Last week was a nearly perfect vacation. First we went to FL and spent time with Jazmin's parents eating out, Disney, you know the routine. Then Jazmin and I left on a 4 night cruise on the Sovereign of the Seas to the Bahamas and Coco Cay on Royal Caribbean. Here's the thing. It was a really cheap cruise. Last year we were on the brand new Freedom of the Seas. FYI, You may be a little let down when you go from a state of the art, largest cruise boat in the world, flag ship with all of the bells and whistles to a 20 year old, in it's last 20 days of life in the fleet boat.
On the flip side of the coin, we discovered that there was not much to do on the boat that we hadn't already done so we really just relaxed: watched movies, drank coffee, worked out, spent lots of time on the beach. We did want we wanted to do. No pressure to climb the rock wall, spend $300 on an excurison, smoke Cuban cigars, or shop for lavish jewelry. Also on the flip side on the coin, the staff on the boat was about the nicest we've seen. The folks that took care of us, entertained us, and safely conveyed us were some of the best we've come across. (The one exception was the lead male performer. He really got on our nerves.) All told we were very impressed with the staff. As always, we met a lot of nice people on the boat most of whom will end up on Jazmin's Facebook page.
We were last at Coco Cay the weekend after September 11, 2001 and Jazmin was pregnant with Melissa. When we were on the island, there was a few rows of beach chairs, a few picnic tables, no electricity and low rent snorkel gear. No complaints, the beach was great and the weather was perfect. RCL was busy during the those 7 years. There were beach chairs and hammocks as far as the eye could see... or at least as far as I was willing to walk; PWCs, giant water slides, an inflatable mini-water park, electricity... It was really nice. I snorkled for hours (saw a sting ray, grouper, lion fish, cow fish, and plenty of tangs, angels, pork, and damsel fish. Jazmin read a book. We agreed that we'd rather 2 days at Coco Cay than go to the Bahama's. We also decided that we won't go on any more small boats. We're planning a cruise in 2010 on the new
Oasis of the Seas. You're welcome to come along. Hollar at me for the details (or just call Jazmin cause I'll tell you that I have to get the details from Jazmin and I'll call you back, then get side tracked and forget to call you back and you'll blame me when you miss the trip).
Jazmin's parents did fine with the kids while we were gone. Finally, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Jazmin's family and I headed home. Jazmin and the kids, her mother and sister and her sister's 4 kids went to Siestia Keys for the second week of Fall break.
