Hot in Costa Maya

The ship docked around noon and the Norwegian Star was docked along side of us.

It was amazing to see them side by side.

Ken decided that he did not want to go to shore but I went anyway. It was so hot as I left the ship that I almost changed my mind. But when I got to the end of the ship there was a little trolley transporting passengers to the pier and the shopping. So I took a ride. Did I mention that it was hot?

I browsed around, bought a toy for Emmie and Leo , had my picture taken a couple of times, and then headed back to wait for the return trolley. Princess had a shade spot set up and there was a slight sea breeze. But boy it was hot.

This area is a tourist trap for sure. All of the shops cater to the cruise ships. You could take transportation into the town if you liked and there were several tours going to different Mayan ruins around the area. I was so surprised that this remote area had a Diamonds International. I was even more surprised to see that there were three of them. All were air conditioned with the entire front wall of the store open to the heat. Did I mention that it was hot?? Amazingly you could stand on the sidewalk outside of the stores and feel the cool air blasting on you.

There was a spot where people dressed in special Mayan costumes would allow you to pose with them to get your picture taken. The costumes were fantastic and they reminded me of the Rhythms of the Night presentation. I don’t know how they ever stood having those costumes and make up on. Did I mention that it was hot? Hot as Hell!!

I returned to the ship and basically rested and relaxed until it was time for dinner. We got our last 2 glasses tonight. On other cruises getting a glass filled with liqueur was priced at 6.00 each. On this cruise it has been only three dollars. I am concerned that they may not have them on the Island Princess so I wanted to finish my set of eight now.

The show tonight was a magician, his name was Jay Alexander and again he left us scratching our heads and asking how he ever did that.

We strolled for awhile and returned to our room to have a glass of wine and get organized for tomorrow when we head for Chichen Itza.

Our luggage tags were on our bed …. So sad.

CROWDED????

Crowded,

but not everywhere and not all of the time.

Today we are to be docked at Costa Maya but we do not arrive until noon. That meant there was no rush at breakfast. We headed for the Concerto dining room for eight o’clock. We were seated at a table for six near the window. It was a great breakfast. We sat with very nice people and had wonderful visits and lots of laughs. The food was great as usual. One special this morning was a fruit salad with cottage cheese, one of my favorites even at home. Of course the fresh papaya and fresh pineapple enhanced it greatly.

After breakfast we decided to just stroll around. We wanted to make certain Olivia had time to do our room. I was really impressed by all of the empty spaces and nooks and crannies we found. This is a big ship and there are around 4000 people on board and sometimes it feels like there are 5000 on board but this morning was so peaceful. I took pictures of some of the special empty spots. Some looked very peaceful and beautiful, and idyllic actually.

As we walked around we came across a member of the cruise staff. He was supposed to be doing a Hole In One game and no one had come to play. So Ken and I chatted with him for awhile. We both tried the game and since we were the only ones there we won. 

The prize was a very nice blue water bottle.

We returned to the room to check the mail, blog etc.

Costa Mays(Mahahual) April 14, 2016

The sleepy fishing village of Mahahual is your gateway to Costa Maya. Here in the dense tropical forest and mangrove thickets of the southern Yucatan flourished the great Mayan civilization. During the Classic Period (200 - 1000 B.C.), the Maya erected elaborate stone cities of stepped pyramids, plazas, and palaces. Keen astronomers, they also developed a sophisticated mathematics, a highly accurate calendar, and a complex system of writing. Then, this fascinating culture literally disappeared as the Maya deserted their city complexes for the jungle interior. Today, visitors to Costa Maya can explore the ruins of the once great cities of Kohunlich, Dzibanché, and Chacchoben.

Grand Cayman

Today we were in Grand Cayman. For awhile I had it mixed up with Grand Turk. We have been to Grand Turk before but this was our first visit to Grand Cayman.

We had a trip to seven mile beach planned for the day.

When we woke we were surprised to see that there were other ships in the area. This is a tender port because basically it sits on a coral reef. Besides the Regal Princess ,there was a Celebrity ship, a Disney ship, a Norwegian ship , and a Carnival ship.  

We had breakfast in our room and then we went to the Princess Theater to meet with our tour. We were lead to the tender and then on shore we were led to our bus.

