Thoughts on our Dream Carnival Cruise

I decided the thanks need to be at the start of this long post. WE HAD A GREAT TIME. At one point, Michael asked, "Why did we wait so long to do this?" There are a lot of reasons. We planned to do most this stuff in our 70's.  We are making plans now to do as many cruises as we can in the upcoming years.  Thank you so much to the Gherkins for buying the tickets, for the one who sent extra money for spending, the gifts in the stateroom, rides from the airport, and BreZaak and Mom and Dad, Krista and CoRielle for keeping, or entertaining,  the younger Gherkins.  This trip was a dream come true.  JaRissa noted  it was fun to see us RELAXING - that has not been our norm. There was no option BUT RELAX on the ship and it was PERFECT!!!!! Thank you, all! Thank you is so small, but it contains our heart.  This was also the first time we've been away from our kids for any length of time - together! Our oldest is 31.

We cruised for seven nights and eight days, on Carnival Freedom.  The Freedom is  110,000 tons, has 2900 passengers and 1300 crew. We went from Galveston to Cozumel, Belize and Mahogany bay and then back to Galveston. This was our first cruise. I was NERVOUS due to  my history with motion sickness. We were a bit unsure of several parts of the process. Here are some observations from our experience.

Motion Sickness - there was only one day when the seas got rough and I needed to take Dramamine. The other days I was fine with motion sickness oil from Wal-Mart or sea bands from Rite Aid. The first day the vibrating and motion bothered me. Michael observed this is what he feels all the time. That perspective helped me to cope, rather than let it grow as an irritant.

Via Google Images

Staterooms - our stateroom would seem small to some - but it was clean and comfortable. We compared it to a Japanese Hotel room - with a King Size bed. ::snort::  Some told us they take interior rooms with no windows to keep down on cost.  They spend most their time out of the room. Most seem to opt for staterooms with windows. I had seen a friend comment on how much she enjoyed a balcony stateroom. We opted for that. We are HAPPY we did. Michael thinks being able to sit outside and see the horizon helped me avoid extreme motion sickness (which is my norm). We also enjoyed being able to gaze at the waves and stars alone - having a private spot to retreat.  We did learn to CAREFULLY look at the maps when booking a balcony room. Ours was directly above the bandstand in the casino. The sound went up and in to our room. We had driving music most nights until 2300 or midnight. In the future if we are on deck 6 - we would move fore or aft or go up a few decks.  No one had mentioned this - hope the tip helps someone. CHECK THE MAP and make sure you are not above clubs and casinos!  A funny about our room - it squeaked, whistled and rattled....and we noted paper stuck in cracks here and there  along the ceiling trim, as others had evidently experienced the same. This shifting sound would be normal on a moving ship, I expect. Much like the random noises when driving in an RV.  We adapted and hardly noticed by the end of the cruise. If you are a light sleeper ear plugs for these and neighbor noises would be a good thing to pack. I didn't. ::snort::

Beautiful setting each night at the Posh Dining Room

Elegant Dinners - Michael and I have spent the past 20 years attending elegant dinners. We really weren't looking forward to dressing up and eating nice on our vacation. We didn't have to. There are plenty of food options. Some DO go all out; most settle for a dress for the gal and a dress shirt and slacks for the man. We planned to go to the elegant dinner on Michael's birthday, but that was the day I was having trouble with motion sickness.

Food Options - I'm a nutritarian/vegan. I found plenty of food options. There is ALWAYS a nice salad bar at the buffet. The Posh Dining room, however, had some GREAT vegetarian meals. I asked them to hold the cheese and did fine most nights with appetizers and entrees. One night I did make do with three or four sides as I didn't care for the spiciness of the nightly Indian Vegetarian option and the other options were full of cheese.  Michael loved the seafood and steak. The desserts were sumptuous. There is pizza, ice cream and room service available 24 hours a day.  Michael tried snails, frog legs et al. My favorite meal was the Portobello Mushrooms - I need to figure out how to make these.  The food was EXCELLENT! There are ALSO  meals you can PAY for - we didn't do those. We were busy trying to try all the free food. LOL 

Michael's Escargot

Yum, yum yum - via Google Images

Pirate Pete's Pizza - 24 hours a day - via google images

Our favorite dessert - after the 2nd night they brought Michael extra ice cream 

Guys Burgers - via google images 

 Crisply bread Portobello Mushrooms filled with spinach, butternut squash, and pepper confit (what IS that), sitting on a swirl of Parmesan cream (I skipped that on mine).

