Posts Tagged With: Costa Maya

Mardi Gras Magic

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Doug and Jackie

Yes, that’s right, we are back on the high seas again – this time it is a wonderful family affair aboard the Carnival Mardi Gras, a darn big ship that just launched in 2021 with a passenger capacity of 6,500.  I actually booked this one just before our cruise on the Carnival Sunshine last year, hoping that our first-time cruisers Karina, Jason, Wyatt and Owen would want to sail again.  And they did, joined this time by Bethany and Alex.  It was truly a magical time for everyone as you will see from the many, many pictures (and check out the video: Mardi Gras Magic ).

So before we get started, just a few updates on our non-sailing adventurous days.  The RV is still in the driveway awaiting the ladder repair.  This has been a bit of back-and-forth with the repair dealer about ordering the correct ladder, but I think we finally have a ladder ordered and final install soon.

We had a short visit by Nashville family Judy and Craig with the planned highlight being an ebike trip into town.  That started off just fine, but Doug’s ebike developed a “communication error” and would not power up the motor for the return back home and he pedaled off ahead of everyone back home.  Unfortunately, a heaved section of sidewalk got the better of Jackie as she swerved to avoid it and instead went up and over the handlebars.  Pretty banged and scraped up, she rode an ambulance to the hospital, went into a level 2 trauma unit to get scanned and x-rayed and ultimately stayed the night.  The result was quite a bit of road rash on arms, shoulder and knee and lots of internal bruising, but no serious internal injuries, thank goodness.  

Jackie’s pulmonologist was good about explaining how she will have a few months of recovery for her internal healing and full lung capacity to return, but everything was moving in the right direction.  Yes, we kept John’s accident in the back of our minds and were thankful for the very thorough medical exams and diagnostic equipment available to us.

So on to the fun adventure.  These trips to Orlando and Port Canaveral are always a bit of competitive fun.  Alex, Bethany, Jackie and I were in car #1 and Jason, Karina, Wyatt and Owen were in car #2, heading in the same direction but two different starting times and points.  Alex and Karina kept texting fake locations and travel points to each other (rest stops, state lines, lunch stops) so we all were never quite sure who was in the lead.  Not that it was a competition.  But I did hear it when we arrived at the hotel just five minutes after Karina’s group (yes! We beat Dad).  

And the next morning was the big reveal – a straight shot drive to the pier to see the massive ship waiting for us to board.  Cruisers will tell you this is always the big “gasp” moment of excitement, followed by the trek from parking to check-in with a few bags in tow, passing through security, passport control and the gauntlet of photographers to join 6,499 of your fellow passengers.  But then you have that first look aboard, gathering family and for some of us that first drink (for which you had to do the muster station checkpoint first) and “let’s eat!”

Ok, but what about the fun?  Where did we go, what did we do?  Well, this cruise was all about family and making memories, not as much about the shore excursions.

Aboard Ship and Sea Days

Where to start?  This is a huge, 20 deck ship and some of us were in the Family Harbor section on deck 4.  That made it easy to get to the kids club, also on that level, and a small area with food, coffee, drinks and games for families.  Very easy to grab breakfast and afternoon bites but harder to snag an elevator.  Jackie was moving a little slower around the ship due to her recovery, but didn’t miss out on anything. Alex and Bethany booked a room in the Havana District, which featured their own pool and a porch with swing. They had ready access to the Havana Bar, too.

Sea Days were understandably crowded around the pools (kid soup as Jackie put it), but lots of fun on port days with far fewer onboard.  Our crew didn’t spend much time ashore other than Mahogany Bay, so we took advantage of that.  Wyatt and Owen absolutely loved the pools and waterslides – in fact both did the Blue Lightning waterslide their first chance.  That one had a head-first mat that you used.  Wyatt later told me he did the Orange Thunder drop slide, but I said I didn’t believe him.  So of course he grabbed my hand and marched me up the stairs to show me – how brave!  That meant following him down, too. This was all about family and making memories, so everyone was splashing around together and having fun.

