Debarkation & Return Home

            Wednesday, 30 Mar 2016 – We awoke to our alarm at 6:00 AM.  After breakfast, we returned to our cabin at 7:00 AM to finish our packing.  Still, we barely finished by 8:00 AM, the latest time that we were allowed to vacate our cabin.  We said goodbye to our cabin steward, Michael.  By the time we made it to the Club Fusion for Preferred Passenger debarkation, our debarkation group had already been called.  We disembarked the ship at 8:30 PM.

Since parking was very close to the ship, we picked up our luggage and walked to our vehicle.  By 9:30 AM we were already in our vehicle and ready to leave the dock.  However, we won’t be sailing out of the Houston port on Princess Cruise Lines again because Princess is moving its ships from this port because of the frequent problems with fog and bad weather.  (We’re going to miss the great parking!)

During our trip back to Memphis, it started raining very hard and we received flash flood warnings on our I-phone.  Only the phrase “torrential downpour” is appropriate for the conditions that Jesse drove through for about 6 hours.  Usually in a rainstorm, the intensity of the rain will let up from time to time, but this storm was almost incessant, like driving under a waterfall.  Sally was frightened and wanted to stop early in order to get off the road.  But we managed to make it safely through Texas and Arkansas; we arrived at our Memphis motel by 9:00 PM.

We spent Thursday visiting relatives, and resumed our trip back to Bettendorf on Friday morning, 2 Apr 2016, arriving home at 8:30 PM.

Signing off from another GREAT cruise!

At Sea

            Tuesday, 29 Mar 2016 – We were both awake fairly early (for us), but still lounged around the cabin until 11:00 AM before going to breakfast; then, again a late lunch.  We were so busy packing that we skipped our swim and the complimentary 3:00 PM Wine Tasting.

A little before 6:00 PM, the ship’s captain announced that the ship could be very late docking because of heavy fog in Houston, and promised an update a little later.  Therefore, we decided to wait until after dinner to set our luggage outside our door for pickup.  (If the ship was going to be delayed in docking, we did not want to be without luggage!)

We met Merrill and Grace for dinner, where we were joined by Patrick and Kathleen, another couple that Grace had befriended.  The conversations were very interesting, mostly about marriages and children.  Afterwards, we went to the Wheelhouse Bar with Merrill and Grace, and danced to The Great Escape until about 10:00 PM.  Before retiring, we said our goodbyes to Merrill and Grace.  It had been a great evening! 

Since we hadn’t heard any more bad news from the captain, we set our luggage out for pickup.

Cozumel, Mexico

At the Entrance Gate

Outside One of the Many Bars

            On Monday, 28 Mar 2016, we slept very late, but still managed to make it to breakfast before the 11:30 AM closing time.  (When we cruise, our challenge is always to fit in three meals!)  At 12:25 PM we went ashore and walked around for a little while, took a few photos, and returned to the ship at 1:05 PM.  Although we looked for a post office to mail postcards, we found out that it was located downtown, which was not within walking distance.  Since there were five ships docked at this port – one Princess, two Carnival, one Holland America, and one Celebrity – we had to be careful to re-board the right ship!  Then we swam for 1-1/2 hours and then ate our late lunch.  While we were finishing lunch, the ship started out to sea; then we could see two more ships docked at another Cozumel port!

            Since this was a formal dinner night, we dressed for dinner and met Grace and Merrill at 5:00 PM.  We started dinner early tonight in order to make it to the Captain’s Circle Party at 7:30 PM.  At dinner, we were joined a couple from New South Wales, Australia, Shirley and Stephen.  Stephen is a retired police officer and was very, very talkative.  They have traveled extensively, including 21 Princess cruises.   They also joined us at the Captain’s Circle Party, where we danced a few songs before the awards program began.  Grace had another acupuncture appointment and was unable to attend the party with the rest of us.   After the party, we talked for a little while longer and then retired to our cabin for the night.

