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Cruises and Cancelations
Jun. 20th, 2024 10:21 amDarwin and I very much enjoyed our cruise last year, and this year when our friends Michelle and Steve proposed the four of us taking one together, we decided we were in!
We didn't want to go all the way to Europe this time, so we scouted the Caribbean. This turned a little problematic. Some cursory research showed that a lot of Caribbean countries don't handle same-sex relationships well. Some are outright hostile. I know that lots of places that are homophobic toward their own people are very tolerant of gay tourists--they can't afford to turn away People With Money. But there were still some places that were flat-out NO.
We finally found one that took us from Tampa to Cozumel to Belize to Costa Maya and back. And we signed up and we paid for all the things.
The arrival in Tampa went without incident, and we spent the night in a cheap hotel we aren't in a hurry to visit again but was tolerable for one night. Bonus: it provided shuttle service to the cruise port. Met up with Steve and Michelle and duly waited our turn to board.
My and Darwin's cabin is smaller than the one on our previous trip, but still nice, and it has a balcony. We spent the first day and night at sea.
And I got seasick.
I never get seasick! But the sea was very choppy, and I swear there were times the deck dropped so fast, my feet left it for a split-second. I finally went down to the medic to ask for a shot, which they gave me (to the tune of $300). It ended the nausea, but it made me sleepy for the next couple of days.
Anyway, our first stop was at Cozumel, where we had signed up for a visit to Mayan ruins and a chocolate-making demonstration. The best I can say about the ruins is that they were rinkydink. Seriously tiny---a rough altar, a governor's house (which you couldn't go into), a tiny temple (ditto). The most interesting part was that you could see the colored handprints left by the original builders. But we saw everything there was to see in ten minutes. The chocolate-making demonstration was also mildly interesting. The guy showed us the Mayan way, which involved pulverizing cacao beans with other spices on a rolling mortar and pestle.
At sea, we ate and hung out and watched some mildly interesting shows put on by mildly interesting performers.
When we got to Belize, we were supposed to go ziplining through jungle and tubing through caves. But we were politely informed that the excursion was canceled because the caves had flooded completely. And all the other excursions were full. And they didn't offer to at least take us ziplining.
Annoyed--I've never been ziplining and had been really looking forward to it--we decided to check out Belize City. We ended up hiring a local guide who drove us around pointing various spots of interest: schools; a graveyard; a store; an embassy; a factory. It was about as interesting as it sounds. And poverty and squalor everywhere. It was depressing. When we weren't in the car, we were surrounded by more guides and beggars and artists, all of them desperate to get our attention. Darwin couldn't help giving a handful of money to a boy who was about our older grandson's age. I've heard people say Belize is beautiful, but we didn't see any of it.
We did see several shops that sold life-sized wooden penises, each with a bottle opener sticking out of the front end. They're a local fertility symbol. Imagine opening a frothy bottle of beer with one to get the proper image.
We spent the rest of the day hanging out, eating, and seeing mildly interesting shows.
Last night the sea was BAD. Tropical Storm Alberto is making mischief elsewhere in the Gulf, and we're feeling it here. It didn't bother me, but it was an interesting experience.
This morning we were supposed to go kayaking in a famous local lake, have lunch there, and have a chance to sunbathe or swim. But ... you guessed it ... we were canceled. The sea is too rough for the ship to stay at anchor, and the shuttle boats (tenders) can't travel safely between ship and shore. So now we have ANOTHER day at sea, followed by yet ANOTHER one tomorrow.
Our excursion fees were quickly and cheerfully refunded, and I'm not hugely upset. But it turned what should have been an exciting vacation into one of mild interest.
Today I decided to set up shop at a table by the pool and write so I can tell people part of the WIP was written in the tropics.'
We didn't want to go all the way to Europe this time, so we scouted the Caribbean. This turned a little problematic. Some cursory research showed that a lot of Caribbean countries don't handle same-sex relationships well. Some are outright hostile. I know that lots of places that are homophobic toward their own people are very tolerant of gay tourists--they can't afford to turn away People With Money. But there were still some places that were flat-out NO.
We finally found one that took us from Tampa to Cozumel to Belize to Costa Maya and back. And we signed up and we paid for all the things.
The arrival in Tampa went without incident, and we spent the night in a cheap hotel we aren't in a hurry to visit again but was tolerable for one night. Bonus: it provided shuttle service to the cruise port. Met up with Steve and Michelle and duly waited our turn to board.
My and Darwin's cabin is smaller than the one on our previous trip, but still nice, and it has a balcony. We spent the first day and night at sea.
And I got seasick.
I never get seasick! But the sea was very choppy, and I swear there were times the deck dropped so fast, my feet left it for a split-second. I finally went down to the medic to ask for a shot, which they gave me (to the tune of $300). It ended the nausea, but it made me sleepy for the next couple of days.
Anyway, our first stop was at Cozumel, where we had signed up for a visit to Mayan ruins and a chocolate-making demonstration. The best I can say about the ruins is that they were rinkydink. Seriously tiny---a rough altar, a governor's house (which you couldn't go into), a tiny temple (ditto). The most interesting part was that you could see the colored handprints left by the original builders. But we saw everything there was to see in ten minutes. The chocolate-making demonstration was also mildly interesting. The guy showed us the Mayan way, which involved pulverizing cacao beans with other spices on a rolling mortar and pestle.
At sea, we ate and hung out and watched some mildly interesting shows put on by mildly interesting performers.
When we got to Belize, we were supposed to go ziplining through jungle and tubing through caves. But we were politely informed that the excursion was canceled because the caves had flooded completely. And all the other excursions were full. And they didn't offer to at least take us ziplining.
Annoyed--I've never been ziplining and had been really looking forward to it--we decided to check out Belize City. We ended up hiring a local guide who drove us around pointing various spots of interest: schools; a graveyard; a store; an embassy; a factory. It was about as interesting as it sounds. And poverty and squalor everywhere. It was depressing. When we weren't in the car, we were surrounded by more guides and beggars and artists, all of them desperate to get our attention. Darwin couldn't help giving a handful of money to a boy who was about our older grandson's age. I've heard people say Belize is beautiful, but we didn't see any of it.
We did see several shops that sold life-sized wooden penises, each with a bottle opener sticking out of the front end. They're a local fertility symbol. Imagine opening a frothy bottle of beer with one to get the proper image.
We spent the rest of the day hanging out, eating, and seeing mildly interesting shows.
Last night the sea was BAD. Tropical Storm Alberto is making mischief elsewhere in the Gulf, and we're feeling it here. It didn't bother me, but it was an interesting experience.
This morning we were supposed to go kayaking in a famous local lake, have lunch there, and have a chance to sunbathe or swim. But ... you guessed it ... we were canceled. The sea is too rough for the ship to stay at anchor, and the shuttle boats (tenders) can't travel safely between ship and shore. So now we have ANOTHER day at sea, followed by yet ANOTHER one tomorrow.
Our excursion fees were quickly and cheerfully refunded, and I'm not hugely upset. But it turned what should have been an exciting vacation into one of mild interest.
Today I decided to set up shop at a table by the pool and write so I can tell people part of the WIP was written in the tropics.'