Several of us braved the ropes course on the top deck, even the short but breathtaking zip line section.  It might not look like much, but the step off the ramp out and over the water was a scare for sure.  Alex, Bethany, Karina and I all did it though, even with rain and dark clouds threatening nearby.

And then Bolt: the roller coaster at sea.  After some technical glitches delayed the action for a few days, Alex, Bethany and I managed a reservation and a two loop trip on this wild ride.  It did a good job of launching you forward and around the track, with a few power boosts along the way.  Definitely worth the extra $15 per person.  Didn’t let you take GoPro shots, so no first person video.

First Stop: Cozumel

Jackie and I stayed onboard to hang out with the grandsons as the rest went ashore to check the shops.  It was very hot and not too breezy that day, so it was a quick shopping trip for most.  But as I mentioned, it made it a good day for splashing at the pool decks.  Owen and Wyatt have come such a long way with their water sense, having had swim lessons this year and growing confidence.  In the pool they were holding their breath underwater for me to count how long … a big difference from last summer.  We were spending so much time in the pool that I said they were waterlogged.  Wyatt declared “I’m not waterlogged, I’m a kid!”  So true, but your hands are pretty wrinkled up.

Next Stop: Costa Maya

While this stop is a big shopping plaza, it does have a generous salt water pool in the center that you can use.  Two other pools with lounge chairs require that you purchase food and drink, so that was a “no thanks”.  Once again, the boys got wet and loved it.  We all watched the ritual of the Papantla Flyers perform high above us, marveled at the dolphins, flamingos and tropical birds all around and just enjoyed a few hours ashore.  

We were the only ship in port for the morning and as we disembarked onto the long pier Jackie was encouraged to ride the tram.  We ambled on down the pier, soon to be passed by the tram with Owen seated beside Jackie, grinning from ear to ear.  For the trip back, Wyatt made sure not to miss out and rode along, too.  Great choice.  The rest of the afternoon was more pizza and pools.  I was surprised that both boys knew what a Vespa was, so we had to stop and get some pictures.

Last Stop: Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Honduras

This was really the only beach stop.  Each day before this the boys had their buckets and shovels ready for the sand, only to be disappointed when we told them “no beach today”.  But this was a beach that had bits of coral and shell to discover and lots of water to splash around in.  From the pier you had a choice of walking through a tropical botanic garden or riding the chairlift to the beach (Jackie and I chose the chairlift).  Even though this is Carnival’s pier and beach, food and drink are not included, although the chicken fingers were quite good and reasonable.  This was a really beautiful day and we totally enjoyed bobbing in the water, holding the collected bits, dumping and refilling buckets … all good fun.  

Back aboard and showered off we set sail into a very windy sea, with the mountains of Honduras on the horizon.  The last two days were very calm sea days – extremely flat water.

Green Eggs and Ham!

Of course we had to try the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast with all the Dr. Seuss characters and a very colorful (and sweet) assortment of food.  While some of us had fun at breakfast, Alex and Bethany were taking a tour of the ship from the laundry on deck 0 to the navigation bridge and time with the captain.  That seemed to be a really special tour that was truly “behind the scenes”. 

Food, Drink and Impressions

I think we all agreed that the dining choices, from main dining to casual eats and ice cream, were varied, delicious and fun (well, Lido buffet for breakfast was the usual zoo).  Bars were plentiful and creative, with lots of specialty drinks.  The Fortune Teller, Brass Magnolia and Alchemist bars in the French Quarter were especially fun.  Havana bar near Alex and Bethany had a distinctive Cuban feel and in the Italian District you had themed selections at Bar Dela Rosa.  And that was next to the pizza, panini and Italian restaurant. Jackie and I had breakfast one morning in Emeril’s Bistro: a plate of bananas foster crepes with a side of beignets. Yummy and a nice quiet spot. And banana splits got a big thumbs up.

Entertainment was all around, with live music in the corners of most bars and great musical events in the central Atrium, which actually was along the starboard side of the ship.  One show featured a magician, several had aerialists, all had song and dance (and loud).  The younger among us went to dance parties and glow parties on the Lido pool deck, we hit several trivia contests and a few main stage shows. 

