well, i got back on monday from my long weekend out of town....a much needed one at that.....my last vacation, well not really a vacation....more like a get away was December 2006...i called it a get away because it was only a 3 day cruise....this one was nicer, 4 nights, and i guess if you count the last day 5 days, but i dont really cause there really is nothing to do on debarkation morning. i surprised my kids with a cruise...just like i did last time...i dont tell em when we are going somewhere...lol. we left on thursday...i sent them to school and then finished packing, waited for my travel buddy to get here, loaded the car, picked up the two that i had sent to school and off we went to tampa. the oldest kid chose to stay home (yeah, he is the only one who knew cause being that he has school, work and a gf, i let him decide if he wanted to go....he chose to stay home, take care of the animals and play house with his gf ...imagine that! lol. she is really a nice girl....and he is all excited for christmas, cause he is giving her a ring...beautiful ring i might add!) anyway off to tampa and of course once they see the ship yard, they realized what we were doing.
the cruise was cool....a bit rough the first night...we hit some sort of front and man that ship was rockin! so many people got sick....walking around the ship that night, the lounges, clubs, casino...everything was pretty empty. the crew even started putting barf bags around, in front of the elevators, the bathrooms, there were lots cleaning up puke in various locations....and several people said that the second dinner seating was only half full and many left after only a few bites of dinner...thank goodness i had first seating! i have never gotten sick on a cruise before, but this time i was definitely queasy....only one of my kids was queasy and the puser was handing out motion sickness pills like candy....very much a life saver since about 30 minutes after we took them i was feeling fantastic....hence my observation of the deserted waste land of the shows and other entertainment options....
Friday was better after a couple of hours in the morning....i was up on the lido deck where the pool was located and it was pretty cool to see the pool water sloshing and creating big splashes that flew up at least 8 feet in the air and splashed back down. they finally drained the pool for the day but the hot tubs were open. by the early afternoon the place was again a hub bub of activity.
Saturday morning brought the ship into port in cozumel....and i was surprised with the ease of coming and going to and from the ship and into cozumel itself. it was much more involved with checking traveling papers in the bahamas but not mexico. spent a very brief time in the stores, there is only one that i always have to go to. went there, made my purchases and then headed out of the touristy stuff and into town to wander around before our shore excursion.
came upon a real hole in the wall restaurant...only two walls, four tables and the cooking areas was about as big as my kitchen table.....ordered a beer and got the kids soda and asked about a menu....nope. no menu. the choice was fish, garlic or not, grilled. well, ok then. chose the grilled, not garlic. the fillet was huge, came with rice, veggies and a basket of garlic toast....it was plenty for all of us and tasted wonderful...while were eating a truck came winging around a turn and since the driver had forgotten to close the side door, nine cases of quart sized beer came crashing out....we watched them work on cleaning it up...kinda cool cause people materialized from no where to help...even the owner of where we were eating ran out to help sweep up the mess. there were also swings hanging from what passed as the roof and the kids enjoyed swinging while i had another beer. oh! another thing my kids like to do when we are in foreign locations is to exchange money....so i brought a lot of change and they asked lots of people to exchange our money for their currency.
for our shore excursion i chose the speed boat extreme twister ride over to the private island of isla de pasion. the boat ride was fantastic...he couldn't go the max of 65mph but did 45...and when we got to the lagoon area of the private island, about 30 minutes away started doing 360 twists and turns...it was fun and lots more twists and spins on the way back, plus the water was calmer so we got to do the 65mph drive on back....off to the island where there were only 14 of us there....so cool! tour included atv rides, kayaking, parasailing, snorkeling, open, all you wish buffet of fantastic food and an open bar! nice. there were also several hammocks to rest and relax in....a wonderful place.....!!
back to cozumel and hung out for a bit before having to head back to the ship.....
Sunday was wonderful and relaxing...sun finally peeked out for most of the day.....they have a really nice deck for adults only and i spent most of the day there....Monday came way too soon!
i really enjoyed this cruise...it was a little longer than my last one and with a travel buddy it was nice to have someone to go to the shows and other events with. plus, it was cheap cheap cheap!! it was only $179 for the first two people and $149 for the other two....AND i was on the deck 7, the Empress deck! yay! last time i was on main, which is one up from the bottom deck, riviera....i liked empress because i rarely had to use the elevators and that is the deck where all the lounges, show, stores, events, everything starts...from empress on up......really nice and centrally located and the only other deck that has cabins higher is veranda on deck 9.....such a wonderful get away...i sooooooooooo cant wait to go on a cruise again....
ok...pics to follow...have to sort thru over 500 pictures to pick out some of the best to put up here....i know, i know...i can be a bit excessive with the pictures...but yanno, sometimes you gotta take 15 or so pics to get that "one"...
nice. there were also several hammocks to rest and relax in....a wonderful place.....!! 
