Gone Cruise'n

We have talked about taking a cruise for the past couple of years.  We thought we would go on one for the holidays last year but we quickly discovered that is the most expensive time of the year to go so we set the idea aside.  

Earlier this year we started talking cruise again for our family trip and through little research found that August is the cheapest time of the year to go, 1. Because it is hot. (Thank goodness we had been in a heat wave all summer so we didn't notice if it was too hot or not.) And 2. It is close to or is hurricane season.  Barry got online and booked a cruise that would leave out of New Orleans, LA.  

New Orleans in the background. 

Our ship had 11 stories.

Mississippi River: We had to "cruise" on it for sometime until we made it to the ocean. 

The ship had a water slide

Creed and Sierra soon discovered the pool was filled with sea water.  Notice Creed's closed eyes. 

The kids had their own room across the hall from us.

Towel animals are a tradition on the cruise.  You leave for the day and when you return your room has been turned down for the night and a towel animal is placed on your bed or pillow with a chocolate. 

Cameron and Sierra sipping their non-alcoholic tropical drinks. 

Barry and I had a room with a balcony and a nice big king bed. 

There is always enough, if not too much, to eat on the ship.

Waiting to see a show.

Creed seems to have a new friend.  He doesn't look to thrilled.

First stop was Yucatan (sp) Mexico.  We took an off shore excursion to Chichen Itza where they Miahn ruins are.  Pretty neat stuff.  We wished we had a lot more time. Further down in this post you will see where I say NOT to use the ship to book off shore excursions, this was a little different since it was a 2 hr bus drive away... 

A quick stop for a bathroom break and lunch before the ruins.

This was our guide for the day.  If we had to do it over again we would have listened to him for 1/2 hr and gone at it on our own.  There was 5 miles of ruins and we saw a very small portion of it. 

People are selling things EVERYWHERE here.

This little girl was selling hand stitched handkerchiefs 2 for $1. 

These guys were not a rare sight. 

Bartering.  Sierra got really good at this, we were impressed. 

Planking. 

Since you are not allowed on the ruins anymore Cameron had to settle for planking on the grass in front of them. 

Back on board and more yummy drinks for the kids. 

This was one of my favorite things on the ship, movies on the deck at night, kind of like a drive in.  We watched Tangled and Secretariat. 

Welcome to Cozumel! 

No wonder this is a top place to snorkel and play on the beach, the water is awesomely clear and blue. 

NOTE: If you are going on a cruise and want to do off shore excursions, especially local attractions, snorkeling or just sit on a nice beach, you need to skip booking it through the ship and book it through one of these guys waiting for people like us looking for things to do.  They have the best deals, they are competing with the ship prices and one another.  We probably saved 75% off of the ships price to go to a beach and snorkel and had more time to do it. 

We were taken to a private resort where there were not a ton of people and had easy access in and out of the water.  Some of the areas that were advertised as good snorkeling were good but there was a big drop off once in the water, not sand to play in. 

Cameron's lunch.  It was really yummy!

I like how the diet drinks were called "light". 

See, they are everywhere. 

This is a fairy to the main land.  I think our driver said it was a 45 minute ride.

Do you see Cody? 

Back on board and there is the animal towel. 

Creed taking a break in our room after a long day on the beach.

I think Cameron was a bit worn out.  

It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast.  Since we left out of New Orleans there were a lot of families from Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and of course Louisiana.  I was surprised at how many kids were on board that were Cameron and Cody's age.  They really liked that. 

Would we do it again - Yes.  Would we do the same cruise - No.  This was the kids first cruise and they really loved it.  Barry and I have been on several cruises and we agreed hands down that Royal Caribbean is the line to go with(at least over this one).  We used Carnival this time due to the location (for driving) and price. 

The service and food on the Carnival did not compare to the Caribbean cruise line.  We also decided two full days at sea for parents is just okay, if we gambled or drank it might have been more fun?  For the kids with other kids their age and endless soft served ice cream, it was great.  The cruise I would take if we did it again would be the one I saw that leaves out of Miami FL.  You board, have a night at sea and then wake up in Naasau - play there all day, another evening at sea, wake up at Cococay, which is their private island, lots of really nice snorkeling there.  Again get back on board, wake up in the FL keys more beach fun or other attractions and after another night at sea return to Miami.  Less time on the boat, more time walking around and exploring.  

SO if you can avoid a hurricane (which this year that area ended up with a doozy) that is what I would do.  But all and all it was a fun trip with lots of good memories.