Giving Winter the Slip

One of my favorite songs that I love to listen to in the winter is "Under the Sun" by Michael Franks.  One of my favorite lines in the lyrics of that song is when he says "Snow in my shoes, mid-winter blues, have got me down, just point me south lets go now, the clothes on back are too Pasternak, from soul to crown, where in the hell's the snow plow? Down 95 we'll come alive, and by the time we get somewhere near Savannah, give winter the slip, it's well worth the trip..."  Don't we all want to give winter the slip after a few days in the 20 or 30 degree temp range?  Palm trees, sand and sun start to call our name.

Well the problem comes in when people come to us, as their trusted travel professionals, and say they are ready to give winter the slip but they prefer to be able to drive to that sunny and warm destination. Or they are willing to leave the Country, but only on a short cruise or a short flight to the Bahamas.  Trust us when we say that driving as far south as the Keys or even planning a trip to the Bahamas in January or February will NOT guarantee that you will be giving winter the slip.

I have personally traveled to Florida (by car) and have cruised to the Bahamas twice in December and January and at least 3 trips were met with cool to cold temperatures.  There is nothing more disappointing than stepping out on the white sands of the Bahamas in a hoodie.  Nobody wants to be packing a hoodie for their winter escape.

So where are some places that you can travel to in the winter where you will be truly giving winter the slip and leaving your hoodies and warm socks back at home?  Here are our top 5 based on flight distance from the USA or cruise length.

1. Cancun, Mexico.  Even if you get down there and the temps are in the low 80's, no hoodie required.  You will be met with white sand beaches, blue Caribbean water, friendly people and a warm sun. 
2. San Juan Puerto Rico.  Flight times are good from most major airports, easy immigration process for US citizens, and plenty of warmth, sun, and sand.  And, it is a destination rich in culture.  
3. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  Some are thinking...where did you say?  This awesome destination is on the Pacific side of Mexico and offers a true winter escape and is a nice change in scenery for those who have been to Cancun more than once. 
4. Turks and Caicos.  If you look on the map you will see that T&Cs are closer than most other Caribbean destinations from Miami International Airport.  If you have not visited this destination yet, it needs to be on your radar before it becomes even more popular and more crowded. 
5. 5 night Caribbean Cruise.  Royal Caribbean offers 5 night options from Tampa as well as Port Everglades (Ft Lauderdale).  The 5 night cruises will usually take you as far south as Cozumel (short ferry ride from Playa del Carmen and Cancun).  4 night cruises can't get that far south usually unless they sail from Galveston TX and we have our reasons why we are not recommending those cruises.  Trust us.

So there you have it.  Our top five pics for giving winter the slip without the fear of winter sneaking into your checked luggage. And all of these are not going to require an all-day travel experience to get there.  

The Brilliance of the Seas Review 2014

My wife and I returned recently from our February 10th, 5 night western caribbean cruise out of Tampa aboard the Brilliance and I wanted to give you a brief summary of our experience and explain why we love this class of ship.  The Brilliance is a part of Royal Caribbean's Radiance class of ships.  Back in the day, the Radiance class would have been considered a very large ship (weighing in at  90,000 tons), but compared to today's mega ships, the Radiance-class will look and feel more like a midsize vessel.  This was our second cruise aboard this class of ship.  Our very first cruise ever was aboard the Radiance of the Seas so this cruise held a lot of nostalgia for us.  While so much was still the same, RCCL has added some great features due to the huge refurbishment in May of last year (2013).

It is an easy ship to get from point A to point B which cannot be said of some ship designs and sizes.

The decor is still what I call modern, but elegant which is why I think Royal Caribbean as a whole appeals to a broader clientele.  They tend to not be as flashy (Vegas-like) as Carnival, but also not as dark and stately as Holland America.  But back to the Brilliance.  The additions of Vintages to the Centrum was a nice addition.  I loved the decor.  For wine-enthusiasts, this will be your favorite hangout on the ship.  The new restaurant called Izumi was also a new-addition home run.  I was a bit disappointed in the location of the "library" because it is not really a library anymore; it is more like a area used for photos that happens to have some shelves of books back behind it.  But that was really the only change that I saw that I was not fond of compared to the way it was pre-refurbishment.   I will post a link to the pictures so you can see the decor yourself and I won't have to blather on and bore you with details.

