In April, we treated ourselves to a Caribbean cruise to celebrate Sloan's graduation from dental school and selling the house - yeah! We went with our friends, Brett & Sarah.
Started off at 6am in Miami. We had half a day to kill, so we rented a car (and got upgraded to a Miami-perfect Charger) and strolled along South Beach.
The beach was a mess from the night before, but the shells were amazing
After a stop at Whole Foods for my last attempt at plant-based healthiness, we got in line to check in. Long line, but we were too excited to care.
Tight like a dish
They wouldn't let anyone into their cabins because the Norro Virus had circulated the ship the week before so the rooms were getting a serious wipe down. We were ready to get in there and unpack, take a nap & shower, so the 3 hours on deck were frustrating. But at least we never got the virus!
First thing Monday, we hit the gym
then the climbing walls
I was terrified at the top! But once I made it, I had to do it again & again.
Our new friends from Michigan we were assigned to eat dinner with - celebrating their anniversary
Day 2 - Georgetown, Great Exuma Island
Sloan & Brett got Scuba Certified just prior to the cruise. I certified 10 yrs ago and was excited to do my first real dive! But Brett's wife Sarah wasn't interested in diving and wanted someone to stay with her so she wasn't alone on the boat. We snorkeled instead. Which was pretty, but it wasn't diving.
The boys had a blast and caught the scuba bug
Formal Night
That night it sunk in that I wasn't going to get a chance to scuba dive again for a long time, and I didn't want to leave the cruise feeling bitter about it. So, I asked Sloan if we could find somewhere to dive in Jamaica even though we'd made plans to do white water tubing. He was very supportive.
We couldn't find much online, so we asked the tour guide when we got there if he knew of any good places to dive in Jamaica. His response: "NO PROBLEM!"
Something told me that was our cue to run & hide! But for the moment, we were caught up in the culture, the island breeze, the chance to dive, and all things Jamaica. We jumped in the shuttle and took our chances.
After his 30 minute guided tour, he dropped everyone else off at their excursions and continued on another 20 mins or so to Ochos Rios. Before we could get off, he asked for $70 to pay for the ride. We were shocked! What a rip off! We gave him the $35 we had and told him we'd pay the rest on the way back. He was ticked, but what could he do.
We signed up for our dives, they gave me a refresher course, and loaded us onto a little boat with another diver and we boated out about 20-30 mins from the beach. By then it was probably 12:00 and we were thrilled to be having this sweet adventure in Jamaica!
The first dive was far beyond expectations - what breathtaking beauty just 30-40ft under. So many colors, varieties of fish & plants & coral, so peaceful yet exciting - what a place to be! We saw a big blue eel caught in a crab pot, manta rays, turtles, and exotic fish. I loved being down there with Sloan & communicating through gestures and sneaking off together to look under ledges and caves.
We came up so stoked about the dive, when the shuttle driver called our dive instructor's cell to say he was on his was to pick us up, we told him to leave us. We wanted to do our 2nd dive and figured we could find another ride back to port.
By then it was 1:30 and port of call was 3:00. The dive guide assured us "no problem!" and changed oxygen tanks with a boat mid-sea and took us to our 2nd dive spot. I started feeling sick during the dive and got stung by a jelly fish. It was another beautiful dive, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the first.
We got back to shore and started looking for a taxi. It was 2:15 and we had no cash and no ride. Sloan got in line for the ATM and I started asking around for prices to get back to the port. $60 was the best I could find - ouch!
The taxi driver did his best, but we hit traffic. We sprinted toward the port right at 3:30 and heard the departure horn sound and knew we were toast. We were within a stone's throw of the boat but it was too late.
Royal Caribbean has a travel agent at port just for losers like us, and he was somewhat consoling, but mostly made us feel like ding dongs because not only did we miss the boat, we also didn't have our passports with us! He explained that passports can't be mailed between international borders, so it would have to be personally handed off. He said we needed to contact family to have them wire funds because we would be staying in Jamaica for at least a week, if not longer.
That's when it really sunk in - not only the expenses, but also being away from our kids that long! It was time to start praying.
Meanwhile, we noticed another Royal Caribbean boat at the port who's port-of-call was later than ours. We asked where that boat was going and if there was any way for us to sneak on? The travel agent was not encouraging, but said he'd look into it.
Thirty minutes and ten prayers later, a cheerful Montenegran man named Boris came out to greet us. He let us know he had 1 spare room on his ship and we were welcome to it! They would be going back to Ft Lauderdale Sunday (one day later than the other boat... we can deal with that!), and they would hold our bags for us there.
Within minutes we were escorted onto the Allure of the Seas - the biggest cruise ship in the world! It's a brand new boat with 2 flo-riders (surfing simulators), zip line, boardwalk & carosel, ice rink, central park, cafes, water shows, ETC.
We hit the jackpot.
We hit the jackpot.
Boris let us know the next night was formal night and I was welcome to chose some gowns to borrow. Really?? None of them would've worked with my garments (if I had them), but all I had was the Speedo swimsuit I dove in and a t-shirt, running shorts and Tevas so the ox was in the mire. But I also had no makeup. No toiletries. No bra. No tennis shoes. No phone charger. No jewelry. None of the cute outfits I got just for the cruise. No nothin.
But it's ok, just added to the adventure!
And hold up Boris - we even get upgraded to a room with a window!!??? What????
He also gave us free mini-bar, free movies, chocolate covered strawberries, laundry service, and tux rental. We felt like royalty.
Formal night - part 2
Thankfully, the gift shop had makeup & perfume to sample and Boris had a straight iron for me to borrow. It was so nice to get dressed up after 2 days of wearing a Speedo.
Sloan had the roasted duck and I ordered the lobster. It was amazing. The waiter could tell I liked it,
so he brought me another plate. Did I eat it all?
Oh yes, I
did.
The raucous table next to us
Another lucky perk - our original cruise had a 3rd stop in Labadee, Haitee which is a small island owned by the cruise line with no diving. The Allure took us to Cozumel - diver's paradise! We spent the morning exploring Cozumel by scooter and the afternoon under the sea.
Sloan did 2 dives and got to see a shark while drifting along an ocean current. I sat out the first dive and joined them on the 2nd. I was still feeling a queasy from diving in Jamaica, but loved every minute.
Needless to say, we were sold on cruising by the end. Despite the crowds, gross indulgence and inevitable weight gain, it was an ideal vacation, and we're even feeling brave enough to take the kids. But next time, I think we'll play it safe and not miss the boat!!
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