John and I just returned from a 4-night cruise to Cozumel. Our ship was the Carnival Elation. This was our first cruise and we’re already planning for the next one!
John’s company, Simdesk, gave several employees a free cruise as a bonus. Spouses paid our own fares. Not bad though, about $420, considering that all meals are included.
Our cabin assignment was Main 87 – toward the front of the ship, the 2nd-to-lowest passenger deck, interior cabin with two twin beds that combined into one larger bed, and two pulldown beds – which I hit my head on twice during the trip – while the beds were up against the wall!
We were assigned the 5:45 p.m. dinner in the Inspiration dining room – this is just way too early to eat dinner! We were seated at a table with other Simdesk people – Pete & his wife Beth, and Corey & his wife Kathy. We had the same table assignment for the entire trip – it was great to spend time with other couples. Beth, Kathy and I began our friendship.
Day 1, Thursday, 29 September – departed from Galveston about 4 p.m. I was worried about getting seasick (packed the Dramamine), but was happy to feel great! Explored the ship a little. Loved the 24-hour pizzeria at the back of Tiffany’s Bar & Grill. Had to do the lifeboat drill – those lifejackets are incredibly uncomfortable – very heavy and feels
like it’s choking you (think Chris Farley in Tommy Boy :) Forgot my allergy meds – the infirmary gave me some generic Claritin for free.
Day 2, Friday, 30 September – spent all day at sea. Spent most of the day exploring the ship. We bought fountain drink cards – we drink a lot of soda and not too much liquor :) That night, I got really seasick after dinner – had to take the Dramamine. [Note to self: do not take this medicine when you drink wine with dinner!] I was feeling pretty loopy. We found out that the Simdesk crowd was doing Karaoke in the Cole Porter Club – had to go check that out! We don’t sing – at least never in public – but had a lot of fun watching everyone else do it!
Day 3, Saturday, 01 October – arrived at Cozumel about 9 a.m. We originally were going to take the planned excursion to the Mayan ruins at Tulum (on the mainland), but the trip was cancelled because there weren’t enough people to go on it. Very disappointing!!! So we took the highlights and shopping bus tour instead. We visited El Cedral – the oldest settlement in Cozumel, which featured the first church and a small Mayan Ruin. Of course, there was a little row of shops there, where I bought some jewelry. Then we went to a windy, rocky beach (don’t know the name of it, but it was where Rasta’s restaurant was). We stayed here for all of 15 minutes while vendors tried to get everyone to look at stuff. We got off the bus, took a few photos and got back on. Then we went Downtown and got dropped off with strict instructions about meeting the bus at the museum for the ride back to the ship. John and I wandered through some shops, buying some little things here and there. Then we came to Goodmark Jewelers. Goodmark advertises a line of real alexandrites (not lab-created), and I wanted to see them. The alexandrite is my birthstone, I have always wanted one, and it’s always been way too expensive. I really loved a little ring that was one of the least expensive, and yet barely in our price range – John gave it to me as a belated anniversary gift. It’s a .24 caret alexandrite surrounded by 10 small diamonds (.31 carets). It’s a delicate and beautiful ring. I had to get the ring sized, so we walked over to the museum and took a lot of photos there, then told our tour guide that we’d miss the bus back. Goodmark paid for a taxi back to the ship. [If you go to Goodmark, ask for Pablo Carranza – he was a very nice, informative and *not* pushy salesman.] As we walked from the taxi through the dock shops, we bought a few more little things – like some cool color-changing t-shirts and tequila-filled chocolates. We got back to the ship, ate a late snack, dressed for dinner, then went to enjoy more karaoke. [more dramamine, more seasickness]
Day 4, Sunday, 02 October – another day at sea, another day of dramamine. It turns out that the heavy waves causing my seasickness were from Tropical Storm (soon to be hurricane) Stan swirling in the Bay of Campeche. Got up at 7:30 a.m. for an 8 a.m. pedicure in the spa. Very nice. A slow and lazy day doing nothing. Got our bags ready for debarking. Another nice dinner, more karaoke.
Day 5, Monday, 03 October – we arrived back at Galveston around 8 a.m. We had breakfast, waited for Main deck to be called for debarking. FINALLY around 11:30 a.m. we got called to debark. We were *so* ready to get off the ship. Had to wait about 30 minutes to get through customs, then another 30 minutes for John to get the SUV from the parking lot and bring it back to the terminal to load the luggage. Finally we were on the way home.
All in all, a very enjoyable trip, even with the seasickness. Now I know that I have a problem, can take the meds early, no longer a problem.
We’re thinking now about a family cruise on Disney next year.