Costa Maya, Mexico

Costa Maya

            On Easter Sunday, 27 Mar 2016, we slept rather late.  After breakfast, we went ashore and walked around for an hour.  We had hoped to find a church as has happened on some previous cruises.  Since it was a very long walk along the pier from the ship to the entrance of Costa Maya, we took advantage of the free shuttle.  There were lots of shops, bars, and restaurants around the port, as well as a large swimming pool and dolphin and walrus exhibits; however, we were unable to find a church to attend Easter Sunday Mass.  (We found out that this port was basically a tourist stop; the town itself was perhaps 20 miles away.)  After returning to the ship, we went for an hour swim in one of the ship’s pools; then we ate a very lunch.

In the evening, we met Merrill at the dining room, where we sat at a table for eight.  The others joining us were Karen and Evan from British Columbia, and Michelle and Dustin from Dallas.  Karen and Evan have been together for 11 years, but have only been married for a couple of months.  Evan recently retired and they are new to cruising.  Michelle and Dustin, a young couple, have been married for about five years.  Although Dustin works at a casino in Dallas, he has still been enjoying the ship’s casino.  Grace had a 6:00 PM appointment with an acupuncturist for back pain which has been troubling her and intended to join us later at our table.  However, she could never find our table.  After dinner, we found Grace sitting in the Piazza; we danced until after 10:00 PM to The Great Escape in the Wheelhouse Bar before retiring for the night.

Belize City, Belize



On Tender to Belize

            On Saturday, 26 Mar 2016, we awoke to our alarm at 6:00 AM, went for a quick breakfast, and met in the Princess Theater at 7:45 AM for our excursion.  We had signed up for an outing that included a visit to the Xunantunich Mayan ruins, marimba music, and lunch.  Since the ship was anchored offshore again, we boarded a local tender which took us ashore.  This local tender was a large transport vessel, much larger and more comfortable than the ship’s tenders, and took about 15 minutes to reach the pier.

Xunantunich Mayan Ruins

We boarded the tour bus at 8:30 AM, with tour guide Caroline and driver Mr. Goff (at least that’s what tour guide called him).  The bus traveled about two hours taking us to the Mopan River Crossing in Belize’s Cayo District, with rolling green lawns, palm trees, plantations, and mountains.  Finally, we exited the tour bus and walked past several open-air shops, selling various items, many handmade, such as purses, dresses, scarves, hand-carved items, etc.  We then boarded a 19th century, hand- pulled ferryboat to cross to the other side of the river where two vans waited to shuttle us to the ruins.  The vans needed to make two trips to get our entire tour group close to the ruins entrance, where restrooms were available.  Even then, there was still an uphill hike to the ruins; however, transportation was available for those unable to make the climb.

The ruins “expert” that was assigned to us at the entrance gave a very long-winded history of the ruins.  Some tired from standing, and most began to suffer somewhat from the heat.  While he talked, we spotted a group of spider monkeys playing in the trees above.  Xunantunich is the Mayan ruins with the most archeological importance in Belize, as it features one of the tallest Mayan structures found in this location and some of the most intricately detailed sculptures.  Built on a mountaintop that overlooks the Mopan River, the ruins offer striking views in a lush setting.  We climbed up a few steps of El Castillo for a photo; however, a little later, Sally climbed almost to the top, which involved her being out of sight for about 20 minutes while Jesse waited anxiously below.  (Sally had told Jesse that she planned to climb a little way up the pyramid, not all the way to the top; therefore, he was afraid that she had fallen off the back of the pyramid!)  El Castillo is the tallest temple at the site, standing 135 feet tall.  From the top of El Castillo, you can see the Guatemalan Peten District, the Maya Mountains, and a sweeping view of the entire Cayo district.

After our tour, we reversed our trip with a walk back to the entrance, van ride to the river, and ferry ride back across the river.  Our tour bus took us to the town of San Ignacio for a traditional Belizean lunch of rice and beans, stewed chicken, coleslaw, and fried plantains, plus bottled water.  We also purchased two of the local Belikan beers, which have been manufactured in Belize for about 50 years.  While enjoying our lunch, we were entertained by a Belizean marimba band.