Let's get to the important things that most want to know about in a review:

1) Pre-cruise stay.  We drove to Tampa since we are only about 12 hours away.  It is hard to justify flights these days when you look at the overall cost compared to driving.  We enjoy our leisurely drives to various places in Florida.  So we arrived actually two days early because we were staying at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Spa.  We really wanted two days at this awesome hotel.  It is located just steps away from the pier.  By steps I mean it is walkable.  Our room was a standard room but had a great view of the city and was plenty big and comfortable.  There is a Starbucks on the first floor that offers free wifi in its seating area which beats the expensive wifi offered in the rooms.  The best thing about this hotel is its location.  You can arrive, park your car and not have to drive to any shopping or eateries before you head out on your cruise.  I particularly loved waking up early the morning of our cruise and standing by the waters edge as I watched our ship return back to port.  For sports fans, the hotel is across the street from the home of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning.  One of the hotel's staff members let us know that one of the stars of that team uses their hotel for his pre-game nap which we thought was quite funny.

2) Embarkation.  I had heard mixed reviews of Tampa's port.  Most of the negativity was directed at disembarkation, which I will get to in a minute.  But as far as embarkation is concerned, we left our hotel around 10:30am, drove the whopping 5 mins from the hotel to the pier and opted for the valet parking service.  For about $20 extra, you drive up, give your bags to the porter and watch your car get whisked to the lot that is right there next to the terminal.  I am all about convenience and I highly recommend their valet service.  You pre-pay for the valet parking right at the bottom of the escalator that takes you up to the check in area.  It took no more than 5 mins to pre-pay and and no more than another 10 mins to get through security and checked in.  We waited another 10 mins or so for our boarding group to get called and we were on the ship by 11:00am.  30 mins from the time we left our hotel until the time we were looking at the decor of the ship...not bad at all.

3) Stateroom. We were in a Category D2 which is the deluxe ocean stateroom with balcony.  One of the highlights, other than the balcony, was the abundance of storage.  We could not fill up all of the storage areas in our room.  The stateroom was spacious and very comfortable.  We were on deck 9 in #9614.  Not too far from the stairs and only 2 decks away from the pool deck and the Windjammer which is the main buffet eating area on the ship.

4) Food and Dining.  Seems like the food is becoming more and more bland in the main dining

rooms and the buffets these days.  We just found the food to be OK.  Breakfast was...OK.  Dinner in the main dining room was...Ok.  The highlight as far as the mass-produced food goes continues to be Royal Caribbean's french fries.  They are awesome!  And if you have had them, you know what I mean.  Our best meal by far was in the new Izumi Restaurant which is near the back of the ship in the area that used to be the Seaview Cafe.  It is a made-to-order Japanese/Asian restaurant and it was excellent.  We did not make any advance dining reservations before we boarded and we were able to call the day we wanted to try it and we got right in.  Great new addition and I highly recommend it. And for the first time, we tried the "My Time" dining option for the main dining room.  Unlike NCL's "Freestyle" dining, RCCL's version is a little more structured, or at least it can be.  With "My Time," you can still pre-select a set dining time for each night of your cruise.  You can select the same time for each night or mix it up a little.  Or you can simply opt to show up at the "My Time" level of the main dining room and wait for the first available seating.  We opted for 6:30pm every night.  We had the same table every night and the same waitstaff, but we had different table mates every night.  Nice option and we may opt for that again on a future cruise.

5) Entertainment.  The comedian was great.  The juggler/comedian was great.  The guest singer was great.  But some of the other musical groups throughout the ship left something to be desired.  If it had not been for the main performances in the main theater, we might have felt a bit bored at night after dinner.  RCCL has added some new acrobatic shows in the Centrum and they were OK, but you need to get to the Centrum early if you wanted to be able to get near the railing so you could have a good view of what was going on.   Our cruise director was good, but not the best compared to our other cruises.