 Via Google Images - I must make this at home! 

 Lentils, basmati rice, papadam and raita. Really good, but spicy. 

Via Google Images

Service - I have NEVER received better wait staff service - and we've eaten in some fancy places. These men excel. They remember names, likes, dislikes....They serve with a smile.  Our stewards were WONDERFUL as well. Anything we thought of needing (extension cord, ice) showed up quickly with a smile.  This service was seen throughout the process from the terminal to board, guest services etc.  Personally, I enjoyed interaction with Filipinos and Indonesians again. They can SAY my name with no prompting...and the accent took me back to a happy time in life.

ALL KINDS - Well - you meet all kinds of staff from a variety of countries. Your fellow-passengers are also of all types....I enjoyed this - though I did NOT enjoy having to walk through a smoke filled casino to get to dinner each night (migraines). We are not into crass shows, gambling,  or drinking parties. It was impossible not to notice many began drinking at the pool early in the day, went ashore and drank all day at "bar tours" and stayed up until 2 a.m. drinking.  HOWEVER - it can be avoided.

Ship Activities- so there are shows and drinking. It took us a day to figure out what worked for us. When others were engaged in those activities - the decks were clear and quiet...great for visiting and star gazing. Mini-golf was a hit. The ship has a library and we each checked out books -  I read,  Best State Ever: Florida by  Dave Barry, The magnolia Story by  Chip and Joanna Gaines and Small Great Things by - Jodi Picolout? Michael read Ghost Ship by Clive Cussler. There were also some fun movies to watch at the "Dive In" under the stars. We did that once. Reading, visiting....

One more thing - we did have a couple of smokers next door. This is unfortunate, as I get migraines from smoke.  No one is supposed to smoke in their staterooms or balcony. We noted they liked to smoke on their balcony early in the a.m. and late at night.  The butts and wrappers flew over to our side, as did the smell. I'm not sure what one could do to avoid this. We did talk to guest services, as I was concerned about a fire since they had mentioned that at the safety briefing. They were concerned and their answer was for us to call them each time we smelled it. This was silly. It turned us into their policing force. They did take a day and do balcony cleanings one day...but if you tell someone when you are scheduling to be on their balcony, they won't be smoking. I'm not sure what else we could have done about this. We did as they asked and we avoided the balcony when they were out. It really wasn't hard as we are EARLY risers and were at breakfast before they were up most days....and they came in later at night most evenings.

Tips we heard from frequent cruisers to make this affordable: Note if you are a frequent cruiser - please add your tips in the comments.

•          Book a year out and put money towards it each month
•          Inside rooms are cheaper
•          Watch for specials
•          Plan your own excursions (Not 100% sold on that one)
•          Tip your steward well the first night and you'll have amazing service the rest of the cruise     (we did)
•          Paying pre-gratuities and bubbles up (free drinks) cuts down on unexpected costs
• Book a group (how big?) and the organizer goes free or discounted
• 
  

Day 8 - Debarking - Florida

Sunrise in Galveston, TX......some day we are coming back here and spending a day or two to explore.

Breakfast View

They made the debarking process sound smooth, orderly and painless. In reality - it was pretty painful. 😰 It may have been complicated by the man removed at port in handcuffs....We met where we were told to meet if we had an early flight - with our bags in tow. Eventually, they began debarking deck by deck...but the purser made a mistake and called two decks at once, the elevators and stairways were at a standstill, the terminal backed upped and we waited on a stair case for a LONG time. Eventually, the line began moving again. We noted they thoroughly check the checked baggage. They didn't even SCAN or look into the bags of those of us who carried our own. Odd. In the terminal, the gentlemen sent us to the wrong line. I told him we had passports - he sent us to the wrong line anyway. We weren't moving. I got out of line and asked another lady and she moved us IMMEDIATELY to a short line for those with passports....and we made our bus to the Houston airport and to our gate with time to spare!

We scored an Emergency Exit seat on our first flight. Lots of leg room - we were happy. We discovered we much prefer Delta to United as far as COMFORT and leg space. 

