26 October 2008 -  Jacksonville, Florida USA                                        

 

Day 8 - Debarkation

This time, we decided to use the self-assist debarkation because last year during our Alaska cruise, we took advantage of the transfer service from the cruise ship itself where we basically paid $36 and the ship's crew took our bags the night before the debarkation and handed us a color coded name tag for easy check-out.   Man that was a disaster; not mention it took us about 3 hours to get off the ship and find our bags from stacks and mountain of luggage's  from departure terminal.

I can tell you, the self-assist debarkation is the way to go.  It was a breeze as it went relatively easy and quickly. Basically we took care and carried all our bags and 30 minutes after we were called to come out from our cabin; we were on our way out of Miami port.

All in all, the Caribbean cruise was a good thing to get away for awhile but we would have been happier and satisfied had we done cross-country drive to Grand Canyon instead. Oh well... maybe next year. 

---THE END---

 

Day 7 - Sea Day

After one full day of running around in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, we were back on the ship to sail back to Miami, Florida.  With nothing much to do on another sea day, I decided to attend the 3 hour Scrapbook class one afternoon.  The class was free but facilitator made me buy their Scrapbook kit for $15 which I did because scrapbooking is really one the things I have been meaning to do for while.  Well, the class was not what I expected it to be. I thought the trainer is going to sit down with me and take time to teach me the whole process but she didn't. Rather she just showed me her own scrapbook which I though was mediocre and told me that I had to come up one for myself and share it with the group later.  

Well, about forty minutes later, I still couldn't for the life of me figure out how to presentably put them together so I walked out the door and told the facilitator, I failed miserably. I know art is not in my genes but I didn't realize it was that bad until I was thrust into this class. 

Carnival Towel Animal Creations

One of the most popular and unique features of a Carnival "Fun Ship" cruise is the whimsical towel animals that greet guests when they return to their stateroom each evening.

This is something special creation that every ship's steward prepared  to delight every passenger onboard hence every night, after DH and I come back from dinner, I genuinely look forward to see what our cabin steward has made for us this time. 

One night, I was kinda disappointed when I didn't see any on the bed until DH pointed out the monkey wearing my sun glasses hanging up on the ceiling. LOL

The Carnival Cruise ship even sell the instructional manual offering step-by-step directions, along with accompanying photos for people wishing to recreate these creatures back home for $12.95.   No, I didn't buy one.

 

    18 October 2008 -  Jacksonville, Florida USA                                        

 

Day 6 - Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Excerpts from DH's post at Cruise Critic Forum:

Ocho Rios was a pretty place but the people weren’t very friendly. They didn’t want to talk to you unless you’re buying something. While in Cozumel the people were smiling and laughing with the tourists, I saw very few smiles in Jamaica unless they had just made a sale.

My wife and I decided on doing the Mini-boat, Dunn’s River Falls, and Dolphin Cove excursion for $99 per person but regretted it. So I advised you to save your money and do something else.

Mini Boat Rides Excursion:

We took the shuttle to Dolphin Cove where we got on our boat.  According to the description, we were to have our own boat and go to a couple of other falls and see the coastline before going to Dunn’s River falls. In fact, there was a “guide” who sat on the bow obstructing our views and ran the boat. We went about ¼ mile down the coast saw a small falls from a couple of hundred yards off, turned around went the other way and passed another falls on the way to Dunn’s River falls. In all we spent about 15 minutes on the boat and he dropped us off at the falls. No one greeted us except a vendor on the beach selling souvenirs. We were told about lockers at the top off the falls for rent but when we declined we were ignored.

Dunn's River Falls Excursion: 

Supposedly, we were to be guided up the falls but nobody did. We followed another group up but when we fell behind we were on our own. I must admit it was the dumbest thing we have done on a cruise. My wife and I, as well as others, fell numerous times, tripped on underwater rocks, twisted our ankles and banged up our knees. I don’t know why more serious injuries don’t happen more often. It was a pretty place though, but hardly a natural place. Many of the drops in the falls are man-made out of burlap bags of concrete.  

Here's the video of me (Rhebs) climbing up the 600 feet high Dunn's River water falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.  I have to admit climbing through the slippery lime stone rocks not to mention the hard flowing water pouring down the falls and there's nothing and no one to hold on to (DH decided to take off and walked on the terraces instead) was the most dangerous adventure I have ever done so far.    Yes,  I fell, tripped and banged my knees on the rocks few times and I have the bruises to prove it but I was very determined to go to the finishing line and when  I finally made it to the top, I was so proud of myself :-)

“Dunn's River Falls is a famous waterfall in Ocho Rios, Jamaica and a major Caribbean tourist attraction.  The Dunn's River Falls cascade over smooth lime stone rocks, through the tropical rain forest all the way to the white sandy beach below. You can climb up the water falls which is 183 meters (600 feet) high. The falls are made up of limestone which tiers gradually allowing you to climb from the beach to the top, taking some of the most spectacular scenery along the way.  Dunns River Falls is one of Jamaica’s national natural treasures. The beautiful white sandy beach at the bottom of the water falls was featured in James Bond film Dr No ... more here  

Dolphin Cove Beach Excursion: 

When we reached the top, again we had to find our own way to the shuttle back to Dolphin Cove. We had to go through a vendors “village” with narrow aisle to get to the bus park. That in itself wasn’t so bad and I would have liked to linger to see what was offered as there were some nice carvings offered, but some of the vendors were so pushy and aggressive that we just wanted to get away. If a vendor comes to you don’t let them hand you anything or put a necklace around your neck as a gift. It is nothing of the sort. They will talk to you of “Love” “Respect” and “No Pressure, No Problem”. Then they will ask you for something to pay for the “gift”, and then say that is not enough. We finally made it through the gauntlet to our bus and back to Dolphin Cove where again we were ignored.