6) Ports of Call.  Since this was only a 5 night cruise, we had two ports of call; Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  This was our 3rd visit to each of these ports.  We hired a taxi driver in Cozumel and negotiated a private tour of the island.  For $35 per person, we had an entire van to ourselves and a nice tour of the entire island including at least 4 stops at various areas of the beach so we could get out, take some pics, get a beverage, shop etc.  It was a great way to see so much of beautiful Cozumel.  One of the stops was at the new area call Paradise Beach which is an area really built for the day tourist.  You pay a one time fee and you are given access to a nice pool and also a great stretch of beach including lounge chairs and hammocks.  Food and beverages can be purchased at an additional cost.  While in Grand Cayman...we opted again to do some shopping and enjoy a day at leisure.  We did happen across a great Thai restaurant for lunch which happens to offer free wifi if you are a patron.  It appeared to be a popular spot for cruise line employees to eat and chat with their family back at home.  We also had to stop in at Breezes and enjoy a cool beverage on their open air balcony before heading back to the ship.

7) Disembarkation.  Ok...here is where some of the negative reviews about Tampa's port were correct.  This has nothing to do with Royal Caribbean.  Royal Caribbean is at the mercy of the customs department when it comes to how quick guests can actually get off the ship.  The customs area at the pier is chaotic at best.  They just don't seem to know how to organize everyone.  The Getting off and getting your luggage is the easy part.  But then the line to get through customs just seemed to be a mess as if no one seems to know what to do.  Employees were trying to get people to follow a certain line path, but nothing was marked very well and the lines were backing up fast.  So here is a very important tip; when it is your time to disembark, grab a porter as soon as you get into the baggage claim area.  Porters are allowed to escort you to the front in a different line and you can be out of there in no time at all.  That is what we did and it took no time at all and we were off the ship and in our car in about 15 mins.   And this is where having your car valeted helps. We walked out, handed our claim slip to an attendant and our car was quickly brought to us curbside.

Regardless of what some might consider negative comments, the cruise was awesome.  Can't say enough about the beauty of the ship.  Our stateroom was kept spotless and our attendant was there if we needed him.  Our service staff in the dining room was wonderful.  Everyone we came in contact with on the ship was friendly and helpful.  The public areas, including the restrooms (keep in mind that this cruise was shortly after the big moro-virus news aboard another RCCL cruise), were spotless.  The weather was ideal...lots of sun and warmth.  The Brilliance is, well, Brilliant.

If you have any specific questions about any part of the cruise or the ship that I did not address, please leave a comment and I will make sure I respond.

For more photos of the ship...you can click on these links:

Brilliance of the Seas Part 1
Brilliance of the Seas Part 2



Caribbean Cruise 2014 from Oeshpdog2 on Vimeo.

Carnival Cruise 2010-a Preview

We are excited to be just a little over 30 days away from taking our first cruise with Carnival Cruise Lines.   This cruise will make a total of 6 cruises for me.  I will also be able to say that I have sailed at least once with Royal Caribbean, NCL, Princess, Disney and Carnival.  I had a goal early on where I wanted to personally sail with these cruise lines because, in my opinion, they have the broadest appeal among mainstream cruisers from all age groups.  I have always taken pride in my knowledge of certain travel products and it is hard to beat personal experience when it comes to speaking to others about their cruise options.

So with that said, I will be blogging about our cruise as usual once we return and will be giving my personal opinion of the ship’s staff, food, accommodations, ports of call etc.  But for now...I want to give you all a preview of the ship we will be sailing on and our personal trip plans.

Cruise Date and Length:
We sail away on November 14th for 7 nights.

The Ship:
I am thrilled that my first cruise with Carnival will be aboard the Carnival Conquest.  I have studied the Conquest class of ships and they appear to offer a something for everyone.  The ship weighs in at a modest 110,000 gross tons and first entered into service on November 15, 2002.  It can carry up to over 3700 passengers and normally sails with just over 2900 happy cruisers. It measures in at just over 950 feet in length and has 13 passenger decks.  Over 32% of its 1487 staterooms have balconies. 

Accommodations:

I am even more thrilled to say that we have chosen an OS Category stateroom which is one of 3 suite categories aboard the Conquest.  Our suite has an entry area, a separate dressing area, a bathroom with 2 sinks and a whirlpool tub/shower combo and an extra large balcony where I plan on spending a lot of time each morning enjoying my cup of coffee.  It also has an abundance of closet space, a couch, table and chair and nice king sized bed.  The OS Category was once called a category 11 for those who may still not be accustomed to some of Carnival’s re-categorization of their staterooms. The OS stands for “Ocean Suite” and the only categories above ours would be the GS or “Grand Suite” and the “Captains Suite.”  We are on the Empress Deck in stateroom 7273. 

