Adventures on the "Fun Ship"

Just sit right back and you'll hear the tale, the tale of a fateful trip... Okay, it wasn't that bad. Actually, parts of it were quite nice. I am referring of course, to the much anticipated family vacation cruise. We returned Sunday and morning and now that I have had time to unpack, regain my "land legs" and quit swaying on perfectly solid ground and reflect, I think the trip was fairly successful.

First of all, I have to say that I still think that a cruise is a really good idea for a family. We found that it gave every member of the family something to do and we were able to allow our "tween-agers" a little more freedom to come and go (in pairs) than we could have at a land based destination. They loved that. Everyone from my "type A" personality husband, to my 84 year-old mom to my three-year-old found that there were activities (or not, if you wanted to veg like I did a great deal) to keep you busy.

Anyway, I digress. Let me preface this by telling you that I had a terrible sore throat beginning the day before we left and it got worse and infected other family members before the end of the trip.

We left the day before New Year's Eve. Our first night was uneventful. New Year's was fully celebrated at sea. The next afternoon, we noticed that the ship was making a turn. There was a small boat with two outboard motors adrift along side. There were a number of people on board. Turns out they were Cuban refugees and were stranded. There were 17 men and five women. Our ship sent out a small boat with some supplies and we were told that the Coast Guard was sending a rescue ship and we were to wait until they arrived. After a couple of hours, it was announced that the Coast Guard boat was having mechanical problems and couldn't come, so we would be joined by the Cubans on board (in a holding area). It was facinating watching the people being loaded into the little rescue boat on the choppy seas. Once they were on board, we then we went on to Grand Cayman.

Now, here is where I need help figuring out one of the great mysteries of life. WHY are there sooooo many jewelry stores on these little islands? Why are tourists supposed to be so excited about buying gold and diamonds on vacation? Believe me, they ain't THAT cheap. Anyway, the shopping area in Grand Cayman was minuscule and all I really wanted was tee-shirts and tacky souvenirs. I quickly learned that if you aren't interested in jewelry, or opening an offshore account in one of their numerous banks, then you'd better be a beach lover, because that's the really big attraction. We, however skipped the beach. (See the above mentioned sore throat.) We got hot and returned early to the ship.

During the night, the weather turned rough. It was a miserable night. I had eaten, well, food, (a rookie mistake I wouldn't make again on rough seas) and I got sick. The next day we arrived at a very windy and cool Cozumel. I had really looked forward to Cozumel after spending time in Cancun a couple of years ago, but it didn't go well for me. My hubby, oldest two kids and mom-in-law ventured into town and had a blast at Senor Frog's, a great restaurant chain, but the rest of us didn't make it past the shops on the windy, wave splashed dock. I did get a few tees for the kids and a pretty hand painted Christmas ornament, so the day wasn't a complete loss.

Sailing to Belize wasn't too bad. A tender (boat) ride and two hours on a bus and a hand- cranked ferry ride across the Mopan River, took us to the ruins of a Mayan village, Xunantunich. The hearty of bunch climbed to the top of the Castillo. The experience was really something. My mom was really in awe, saying that after seeing such things on TV, she'd never thought she'd be there in person. On the way back to the ship, we were treated to lunch at a quaint little hotel, "a five star resort" according to our guide. It was quite impressive, boasting "24 hour electricity" as an amenity.

Our last stop was Roatan, Honduras for a trip to the beach. Naturally, it was unseasonably cool and it rained. We toughed it out for a while, but since we live within a few minutes of some of the prettiest beaches around, we decided to pack it in. The foliage on the island is really something. I have never seen palm trees so tall and banana plants growing wild. I kept expecting to see Dora or Diego sliding down a zip line.

That was Friday and that evening was the most nauseating. People were dropping like flies with sea sickness. There were some strong stomachs that held up, but many folks (including me) decided to skip dinner or anything else and call it a night. I actually spent a good part of the evening trying to help my 17 year-old who was absolutely flattened by motion sickness. We finally got him some little sea sick pills from the purser and he slept through the night.

Saturday, we were at sea, with a brief stop for a rendezvous with the Coast Guard to offload the unexpected passengers. We arrived back in Tampa on a foggy Sunday morning.

All and all it was a very satifying trip. The weather and choppy seas were a little less than desirable, but I think we created a lot of family memories and had a pretty good time. Oh, and amazingly, I LOST weight! Dieting is so much easier when someone else os doing the cooking. (But that's another chapter.)