We arrived in Melborne, FL shortly after 11 p.m. Tim and Jill, friends and colleagues from Goodfellow AFB, met us at the airport.  Seeing them again was priceless. Their guest room is like a bed and breakfast and we enjoyed catching up. We stayed up pretty late visiting - but sometimes you have to do these things.

Day 7 - Fun Day at Sea - #WYFF

We woke up this morning and were just SURE we were back in the Gulf of Mexico. The water was calmer, the wind nearly non-existent.  This was shortly confirmed by the ship's captain.

After breakfast we attended a meeting on debarkation. We have an "early flight' to catch and are doing our best to make the connections as seamless as possible. 

We walked the decks, talked, played some mini-golf, packed, enjoyed a last dinner with Sheldon and Melinda, and watched the last sunset and stars from our balcony. 

We also made another SAT call to USAA to make sure all the ducks are lined up for us to buy our new RV when we fly to Florida. 

Day 6 - Michael's Birthday at Sea

Michael is another year older! Today is a "fun day at sea." We've discovered we aren't into all the shows, gambling, shopping or drinking - a fun day at sea to us is playing mini-golf, walking the decks, reading on our balcony and talking.

I realized this a.m.  I was having trouble walking a straight line. We noted at breakfast it was much choppier than it has been and the waves outside our window were bigger than they have been. Sure enough the top decks were closed. We are glad to have our balcony and after sitting on the decks for a bit we headed back there. 

I returned a book to the Ship's library and picked out another one. I also stopped by the candy store and bought a few treats for the day. We spent the day reading and talking on our balcony. I find it's nice to be OUTSIDE when the ship is moving a bit more than usual, but it's nice to be lower down where our balcony is (6th deck) as opposed to the 11th deck.

We have discovered our stateroom - which is 6th deck mid - is directly above the bandstand in the casino. This would explain why our stateroom is very loud until the clubs and casino close each night. In the future, we'll look for some aft or fore or on a higher deck. This WAS a great spot for motion sickness!!!

Can't help but consider all the changes this past year has held for Michael and our family. Hoping we are settling into a glide path for the upcoming year. 

Day 5 - Isla de Roatan, Honduras

Sailing into Mahogany Bay is beautiful. 

Beach to the right of port

Somber reminder

We docked this morning next to the Carnival Dream. That is one BIG ship. We planned for this to be an easy day as we were sure how Michael would be feeling after two full days of rather active exploring. It was a good call. We didn't rush to be ready to leave the ship at 0800.

Carnival Dream 

We enjoyed breakfast in the Posh restaurant. We'd not realize it was open for breakfast. We  sat at a table with two other couples and enjoyed exchanging stories and observations. The previous two mornings we'd ordered breakfast from room service so we could more easily make the 0800 excursion calls.

We had been told that "Carnival owned the island of Roatan."  We had also been told until three years ago it was an "untouched gem" in the Caribbean.  Research showed there was a beach near the port. We planned to go ashore, explore the area, find some gifts for kids and if we wanted to go to the beach.

It was HOT - and it became quickly apparent that Mahogany Bay is a well-planned and executed tour trap. We were handed vouchers for free charms and such as we left the ship. The beach is to the right. There were carnival cruises to be booked everywhere. And there were shops. Shops obviously maintained by bigger businesses until we had meandered through the square to the Craft Fair. This is where we spent the bulk of our time and money.

Carnival Land....

We spent the bulk of our time at the local Craft Market and found all the take home gifts we'd hoped for. This was a relief as the stores pictured above were disappointing in local flair and prices. Remember, the Mayans discovered or created chocolate.....One vendor makes organic local chocolate. They had a kakaw plant - a big fruit with seeds/beans inside. It did not taste at all like chocolate or like I expected.  We asked who in the world got the idea to ferment the beans, add sugar etc....but hey - it was a good idea. 