We are also excited to test out Carnival’s VIP embarkation and disembarkation process which I have heard or have read some mixed reviews about.  I will explain more about it in my review upon our return.

Port of Embarkation
We start our 7 day cruise out of the Port of Galveston.  This will be our first cruise as well out of this port.  So far, without question, my favorite port of embarkation is Port Everglades (Ft Lauderdale).  I like how close the airport is to the port along with the abundance of hotels that are within view of the port itself.  So I will be curious to see how things go on this cruise.  We will be spending the night before our cruise in the brand new Four Points by Sheraton which is very close to the port.  The hotel offers free shuttle to and from the pier and my goal is to wake up early the morning of the 14th to see if I can catch a glimpse of the Conquest returning to port from its previous 7 day cruise.

Ports of Call:
This cruise will make stops at 3 different Western Caribbean ports of call; Jamaica (Montego Bay), Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  In addition, we will have 3 full days at sea...we LOVE sea days!

Our Plan:
Here is what we have arranged for this trip.  For the first time we will be driving from our home in Missouri to the Port of Galveston.  It is about an 11 hour trip so we will get on the road Friday afternoon and head for Dallas TX where we plan on spending the night at a La Quinta Inn.  The next morning we have a special breakfast planned before heading the rest of the way down to Galveston.  For the first time in 42 years, my wife is about to meet her birth mother who did the most courageous thing in the world over 42 years ago which is give her daughter up for adoption.  After our much-anticipated breakfast, we will head to Galveston where we will be spending the night at the hotel I mentioned earlier, the new Four Points by Sheraton.

Once aboard the Conquest, our goal is to relax and take full advantage of the full sea days before we arrive in Montego Bay.  We have been to Montego Bay back a few years ago when we sailed with Royal Caribbean on the Radiance of the Seas and our plan is for me to hop off the ship, buy some Blue Mountain Coffee, snap some pictures of the ship and hop back on to take advantage of a ship that is practically empty.

We will then sail to Grand Cayman where we have our only excursion booked.  I again have booked our excursion through Shoretrips.com and I highly recommend that you check them out when thinking about excursions for your next cruise.  They are reasonably priced (cheaper than the cruise line in most cases) and very reliable.  We have a beach day planned which also includes a nice lunch at a local restaurant down on a stretch of Seven Mile Beach that is less populated. 

Our last port will be Cozumel where our only plan is to disembark and take a stroll through some of the shopping areas at our leisure and potentially find a nice local restaurant for lunch before again getting back on the ship to take advantage of more available poolside seating and possibly an “in port spa special.” 

I think you can see by our plans that they are skewed heavily towards R&R and less towards scheduled activities.  My other goal is to see as much as the ship as I can and eat in as many of the ship’s dining venues as I can so I can adequately discuss its pros and cons upon our return. 

So please stay tuned...

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How Safe is Mexico?

As most everyone knows, thanks to the media, there has been yet another travel warning issued for Mexico. This latest warning is due to the increase in violence in certain Mexico states and towns. This warning has again made the public weary of traveling to any part of Mexico whether on vacation or business.

As with past posts on this blog, I feel it is my duty to help you sift through the media hype, the misstatements, the false and misleading advertising etc when it comes to travel related issues. This is why I feel it is necessary for me to help you understand the reality of this latest travel alert.

I will state right up front...I am a fan of Mexico. I have traveled to Mexico and had and will have clients who travel to Mexico and it is my opinion that Mexico offers some of the best vacation options throughout the world. That is why I am very bothered when I see and read things that try to get travelers to think otherwise, especially when news stories paint an unrealistic and negatively skewed picture of a situation.

I have recently posted a quiz to get a better idea of what the general public actually might know about Mexico and its size and geography. The results of that quiz were as I expected and further convinced me that this post was necessary. I asked questions such as "How far is the Yucatan Peninsula from the town of Nuevo Laredo?" Some responded that it is 100 miles away, some responded that it is 200 miles away. The correct answer was that they are over 600 miles apart. I also asked if it was true that Tijuana is within 50 miles from Cabo San Lucas? The correct answer is false, they are hundreds of miles away from each other. Another question was concerning the location of the Mexico town of Nogales. Almost 50% of the responders think it is in the southern part of the Country. The correct answer is that it is on the extreme northern border of Mexico (northwest to be more accurate, but not a coastal town). Most responders also believe that the Mexico city of Ciuad Juarez is on the Pacific, the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico coastline. Ciuad Juarez is not on any coast and is also located on the northern border of Mexico (see previous post).

