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.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

             Wednesday, 23 Mar 2016 – We awoke to our I-phone “timer” at 6:00 AM, after having trouble with our alarm during the night.  Apparently, our I-phone had managed to change time zones, so the alarm went off at 1:00 AM and again at 2:00 AM before we realized that there was a problem.  Jesse then set the “timer” on the I-phone for 4 hours to wake us at 6:00 AM.

            At breakfast there was a long line for the first time.  (Possibly, there might always be a long line at 7:00 AM, but we wouldn’t know about that!)  There were a lot of excursions all leaving within the range of an hour or so.  After breakfast, we packed up and headed for our excursion meet-up point in the Princess Theater.  The woman in charge of the room was very entertaining, so the time passed quickly before we headed off the ship to board our tour bus at 9:00 AM.

            Our tour guide was Stephen and our driver was Frank.  During our drive to Rose Hall, Stephen told us the legend of Rose Hall and its white witch, Annie Palmer.  His version of the legend ended a little differently from the book version.  In the book, Ann Palmer was strangled to death by an elderly “freed” slave, Taku, who had supposedly helped her murder at least one of her three husbands.  In Stephen’s version, Annie would transform into a leopard at night and roam the countryside.  While she was out roaming one night, a fourth husband sprinkled salt around her room to prevent Annie’s transformation back into human form; then, upon her return, he pushed her leopard form out of a window and Annie fell to her death.  Stephen also sang the Jamaican National Anthem and shared a little history and culture of Jamaica.  According to Stephen, most Jamaicans work in the agriculture industry, with crops of sugar cane, bananas, and marijuana, which is legal in Jamaica.

Rose Hall Mansion

            Upon arriving at Rose Hall, we were introduced to our guide there, Shaleese.  She first gave us a tour of the first floor rooms of Rose Hall mansion and shared her version of the Rose Hall legend.  Her version was more similar to the book version, except in her version, Taku was also one of Annie’s slave lovers.  On the second floor, Shaleese pointed out the rooms in which each of Annie’s three husbands were murdered, as well as the room in which Annie herself was murdered.

            After touring the main house, we descended to the lower level where we were served punch and entertained with Jamaican music.  The Rose Hall tour concluded with a tour of the grounds and Annie’s final resting place.  Annie’s remains were moved from their initial burial spot to a tomb.  It is reported that Annie’s spirit frequently leaves the tomb and has been seen at various locations around Rose Hall.

We left Rose Hall and drove to Doctor’s Cave Beach for three full hours of swimming and relaxation.  We had arrived at the beach a little before noon, and since the excursion was scheduled to end at 2:00 PM, we were hoping that our “beach” time would be shortened, but no such luck; we were told to be back at the bus at 3:00 PM!  Since neither of us had been looking forward to 3 hours of beach time, we weren’t happy campers!

Doctor's Cave Beach

However, we managed to find an empty bench on the walkway underneath a tree, overlooking the beach.  So we planted ourselves there to “do our time.”  Sally did go down to the beach once briefly, and went out in the water up to her waist; however, Jesse really wasn’t interested, so we watched other people and talked until 2:00 PM.  On our way back to the tour bus, we stopped at a few shops and picked up a few souvenirs and postcards.  The tour bus was waiting, with the A/C going; several other people had already boarded. 

On our drive back to the cruise ship, the traffic was horrible; we didn’t envy our bus driver at all.  Incidentally, since Jamaica was owned by England, they drive on the “wrong side” of the road there.  Stephen shared more of Jamaica’s culture and sang a few more songs.

About 3:30 PM we re-boarded the ship.  Apparently there was some announcement that we missed because the schedule was so strange today.  Our excursion was originally supposed to end at 2:00, and we were surprised when it lasted until 3:30.  We had also read that the ship was supposed to depart port at 3:30 PM; however, when we met Grace and Merrill for dinner at 6:00 PM, the ship was still in port!

At dinner, we were seated at a table for 8 and were joined by two other couples:  Jamie and Sue from San Diego, CA, and Van and Betty from Lovett, TX.  Jamie has been serving in the US Navy for the last 17 years (he looks very young) and Sue is a graphic designer.  Van and Betty have been married for 58 years and are both retired; they have been on 21 cruises!  After dinner, we danced to the Caribbean Princess Orchestra in the Explorer’s Lounge until they went on break at 9:00 PM.  This was our best dancing experience so far on this cruise; they played a variety of songs, closing with a tango.

2 Days At Sea

            Monday, 21 Mar 2016 – We awoke at 9:00 AM and went to breakfast at 10:30 AM.  Although we thought about swimming, the water was too cold for us.  Actually, the air was also cold, and a brisk wind blew; there were only a few people sitting in the pool area, and they wore jackets and were often hunched over to keep warm.  Other than a light lunch at 2:00 PM, Jesse mostly watched the cable news channels on TV while Sally worked on her genealogy book.

