I went on the 6 night/5 day Western Caribbean Cruise that left Fort Lauderdale, FL and went to Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, and Cozumel through Royal Caribbean.
I splurged and got a balcony room for Mom and myself so we would be sure to have a serene place to just watch the water and read in peace if needed. Plus, I love watching and hearing the ocean! I thought this was going to be an amazing vacation!
I wanted to try a cruise because I figured once we spent that money up front; the rest of trip would fall in place and all food, recreation, lodging and beverage is paid up front. I selected the option to pay gratuities up front also so that charge was paid ahead too - I did not want to have to worry about any additional charges.
Not even a week passed after we booked the cruise and I got an email from Royal Caribbean asking if I wanted to pay an extra $30 EACH/per person/per day for wifi (So extra $210 per person). Then I got another email asking if I wanted to pay an additional $50 EACH/per person/per day for unlimited dining options (So extra $350 per person). Then another asking if I wanted to pay and additional $50 EACH/per person/per day for unlimited drink options (So extra $350 per person). I then came to find out that EVERYTHING is extra! Crazy!!!!
We flew into Fort Lauderdale and I was still super excited for the trip. I was cherishing spending that time alone with my mother. The night in the hotel in Fort Lauderdale was wonderful - great breakfast and spent a little time at the pool in the Hilton Fort Lauderdale before we headed off to the boat. Here is the view from the pool!
Then ...I learned how to use Uber. That was a bright spot in the vacation - Uber is great! It is so easy to get a ride and make sure you are in your correct ride and we used it from the hotel to get to the boat. It is really convenient and cheap!!!
Then the horror really began....
We went to the boat...we were herded like cattle through rows and rows of security checks, etc. to get onto the boat. They separated us from our luggage and we found out we would get it back later that evening after we set sail...what they did not say was that you could opt to keep your luggage with you and take it on the boat yourself (apparently frequent cruisers know this). Note: my luggage never made it to the room until 8PM that night?!?!?! UGH?!?!?!
Once on the boat - you have a life jacket muster station drill. Everyone is to go to their assigned muster station...ours was on the deck, in the sun. We went right away (I in my sweats as my luggage had not arrived at my room) to our station but we all had to wait until EVERY PERSON arrived...some people showed up 20 mins late!!! WHAT!?!?! Yes, we all stood at our stations until all the "better than thou" people finally showed up to join us (funny thing: if it was the real thing they would have been shoving their way there first!!!!) UGH!
The first night we sat on the upper deck to watch the Steelers game. Here are the photos from that...
The entitlement continued everyday on the boat! Families would get towels and use them to save chairs near the pool and then never show up to use the chairs. Or they would save six seats together and there was only ever two people laying there! This was ALL DAY every day! Dads would shove you out of the buffet line to get the family in there first!! You would think these people never ate! Honestly - all you do is eat...ugh!
So onto the issue with more charges. Every activity on the boat had a fee too! With the exception of the nightly shows - they were free and they were actually good. It was crazy!!! We had some icky weather so we decided to check out Bingo. We paid $60 to play bingo on the ship and they only did three games...seriously, three games!!!! I play at home and it is 16 games for $15. RIP OFF!!! My Mom did beer tasting only to find out at the end that there was a $25 fee for that too! The only free activity was napkin folding - I kid you not!!!! CRAZINESS!!!
The ports were a whole disappointment in and among themselves! We got off the ship at the first port to shop...every store had the same things! Very touristy and too many people begging you to come and ship in their store - we got back on the boat.
I decided to check out reviews for the next port, Costa Maya. We were docking at Costa Maya and I found out that if you leave the cruise ship area and take a taxi to a public beach (Mahahual) you can escape the crowds. So, we took 20 minutes just to figure out how to leave the cruise ship area and get a taxi. I asked the taxi driver to take us to Mahahual Beach and he convinced me to go to a "better" place where for $15 we would have a chair and umbrella. I should have listened to my guy but we opted to go with his suggestion. We ended up at a tourist trap. The cab dropped us off and the men led us to a little, crowded beach and lounge chair. we no sooner sat down and had someone come by "Beautiful lady, you want to buy cigars?" then "Beautiful lady, you want a massage?" then another person "Beautiful lady, you want a wind chime?" then "Beautiful lady, you want a dress?". I did you not; it was constant. I left the chair thinking I would go in the water to escape the sellers and as soon as I walked into the sea...the man standing next to me shot a snot rocket out of the left side of his nose into the water. I never left the ocean more quickly! SICK AND DISGUSTING!!! UGH!!!! When I got back to my chair the disappointment hit and I just started crying....like balling...I could not stop. My Mom felt bad and kept saying "it is not that bad" but she hated it too. We stayed another 10 minutes and then paid for a cab back to the boat.
The last port, Cozumel, we did not even attempt to get off the boat. We left Cozumel port on Thursday Dec 19th to start back to Fort Lauderdale and then next day at Cozumel is when that accident happened where the two Carnival ships collided. It is weird because we kept saying it was shocking that they don't hit more often because the ships are soooo close when they are pulling in...it really felt like we were going to hit another boat many times when we watched from our balcony. Here is when we docked in Cozumel right across from another ship...we watched people get out of bed...HA HA! Look how close we are on this dock!!! HA
Okay - my last cruise disappointment...the BALCONY! I was super excited to have the balcony to escape the entitled crowds. I could read in peace and not have to worry about anyone ever taking my chair. Well, I was sitting out there on Day 2 while we were sailing and all of the sudden cigarette smoke was wafting over to my balcony-lots of cigarette smoke. and then marijuana smoke!!! UGH!!! I was so pissed! First of all, it is illegal and second of all, I do not want to smell pot - it is a big pet peeve of mine since my last boyfriend!!! So, I called guest assistance and they said they would address it with the guest. Not sure what happened but for the next four days - I smelled both pot and cigarettes EVERY time I went on my patio. So I called everyday to report them. They just kept saying it was being addressed. The only thing they did was on the last day offer me and my Mom $150 off our next cruise. I started laughing and said that there would not be another cruise ever. She then extended the offer for two years so I would have time to think about it.
No chance I will EVER take another cruise - EVER!!!!
In closing, I will leave you with a few pictures from our balcony...
The few bright spots of the trip...
- spent great time with my Mom (when I was not crying) LOL
- learned to use Uber which is awesome
- enjoyed a few smokeless hours on my balcony here and there
So, that is my Cruise trip summary. I honestly only took like ten pictures the entire trip!!!
Crazy for me!!! Anyway, back to Aruba next year!
Ever been on a cruise? What is your favorite destination for vacation? Do you Uber?