I specifically used those towns and cities (Nogales, Ciuad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo and Tijuana) in my quiz because they are the very locations of all of the violence in Mexico and they are all border towns with the United States. Another thing that they all have in common is that they are hundreds and even thousands of miles from almost every Mexico tourist destination (see photo). For example...San Francisco and L.A. are closer than Tijuana and Cabo San Lucas. Would anyone cancel a trip to San Francisco because of crime issues in Los Angeles? Here is another truth...the very popular Riviera Maya area of Mexico is over 1300 miles from the town of Nogales where a lot of the violence has occurred. So that would be the equivalent of canceling a trip to the State of Oklahoma because of some violence outbreak in a city in California. Imagine what we would think if we found out foreign tourists were deciding to cancel trips to Florida because they heard that there was a crime spree in New York City. We would think they just have no earthly idea of how far apart those two places are or we would think they are simply overreacting. Well...I wonder what the people of Cozumel or Cancun or Mazatlan think of us when we make similar decisions about visiting their part of the world because we hear that there is violence on the Mexico/Texas border?

I have posted the numbers in a previous post so I will not belabor you with them again, but the facts show that we have much higher crime rates in most of our large U.S. tourist destinations than they do in the actual tourist locations of Mexico.

So with that said...what are your thoughts about traveling to Mexico? Are you still concerned? If you are...why? Do these facts help you better understand where the trouble spots are? I would love to get your feedback or questions.

The Mexico You Should Know

Misinformation, over-hyped, false information, ignoring of facts...these are the reasons why tourism in Mexico has plummeted over the past several months. Too many tourists and travelers listened to the misinformation and sensationalists who took things out of context and reported things such as the H1N1 virus and drug cartel wars as being much worse and more widespread than they truly were. The facts were being ignored because it did not make as good of a news story as the over-hyped, inaccurate news stories did which were filling up mainstream media.

It is a fact that the drug wars were mainly isolated in non-tourist border towns near the Texas and Arizona borders...thousands of miles away from the vacation destinations like Cancun, Los Cabos, Mazatlan etc. The H1N1 virus has proven to be more widespread than anyone ever thought it would be and did not originate in Mexico. In fact, the Mexico government did a great job addressing the virus outbreak and had it contained quickly. Those 2 media stories were sensationalized to the point that tourism in Mexico suffered a major setback.

No one should overlook Mexico as a possible destination for their next vacation getaway. It is a Country filled with something for everyone. If you are a adventure traveler...the vast mountain ranges and beautiful river gorges are a must see. In fact, Mexico boasts of the hemisphere's largest series of canyons such as the Copper Canyon region. It is in the top 5 of the world's most bio-diverse nations on earth. There are over 29,000 archeological sites in Mexico.

If you love traveling to places which offer a rich history and diverse culture, then Mexico should be on the top of your list; a place where you can see the ancient ruins of the Mayans or follow steps traveled by Spanish explorers. If you want a place to just get away from it all, there is no better option than the gorgeous palm tree laden beaches of Mexico. The people are warm and genuine. The food in every region of Mexico is some of the best in all the world. Their music speaks of life and joy and teaches you as much as it entertains.

I could go on and keep giving you reasons why Mexico is fast becoming my number 1 destination for any form of vacation. But I will let you see it for yourself.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Review

This is a short review of a cruise that we took last December (2006) on RCCL's Radiance of the Seas. The cruise itinerary was a Western Caribbean cruise with port stops at Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Montego Bay. The overall length of the cruise was 6 nights leaving on a Sunday afternoon out of Ft. Lauderdale.

First I want to give a brief review of the ship itself. The Radiance of the Seas (R.O.S.) is a beautiful ship with a passenger capacity of just over 2500. The ship is considered to be in the mega-ship size category due to it's berth capacity along with its gross tonnage being just over 90,090 tons.

