Talk about anything else: your pets, your car, movies, celebrities, or other things you like. As a reminder, political and religious discussions do not belong in here, nor any other topics that may incite a heated debate! As always keep it clean, please.
My SO & I are booked for a cruise for the western Caribbean in late August and are going to Key West and Cosumel. The ship is with the Carnival Line.
Has anyone been to Cosumel? The Mrs. wants to tour the Mayan ruins, and I'd like to get in some of that clean clear watered beach fun that I always hear so much about.
We only have 4 days on the trip and in Cosumel for about 10 hours so we'll have to be careful with our time to make it back onboard on time.
Key West I have no idea what to expect. Anyone familiar with it?
We were going to spend two days in Miami before the crusise but my SO said she thinks it would be a waste of time. She's been the several times on business trips and doesn't think much of the place. Any comments about the area?
The trip is going to be the first vacation we've had in about 4 years and we really need it. We take short overnighters every once and a while but nothing to let our hair down. I'm looking forward to it. It will be the first cruise we've been on.
My SO & I are booked for a cruise for the western Caribbean in late August .... Has anyone been to Cosumel? The Mrs. wants to tour the Mayan ruins ....
A few years ago, I went on a Caribbean cruise that included a stop at Cozumel. Cozumel is a large island, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. My cruise ship docked at Cozumel, from where we took smaller boats holding about 50 passengers each to Playa del Carmen, the closest town on the Yucatán Peninsula itself. From Playa del Carmen, we took a tour bus to the Mayan ruins at Tulúm, the trip taking about an hour each way. The ruins at Tulúm are really quite amazing. The Mayans had an advanced system of astronomy and a complex religious faith; thus, not too surprisingly, many of their buildings were observatories, religious temples, or a combination. The architecture falls somewhere between that of the European castles and that of the Egyptian pyramids. It dates from about 900 AD and, in my opinion, is well worth seeing.
Hi Gwen,
Cruises are such fun!!!! As for Miami, well I don't know your age, but if you and your SO like to Party! South Beach is the place to go after 10:00pm - the place get's right!!! Ifnot the Aquarium is a great visit or a visit to the Everglades is highly recommended. The one area to be careful, I think they may have removed some of the problems by now, but it's rental cars are peak targets for the bad guys, they follow folks from the airport and it is easy to get lost in some very bad areas real quick, so if you rent a car in Miami - BE VERY CAREFUL!!! Once you get into Miami proper you will be ok, but the area around the airport is dangerous. One HInt which is difficult at best, but don't look like a tourist if that's possible.
You will have a GREAT TIME! By the way, I noticed you did not give any times - you know that Darlene, Beauty and I are eligible for adoption! and we love to travel. Just Kidding ----- or maybe not!
Love,
Deborah
First star to the right, then straight on 'till mornin!
Gwen wrote:
Key West I have no idea what to expect. Anyone familiar with it?
Hi Gwen,
Most of the areas of your cruise have been covered but not Key West. The last time my wife and I went to KW, we camped on the next key up and spent a week. We never ran out of things to see. KW is a highly TG'd community but it is also a great place to relax, see dive museums, Hemingway's house with the hundreds of cats, and just sit in an outdoor cafe and watch the world go by. We loved it. I hope you do too.
Make sure to fill us all in on the trip when you get back.
"The early bird catches the worm...But... It's the second mouse that gets the cheese"
AH, Key WEst! got in a cab down there a couple of years ago. The cab driver told me he had come down there on vacation two years age. He was a CPA with some big firm in NYC. Key WEst "bit" him and he just never went back! He bought a sail boat and during his time off he sails to the Bahamas. Stories like that are a dime a dozen down there though. There is just something about that place that has that kind of effect on people. Get off the main drag and there are some great little Bistro's.
And yes they are very tolerent of TG's (the locals) tourist on the other hand can be RUDE! One other quick story, we sat at an open bar one evening at about 7:00 and from 7:00-8:00p family time - parents, kids,pets. 8:00-9:00 more couples strolling along. 9:00 + the things you begin to see - what an education for the uninitiated!!!!! Gays, Drag Queens, FEmale Impersoniators; bikers, just a whole new world, but I would be willing to bet almost any of them would be the nicest folks you would ever want to meet.
Yeah, Key West - a wonderful place.
Love,
Deborah
First star to the right, then straight on 'till mornin!
I've only been on one cruise... a 3 night, 2 day cruise that left Miami and visited Nassau and Key West.
When you get onboard, there is usually an emergency evacuation meeting first thing and then you can attend some briefings regarding various things offered onboard ship and the excursions they offer when you dock. Book your excursions first thing... there is normally limited space and they fill up fast.
I think you and your wife may have to choose either Mayan ruins or Sun and Fun in the Carribean. 10 hours is not a lot of time to do it all. I suspect that the Mayan ruins will take up most of your day but should leave some time for shopping before you return onboard. Snorkelling is an awesome activity that usually lasts about half of the day.
We had questionable weather in Key West (late February,) but you are going in hurricane season so you should be okay unless... there's a hurricane. We were going to snorkel in Key West but didn't get to because the water visibility just was not good.
Key West was an interesting place. We went to a museum there that dealt with the original occupation of most people on the island... salvage. Apparently, it wasn't uncommon for ships to sink off Key West. Whoever found the ship first claimed salvage rights. They would bring up everything they could find and sell it to the locals. There is an old John Wayne, Ray Miland movie that deals with this subject and I believe it is based on Key West. (I can't remember the name but I don't believe they worked together more than just that once.)
The have another museum with pieces of recovered treasure from the Atoches. Mel Fisher located and salvaged this ship and you can purchase genuine pieces from the treasure but they are not cheap.
I don't know how you and your SO like to dine but they have awesome food on cruise ships in the main dining room. Normally they have some midnight meal with desserts that will make you believe you died and went to heaven. The main dining room is perhaps the only area of the ship where there is some sort of dress code. Our first night was casual, second night Formal, and third night semi-formal or something like that. Check on this before you go. You normally meet some wonderful people on the ship at dinner and you normally sit with the same group every night.
They also normally offer some fun things to do onboard and you can eat 24 hours a day. They made a joke about people coming onboard as passengers and leaving as cargo... so be careful if you are watching your girlish figure.
Have a wonderful time!
Brianna
Still trying to figure out who I am and how I fit in this crazy world...
I hope you do too.