 It was about a 15 minute drive to the beach. Included in the cost of the excursion was admission to Tiki beach, a lounger and a beverage. Umbrellas were ten dollars. We were lucky enough to get a spot right next to the sea wall with lots of shade so we did not have to rent an umbrella. They had other things to rent and drinks and food to buy. But sadly they did not have any floaty chairs. That I would have rented.

The water was quite warm and the bottom was mainly sandy with the occasional rock or bit of coral. There was also a mat of weeds in some spots. But the weeds were more like a carpet and it was soft and not at all thick. We arrived at the beach around 10:30 and our bus would be back to pick us up at one. The beach was crowded but the group was very friendly with lots of visiting happening. People watching was fun because there were people of all shapes, sizes, ages and colors. There was also lots of eye candy for Ken.

We got a tender back right away and we stopped at the International café and picked up a quiche for lunch. We ate it on our balcony and shared a beer. I quickly showered and dressed and headed to the SPA to have my manicure and my pedicure. It was very nice but even though I had that coupon that I won it was still VERY expensive. Remind me not to accept any more prize coupons.

Then I returned to the room to get ready for dinner. Scallops were on the menu tonight. They also had sugar free coconut cake…. Yummy.

The shows tonight did not really interest us so we decided to go to a hot tub. We decided to head to the Retreat Pool and Bar. Here there is a pool and 2 hot tubs. It was a perfect time to go there because everyone was either having dinner or watching a show. We had the area all to ourselves. It was an amazing warm tropical evening. We enjoyed being there.

I gather that someone has reserved the entire area for some kind of a party. I wonder what they charge to do that. Apparently there are 3 weddings scheduled for this cruise. Maybe it is a wedding reception.

After that we returned to our room to just relax .

Tomorrow we will be in Costa Maya.

This is a stop in Mexico and it is new to us. We don’t arrive until noon and we sail at seven. This is not the usual schedule. We do not have an excursion planned for there

Tuesday, April 12

Tuesday April 12^th,

This is the first sea day of this leg. We decided to have coffee delivered to our room and we went to breakfast later than usual. Much to our surprise loads of other people had the same idea. There was a line up outside the Concerto Dining room. We were seated at a table for eight, one couple from Boston, one from North Carolina and one from Missouri. We were outnumbered for sure. In spite of accents we had good visits.

After breakfast we went our separate ways. I checked out the Fruit and Vegetable Carving. Then I went to the Spa to make appointments. I use my gift coupon and get my nails done at three tomorrow afternoon. I have made an appointment to get my hair done on Saturday morning.

Then I went to the shop and bought a carry- on case. We know we will need one when we come to the end of this holiday.

I stopped by the vegetable carving demonstration for a few minutes

I brought that back to the room and then I took our disembarkation papers and went to customer service. We have arranged to get a Princess transfer from the ship to the Fort Lauderdale airport. I wondered if we could do that since we are not flying. The rental car office is at the airport so we will be able to get the transfer after all. That is a good thing because finding a cab when there are so many ships in port is a real nightmare.

That worked out well. I took some more pictures and came back to the room. Olivia was here cleaning so I sat on the balcony and waited for her to finish.

Ken arrived, he had been topside and the crowds made him appreciate our balcony that much more. We are slowly coming to the conclusion that these BIG ships are not for us. They are grand and they are beautiful but they are just too big and have too many passengers. We are so happy to have the mini suite. It provides a sanctuary, an escape from the crowds.

With that in mind I went up to Horizon Court and picked up a sandwich for Ken and some taco chips and salsa for me. That was lunch, we did not need much since we had a late breakfast. I did have to eat something so I could take my pills.

We are sailing past Cuba today. It is quite hazy so you can’t see much. But Ken did spy a nice tall while light house using our field glasses.

Canapes arrived at 4:15 and we had a glass of our Zinfandel. We are just about at the end of that bottle. We will have to open our Robert Mondavi Chardonnay  for the next formal night.

Tonight is the Commodore’s champagne waterfall. We will pick up a glass of champagne and head for the theatre to get a good seat for the show. Tonight it features Stephanie Parker. We do not know her.

We have been trying to take in a Waterfall Fantasy but it has always been windy topside or it has been happening while we are in the dining room. I hope we get to see it tonight because it is very calm right now. But because this ship is so tall you just don’t know what the evening will bring.