The grandsons did their best to consume massive amounts of pizza and ice cream cones, with a few trips to the candy shop Cherry on Top.  Guys Pig and Anchor Smokehouse was a big hit for barbecue pork, chicken and brisket – plus they brew their own beer aboard.  Shaq’s Big Chicken had generous chicken sandwiches and chicken fingers, Guy’s Burgers had big sloppy burgers with the fixings, Street Eats had variations of loaded fries, bao buns, stir fry and noodles, but was not open as often as we wanted.  We dined at Cucino’s Italian and ChiBang Mexican/Chinese and celebrated Jackie’s 70th birthday.  Alex and Bethany dined at Rudy’s Seagrill for lobster and seafood, and we all made sure we were at the Palm main dining for the second formal night.  Somehow our server knew I would appreciate two lobster tails, which were just about the best I have had (well, except the one from the Harmony).  

The only glitch we had was making the table request on the two formal nights.  You used their Hub app to request a table, then had to wait for the notification that your table was ready before proceeding to the dining room.  That wasn’t clear to most folks and the result was a logjam at the dining entrance (and a very long wait the first night).  Service overall was adequate, but it was clear there were many new crew members and not the usual depth of experience.  Getting there, but not quite pre-pandemic – and people are definitely cruising in big numbers.

I have to add some post-cruise notes:  what should have been a 7 hour trip back home took over 10 hours, it being the start of July 4th weekend I guess and everyone leaving Florida?  And our son Alex had a one-day turnaround to repack for a 2 week business trip to Vietnam.  Poor guy, I know he wasn’t looking forward to another long travel day.

And we won’t speak of the casino.  They had one craps table, fairly high minimum and it was not nice to me, so not a lot of time spent there.

So as we unpack, do laundry and gather our memories, I realize that we have just two days before it is check-in time for our next cruise to Alaska in August.  And I just learned the RV ladder is ready to be installed just in time for next week’s local camping on Lake Allatoona (a camping adventure for the grandsons).  Who planned out this summer?  Were they nuts?  Oops, guilty – this fun is self-inflicted.  So if I find a moment, I will edit our video from Mardi Gras and probably post about our Alaska cruise once back home.  That one grew from just Jackie and I to my brother and sister, their spouses and a cousin – seven of us heading from Vancouver to Anchorage.  Wheee!

Categories: Cruising, Outdoor Adventures | Tags: , , | 4 Comments

Snorkeling the Western Caribbean

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Doug and Jackie

It’s mid-October in Atlanta and the temperature has finally dropped from 97 degrees to a more fall-like 65 degrees with 40’s overnight.  Jeans have replaced shorts, shoes replaced sandals and it is cold enough to use the firepit. Yet here I am at the pool bar, sipping a fruity frozen drink as a warm breeze blows ripples across the water.  What just happened? Maybe I better back up the story a bit …

You see, since our last great cruise on the Harmony of the Seas this summer, Jackie and I stated rather firmly that we would not be cruising again for a year or so, since we had plenty to do back home with grandson-sitting, beer festivals, maybe a fall camping weekend and such.  But it was just fine if Dad and the family wanted to head out to the Caribbean once again, we would wish them well. So plans were made for Dad, my brother Jeff and wife Vickie – even my sister Linda and husband Norman – to head out to the Western Caribbean on the Harmony of the Seas for a fall cruise.  Good stuff – wish you well.

But things got complicated when Norm’s family announced a trip to the Canadian Rockies and suddenly Linda was a single cruiser and gosh she needed a way to get to Port Canaveral via Atlanta (from California) and wouldn’t it be nice if Doug picked her up from the airport and drove her to the port and heck, he could even be her cabin mate.  Hey, Doug, whatcha think? Well it seems that, being retired, Jackie and I go where we are needed: so that meant cruising as a plus-one with my sister.

Turns out it was a great time.  We drove to Orlando and spent the night, checking out two breweries of course.  Hourglass Brewing had a lot on tap so of course we had two flights between us. Then a return visit to Rockpit Brewing meant another pint to try before returning to the hotel. 

