Spring Break - 2009
19/Apr 2009
We decided to take our first cruise in March. We looked at a bunch of different options, and we decided to maximize our week with a 6 day cruise with 4 ports. I think this was a great idea since it limited our ‘sea days’ to only two. Most 7 day cruises only do 3 ports. Here’s where we went:
- Ochos Rios, Jamaica
- Hiked Dunn’s River Falls
- Hung out at Dolphin Cove
- Ate at Jerk Center
- Locals were crazy pushy… definitely a bummer
- All in all, Jamaica was just ‘OK’, nothing special
- Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
- 2-tank scuba dive w/ Don Fosters (OV Wall & Lone Star Ledges)
- The beaches and town looked awesome, but we didn’t have time to explore
- Cozumel, Mexico
- Always my favorite
- We did a snorkel trip (didn’t see much)
- Lunch at my favorite place on Cozumel: La Mission Restaurant (the one on Rafael Melgas)
- A quick tour of the town square
- Lounged on the beach before we got back on board (quite possibly my favorite part of the trip)
- Princess Cays, Bahamas
- The small island owned by Princess Cruise lines
- Our only true beach day
The ship was incredible. It was the Ruby Princess. It houses about 3,500 vacationers and about 1,500 staff. There are two large pools and maybe 4 smaller ones. Lots of places to spend your drinking money too. The food was really good and the entertainment was spectacular. Jamie and I treated ourselves to passes to the ‘thermal suite’. That was awesome. There was a main room with heated tile beds to lay on. There were two saunas (one ‘mild’ and one ‘gentle’), an aroma-therapy room, and two rain-type showers. It was very relaxing! The steak restaurant on board was great too (only a $25/pp cover charge). The filet mignon was delicious.
I really want to go back and explore Grand Cayman. Jamie and I were really bummed that we didn’t get a chance to explore. That’s the biggest downside of being on a cruise; and it’s the main reason we don’t plan on cruising for while.