Since this was a formal dinner night, we donned our formal attire and met Grace and Merrill for dinner at 6:00 PM; afterwards, we danced to pre-recorded ballroom music in Club Fusion.  Believing that we would be docking at Montego Bay, Jamaica the next morning, we called it an early night and returned to our cabins about 9:00 PM.  Once in our cabin, however, we realized that the next day would actually be an “at sea” day!

Tuesday, 22 Mar 2016 – Again, we awoke about 9:00 AM.  Since Sally had not slept well the previous night, we lounged around in our cabin until 11:00 AM before going to breakfast.  When Sally turned on the TV to find the current temperature, we heard about the horrible terrorist attack in Brussels before the news channels went off the air due to the ship’s position.  So, Jesse watched the movie “The Intern” on TV while Sally continued working on her genealogy book.  Although a few kids went into the pool today, and some people sat in the hot tubs, the air was still too chilly to venture into the cold pool.  After a light lunch at 2:30 PM, we returned to our cabin and Jesse watched episodes of “The Love Boat” since there were still no news stations within satellite range.

We met Grace and Merrill for dinner at 6:00 PM.  Their day was much more eventful than ours, and they shared many of the health tips that the picked up at one of the ship’s lectures.  After dinner, Grace and Merrill attended a comedy show.  We looked for a place to dance, with no success, before retiring to our cabin for the night.  The news programs were back on air by then, so we watched updates on the Brussels’ terrorist attack and the never-ending Presidential campaign.

En Route to Houston, TX, & Embarkation

            Thursday, 17 Mar 2015 – Yes, we have departed for ANOTHER cruise.  We left Bettendorf at about noon and Jesse spent his 67th birthday driving to Memphis, TN, while Sally read aloud The White Witch of Rose Hall.  Since we would be visiting Rose Hall during our excursion to Montego Bay, Jamaica, we decided to learn more about it.  We arrived at out motel in West Memphis, AR, at about 8:30 PM.

Friday, 18 Mar 2015 – Today, we visited some of Jesse’s relatives in Memphis.

Saturday, 19 May 2015 – This morning we checked out of our West Memphis motel and started our drive to our motel room in Pasadena, TX.  (There actually is a Pasadena in Texas, in the Houston area!)  During our drive, Sally finished reading aloud The White Witch of Rose Hall.  On the back cover of the book, there is a photograph of the Rose Hall ruins, but the estate was later restored.  In Houston, we had a little trouble navigating.  Our GPS directed us onto a toll road requiring some sort of E-pass.  Although we assumed that we would be directed to a toll booth at some point, there wasn’t one; apparently, we were supposed to exit the toll road and travel on the slower, “free” road that was adjacent to the toll road.  Most likely, a traffic ticket will be awaiting us in our mail when we return home!  We arrived at our motel in Pasadena, TX, at about 8:30 PM.

At about 11:00 AM, we checked out of our Pasadena hotel and drove to the Bayport Cruise Terminal.  Again, our GPS directed us onto the toll road; however, this time we were smart enough to exit the toll road when required, and travel on the slower, “free” road.  Needless to say, the “free” road added about 30 minutes to our 20-minute GPS trip.  Upon arriving at the terminal, we unloaded our luggage and were then directed to the parking area adjacent to the ship dock.  Although there was a shuttle available, we didn’t need to take it because our parking space was only a few feet from where we left our luggage before boarding.  We then walked a few more feet to the ship’s check-in area and joined the line of passengers awaiting check in.  Once we reached the doorway, we realized there was a shorter line for the Platinum and Elite, passengers.  While going through security, we ran into our friends, Grace and Merrill, who were joining us on the cruise.  Even though this was only their third Princess cruise, they were allowed join us in the Elite line, so we were all whisked through the remainder of the check-in process.

We had first met Grace and Merrill on our Panama Canal Cruise in 2014.  Since then, we have met them at the Willowbrook Ballroom a couple of times for dancing.  They live in the Chicago area.  When we told them about this cruise, they thought it would be fun to join us.

About 2:25 PM we boarded the ship and met Grace and Merrill for a light lunch at 2:40 PM.  Since we were all on the Lido Deck, it was only a short walk across the deck to the Horizon Court Buffet.  After talking for a little while, we returned to our cabin to unpack our luggage and prepare for the 3:30 PM passenger muster drill. 

We met again for dinner at 6:00 PM.  After dinner, Grace and Merrill went to the Welcome Show in the Princess Theater, while we explored the dancing venues.  There are two bands onboard the ship:  “The Great Escape” and “The New Deal.”  We danced to “The Great Escape” in the Wheelhouse Bar for two or three songs before they went on break.  “The New Deal” would not start playing in the Explorer’s Lounge until 8:30 PM, so we retired for the night.  Incidentally, we had danced to “The New Deal” on a previous cruise.