Tidbits
Sleepover at Ikea - Maybe this is the only way to get to the $1 early enough…
A ramen bath - Japanese spa with special baths resembling instant noodles. I wanna play!
Old age homes for dogs - 1) Old dogs don’t like to be abandoned at strange places. 2) Playing with young puppies will probably cause the older dogs to die faster due to exhaustion.
A remote-controlled pigeon - Oh the poor thing…
An article on a brilliant method of teaching grade schoolers about bats and rabies. I smell a lawsuit.
Will trade beer for Crumpler bags. Tempted by the beanbag and messenger bags…
Photos
Trip: Western Caribbean 2007
October 11, 2007, 2:39 am
I went on my first cruise at the end of September - a week long trip with Royal Caribbean aboard the Mariner of the Sea. So what do I think? Kinda dull really.
You basically only have the morning and afternoon at each destination, usually from 9 to 3 or so, where you can just visit one or two places. Then it’s back on the ship where you basically eat and lie around.
So the typical day goes something like this:
8:00 - Wake-up
8:45 - Buffet breakfast
9:30 - Go on land and do stuff
3:00 - Back on board to shower off your protective shell of 50+ SPF sunscreen
3:30 - Buffet lunch
6:00 - Formal dinner
9:00 - Catch a show if there is any
11:00 - Bed time
Rinse and Repeat
I am keen on the idea that you do the traveling while you are sleeping, since it seems like you are saving time. Except for the fact that you don’t actually get a lot of time to do anything when you do land. I think there are some tours where the ship stays at one place for a few nights, which is more ideal. This method really does not give you enough time to really explore the destinations. If the idea is so you can get a taste of the different locations for you go to back to later, it failed because I don’t think I want to return to any of those places. The sun is too much. Makes you lethargic, sweaty, sticky, and not in a mood to do anything. And I hate sunscreen.
Here’s a quick breakdown.
Day 1 - Orlando, Florida
Flew down on Saturday by way of Montreal to Orlando to meet up with parents. We spent the rest of the day shopping. Sales galore, but didn’t find too much to buy. Had dinner at Cheesecake Factory. I’ve perfected how to eat there, and always end up full and satisfied, with the cheapest bill (like ~10 per person). You basically just order appetizers and small mains and share. Their drinks are always so expensive though.
Day 2 and 3
Cruise departs from Port Carnaval. Monday was also spent in transit. Bummed around and explored the ship. Technically, there’s a lot of stuff on the ship: swimming pool, skating rink, rock climbing wall, gym, ball courts, movie theatre, casino, etc. The reality though, is that they are all pretty dinky. The pools and skating rink are tiny, and often crowded. The movie theatre doubles as a regular theatre, and doesn’t show anything good. The rock climbing wall was okay, but pretty short. Most people just go up on deck and sunbath. Me? I like my AC thanks.
Day 4 - Labadee, Haita
Apparently a private “island” owned by the cruise company. The place is also tiny, and there’s not much to do except sunbath and play in the water. It’s like being back on the ship again, except with sand. There was this long zip line that’s one of their major attractions, only there wasn’t that many people signed up. You could just walked up and been able to do it. On the side of the island with a nice breeze, the water was too shallow and covered with sea urchins to do much swimming. The other side where the nice swimming area are, was overcrowded, and had no wind meaning you bake. I think all I did there was sleep.
Day 5 - Ochos Rios, Jamaica
We joined a small bus tour to take us around the area. First we went to Dunn’s River Falls, probably the biggest attraction there, where you get to walk up the fall. It wasn’t exactly challenging, but the water was cold and refreshing. Then most of the group went to do water tubing (think Elora Gorge), which I opted out cause I didn’t want to bake. The tour guide took us to lunch at this “locals” place and then dropped us off. We walked around the shopping area, and that was it.
I believe the ice skating show was also that night back onboard the ship. Everyone recommends it, and it was quite good, especially considering the small rink they had to work with.
Day 6 - George Town, Cayman Islands
The Caymans is like where all the shadily rich people are said to want to go. I don’t really see the appeal, except for how everything is more expensive than in the US, and there’s beaches. Well the beaches ARE nice, I’ll give it that. We spend the whole time snorkeling at Cemetery Beach, where I got nice and burnt on areas I forgot to put sunscreen on. Ouch. The sand was nice, the water was very, very clear, gradual decline. There was some fish, shells. Overall quite nice.
Day 7 - Cozumel, Mexico
We headed off to Chankanaab National Park for another day of snorkeling. My first impression of the park is that it’s one big tourist trap. They have swimming with dolphins there, and they built up the building for that very nice and modern. But the snorkeling was worth it. The water got deep fast, so I gave in and got a life vest. But as soon as you enter the water, you are surrounded by fishes. The water wasn’t as clear as Cayman, but there was certainly a lot more to see. My mom tried to feed the fishes with cornflakes. Big mistake. She got swarmed, and one even tried to eat her by mistake.
I’ve uploaded videos to facebook.
There was also a lot of iguanas there. They like bananas.
Day 8 and Day 9
Journey home. One day of traveling, and we are back in Florida the next morning. That night was the worse in terms of rocking, and being toss around in bed is not conductive to a good night’s sleep. Though it was good that for the rest of the trip, you barely even notice you are moving. We were just going through a bad area that night. We drove by Kenned Space Centre on the way to the airport, and wow, admission is expensive. You have to buy a two days pass now. Rest of journey home was uneventful.
Photos
On Flickr.
On Facebook (more or less the same photos).
Tagged: Travels
Comments (2)
I love the sun and heat, so I love going down there, but it sounds like you’re the opposite. Cruises are good to get a quick feeling for a particular place and catch the highlights.
I also think it’s a lot more fun if you go with friends....and drink! I’ve been with family and large groups of friends and definitely friends is more fun. I also liked the physical activities on board, as I worked out everyday and played sports.
I really liked the people in Jamaica. I did the bike down from the mountain excursions which was pretty cool, along with the falls.
The best thing at Caymans is the Stingrays. I’ve gone to it twice already, but it’s still pretty fun.
I wish I did the snorkeling in Cozumel, because it sounds awesome.
I think the biggest problem is that you are at the islands for too little time to catch more than one high light. And the high lights are either shopping, or some sort of activity.
I have mix feelings about drinking, as somehow, I don’t really relish the idea of being drunk on a boat. But yes, I suppose it is more likely to drink with friends for fun, than with family. Family tend to want to save.
Hehe, I also have some misgivings about swimming with stingrays after the poor crocodile hunter…
© Maggie Tam 2007-2009 www.onechopstick.ca
Powered by Expression Engine 
Blog Feed