We’re getting lots of travel in this spring. After our Thailand/China trip, we were home for almost 2 weeks and then took off for a family Caribbean Cruise. We chose Carnival, mostly because they’re the least expensive for the Caribbean. They also have very fun ships for kids with a fun water play area with slides, pools, splash parks etc. The movies on the Lido were generally family friendly, too.
We all met in Miami and sailed Saturday to Saturday. We wanted this particular itinerary because we wanted to be at sea on Sunday. We were able to reserve a room with doors that closed out the noise and music where we could gather for a testimony sort of meeting that included a bit of a Primary lesson and game for the kids. We sang “As a Child of God” thanks to Kimberly and took turns sharing our thoughts about being a disciple of Christ. It was a quieter day and though we couldn’t take the Sacrament, it felt good to be together and hear each person’s thoughts.
The first stop was the Cayman Islands. We went ashore and walked around St. George, some. Later we took a semi-submersible boat ride which the kids loved and the adults, not so much. The boat made us wait 45 minutes below decks where there wasn’t much to see after our appointed time so they could combine tours. Then the tour guide made a series of dirty jokes and knew very little about what we were seeing. Cap it off that there’s not too much to see if you’ve ever been snorkeling. 
This is the wreck of the German made Cali in the harbor at Grand Caymen.
The jokes went over the kids’ heads so they thought it was amazing. Add to that they are insistent on your obligation to tip them. We gave a dollar. Cap it off that the delay in our tour made us return to the ship at the same time as 500 other people, all trying to tender to the ship at once. We had to wait in the HOT sun for over an hour to get on the tender boat.
Next stop was Roatan Honduras. Carnival owns the little island near the dock.
coral beach in HondurasThere are some interesting shipwrecks sticking out of the water in the bay. The island is a garden of beautiful flowers and palms and the beach is sugary white with aqua marine crystal clear water. We had watched videos of the snorkeling and concluded that it would be so-so. We were VERY pleasantly surprised. The grassy area near the beach sports rays and pretty fish and the reef is diverse and colorful with lots of interesting and beautiful species of fish. There’s a dramatic shelf that drops into the deep blue water where we couldn’t see the bottom, just like in ‘Finding Nemo’.
Carnival ship Glory in the harbor at Roatan, Honduras.
I had crushed my finger between two rocks about 9 days before we left for the cruise and got the 11 stitches out the day we left. It was very tender and only half healed, so I swam and snorkeled with my finger out of the water. (It’s still healing, and it’s going to be ugly. . .but at least I’ll be able to keep it. I hope to get feeling back on the side.) The weather was hot, the water was pleasantly cool. Fun day.
The next day, we were in Belize. I had been to Caye Caulker and Shark Ray Alley, so decided to help Tricia with the little children on Caye Caulker while the other adults went snorkling and swimming with the sharks and rays. They had a good time, although 7-year-old Nathan was too young to enjoy the snorkeling or to get his equipment properly adjusted.
Caye Caulker is one of my favorite places in the world.
Grandma with Baby Rachel on Caye Caulker
While we were on the island, the elder folks enjoyed swimming with sharks and rays. Chris dives down to the reef for a closer look.
This little bakery is just as good as it was 8 years ago! I found it like a homing pigeon. Food is so good and so cheap on this little island Paradise!
. Grace finished off the fresh squeezed juice!
Sandy streets, cheap but delicious fry jacks and fresh squeezed OJ or watermelon juice: I just love the pace and the feel of the place. There again, it’s better with more time than we had, but if you need a week in heaven, check out that Caye and bring your own snorkel gear. There’s plenty to see the water is spectacular. Fresh caught fish in the restaurants is the norm. They don’t know the menu until the fishermen come back. Hope for some grouper!
Last was Mexico. The ship docks at Cozumel and Brian and Kelsi rented a motor scooter (or some vehicle) and went exploring. They found the little area where the artists were carving the wooden masks and bought an awesome one for a mere $30. The rest of the family rode a ferry to the mainland and went to a natural waterpark called Xcaret. There is an underground river that you can swim through, beaches, dolphins, pools, all sizes ofl sea turtles and a spectacular aviary.
These handsome birds fit right in.
There are droplets on the camera but what do you expect in a waterfall! Thomas and James helped each other along the 45 minute swim
Walt with Gracie, Chris with McCoey, I think the totem in the background looks a bit like Thomas
The water is surprisingly chilly in the underground river. It’s salt water, so it’s mixing with ocean water.
Scott and Lizzy pose with a couple of vultures in the aviary.
If I were staying in Cancun, I’d spend a whole day in Xcaret. We had only about 5 hours and it wasn’t long enough. Some of the kids enjoyed the swim in the underground river (it comes in and out. there are even bats in one part!) The babies liked it, but some of the older kids not so much. Ironically, we’d chosen that destination for the sake of the kids and they liked everything except the main attraction.
