“The only trip you will regret, is the one you didn’t take…”

There was a lot of debate about whether or not G and I would go with his family on a cruise this spring. After much discussion and some schedule finagling, we decided that FOMO (fear of missing out) was too much. We were scared we would regret not going, so we went. And, we had an awesome time!

We sailed with Norwegian on the Escape. I had never been on a cruise, so was excited to experience it. G and I flew into Miami the night before and met with everyone else the next morning. The line to check in to the boat was quite crazy. We would end up standing in that line for more than 3 hours! The cruise line had added additional procedures due to the threat of the Coronavirus. While the additional procedures were understandable and even appreciated, it was still exhausting and frustrating. When we finally made it on board, it was such a relief. It was made all the sweeter with a rainbow that appeared to wish us off. When I sent it to Mom, she said “Oh, that’s perfect! Just like your wedding day. Chasing rainbows together.” I couldn’t agree more.

The Ship

We were on board the Norwegian Escape, one of the tallest ships in the world. I don’t know what I expected on the ship. I guess all I had really conjured up in my head was rows of lounge chairs on the sunny deck and small rooms with a port hole window. The chairs were accurate, but the rest left me a bit in awe. We were allowed on decks 5-18, and at first, I thought that I’d never learn where anything was. However, by the end of the cruise, it was mostly familiar.

G and I had has room at the very end of the ship, overlooking the bough (excuse any incorrect boat terminology. I’m limited.) It was quite the hike to the end of the ship, but I really appreciated our view. The location of the room had its downfalls, though. We receive some of the most motion at that part of the ship, so the stormy weather day, was quite rocky. I definitely had flashbacks to every stormy ship movie scene I could think of. Despite the motion, we didn’t get seasick and found it overall, quite pleasant.

The ship had so many amenities, and I won’t bore you with a list of them all. I’m sure you can look it up if you’re curious. I do want to mention some of my favorite and most memorable aspects of the ship.

The Grotto—this was an adults only section. With plenty of loungers, a big screen, hot tub, and cave, it was an ideal place to soak up some sun. The cave was filled with ankle deep water, misters and mini water falls, a perfect way to get cool after sitting in the sun.

Garden Cafe—to know me, is to know I love food. The Garden Cafe is basically open 24/7 (not really, but basically) and is a buffet of food. They switch out breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack buffets for you to enjoy. The Garden Cafe is the primary undoing of any dieting/toning I had done prior to the cruise.

The Theater Escape—this where all the major shows took place. I’m a sucker for a good show, so this was a fave.

While we didn’t spend all our time on the ship, the majority of time was spent on the ship. We ate at many of the restaurants on the ship, my favorite being either the La Cucina (Italian) or Food Republic (Asian Fusion). It was nice to come together at meals after often spending the day doing our own things. We watched several shows including the After Midnight and Choir of Man, both excellent musicals. There was also comedy shows, dueling pianos (G loved singing loudly to this), karaoke, game shows (these were always packed but hilarious), and so much more. I won two dollars in the casino, and G made friends with the art dealers.

Let me explain—there is an art exhibit on board with several art auctions taking place during the cruise. Garrett became a regular. While he never pulled the trigger on bidding for any art, he did correctly guess what the yet-to-be unveiled sculpture was. The art guy was so astounded he let Garrett be the one to unveil it! It was just a fun and memorable moment.

Overall, the ship was beautiful. I was also impressed with how conscious the staff was about sanitation. Before entering almost any restaurant and before boarding the ship, we had to wash our hands with sanitizer. They even created a song “washy, washy! What’s good for you, is good for me!” that became quite the topic of the cruise.

The Ports

We made 4 stops on our cruise, and they were my favorite part of the whole trip.

Cozumel

First stop was Cozumel, Mexico. After much excursion discussion, it was decided that G, his dad, and I would go to the Xplor park while the others would go swim with dolphins. My group had an early morning and were on the dock by 7:30 am. We took a 30 minute ferry ride across more ocean to another location. This was a rough ride. They warned folks ahead of time that this could cause motion sickness, and I can see why. This is the closest I came to feeling sick. The waters were fairly rough, making our boat rock. I was completely fine on the ferry back, but the ferry to had me woozy (probably because I missed breakfast). Once on dry land, we took a short bus ride to the park.

At the park, we were given helmets that were to be worn at all times. They weren’t exactly cute, but I did appreciate them as we took part in all the activities at the park. We went ziplining over jungles. These ziplines were the largest any of us had ever been on. One had us going at speeds at 35mph! Stopping was a bit of a jar, especially G who often hit the padded backstop. The ziplines had us completely out of breath from climbing the many steps up the towers. If you’ve ever climbed lighthouses, it was several of those consecutively. I thought it completely unfair that G cruised up those towers with little effort, and I had been working out and was dying. I digress. The best part of the ziplines was zipping into waterfalls!

