Cruising the Caribbean: A pirate’s life is not for me

Fun fact: Jimmy John’s has nicer toilet paper than my cruise did.

Ok, let’s back up a bit: A few months ago, Chandler and I began talking about what we wanted to do for Spring Break. He mentioned a cruise and I wasn’t really into the idea, but we didn’t cement any plans.

Fast forward a few months…we still hadn’t made any Spring Break plans…and we were running out of time. So we started looking into Central and South America – at airfare, all-inclusive resorts, and small beach getaways…keeping our options and locations open. However, the more places we looked into, the more we realized we were way late to join the game. Between 17+ hour layovers and room prices of $300-400/night it just wasn’t working out.

So Chandler once again broached the idea of a cruise. I still wasn’t completely sold on it, but it seemed like our best option and I was determined to have an open mind.

Our first night we were crazy sea sick. I grew up on boats, but let me tell you, a lake is nothing like an ocean (seems pretty obvious, right?). We rocked and rolled all night long and I was running to my Dramamine. Thank God for Dramamine : )

Day two we were feeling much better, but I was freezing! The air conditioning was on full blast and the ship was moving at a pretty quick clip, which made it more than a little windy. So all my ideas of swimsuits, sun, and books went right out the window. Instead, I burrowed in my sweater and beach towel, reading through my shivers.

Day three, however, was amazing. We were docked in Progresso and sat on a bus for 2 1/2 hours to make it to Chichen Itza, one of the seven wonders of the world. And let me tell you, it was incredible.

But more on that in a later post…

Day four was also pretty relaxing, with a nice trip to Passion Island, where they had great tacos, all you can drink beach drinks, and a perfect white sandy beach. My only complaint was that our stay was too short!

Day five was another day aboard the ship, only this time it was much better! We were going at a more leisurely pace and it finally felt like a Caribbean cruise – swimsuit, sun, and book!

All-in-all, it sounds like the good outweighs the bad, but…let’s get back to Jimmy John’s having nicer toilet paper. I know we went during Spring Break and therefore paid double, but I feel severely overcharged. If it had cost the $400 it normally would, I probably wouldn’t be complaining, but we paid $800 a person for a shared room and when it came to the little things, I definitely felt gypped.

For starters, the toilet paper was terrible. Followed by the fact I could never get it to flush down the toilet! You had to place it precisely in the right spot, because, did I mention, they were like airline toilets. Which makes sense, it’s a ship, but still, too finicky.

And then the food…perhaps you’re living the dream if you’re a meat eater and you’re devouring burgers during the day and steak & lobster for dinner, but their vegetarian fair was terrible. The pastas were greasy, nothing was fresh, and there was not a lot of variety. Now don’t get me wrong, breakfast was amazing, but after 5 days of pizza, grilled cheese, and baked potatoes, I was ready to be back in my kitchen! Our first meal back was fresh spinach & arugula mixed with blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, and lightly salted nuts topped with a honey mustard glaze. Delicious.

The ship was also packed. Not a single room left open, which meant the lines for food could get incredibly long…including Thursday when we were delayed five hours because the port was closed due to fog. Now, that’s out of the ships control, I get that. But they hadn’t planned on serving lunch (everyone was supposed to be out of their rooms by 8:30), and by noon we were still onboard and the only food available was the 24/hour pizza shop. Imagine that line if you can.

But in all honesty, my complaints are pretty minor and we really did have quite a relaxing week. Will I go on another cruise? Never say never, but no, I don’t plan to. In the future, we’ll plan ahead, get reasonable airfare, and simply pick a destination. I’d much prefer to be in one spot. But I will always be grateful to this cruise for taking me to Chichen Itza and Passion Island. A little adventure & a little beach time is all I ever want out of a vacation : )