 

Up early in the morning and off to the ship! We parked, checked in and were on the ship by 10:30 – just minutes before Jeff, Vic and Dad arrived. This trip Jeff arranged a scooter for Dad, so we had to practice getting him in and out of the room and around the ship.  Turns out it was the BEST move, as he was soon zipping along on his own.  

 

How about some highlights from the ports and sea days aboard ship you ask?  

Perfect Day at Coco Cay

The scooter made a world of difference for Dad, who was down the gangway and on his way across the dock to the Oasis Lagoon pool in no time.  We found lounge chairs by the huge pool and were soon sloshing around with drinks in hand. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect, as you can see from the pictures.  

The only disappointment was the snorkeling reef.  Over the years we have been coming here, the area to snorkel has been corralled in closer to shore and the last hurricane seems to have damaged the reef enough that you really didn’t have much to see.

Cozumel Snorkeling

The three reef excursion Linda and I took certainly was a change from Coco Cay.  We walked around and through the maze of shops on shore to find a taxi to the departure marina to meet our guides. 

Turns out there were only four of us on the small boat, which was awesome. Snorkeling in Cozumel is usually a float over the reef with the water current moving you slowly along.  We saw triggerfish (Queen and black), angelfish (Queen and French), parrotfish, yellow snapper, blue tang, butterfly fish, scrawled filefish, trunkfish and a couple of black and white eels.  Check the video:  Cozumel Reef Snorkel

 

 

We had a photographer along who kept attracting the yellow and black Sergeant Majors in front of us to get photos – nice at first, but a bit annoying if you were looking at something else on the bottom.  Overall, it was amazingly clear and a great snorkel. A float vest I purchased worked out perfect, along with a rashguard shirt that substituted for sunscreen (they are serious about protecting their reefs – no sunscreen).  Fish identification was much easier thanks to some waterproof cards I bought from fishcards.com. Thanks to Michael Greenberg for all his help getting us these essential cards. We had a few cold Coronas on the way back to the marina while sharing what we saw. 

Roatan Snorkeling

 

Getting to the reef in Roatan from our dock in Coxen Hole was much more of an ordeal than in Cozumel, where the reef was in sight of the ship.  Jeff, Vic, Linda and I made our way ashore (where they are in mid-construction of a second big dock), wound through the maze of shops once again and found our excursion driver.  Into a van with four other divers and we were off to the northeast coast. It was an hour’s drive up and over the mountains along a busy 2-lane road that was surrounded by small houses (barely one-room shacks by our standards) and market stalls.  Despite all the happy house hunters I have seen on HGTV, I can’t say that I would have chosen to retire to the island. Not exactly prospering.

   

But once we reached our destination at Turquoise Bay Beach and Dive Resort it all changed.  The small marina had several dive boats and we were soon joined by 5 others with Subway Watersports to head to the reef and snorkel.  Next to us was a beachside resort that we would be able to enjoy after the snorkel. Not far off shore we were moored and ready to slip in the water in a sandy spot that was maybe 6 feet deep with a few sea stars.  There was a bit of wind chop as we were directed ahead to find an underwater oasis of coral, sponges and fish that were just amazingly beautiful.  

The “wall” was covered with sponges, fans and corals of all sorts.  The fish were much like what we saw at Cozumel, darting in and around the corals.  A lionfish was pointed out to us along with a yellow trumpetfish. Our guide took my gopro down to get a shot of the lionfish (which was stunning, although destructive to many native fish on the reefs).  Again, my vest was a big help, since we were probably snorkeling the reef for an hour. The sponges and corals (thanks to my ID cards) seemed to be sea whips, sea fans, tube sponges (blue and yellow), sea fingers, vase sponges, staghorn coral, brain coral, star coral … gosh so many colors and shapes.  Check the video:  Roatan, Honduras Snorkel

As I mentioned, we were able to hang out at the beach resort until our taxi arrived to take us back to the ship.  Totally gorgeous spot on the water – dreamy. But since we would be leaving port early and Roatan was 2 hours behind ship’s time, we were a bit anxious when it had not arrived. We were told we would be waiting for the divers in our party to return, but when they were overdue and in fact were choosing to continue their dive, the excursion owner opted to have one of his staff drive us back to port.  We made it with time to spare, but grumbled about the decision by our fellow passengers to have extended their dive at our expense.

