2012 Caribbean Cruise, Day 4 Costa Maya

This was probably the warmest day of our cruise with the temperature in the 80's. This was our second time to visit Costa Maya. The first time, we decided to take a tour of the Mayan ruins which took just about all the time we had on shore for the stop. This time we decided to take a trip to a little fishing village called Majahual which was supposed to have a great beach.

We took a bus to the little village and was happy with our decision to visit the town. It is a small village which was mostly a beach with a few shops and restaurants. We walked from one end of the village to the other in just a few minutes. We passed a couple sitting at a table on the beach drinking a beer. The man walked by us and asked if we liked beer. We said that we did and he said that this was the best and cheapest place in the village to have a beer. They were from our ship so we ordered our beer and talked to them for awhile. He said that this was his 374th cruise and they had enjoyed them all.

After finishing our beer, we walked to the other end of the village and stopped at a restaurant table on the beach. Their menu listed a fish called Boca Negra which was a fish we had eaten when stationed in the Azores. The fish was very good so we decided to order the fish for lunch. We asked if one order would serve 2 and the waiter said that it would. It took a very long time to get our meal. I began to think they were having to catch the fish. When they finally brought our order, there was a huge mound of fish, french fries, vegetables and probably over a dozen tortillas on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. We thought this was our order and felt it would easily serve two. However, much to our surprise, they brought another cookie sheet the same size with the same amount of food. They also gave us 2 glasses of tequila which was the best tequila that I have ever had. The cost of everything was around $25.00 which was a great deal. If we ever wander that way again, we will have to go back for another fish dinner.

By the time we finished our meal, it was time to go back to the ship. The owner of the restaurant got us a cab and we returned to the ship and relaxed until dinner. The night before, our dinner partners had gotten an invitation to a special function for the Royal Caribbean Anchor Society Members who were in the upper tier of their loyalty program. They were telling us about the function and that one individual there was ranked number 3 in the Anchor Society for the number of nights on cruises with almost 2800 nights. The captain said that they had more nights at sea then he had. We described the couple we had met earlier in the day and found out they were the individuals ranked as number 3 in the society.

The entertainment theme for the evening was "the 70's". We found good seats on the second level and watched the Disco Party in the Centrum. There was great music and the ship singers and dancers were in costume, including wigs of the 70's. Everyone had a great time as the music took us back several years.

2012 Caribbena Cruise Day 3 Cozumel Mexico

We woke up to another beautiful day--sunny and warm. The high was projected to be in the 80's. After another leisure breakfast, we departed the ship and headed to the area where we were to catch our excursion. As usual, the check point was in the middle of the shopping area at the port. We took a stroll through the shops, but didn't buy anything since we were going to catch a semi-sub for a tour of the reef. It really wasn't a sub. It was a glass bottom boat that you entered and sat 4 to 5 feet below the water level.

There was some debris on the ocean floor from the last hurricane that had come through. There were a few fish in the area, but not many. When we got to the reef, we expected to see all the bright colors of the fish and coral formation, however, we mostly saw shades of grey. The tour guide said that the reef was actually brightly colored, but because of the depth of the formations, they did not show the color. This was true of the fish also. When we first saw them, they were mostly shades of gray, however, when they got close to the window of the boat you could see the different colors.

After the tour we went back to the shopping area around the docks. We then decided to walk outside the dock area to see what was there. We started walking to the center of Cozumel which was 3 miles away. Along the way, we stopped by the Dolphinaris, an area where you could swim with the dolphins. We watched the dolphins for awhile and continued our walk into Cozumel.

We arrived at a town square that was well designed and very clean. There were many stores to shop at, but, we did not go into many. You could not walk by a store without the clerks approaching you and trying to get you to come in and buy something. Linda did shop for some t-shirts, but that was all.

We eventually made our way back to the ship and to our cabin to rest for awhile. We spent what little time we had before casting off just walking the deck. The weather had been perfect and continued to be. This was our first trip to Cozumel and found it to be a very pretty town.

The evening entertainment at the Coral Theater was Bobby Arvon, singer/impressionist/pianist. His claim to stardom-he sang the opening song for "Happy Days". He was very entertaining. After the show, more strolling the deck, checking out the photo gallery and sitting awhile at one of the bars listening to the music.

2012 Caribbean Cruise Day 2

What a great day! After a good night's sleep, we woke up to a mostly sunny day with temperatures in the high 70's. This would be a day at sea so there was no rush to get ready to go somewhere.


We finally got dressed for the day and went to breakfast. We found a table by the window and had a gorgeous view. The selection of food was overwhelming, but we did finally decide on what we wanted. I had thought about getting an omelet, but the line was too long. They had everything from biscuits and gravy to steak and eggs. The fruit and pastry selections were also great. We could have sat in the dining room and just enjoyed the view, but decided to tour the ship.


We couldn't get over how beautiful the water was. The sun sure brought out the color of the water and it was this way most of the day. We took a few pictures, but not as many as we should have. We went back to the center of the ship where the glass elevators were. One set of elevators faced the Centrum (an open area that covered probably 8 decks) and the other faced the ocean. You had a great view either way.