After ziplines, we all piled into an off-road vehicle similar to a Gator. G drove. Our only instructions were to not wreck. The path we drove led us through water, into caves, and included many sharp turns. We almost hit a real iguana and ran into a few cave walls. Part of this was caused by Garrett’s lack of glasses. Still, it was great fun!

Before hitting our last activity, we had a buffet lunch at the park restaurant that was under a large outdoor shelter. They had fabulous guacamole and other food. Our last activity was swimming in the caves. We were dubious about the authenticity of the caves, especially when we were given basically free reign of them. All doubts were cast aside, though. The frigid water was clear and took us through a winding cave complete with live bats and little fish in the water. It was absolutely beautiful and one of my favorite parts of the entire trip. We also came to a section in the caves that opened up into a large skylight that went more than 200 feet high. The large circular area cascaded with water from the top. It was incredible! I’m so glad we chose this excursion, but I know it isn’t for everyone. If you don’t like heights, to get wet, or are terrified of bats, then it probably isn’t your scene. For our trio, though, it was AMAZING!

Belize

Our next port was a beach (owned by the cruiseline) in Belize. There was no dock, so we tendered to shore in several large boats. It felt similar to being herded like cattle (something that was common I learned on the trip), but it was a short, smooth ride. At the port, there was a giant swimming pool, some shops, the beach, kayaking, paddle boarding, and restaurants. G and I went kayaking in the lagoon where we saw iguanas on the shore intensely staring at us, some fish, and some upside down jellyfish. Everyone also enjoyed swimming in the ocean and snorkeling some. We were hyper-vigilant about jellyfish, though. We had been warned and watched several people get stung. We found one swimming near us, but we were able to avoid it and getting stung. The sun was intense here, and I’m so glad we didn’t skip sunscreen. Of course, there was still one spot I missed that got lobster red. O h well.

After getting our fill of Vitamin D, we headed back to the ship. While a beautiful beach, it ended up being our least favorite stop of the trip.

Costa Maya

We were back in Mexico the next day in the town of Costa Maya. This was the stop Garrett was most excited for, until we got a note on our door the night before. The note said that our excursion to some Mayan ruins had been cancelled due to a agricultural protest. Farmers were putting a blockade up, so we wouldn’t be able to get to our destination. We changed excursions to a different set of ruins. We were all a bit bummed, but thankful we would still see some form of ruins, or as Garrett described it, “rocks in a jungle".

The day was crazy hot, but the tour gave us all ice cold bottles of water getting on the bus. We took a 30 minute bus ride through rural Mexico to reach the Chacchoben Mayan ruins. Here, we learned all about the site, the Mayans, and the wildlife and vegetation. We saw wild spider monkeys and learned about a tree that had sap that would give you second degree burns. It was a fabulous place to visit where we learned so much! Read the captions of the photos below to learn some of those facts. Before hopping back on the bus, we bought some handmade local ornaments. Back in town, we did some additional shopping. I love history, culture and exploring, so this was a perfect excursion for me.

Roatan

Our last stop before heading back to Miami, was the Honduran island of Roatan. We were bound for Gumbalimba Preserve and Animal Sanctuary. The weather had turned stormy, and we were concerned that it would rain on us. The rain held out for us and the wind made for much more pleasant weather.

At the park, our guide took us along a path where we saw a sloth, Macaws, Military Macaws, monkeys, iguanas, peacocks, toucans, and what they called a wild rabbit.

We also got to cross a slight scary wooden swinging bridge with rather large holes in it. The highlight of the park was interacting with animals. We got to hold Macaws. We were warned that they were button thieves, so leave hats off when holding them. Garrett’s dad ended up having his hat button and shirt button stolen!

We also got to interact with white-faced kombucha monkeys. These monkeys are wild, but come into the park during the day to get food and treats. With treat persuasion, they sat on our shoulder and leaped from person to person. Michael had two on him at one point that decided to have a disagreement!

Garrett’s monkey stuck his hand all the way up his hat for a massage. Another monkey stole a lady’s hairband and ran up the tree with it. Because they were wild, we were not allowed to pet them, but watching their antics and allowing them to use us as a jungle-gym was absolutely incredible! I think my face says it all.

Gumbalimba was a relaxed experience with a lot to see. It wasn’t strenuous, and we learned a lot. We didn’t just see animals, but were also shown almond, cashew, cinnamon, lime, mango, and coconut trees. It was a great place for all ages.

Our time on the Norwegian Escape was wonderful. While a few of us did disembark with a cold (myself included), the memories we made were well worth it. I’m so glad we took this trip.

Cruising the Caribbean