The R.O.S. is known for it's abundance of large glass areas allowing uninhibited views of the ocean as you sail from port to port. It is also known for the gorgeous area mid-ship called the Centrum. The Centrum is the first thing you see as you board the ship. It is an open air lobby area spanning 8 decks. A popular picture taking location is on the 12th deck where you can peer down through a glass floor all the way down to deck 4.

The ship appeals to a wide variety of cruiser's due to the various on-board activities such as the Casino Royale, Adventure Ocean, the Solarium, the Library, etc. I will elaborate more on some of these areas in just a moment.

The ship at the time of our cruise was in great shape. It had some areas that showed more wear and tear than others such as the pool side chairs and high traffic areas around the staircases and elevators, but overall the ship was in very good shape.

Our room was a deluxe stateroom with a balcony on the 9th deck. Due to the location of our stateroom being right off the elevators, we had an over sized balcony which made it an excellent viewing area as we pulled into each port. The stateroom was in good condition and came with a nice sized couch and sitting area. The bathroom was small, but kept clean. The only negative about the room (which applies to all of the rooms) was that the sewage water tended to have some minor backup problems that maybe lasted a few hours, but caused an odor to be present until it was fixed. Our stateroom was always cleaned and kept in order by our invisible stateroom attendant. He always knew when we were gone and the room was always promptly made up when we arrived back from breakfast each morning.

Now on to the food. We had heard some positive and negative reviews about the food before we set sail on the R.O.S. We found the the food to be adequate and average on the breakfast and lunch buffets and above average in the dining room and specialty restaurants for dinner. We ate breakfast most every morning in the Windjammer which is their large buffet restaurant on deck 11. The food selection did not change from the first day and considered to be average quality. The service would also be called average. Sometimes we had to wave down a sever to come clear the dishes on our table. The best thing about the Windjammer is that it has a large outdoor, but covered eating area in the aft part of the ship which made it a great place to sit and eat and gaze out into the blue waters of the Caribbean.

When we didn't eat in port, we also ate lunch in the Windjammer and found it also adequate, but not stellar. They do have the best fries at sea however. It is also a great lunch spot for the days where you plan on spending most of the time by the large pool adjacent to it on deck 11. One of us would go get a quick plate of food while the other held feverishly to our pool chairs.

We ate every dinner in the main dining room (The Cascades) except for our anniversary dinner in Portofino's which is their Italian specialty restaurant. The staff in the main dining room was excellent, at least at our table. They were attentive and knew what we wanted in the way of beverages after the very first sitting. They also paid very close attention to one of our table mate's dietary needs and went above and beyond to make sure she had a selection of food items to choose from. They were awesome! The food was good to a little above average. Presentation was good, but one of the steaks was not cooked correctly and came out a bit tough.

Dinner in Portofino's was excellent. The food was well above average and the service was impeccable. It was a great experience and worth the extra fees. I highly recommend budgeting for a night in either Portofino's or Chop's.

Now to the different public areas of the ship. If you want peace and quiet, head to the Solarium. It is a covered, adult's only pool area on deck 11. The chairs are actually wooden and come with padding instead of just the cheap plastic pool chairs that are around the main pool. They have the area decorated like a tropical rain forest with nature sounds playing softly overhead. It was the place to go and relax and read a book. Here is a tip though, on sea days, get there early because it gets rather crowded quickly.

The other quiet area that tended to be overlooked was the Library. It was a place we went to get the daily Sudoku puzzle and take a breather from the crowds. It is situated on deck 9.

The shops were crowded and were not laid out very well for the large crowds that congregated there every night for yet another "special" buying opportunity. The ship did a lot of merchandise promoting which became a little annoying by the end of the cruise. Unless you are just a shop-a-holic, avoid the area if you can.

The 3 story Aurora Theatre was a treat. It was very picturesque and a great place to end a wonderful day. The productions were good, but seemed a little over the top even for Vegas standards. By that I mean, the costumes seemed to be too gaudy even for a Vegas style production and didn't really fit the song or dance production. But it was a still an enjoyable thing to do after a nice dinner. There were some seating areas to avoid due to some large floor to ceiling columns, but the theatre was never at full capacity so you can easily find a good seat.

