Post Cruise -- Back to Reality

The first night after we returned from dinner we found this seal in our room! LOL

Sorry guys I've been home since LATE Monday night and just now been able to take some time to brief you all on our cruise. Those who have never cruised before and hate the hassles of traveling somewhere would love this. I say this because where can you attend shows, enjoy wonderful food and relax by a pool while traveling to another place? Of course there was some downs to the whole experience but all in all I would say it was a successful and happy point in our lives. I had two major concerns before the cruise. (1) Are there any HIDDEN charges that will be added to our bill when it's all done and (2) Will I get sick. No and No! I only paid for extra what we were told but I guess it's hard to imagine being able to eat such elaborate food and presented with such service and not have to pay EXTRA for it! Even on the cruise ship we visited the pursers desk to make sure we weren't going to be charged extra for like 'formal night'! All food was included. But I ate too much that the night we left Cozumel after dinner I was not feeling real well but it soon passed after I just relaxed a bit. Even went to the deck party later that evening so it was nothing major than a little too much of a good thing! That night also was the only time I felt that I definitely was on a boat. There was a small storm as we left Cozumel and for maybe 3 hours we felt the sway of the boat. However there again I did not feel sick just a little aggravated because then I was feeling that "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" kind of feeling. LOL

Cozumel was beautiful even saw a few ruins and evidence of the giant sea turtles that visit the shore each night and they lay their eggs on the beach. These creatures are protected by the Mexican government and the way our tour guide talked I think they would throw you in jail faster if you stole a Turtle egg or anything that was related to the turtles faster than if you stole some tequila. LOL Lots of handmade jewelry and hammocks could be purchased at 'almost free' costs! That term "almost free" was heard a good bit. One of their main products they sale was the black coral and we bought Elena a set of a necklace, bracelet and earrings. It's very similar to onyx but not as heavy.

The shows were amazing. It was hard to believe I didn't pay big bucks to see these productions. And what also amazed me was that from time to time you noticed some of the dancers or singers in the shows on the ship serving in other areas like games and other various jobs. I wondered "WHEN DO YOU PRACTICE?!" Lots of children on the ship but I tend to agree with my sil that this cruise ship was not the one I would bring Elena to. There are children activities but there were more party people than I would want my daughter to be subjected to. Some of the people although no one that I saw got out of hand were borderline obnoxious and we rolled our eyes up several times even from the first hour on the ship when they were trying to explain the evacuation drill. It was mandatory and it seemed anything they requested to do there were a few that did all they could to be just butts. No wonder our country is not looked upon with admiration in some parts of the world. That's another thing there were NO Americans that were working on this ship. Except the cruise director he was from California! LOL But they all loved their jobs and were the best ever to you. We had wonderful servers in the dining room each night who were always very kind and pleasant to be around. We were supposed to be sharing a table with two other people but they never showed! I thought that was odd but we had dinner to ourselves every night which was nice. Yes, we have pictures! Yes, even bought some. LOL They are always taking pictures and you can always buy more stuff. Formal night was a lot of fun and Jim looked handsome. ;0)

Elena had a good visit with her cousins and Grandmother. She did miss us especially the first night we were gone but I think it got better as time went on. I did bring my laptop and they did have wireless connections BUT that was a extra charge. So... I didn't email any one but wished I knew because that would of been one less thing to pack and carry and SCAN! LOL So, sorry that you all didn't hear from me during those days.

Learned a lot about cruising and there WILL be a next time! LOVED IT! (Can't you tell???)