Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Feliz Navidad from Mexico {Cruising along}

This year we did something a little different for the holidays.  Since my birthday, the Mr.’s birthday, Christmas, New Years, and our anniversary are all within 13 days, we decided to take a trip to celebrate them all.  So instead of spending SO much money flying home (this costs us about $2500 every year with flights, rentals cars, and oh yes presents for everyone), we decided to take a cruise (which only cost us $600 for both of us for a week).  Now we didn’t go on the fanciest of cruises, but that was completely fine with us, we weren’t looking for that.  We just wanted a vacation; some time away from reality together.  Back in August we booked our cruise and the countdown began.  Now when I look through the pictures I can’t help but smile as I’m reminded of how much fun we had! 

This was the first cruise for both of us and we didn’t really know what to expect, all I knew was that I wanted to eat and sleep…..and that is exactly what I did lol  Our cruise was 6 days and 5 nights with two stops in Mexico: Progresso and Cozumel.  I think the length of time was perfect for this cruise; if we had been on the ship any longer we might have gotten bored.  I enjoyed the shows throughout the days and lounging on the top deck with a book until I fell asleep only to wake up to some more frozen yogurt :-)  We heard Progresso was kind of a disappointment and it pretty much was.  We got off the ship, looked through a store and got right back on the ship and went to the pool.  The next day we were in Cozumel and this stop was much better.  We did not book excursions through the ship because they were so much more expensive and limiting.  For example, there was one excursion to the beach for the day for $89 a person.  This meant that it would cost us almost $200 to go and we would be stuck with the group.  Instead once we arrived, we got off the boat walked downtown for some shopping, found a great restaurant for lunch (with the best pico de gallo I’ve ever had), and then took a taxi to the same beach everyone else was at, and this only cost us $30 for both of us (for lunch and transportation).  Much better on the wallet and exploration in my opinion.

What was cruising like as a preggo? It was completely fine!  The ship’s policy was that expectant mothers had to be under 25 weeks to board, and must provide documentation from the care provider.  After that it was “smooth sailing”.  Normally, even when I’m not preggo, my stomach is very sensitive to motion; I can even make myself sick when I’m the one driving.  I was a little worried about this so I started taking motion sickness treatments (approved for pregnant women) 24 hours before boarding.  And for the most part I was completely fine.  There were days where I could feel the ship moving, but it didn’t make me sick, it was just that fact that I was aware we were moving.  The only day that it was an issue, was after Cozumel and there was a storm so the waters were pretty rocky.  But I still didn’t get sick, I just skipped dinner and went to bed early.  Again I was totally fine with this because I was there to sleep.

Would I go again? I probably would go again on a cruise, especially over the holidays; it was so much more relaxing than the typical holidays for us with traveling, being pressured to see everyone, cram everything into a week and a half, empting our wallets, only to return home completely exhausted, broke, and having to go to work.  If I went on a longer cruise I would probably pick one that is a little more pricey, simply because of the population it would attract.  With the cheaper cruise we had a lot of college students on break that were clearly on the ship to par-tay.  This is completely fine with me, I’m not offended, but I wasn’t there to par-tay so I was a little out of place.  I have always wanted to go on a Mediterranean cruise, and have talked to the Mr. about it for years.  If we went on a cruise like that then I would want it to be longer with more stops, because I adore that area of Europe.

Okay so now that I’ve blabbered away, let’s get to the pictures.  Isn’t that everyone’s favorite anyways?!

It took me practically 30 years to go on a cruise….Little Peep isn’t even out of the womb and cruising around the world!DSC_0249-2
Views around the ship:DSC_0276Collage 4DSC_0280DSC_0278Collage 2Collage 3
It was pretty neat to have the entire ship decorated for Christmas, have fake snow throughout the ship, visits from Santa, and Christmas music.  It was a very festive ship.Collage 5
I have to say that one of my favorite parts of the cruise were the towel animals.  Not only would I want to leave the room to see what would be there when we returned, but the number of pictures on our camera of towel animals is too embarrassing to admit.  The Mr. ended up giving me a how to fold animals with a towel book for Christmas.  I CAN. NOT. WAIT. for our next house guest. hahahahahaCollage 1
The beaches of Cozumel were beautiful!!! 
The clear water was so blue it was surreal.DSC_0324Collage 6DSC_0321DSC_0333DSC_0328
The sunrises and the sunsets were our favorite viewsDSC_0265DSC_0352DSC_0358
Have you ever been on a cruise?  If so, where to?
Would you do it again?
 
Happy Wednesday friends!
xoxo Darby
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...