Dinner was very good as usual. Again the forth couple did not appear. There was another Norman Love dessert tonight. I think it was the best yet.

We roamed up and got a glass of champagne and then went to the theatre, Tonight the  performer was Stephanie Parker and she did a tribute to Whitney Huston. She was very good. Apparently she used to be one of the Princess singers and dancers and now she is a solo performer. That was very nice to hear.

After the show we came back to our room to change out of our formal wear. We headed for deck 18 to see the waterfall fantasy. At first we were not sure if it would happen because of the wind but we were not disappointed. The waterfall show was done to Michael Jackson music and it was spectacular.

Our final stop was to Horizon Court for lemonade and a cookie.This is the first time we have done that and usually we do it every night.

Tomorrow we dock in Grand Cayman at seven and the clocks change and hour overnight. We will be only 2 hours different from Pacific time, we will be on central time. We have a beach excursion booked and a wakeup call for seven.

Grand Cayman,April 13/2016

When Columbus made his landfall in the Caymans in 1503, he found tortoises and sea turtles in such profusion that he promptly named the islands Las Tortugas. But the name that stuck for the islands was the Carib word "Caimanas." Fitting, since the caiman is a New World crocodilian and the islands were long the lair of pirates, buccaneers, and assorted freebooters. Despite their past, the Caymans are a Caribbean demi-paradise of white-sand beaches, coral gardens, and offshore waters harboring spectacular shipwrecks. Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman also boast the highest standard of living in the entire Caribbean. This union of natural beauty and cosmopolitan style makes Grand Cayman a spectacular port of call for today's adventurers. Note: Grand Cayman is an anchorage port. Passengers transfer to shore via ship's tender. In certain sea conditions, an alternate pier is used to transfer passengers ashore. This may cause tour durations to vary.

Grand Cayman overview

Port of Grand Cayman: An Overview

Imagine the stereotypical cruise port -- one with white-sand beaches, a plethora of duty-free shops selling jewels and liquor, and de rigueur water activities like snorkeling and scuba -- and Grand Cayman will likely come to mind. The cliche might just be based on the destination, with its lovely Seven Mile Beach, George Town's retail center and plenty of sites for diving, snorkeling and other more ...

Imagine the stereotypical cruise port -- one with white-sand beaches, a plethora of duty-free shops selling jewels and liquor, and de rigueur water activities like snorkeling and scuba -- and Grand Cayman will likely come to mind. The cliche might just be based on the destination, with its lovely Seven Mile Beach, George Town's retail center and plenty of sites for diving, snorkeling and other water sports. Grand Cayman also celebrates marine life at Stingray City and the Cayman Turtle Farm, and even offers a twist on island paradise with the town of Hell (THE place from which to send the quintessential kitschy postcard).

Yet the cliche does have a negative side -- the crowds. It's not unusual to find five mega-ships docked in the harbor at the same time, which makes the tendering process slower than usual and the downtown streets jam-packed. (Building a cruise pier at which ships could berth is oft discussed, but it's never gone beyond the "pre-planning" stage.) The constant influx of cruise passengers keeps the waterfront restaurants bustling, so lunch in port is never a cheap affair. A stroll along the beach quickly turns into an obstacle course of sunbathing tourists, sandy children and water sports vendors.

Visitors have two choices -- embrace the crowds and touristy places with a laid-back island mindset, or escape them. Secluded beaches, like Cayman Kai or Rum Point, are a cab ride away, and even Seven Mile Beach has its less crowded spots. A mall at Governors Square offers designer clothes, housewares and even a healthy cafe for a refreshing change from pareos, shell necklaces and overpriced seafood. And the seemingly endless stretches of sea never feel too congested when you're swimming peacefully above coral formations.

And, like any Caribbean island worth its salt and sand, Grand Cayman has weathered a few hurricanes -- most recently Hurricane Paloma in November 2008. With a solid infrastructure in place, the island survived the storm and easily bounced back to its jaunty self. After all, if Grand Cayman didn't offer its 1.6 million cruise visitors the beaches, shops, restaurants and attractions they've come to expect, the cliche wouldn't hold. And where would Grand Cayman be then?