Caribbean
MSC1 Day 5: Roatan Island, Honduras
We have been to Roatan Island before and we like it. The people are laid-back and friendly and the island, though not exotic, has some beautiful beaches and fine houses. It also has a distressing number of shacks. But it still ranks higher, in our eyes, than either Costa Maya or Belize City. And it … Continue reading
MSC1 Day 4: Belize City, Belize
Another day, another port that we don’t like all that much. Belize has some wonderful places to visit, but Belize City is not one of them. It is like Detroit which, as a friend once put it: “You have to get out of the city to find something to do.” We didn’t really want to … Continue reading
MSC1 Day 3: Costa Maya, Mexico
Our first port of call was Costa Maya, Mexico. We have visited Costa Maya twice before and we still don’t like it. It is fine as a place to embark on an excursion, to a Mayan site or a snorkeling adventure, but it useless as a destination. There is nothing there but souvenir shops and … Continue reading
MSC1 Day 2: At sea
The first day was spent entirely at sea, cruising along the north coast of Cuba. The weather was considerably warmer – in the high 70s – and mostly sunny, so it was a lovely, smooth day to cruise the Caribbean Sea. We slept in until after 8, then I embarked on a search for cappuccino. … Continue reading
MSC1 Day 1: Embarkation
The day began with final chores: finishing the packing, loading the bags into the truck, shutting windows, turning on the air conditioning, turning off the water and hot water heater, locking up. Then a short drive to the hotel to fetch Jett’s sisters and their luggage. It all fit. Barely. A stop at Starbucks then … Continue reading
Another try at a cruise
We like cruises. They are, in our view, very relaxing and generally a good value. We have always had a good time. Even our aborted attempt at a 27-night transatlantic/Mediterranean cruse last April, interrupted halfway through by Jett’s hemoglobin problem, was fun until it wasn’t. So we are going to try again. This time it … Continue reading
Carnival Breeze – Days 7, 8 and 9 – At sea and in the Everglades
We like ports of call, too, and shore excursions, but one the the best things about cruising is sailing along on the sunny open ocean, with nothing to do. Having two long, lazy days at sea to end this cruise – with beautiful sunsets – was just fine with us. The final days of a … Continue reading
Carnival Breeze – Day 6 – Aruba
Aruba was the one destination on the itinerary that we had visited before. We are probably in the minority as we are not enchanted by the island. We found it windy, bustling, overbuilt and visually uninteresting – it is basically a sandbar with big hotels. The beaches, while very nice, are not noticeably better than … Continue reading
Carnival Breeze – Day 5 – Curacao
Curacao was another first-time visit for us. It was an unusual docking as we were ashore late – departure was 10pm. That gave us a rare view of our cruise ship at night. I had seen the photos of the colorful buildings along the harbor in Curacao and seeing them in person didn’t disappoint. But … Continue reading
Carnival Breeze – Day 4 – La Romana
We finally got to dock at a Caribbean island on Day 4 of our cruise. And it was one of the places we have never been: the Dominican Republic. Specifically, La Romana, a port on the southeast corner of the island and the third-largest city in the DR. We had been told not to expect … Continue reading