The boat itself had some excellent elements and some major fails. Bad stuff first, so that I leave you with an up note. The cruise director was obnoxious. He’d make loudspeaker announcements late and early when most kids and some adults were asleep. The “shows” that he participated in were not entertaining and just dumb. In fact there were some good musicians on the ship, but the entertainment was both sparse and mostly of low quality. Of the four cruises we’ve been on, (our second with Carnival), this one easily ranks fourth for the quality of the entertainment. The muster (safety) drill at the beginning of the cruise is tortuous and very poorly organized. Plus, they didn’t take roll, so they don’t know who skipped out. It was very hot and we had to stand crowded together on deck for over half an hour. One lady near us fainted.
I’ve never seen so many tatoo’s, shockingly immodest bathing suits or pregnant-looking men in my life. Here’s a funny thing I noticed. The white people were lying in the sun, baking their backsides to leather while the black people were sitting in the shade sipping cool drinks. There’s a reason black people don’t show their age!
We were up on the mini golf course at about 8:30 pm on Thursday night when the power went off. It was pitch black for a few minutes until the emergency lights came on. We skedaddled down to our rooms. Eric came on the loudspeaker saying that the extension cord from Miami got pulled out and that they sent divers to plug it back in, so don’t worry. Under the circumstances and with other ships having had issues that were serious, it was an idiotic thing to broadcast. If we wanted to know the truth, we could have gone to a meeting the next day. We didn’t go. The power was out for about an hour and it caused the cancellation of a stage show and the deck movie. We had intended to watch the deck movie.
The tendering arrangement on Grand Cayman was a nightmare. But the Belize tender went fine, with no waiting lines to get on or off the boat. I actually enjoyed both the tendering boat rides themselves.
The good stuff: The Carnival Glory is a fun boat for kids and adults alike. Carnival cruises are geared toward heavy drinkers, partiers, and generally a younger set, including little children. Even in the formal dining room, they bent over backward to make the children feel welcome. Even when the little ones got a bit out of hand, they were patient and kind and tried to help each child enjoy themselves, too. One waiter made the kids some origami jumpy frogs and an origami talking bird. Another overheard that McCoey wanted cherries for dessert, (his favorite part of the banana split from the night before) so they brought him a dish of cherries with ice cream on the side. Another time, I couldn’t decide between two chocolate desserts and I don’t think I even expressed it out loud. I decided on one and the waiter brought me both. I guess he’d seen my finger marking both alternately.
Tricia and Grace await their scrumptious meal of lobster and other yummies on formal night. Kimberly and Scott are at the table behind on her right and Chris and a bit of Kelsi on her left. Brian is behind Chris and Thomas has his back to the camera.
right to left Nathan, McCoey and Grace enjoying formal night in the main dining room on Carnival Glory
The chocolate extravaganza on the Lido deck on our last sea day was yummy!
Brian, Kelsi, Jeff and I are enjoying the Chocolate treats on the last sea day. Of course Jeff is taking the picture, but the evidence of his indulgence is obvious!
Add to that, the food on the ship is fantastic. I don’t notice much difference between the various cruise lines. It was fantastic on the Glory, too. I just can’t say enough good about the variety and quality of the food in the main dining room. The chocolate melting cake is a Carnival specialty and SO GOOD! Add to that, you can get a variety of excellent sandwiches at the deli and to-die-for hamburgers on the Lido near the pool. The pizza place is good but thin crust, (I’m a thick crust girl). Top it off with the soft serve good quality ice cream available in a few places around the ship 24-7 and you get the idea. When James beat me at Farkle, we snuck up after the family was getting in bed and had a winner cone on the deck and watched the ocean slide by for a little while.
We saw whales and flying fish from the ship, too. Adults and kids alike enjoyed the water attractions on board. Chris checked out the music and liked what he heard too. We didn’t discover the kids camp until the last day, but the kids like the time they spent there, too.
We were glad that they sold Aloe with Lidocain in the infirmary. It wasn’t too expensive. Some of us forgot that sunscreen wears off super fast in salt water and needs to be super strength in the tropics.
We had fun playing Bananagrams and Farkle. Kelsi is the undisputed champion of Bananagrams but I came close once or twice. I think Kelsi and Chris tied for the Mini golf title.
One last weird thing was that as we waited in VERY long, slow moving lines to get off the ship in Miami, there was a glitch and the official told three of our kids, (each in separate staterooms) that they owed several hundred dollars (for gratuities). We had set it up that all gratuities would be charged to Jeff’s card, so we don’t know what was going on with it. Brian told them, “No, I don’t owe anything.” The official looked at his paper again and said, “Oh, you’re right. We owe you some money” They handed him $25.
Add to that, the port authorities from Miami were RUDE. One lady scolded Chris roundly for letting a child she assumed was his son (but was actually his nephew) cry as he came down the escalator. She made a big fuss and was actually yelling! It was the weirdest thing! Then the guy checking passports made a rude remark Scott’s family with four children, (“You guys need to get HBO or something.”) Anyway, those incidents left a sour taste in my mouth. Then our shuttle was 45 minutes late, which turned out not to matter because the flights stopping in Dallas had been cancelled due to bad weather.
Overall, it was fun fun fun! I loved spending time with some of the people that are dearest to me. We’ll definitely plan large family trips again, but I don’t think I’d do another cruise with such young kids. The kids love it, but the adults can’t take full advantage of the ports’ offerings or the evening fun (even gathering to play games or watching the on deck movies) because of the wee ones.
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