At 2:55 PM, we boarded the tour bus for our two-hour drive back to the pier.  Although we had enjoyed the adventure, the temperature was definitely uncomfortably hot and humid.  (On the bus, we were given forms that included a question asking what would have made the trip better.  Sally noticed that one person had written, “Make the temperature cooler!”)

The passengers were all concerned because the last tender was scheduled to leave shoreside at 4:00 PM, and there was no way possible for us to make it back before that time.  Anyway, we made it back to the pier and boarded the last tender back to the ship – and the ship was still awaiting our arrival at 5:25 PM.

Since Merrill and Grace had other plans for dinner, we took our time getting ready and went to dinner at 6:25 PM, where we were joined by Mary, from Phoenix, who was traveling alone.  Jesse thought he remembered her from a previous cruise.  We talked a lot about genealogy and travel.  Afterwards, the Princess Quartet was playing in the Wheelhouse Bar, but after listening to a couple of their songs that were not good dancing music, we decided to try the New Deal in the Explorer’s Lounge.  Although the music there was much better for dancing, the band soon went on break, so we decided it was time to go to bed.  Before turning off the lights, we set our clocks forward by one hour.

Island of Roatan, Honduras



At Fountain

Outside Bar

           Friday, 25 Mar 2016 – This morning we went for a quick breakfast.  Since the ship was anchored off shore, we boarded one of the ship’s tenders at 11:00 AM and proceeded ashore.   After walking around a little while, we decided to follow the sign to the cruise line’s private beach.  There was an overhead chairlift available for a charge, but we chose to walk to the beach.  It turned out to be quite a distance, so eventually, Sally decided to sit on a bench and wait there while Jesse walked the remaining distance.  It was a really nice beach with lots of shops and lawn chairs, and a very nice swimming area.  After snapping a few photos, Jesse returned to see Sally and several other passengers watching a small iguana sitting on the walkway.  The iguana was staring back at the passengers, apparently hoping for a “treat.”  We discussed returning to the ship and going back to the beach with our swimsuits, but decided to swim in the ship’s pool instead, which we thought would be much more enjoyable.

After our swim and a light lunch, we spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing in our cabin.   We watched “A Royal Night Out” on TV, a 2015 British romantic comedy-drama film about the young Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret venturing out of Buckingham Palace to enjoy the Victory in Europe Day celebrations.

Easter Egg Display

Merrill and Grace had found an Easter egg display in the ship’s piazza, so we stopped there for photos after dinner; then we danced for a little while to The Great Escape in the Wheelhouse Bar before retiring for the night.  Between our walk ashore and our afternoon swim, Sally managed to get a light sunburn on her back and shoulders; Jesse only had a red nose.

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Grand Cayman

            Thursday, 24 Mar 2016 – By the time we finished breakfast, there were no lines for leaving the ship, so we quickly boarded one of the ship’s tenders at 11:15 AM and proceeded ashore.  Once there, we soon found free Wi-Fi, so we downloaded our e-mail and Facebook posting onto our I-phone.  The Wi-Fi was very fast, so it took only about 20 seconds to download our e-mail and Sally was able to review Facebook posting back to the day we boarded the ship.  Afterwards, we checked out a few of the shops before returning to the ship.  Jesse was looking for a new camera, but most of the shops were selling diamonds, purses, and other expensive souvenirs, and none were selling cameras.

In the afternoon, we swam on the ship for a while, went for a late light lunch, and then lounged in our cabin until meeting Grace and Merrill for dinner.  We were joined by another couple that Grace had befriended, Ed and Fran from Northeast Wisconsin.  Ed is a retired civil engineer and Fran is a retired OB nurse; they are both on their second marriage and have been married for 30 years.

After dinner, we danced to a couple of songs in the Piazza and then to a few dances in the Wheelhouse Bar after The Great Escape started playing at 9:00 PM.  Before going to bed, we set our clocks back by one hour.