Carribean Cruise

Last week we took a week long vacation and went on a Caribbean cruise.  I think cruising has the stigma of being a vacation for old people, but this couldn't be further from the truth.  Modern cruise ships are so big and packed with tons of activities, so much so that anyone could find what entertains and relaxes them.

This was our third cruise; the previous being a week in Alaska and a week in Mexico (Pacific side).  We sailed out of Florida on the Freedom of the Seas, one of Royal Caribbean's largest ships.  We had stops in Labadee Haiti, Falmouth Jamaica, George Town Grand Cayman, and Cozumel Mexico.

All and all the vacation was a great time.  The only downside (for me) was the weather at the various stops.  I hate heat and humidity and that's exactly what we had at every stop.  Although it could have been a lot worse.

Instead of listing all the activities on bound our ship (and sounding like a spokesman for Royal Caribbean) instead I'll compare and contract this ship and cruise with the previous ships we've been on (Mariner of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas).  The Freedom is vastly different than the Serenade, but nearly a clone of the Mariner (despite being a different class of ships).  The pool deck of the Freedom was much larger and nicer.  And my favorite part were the two cantilevered spas that stick out from the ship on deck 11.  The view was incredible, and the spas were quite large and rarely, if ever, packed with people.  Another feature I was looking forward to ahead of time was the flowrider, a standing wave machine for boogie boarding and surfing.  Unfortunately, half of the machine broke the day before we boarded, so they were only running one side of the machine.  This meant boogie boarding only, plus one long line instead of two shorter lines.  We ended up not ridding it, but it sure was fun to watch other people riding it.

Another aspect of the cruise is the onboard entertainment.  This cruise was top-notch.  Our cruise director was hilarious, and most of the onboard shows were right up my alley.

And of course there is the food.  Although I haven't cruised another line, I've heard other lines have, at best, average food.  But Royal Caribbean continues to have incredible food - and all buffets to boot.  When I got back I was honestly expecting to have gained 10 pounds, although when I weighted myself I only gained 3 pounds.  This is probably due to the fact that we never took the elevators.  And running up and down 13 stories multiple times a day for 7 days is definitely a workout.

I'm already looking forward to our next Royal Caribbean cruise.  The only question is where will it be?