Cruise

While Ryan and Frank were fishing, Paula, Heath, Tessa and I cruised to Mexico from Galveston.  On departure day, we arrived nice and early and were lucky because our stateroom was ready.  So, we dropped our luggage and headed out to explore the ship.  The party was already getting started with the bars open and the music playing.  Tessa danced on the deck while we waited to set sail.  This ship had lots of fun things to do, including a three story waterslide.  The slide was probably Tessa's favorite part of the whole ship.  I would park myself in a nearby lounge chair and watch her slide down and then race back up the stairs to slide again.  Her beloved Ariel doll would often slide with her, but sometimes she talked the lifeguard into sending Ariel by herself after Tessa had launched down the slide.

One of the nice upgrades to our cruise was anytime dining.  Each night we had a private table in the main dining room.  The food was delicious, better than any of us expected.  We had lobster, escargot, filet mignon and yummy pasta dishes.  The kid's menu kept Tessa happy, especially since she had ice cream for dessert each night.  The breakfast and lunch buffets were huge, plus pizza and ice cream were available 24 hours a day.  One or two days, Tessa ate an ice cream cone while we went through the breakfast buffet line.   On vacation why not have ice cream before breakfast? 

Our first stop was Progreso, a little town on the Yucatan peninsula.  We opted for the excursion to a nearby all-inclusive resort.  We rode a bus through the sketchy part of town and were deposited at this pretty resort.  We headed to the beach area first and Tessa wanted to kayak.  We climbed right in to a double kayak and paddled around in the shallow water.  Then we walked along the beach looking for seashells.  Unfortunately, the bugs were really bad so we decided to move to the pool area.  We made multiple trips to the buffet, with me eating more than my fair share of flautas, so yummy.  Tessa made me laugh with her fruity drinks.  There was also a children's pool with a slide where Tessa and Heath played.  On the drive back to the boat, both Tessa and I fell asleep. 

We missed the memo that it was formal night.  Oh well, we still were able to get our picture taken in front of the boat backdrop.  I think it turned out great.  That was the only night we had to wait for a table at dinner but it wasn't a problem.  The kids and I just walked over to the pizza place and had an appetizer.  As an apology for our wait, Carnival sent a dessert tray to our room.  Tessa was in heaven with the chocolate covered strawberries. 

We took our own pictures on the main staircase.  Look how happy Nanny Paula is with her two grandkids.

After a stormy night that had our boat rocking like crazy, we docked in Cozumel.  Nanny Paula and Heath wanted to explore the town so Tessa and I went on an excursion just the two of us.  While we waited for our tour guide, we hung out at this cool portside area.  We shared a delicious pineapple fruity (non-alcoholic) drink that I thought was part of the tour package.  Good thing I had money when the bartender said "seeks dollah."  Oh well. 

We went to the national park Chankanaab which was awesome.  There were beaches, lagoons, dolphin swim areas, recreated Mayan villages, a pool and a beautiful restaurant with a buffet.  Most of our group headed off to snorkel.  Unfortunately, kids under eight weren't allowed to snorkel.  So, Tessa and I watched people swim with the dolphins.  It looked so fun, this is something Ryan wants us to all do together someday.  We explored the Mayan village and then cooled off with a swim in the gorgeous blue waters.  I talked Tessa out of kayaking again because the waves were bigger here.  As we moved away from the small sandy beach, I realized why kids aren't allowed to snorkel.  Most of the shore is made of rocks that are crazy sharp.  It's so steep that you enter the water using stairs cut into the rock.  I did get in the water though and, at Tessa's request, went under and got my hair wet.  Even without a snorkel I could see tons of beautiful fish all around me.   

There was a sea lion show that Tessa and I got a big kick out of.  There were several sea lions that came out and did tricks but the best was Rocky.  He even danced to the Rocky theme song.  After the show we were allowed to line up for a kiss from the baby sea lion.  Tessa sat perfectly still for her smack.  I went next out of curiosity.  The whiskers are tickly and she smells like fish but now we can both say we have been kissed by a sea lion. We spent the rest of our day at the pool before taxiing back to the boat.

That night, we went to the magic show.  We were all entertained, it was pretty impressive with special effects including pyrotechnics.  The next day was another day at sea.  Tessa spent most of her time on the waterslide.  We did take advantage of the onboard children's center.  Tessa is so social, she had a great time hanging out with other kids and I had some downtime.  On the last night, we three girls went to the New Orleans style show.  It was very good with the type of singing and dancing I really like.  Tessa is so grown up now, it's a pleasure to travel with her.  We docked safely back in port, thankful not to have lost power and been left drifting in the gulf.  Not that anyone really expected that to happen again.  I'm lucky to have a mother-in-law I get along with so well.  Thanks for the trip, we had fun!