We finally found our way to the beach where they had some food laid out for us. $8 for a single piece of jerked chicken or $12 for a “buffet” that consisted of rice, beans and pork is ridiculous. While the food looked good to us the prices didn’t, so we declined and instead wandered around..... I felt sorry for the dolphins there. All they did was swim in circles in an area the smaller than an Olympic sized swimming pool.

We were warned by the cruise director not to go anywhere by ourselves in Ocho Rios as it wasn’t safe and he was right. We also saw several drug deals go down with other passengers from our ship even with “security” standing close by. There was a customs (?) search before we got back on board by Jamaican authorities; that was a big joke.

At the end of the day, we were back at the ship and had jerked chicken and pork on board.

To be continued....

 

    10 October 2008 -  Jacksonville, Florida USA                                        

 

Day 4 & 5 - Sea Days
 

On our itinerary, Day 4 was really sea day but Day 5 was supposed to be the day for Grand Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman.  DH and I had booked an excursion through Carnival for 4 hours of Grand Cayman Shore Snorkel hence I was really looking forward to put on for the very first time, the snorkel gears (mask, snorkel, fins and vest) and walk down to Eden Rock--one of the best-known sites in Cayman beach but that never happens.  Imagine the big disappointment in my face when I heard from the Captain that Grand Cayman is going to be cancelled due to the port being closed and the tenders were not operating because of surf conditions being too high and too rough due to Hurricane Ike.  Bummer!!

 

So Day 5 turned out to be another party day again for everybody but us. Well, DH and I are not really party type couple so we didn’t hang around to socialize with other passengers except during dinner time.    Our idea of fun is different from the younger generation of course.  On sea days, while everyone was having a ball dancing, singing, playing card games, sunbathing and just having fun socializing with the rest of the passengers aboard the ship,  DH and I were cooped inside our private cabin making out like a newlywed ;-)  DH can't almost believe his luck that week because he scored 5 times in 8 days.  And I teased him that should be good enough to last him until the next anniversary in 2009. LOL

 

To be continued....

 

    1 October 2008 -  Jacksonville, Florida USA                                        

 

Day 3 - Cozumel, Mexico

DH and I decided to just wander around the town of San Miguel de Cozumel rather than go on one of the ship's organized excursions.  San Miguel de Cozumel is the only island overlooking from the International Cruise Pier.    The tourist area which is just few miles away from the pier offers various places to go for shopping.  You’ll also find numerous shops along the boardwalk selling all sorts of stuff from swim wears, dresses, accessories, crafts, perfumes, jewelries and etc. 

After few hours of walking around, I was sweating like a pig and found myself reliving the kind of life and atmosphere of my very own country, the Philippines.  Except for spoken language, Mexico and Philippines share a myriad of traditions and customs probably from the influence of the Spaniards way back then. 

Well, anyway, we ventured a little farther outside the tourist area and gladly found this local Catholic Parish Church which resembled the style and type of church in the Philippines.  You see, I have a spiritual belief that I carry on ever since I became a sensible adult. Here it is: The very first moment I walk-in to a new church;  it doesn't matter if it's Catholic church or not  is, I always make a habit of saying a personal prayer thanking God for all the blessings and then I make a wish---just one doable wish at a time. 

The only constant thing that I resolutely pray to God is that the beautiful gift and joy of my marriage to Tony is going to last a lifetime; its memories become more sweet and tender with each passing anniversary; that the love which knots our souls together never lose its zeal and that our faith/spiritual beliefs will ever strengthen our holy bond as the days, months and years roll by.  Amen.

There I celebrated my birthday with a big bang running around in Cozumel, Mexico and when we got back to the ship, there it is the Vanilla birthday cake was on our bed with  sweet nothings:  "The gift is compliments of your Loving Husband Tony.  "Happy Birthday my Beloved Love Rhebs" :-) 

DH surely knows how little sweet thing tickles my heart to bits.   When I think about the little things in so many ways DH makes me feel so special, beautiful and loved,  I can't help but get teary eyed and thank God for this greatest blessing in my life. Love that is. It's priceless!

Anyway, here's an excerpts; continuation of DH's post at Cruise Critic Forum:

We decided not to do any excursions in Cozumel and just wandered around the town. Glad we did, we found a small real Mexican restaurant (as opposed to a tourist Mexican) that was very good and inexpensive.

We had a good time there just wandering around. Cozumel is a shopping and party destination for a lot of people and it shows. The people were friendly, hard working, pleasant and easy to deal with.

While walking around the town, I asked someone where a “farmacia” was and he asked what we were looking for. I told him Hydrocortisone cream for my wife’s hives.  He said he didn’t have any but could get me Xanax, Vicodin, valium etc. It was only after I explained “krema” for her sun allergy that he directed me to a drug store. So be careful what you ask for.

Oh yeah the food was very good but I don't know about being inexpensive.  250 pesos ($25 US dollars) for the combo doesn't sound inexpensive to me.  Here in the States, I can eat the same kinds of food for $7.99!

The current exchange rate in Mexico is 1 US$ = 10 Mexican Pesos whereas in the Philippines, $1 = 45 pesos. Hence, a $25 (1,125 pesos) goes a long way in the Philippines.

To be continued....