which was fine with us. The four of us remaining had a fantastic time. Our waiters Amnat from Thailand and Wilson were awesome. You will see them in some of the pictures below. Our room steward was wonderful. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of Barry to share with you. I believe he was from Thailand.

Luckily we had some Bonine (sea sickness pills) to take each day. The ship was rocking and rolling. The captain new that we were going to be coming home in some rough weather so instead of leaving Cozumel at 11:00pm we had to leave 5 hours early at 6:00pm. He said we needed that time to go around the storm. Soon after we departed Cozumel the captain comes on the ships intercom and tells us that it’s a good thing we left when we did because the weather got a bit worse after we left. While we were departing the ship in Tampa, we were told by the couple in front of us that the tropical storm, Gamma, was at Belize and was going to affect all the areas we were at. There was another storm of some kind while we were on our cruise and we came back to a cold front in Tampa. Here we are in the tropics where the temps are in the 80’s and 90’s this time of year.. We were wearing jackets around the cruise ship. I wanted to do the walk a mile around the cruise ship but it was just way too windy to do it. The last couple of days it was both too windy and cool. The cruise ship also had an 18 hole miniature golf course on the top next to the rock climbing wall and shuffle board. It was too windy to do those things too.

All of this said.. I HIGHLY recommend cruising. There are things to do on the cruise ship which are both enjoyable and great to do when the weather isn’t so cooperative. :o) If your Mom is as great as mine.. I recommend you try cruising together.

<< CLICK ON PICTURES FOR LARGER VIEW >>
Put your mouse over the picture to read what the picture is all about.