Throughout the cruise in the afternoon and night there were bands playing on the first level of the Centrum. The design of the Centrum allowed the music to travel through all levels of the Centrum and you could sit on different levels and watch the band/people on the lowest level. We quickly discovered that it was too crowded on the lowest level so we usually sat on the second level.

The ship was well designed and had a lot for the teenagers to do--water slides, rock climbing walls, basketball courts, miniture golf, video game rooms and many more activities. Linda and I did play a few games of shuffle board, but after the tour of the ship, we found lounge chairs and sat on the deck and read our books. It sure made for a restful day and we thoroughly enjoyed doing "nothing" for the rest of the day. We get so wrapped up in our volunteer activities that we very seldom have time to sit back, relax and enjoy each other's company.

We had a great day and a very enjoyable dinner. This was a formal night so everyone was supposed to dress up. However, there are a few in every crowd that will ignore the rules and come as they are. The food was great and our companions for dinner were interesting as usual. Good food and great conversation--it doesn't get any better than that.

After dinner we went to the theater to watch the nights entertainment which was the ship's singers and dancers putting on the show. We enjoyed the performance and then went to one of the lounges to listen to the music. A perfect end to a very enjoyable day.

2012 Caribbean Cruise

It is a little late to update the blogspot with our cruise information and pictures, but, I guess it is better late than never.

We started 2012 by taking a five day Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas. We had leisurely days at sea and stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya.

We flew from Cincinnati , Ohio to Tampa January 7 for a cruise to Mexico. We normally fly out of Dayton, Ohio, however the cruise package we bought, Cincinnati was the airport we had to use. This was the first time we had flown from Cincinnati and the airport was easy to get to and clearing security was much quicker than the Dayton Airport.

After an uneventful flight, we arrived in Tampa and took a shuttle to the ship. This is the second time we have taken a cruise from Tampa and once again, we had an easy boarding. This was our first cruise on Royal Caribbean and we were impressed with how quickly we were processed.

We boarded the ship and expected to have to wait awhile before we could check out our cabin. However, it was ready by 1:00 PM but our luggage hadn't arrived yet. We then went to the dining room for lunch. We were impressed with the layout of the dining room and their buffet. We were able to find a table immediately and get through the buffet line quickly. The food was great and we thoroughly enjoyed a nice, quiet lunch by ourselves. We arrived early and got on board before the majority of the passengers.

After lunch, we took a tour of the top decks of the ship. All our other cruises have been on Holland America and their ships are smaller than the Jewel of The Seas.

We departed around 5:00 PM and had planned on staying on deck to watch the cast off and the passage under the bridge. The captain said that there was only about 6 feet of clearance from the top the the ship and the bottom of the bridge. However, we had the 6:00 PM seating for dinner and had to get ready for dinner.

The dining room was much larger than the one on Holland America and we were seated on the first floor of the dining room. On Holland America, we always sat on the second level and had a great view of the ocean while dining. On this cruise, we could not see the ocean which was a little disappointing.


The couple that were seated with us were from Florida and were a very friendly couple. Our first night dining turned out to be a very pleasant dinner. The service was great and the food was outstanding.

After dinner we made our way to the Coral Theater for the Welcome Aboard Show, starring David Orion, who has been Jerry Seinfeld's opening act and a Star Search winner. He was very entertaining and kept the crowd laughing.

After the show, we checked out the ship some more, strolled on the deck and watched the waves go by.

Shauna Danielle Dufon

We had an exciting day yesterday...Shauna Danielle arrived and all the family joyously welcomed her.

South Carolina Vacation Day 3: Plantation

Today we decided to visit Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, a plantation near Charleston . Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. Founded in 1676 by the Drayton family, Magnolia Plantation has survived the centuries and witnessed the history of our nation unfold before it from the American Revolution through the Civil War and beyond. It is the oldest public tourist site in the low country, and the oldest public gardens in America, opening its doors to visitors in 1870 to view the thousands of beautiful flowers and plants in its famous gardens.

It was a beautiful day and the plantation was supposed to have one of the best gardens in the United States. We were a little late for most of the flowers and a little early for the camellias that were planted in the woods. There were a few varieties blooming and they were pretty. We were told that the best time to view the woods was in February when all the camellias were in bloom. They have planted thousands of camellias of many different varieties throughout the woods and with the layout of the walks and other little gardens they would be gorgeous. As you walked through the woods, there were gardens of different flowers and herbs usually behind a manicured hedge or a growth of camellias. Throughout the woods, you would see many different statutes nestled in the gardens and camellias. The plantation grounds had many ponds and small lakes and there were wooden bridges over some of them. There were also gazebos and benches strategically located in the woods and gardens so if you wanted to rest or just sit and while away time you could. They were many secluded locations that would be great to sit in and read a book.

We toured the house, but, unfortunately, we could not take pictures in the house. The history of this property is very interesting and the history as well as a short video and pictures can be found at http://www.magnoliaplantation.com/

South Carolina Vacation: Sunset

Linda and I decided to go to the beach and watch the sunset. It had been such a good day that we thought a beautiful sunset would be a fitting ending to the day.

We arrived at the beach and it looked like others had the same idea. While taking pictures we noticed some dolphins swimming along the coast. Unfortunately, I was not able to get any good pictures of them. I have included one showing a fin.

We watched the sun set and I took over 70 pictures. I have included a few, but there are others that are just as pretty.