We talked to locals and discovered, contrary to rumor, Carnival does not OWN Roatan. They are in a cooperative agreement with the government of Honduras to develop and maintain Mahogany Bay - a small part of the island. It works well for all - cruise ships have created an outlet for the local economy. The Isla de Roatan is the largest of the bay islands off the coast of Honduras. It is the former home for 5000 pirates. The island is ringed by the world's second largest coral reef, the Mesoamerican Reef. The US State Department has a travel advisory for the island - we were warned  crime rate is high once one leaves Mahogany Bay. For this reason we were discouraged from the idea of setting off on foot to explore the island. We didn't feel like baking in the sun. We headed back to the ship in time for our free lunch.  The ship is a great place to relax when the bars and casino are empty and everyone is baking at the beach. ::snort::

We found some comfy deck chairs and settled in to read a couple of books from the Ship's library. It WAS relaxing - and it kept Michael out of our stateroom for the afternoon. We headed back to the room to "discover" it had been festively decorated a day early for Michael's birthday. The gifts and cake were set in our room.

During dinner with Sheldon and Melinda a storm picked up. It wasn't terrible - high winds, a bit of rain - but my stomach didn't want to eat breaded jalapenos or even the famous chocolate melting cake. I was pretty miserable - and hearing of worse storms on the seas did little to settle my stomach. Michael was able to enjoy his nightly melted cake with no hesitation at all. 

We left dinner and decided to come back to the room where I added a double dose of Dramamine to my oil and sea bands.  We watched stars and meteors, wind and waves....and I finally was so drowsy from the meds that I fell asleep.  We have two more days at sea before we arrive back at Galveston. 

Click for  a video of various sights from the day. 

Day 4 - Xunantunich (Shu -non - too-nich) in Belize

I've looked forward to THIS day for over 30 years. In fact, we chose this tour so we could visit Belize (which I've heard great things about from anyone who visits) and see some of their Mayan ruins. In looking over the reviews of tours THIS was the one people mentioned being allowed to get close to the ruins and explore them.

A word before I write any further. I KNOW some are wondering why we are out traveling the world if Michael is disabled. Pure and simple his neurologist asked what he wanted to do with his life. She then told us to go do it. He has a degenerative neurological disease and any minute could be the peak of the rest of his life.  She felt there was no trouble with traveling - even felt we could eventually go to Japan if we can figure out the VA/civilian/Japan care plan. The VA neurologist/motion disorder specialist told us in August to go "do what you want to do, NOW!" They all knew we planned to cruise. They know we plan to drive America in an RV and said I need to learn to drive our rig. They know we want to go to Alaska and overseas. He has 4 appointments and labs scheduled for the three days after we get back to Oregon. We are not being stupid. Michael knows what he can do. In fairness, they probably didn't think he was going to climb Mayan ruins - but he always had something in mind to grab as needed, he didn't go near the edge and we planned slow days after this day. It worked fine. I DID have to tell myself to quit worrying and let him do what he wants to do - now! It was great. I think all patients diagnosed with Parkinson's should go climb ruins in Belize. 😉 

Belize is 31 years old. It was formally the British colony called British Honduras. English is spoken. The country is breathtakingly beautiful!

We had to take a tender from the ship to shore. Remembering my Catamaran experience in Hawaii, I was armed with oil behind my ears, sea bands and Dramamine. I was fine. We were met by our tour guide at the port and proceeded to drive in an AIR CONDITIONED bus the two hours to the national park less than a mile from the Guatemalan border. 

Lynn was a great guide

Our guides, Lynn and Jeronimo (Mayan), filled the two hours with interesting Belizean facts and history tidbits. All schools are private - it costs $3,000 a year to send your child to school. There is no welfare system in Belize. If you want to eat - you have to work - and they encouraged us to support the local economy by buying from the vendors. Many Americans are settling in Belize. You are allowed to live tax free for a year if you move all your stuff to Belize and are granted citizenship after you stay for 5 years. They allow dual citizenship with America.  Iguanas are  called "bamboo chickens" in Belize.  They take boarder security very seriously and we saw many guards armed with M-16's  patrolling various areas. Many comments were made about "Guatemala" coming across the border. The Ramada Inn has the only bowling alley in Belize and one of two theaters in the country. The population of the entire country is approximately 300,000.

We drove through cities, small towns, lush jungles and savannas. We were on the look-out for monkeys, tropical birds and jaguars. We saw none. We saw CREEKS bigger than rivers in West TX and CA. No drought here at all. We saw many Assembly of God churches, Mennonite farms, ranches and the Chinese section of Belize. 