The spa and fitness areas were great. I had 3 different spa treatments and enjoyed just going and relaxing in the thermal suite. The spa is managed by Elemis which is top notch when it comes to spas and spa products. This is a must do on board. But make your appointments as soon as you board the first day because they fill up quick.

Now on to the port reviews. Our first stop was Key West. It is a great place to get off and take some pictures, but we find it to be too much oriented around the tourist which means you can spend a lot of money for their tours and cheap shows and probably regret it when you get back on board. We did our own self tour off the beaten path and took several pictures of the great architecture and lush landscape and then boarded the ship early to take advantage of the quietness on board and indulged in a spa treatment.

The next stop was Cozumel Mexico. It is amazing how blue the sea can actually be. Cozumel's blue waters are something someone has to see at least once in their lifetime. The port itself was a different story. They were still rebuilding from Hurricane Wilma and we had to tender in which made it an adventure in itself. This was the most unorganized port experience on our entire cruise. Part of that is the Mexican Port Authorities fault and part of it was Royal Caribbean's fault. The tendering and chaos associated it with it was all due to poor planning and lack of a sense of urgency. The Mexican Port Authorities just didn't seem to care that there were a few thousand folks that wanted to actually see their port. They were slow and very disorganized and acted as if they had no idea ships were coming their way that day.

We had booked an all-day excursion at what they call "Passion Island." It included a day on a beautiful private island with lunch and beverages and hammocks etc. Well...once we finally got into port, Royal Caribbean had changed the group size at the last minute for our excursion. The change sent our guide into a tizzy because he did not have enough transportation reserved for the much larger group size. This delayed things for at least an hour which was cutting into our excursion time. Our Guide, Alex, was visibly shaken by the change, but kept his humor and politeness about it to his credit. After he commandeered a taxis to go along with the previously reserved bus, we started on our 30-45 minute bus ride. To make things more interesting, the bus driver pulled out and hit another taxis driver. You had to laugh at this point. A few Spanish words were traded between our driver the taxis driver and the police officer and we were waved on our way as the taxis driver looked in dismay at his dangling rear view mirror. I wish I understood more Spanish to know what was said, but by this time we are all laughing and just hoping to get to see a little of the Island before we have to head back to the ship.

Once we got to the boat that was to take us to the Island, we all got on board and headed for another 15 minute transfer trip to our final destination. We all started to look at one another as the water we were in was a gross dingy brown. The guide saw we were getting a little concerned and reassured us by letting us know we were in a lagoon and it would get better once we got to the Island. He was right. It was beautiful! The water was clear and blue on the Caribbean side of the Island and the sand was white and soft. Chairs and hammocks were plentiful and the food was great. We might give this excursion a second chance and see if it can get off to a better start.

Next stop, the Cayman Islands. Once again more beautiful blue Caribbean water and white sand beaches. This stop had some of the prettiest white sand beaches we have ever seen. We also tendered in here but it went very smooth and was well-organized. We did a self tour of the port and shopped a bit. The most popular excursion here is swimming with the sting rays. Everyone says that it is a chance of a lifetime. We were watching our budget for each port and chose to do planned excursions in 2 of our 4 ports so we will have to wait to come back and try the sting ray experience on another cruise.

Our last port of call was Montego Bay, Jamaica. We were docked here which made it a breeze to get off and on the ship similar to Key West. We did a "planned" excursion while in this port. I had researched the area for a spa that my wife and I could spend our anniversary at. I had read about a place call "Round Hill Resort and Spa." We arranged to be picked up at the pier through the help of the staff at Round Hill. Our driver, Perry, was a treat. He was waiting for us at the pier and had a nice car waiting to whisk us away to the resort. After entering through a private gate we were driven through some of the most plush and gorgeous scenery we have ever scene. We were told that Ralph Lauren has a private home somewhere on the grounds and we can understand why. It was something you just have to see to appreciate. We were awe struck at the beauty of the area. My words will not do it justice. Just picture greens and reds and all shades of blue in the water with the stark white architecture standing out among the various colors. If you want to do a non-cruise arranged excursion, I would highly recommend this one. The spa staff was great and treated us like royalty. We had lunch on the grounds overlooking the Caribbean. It was something out of a dream.

In summary, the cruise as great. The ship was wonderful and the staff was always helpful and courteous. I give Royal Caribbean and "A" and highly recommend them for your next vacation option.