Costa Maya Shopping

We were surprised to hear Dad say he wanted to go ashore in Costa Maya to buy a shirt, but once again the scooter made that possible.  He was down the gangway and speeding along the dock ahead of all of us, making a beeline for the cluster of shops on shore. He found his shirt while shopping, as did the rest of us, and soon we were all back aboard.  Costa Maya is pretty much the shopping arcade, a water park and some nearby excursions and nothing else for miles around. But the coastline is very pretty and our sail away was beautiful. 

Around the Ship and Sea Days 

Now this is a big ship and you have a few of your close friends with you – about 6,000 of them, with about 3,000 crew members.  So finding a lounge chair on sea days can be challenging. You have to first get your Irish coffee at the Park Cafe, find something good for breakfast (waffles with strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate syrup maybe?) then grab a mimosa or bloody mary and head for the towel check.  Maybe some sunscreen gets slathered on and you are all set – until Jeff says “hey let’s go do the waterslides!

   

So we climbed the stairway to the waterslides for the highest view aboard ship and zipped down.  The “toilet bowl” slide was a first time for Linda and she screamed the whole way down. I did the dark Abyss dry slide again; we bobbed in the pool and Jeff and I decided to brave the Flowrider kneeboard.  The board took a moment to get the hang of, what with all the water shooting at you, but soon we both got up on our knees and … well, we took a few falls and scooted around the fast-moving sheet of water. Totally fun and a real blast – I definitely got better as the week went on, but neither of us felt confident enough to do the stand-up wakeboards.  Check the video: How We Did Harmony of the Seas

 

Dinners were in the main dining room, except the night that three of us ate at Jamie’s Italian (oh my gosh was it a lot of delicious food!).  A plank of meats and cheeses, garlicky prawns, lasagna, pasta and lamb chops washed down with a delicious red wine and followed by a huge plank of desserts. We had a delightful serving staff at dinner, with special after-dinner shots to toast the day (thank you Mikayla).  Late nights involved pizza slices and Octoberfest beer and lunch involved the famous Royal Kummelweck roast beef sandwich in Central Park. We all lunched at the Sabor Taqueria one day and had a fabulous and filling meal – so much so that we skipped the dining room and just did nibbles for dinner.

And of course we had to spend time in the casino.  The odds were not in our favor on the craps table and as the week went on, fewer folks were playing it.  But Dad had pretty fair luck at the roulette wheel, so he spent more time there than we did. He also seemed to attract his share of women who became helpful friends.  One couple adopted him as their good luck charm and we ran into them several times around the ship. Actually, everyone he met was very accommodating and helpful as he navigated his scooter.

   

     

We were naturally concerned about Dad on the days that he remained on board and we went ashore for excursions.  When we returned from Cozumel he told us that he had found the spa and toured the gym and made an appointment for a haircut and shampoo.  Then when we returned from our Roatan excursion he shared how he drove around the buffet with a plate of food and a bowl of soup, driving one-handed.  And to think we were worried about him!

       

The shows were also well done – we all watched Columbus the musical, the Fine Line aqua show (twice) and Linda and I saw the ice show 1887 (very good).  Headliner show was the Company Men, which Dad declared all “yelling and screaming – I don’t recognize any of the music” but the rest of us thought their mash-ups from the past decades was well done.

       

But aboard this huge ship, you can just sit somewhere and relax, maybe in the Central Park gardens while a guitarist plays.  Or people-watch on the Promenade on formal night. Or ride the elevator with the piano player. Or watch the sunset from the Mast Bar on deck 16 or even better from the “King of the World” overlook.  Maybe create your own drink from the robots in the Bionic Bar or discover the quiet Wonderland Bar for a martini. Watch the street parade from the Schooner Bar with a coconut mojito. It is easy to forget you are cruising off the coast of Cuba or Honduras.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Canadian Rockies . . .

 

… Norm was enjoying a beer in a hot tub in the midst of a snowstorm – – while his replacement was lounging by the pool in the warm Caribbean sun.  Ahhh, Life is Good.

Categories: Cruising | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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