One of many private schools - all wear uniforms

Mennonite Farmers

Open air market

As we neared Xuantunich (Shu -non - too-nich), we got out of the bus and loaded on to a ferry. The unique aspect of this ferry is it is a hand crank ferry.

At the park, we were asked if we could all handle a 5 min uphill hike. Off we went.  It was a workout. The park is 80 miles west of Belize city and less than a mile from the Guatemalan border. It served as the Maya Civic and Ceremonial center.   Xuantunich means "stone woman" after a local legend about ghosts and the mountain. Xuantunich (Shu -non - too-nich) hosts the second highest structure in Belize - El Castillo. It was IMPRESSIVE.  There are four plazas with many temples and ball courts. The excavation continues - University of TX and AZ send teams each summer. It was interesting to see the various stages of excavations. They are still uncovering more. It was eerie to consider how many lost their lives on this spot. The ruins date from 600- 700 A.D. with evidence of a community on the spot from the pre-classic period. 

As we gazed at El Castillo - 130 feet high - I realized though we'd considered Michael and the challenges of the tour,  I'd not considered my fear of heights when I campaigned for this tour. Much like I didn't consider my motion sickness when I campaigned for a catamaran ride in Hawaii. 😃 

I was not the only one with this problem. It was ironic that Michael - who we were concerned about  - zipped right to the top. I was not the only one leery of the 130 foot climb to the top - - no guardrails.....dizzying, terrifying and amazing!  I stayed behind and started my climb - encouraging the others. All but one of us made it to the top. 

Yes, there were parts I crawled up rather than walked up

 View from halfway up

Looking up 

Looking Down

The gal who didn't make it to the top,  made it over  half way and then looked down....yikes it was BREATH TAKING!  She told me, "If the good Lord wanted me to be up this high, He'd take me to heaven." I couldn't argue. One of our guides went back down with her.

Visiting with her later in the day

View from the top - spectacular! 

Guatemala

 

A ball court

Click here  for a video view from mid way up.

I asked about the railing you see in the photo above. There were these and a bit further down to the right some more. I was told they were new. The American university teams put them in. It seems that lots of people were falling. The attitude seemed to be, "It happens." The Americans, however, thought some steps and rails should be put in and, "Visitors do like them." 😂 There must not be a Belizean OSHA.

And then I realized, I would have to climb back DOWN 130 feet with no handrails or guardrails.  There was a distinct moment, as I looked down, when I wanted to cry....but then I remembered, "COURAGE....Strength and Courage....Courageous Joy." I remembered what we were doing - having fun, doing something we wanted to do and conquering our fears/challenges. The guides were nice to let me sit and think and make a plan before I headed down - and I DID head down before many. 😏 They suggested I back down  - but that was awful not to SEE where I was going....I decided to sit down and scoot when needed, cling to the wall as needed, express my exhilaration as called for.....Michael hugged the wall and went right down. But then HE only had Parkinson's balance and tremors to battle - I had stark fear. 😛

Jeronomo (R) is full Maya and was with with us all day
He is a retired teacher

 I was THRILLED to get inside the temple and have some stairs for 10 feet or so. Jeronomo said his ancestors could not figure out how to make a curved arch - and this arch is typical for this period.

Do you see the person on the left - a bit further down? Narrow, windy....exhilarating. 

Still finding new sites to excavate

 Jeronomo explained all the hieroglyphics, but I can't remember what they all meant. It centered around the goddess and their worship. 

Both safely at the foot of El Castillio

I've not tried anything really high - other than the top deck of the ship - since this outing; but I'm going to remember how wild this was and know that I can climb high and not fall.

Palace?

We started our 5 min hike back down to the vans, over the ferry and back to our bus. We had a yummy Belizean lunch at Hodees. I bought a bottle of Hot Mama's Sweet Hot Sauce. Many slept on the two hour drive back to port.  Here are a  few more sights from the drive back to port. 

Savanna

School girls

A Class C - hmmm.....could we drive it? 

 This is an amazing site and we highly recommend the tour! It is the first one to leave Carnival and the last one back.

We had 30 minutes to freshen up for dinner. It was fun to swap stories with Sheldon and Melinda. I realized I didn't get a photo  of them - though Melinda's pops in and out of this video from dinner.

After dinner we strolled the decks, and stopped to watch Independence Day: Resurgence under the stars. A very fun day in Belize.