Tuesday, December 25, 2007 @ 12:00 PM in General Travel
This year my parents decided to book a four-day cruise for the family. The cruise stopped in Key West and Cozumel, Mexico each for a day and then we had a day at sea on the way back to Tampa. The cruise was a lot of fun aside from some of the huge lines we had to wait in to get on and off the ship in the ports. The ship was the Royal Caribbean "Grandeur of the Sea" and was a little smaller than the cruise we went on a few years ago (this one didn't have the putt-putt course on the 9th floor).
In Key West we went on the "Conch Train"... a tour through the island that pointed out different historical facts and showed various aspects of the island. The tour guide was funny and informative and made the tour fun. After that we walked up and down Duvaul street (the main drag in Key West) and went into a lot of the little shops. There were a lot of bums/street performers lining most of Duvaul street. Some of the better ones were the people who dress up like statues and pose. That night was formal night on the cruise, so we had to leave the island a little early to get dressed up and do photos and everything. The food was good and we had some wine with dinner.
The second stop was Cozumel, Mexico. When we got off the boat we took a taxi to Chankanaab State Park where we planned to relax on the beach and snorkel. When we got there, we picked out some seats and rented some snorkeling gear and got into the water. The water was surprisingly clear and warm. We stayed there for a few hours and then got a taxi back into town where we walked through some shops. The shops mostly had the same things over and over... if you saw one store, you saw about 95% of them. Instead of eating on the boat we grabbed dinner at a restaurant overlooking the main street and ocean.
Our last day on the ship was spent at sea. I spent most of this day laying out on the deck or in the hot tub. When not relaxing I was usually eating. All the free food on the ship was definitely cool and I got my fare share of food on the trip.
The trip went by pretty fast but it was still fun. Hopefully next time we won't have to wait in lines like we did this time and we can cruise for a few more days.
I uploaded some of the photos I took from the cruise. Check them out by clicking on the image above or the photo icon below.
Teaser photos:
Tags: old blog
Posted from: United States