In 2012 we took
the first of our two Caribbean cruises with the kids. We chose Carnival cruises and while we were a
little skeptical as their reputation as a party boat, we actually found them no
different and even better in some ways for our kids. We chose to cruise out of Galveston, Texas, which is a short 3 hour drive from Austin.
Day at Sea
We spent the next day at sea – kids did kids’ club
activities and we chilled by the pool and in the casino. We got the drink ticket and pushed the limit
on that too. Carnival had very good
shows at sea – they hire talented people instead of making the crew do all the
skits themselves.
We saw a really great magic show with a helicopter that appeared on stage at the end. The had musicals and other shows too. The Comedy club had some good acts – we usually skip the kiddie show and go straight to the adult stuff.
We saw a really great magic show with a helicopter that appeared on stage at the end. The had musicals and other shows too. The Comedy club had some good acts – we usually skip the kiddie show and go straight to the adult stuff.
Jamaica
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| Usain Bolt's High School |
We docked in Jamaica at Montego Bay which is on the north
side of the island. Our first
destination was the Jamaican bobsled track which was near Ocho Rios. We drove by Usian Bolt’s high school on the
way. Also, the tour guide discussed the
different areas of Jamaica and asked the bus how many states were in the
US. One lady responded 52! Then she explained that she was a
teacher! (the US has 50 states). We also learned some Jamaican phrases like
Irie, Ya Mon, and No Problem.
When we got to the park, some people were going to do
zip-lining, but we took a chairlift to the top of a tall hill to do the bobsled. The scenery on the chairlift was very
tropical and lush. When we reached the
top, we found the bobsled track. Brooke
didn’t want to go by herself so she rode with me in a two-man bobsled, which
was essentially a car on rails. 
You have
a brake if you want to use it, and some might because the cars go pretty fast
around the turns.
It’s like a
rollercoaster. At the bottom, a
motorized track took us back up to the top where we had a picnic lunch of jerk
chicken (spicy!) and other local dishes (including Red Stripe – Hooray Beer!).
The kids had fun jamming with and dancing with the locals
and we looked at an exhibit which showcased a lot of the great Jamaican
athletes and other famous people.
Then we headed to Ocho Rios to hike the Dunns River Falls. Shellie had been to Jamaica before and hiked
the falls when she went, but she was a good sport to do it again. I highly recommend it. You get there and are assigned to a group of
about 20 people and an experienced guide.
Then you walk down to the mouth of the falls where it dumps out into the
ocean. The “hike” is on slippery rocks
UP the falls to the top. The guides walk
around and film you like it’s no big deal, but it is fairly challenging and you
have to help the less athletic people and kids up the rocks. We made it to the top and had a fun time
doing it. After the falls, we headed
back to the ship.
Grand Cayman
In Grand Cayman you don’t dock on the main island, you have
to take a tender to get from the boat to the land. There were several activities we considered,
but since we had younger children, we didn’t do the snorkeling or the sting ray
petting – we went to the TURTLE FARM! To
go to the turtle farm you ride through the
town of Georgetown and up the left side of the island to the turtle farm near
the tip. The turtle farm is a
preservation farm for helping little turtles get big. You get to see some very old turtles and get
to play with and hold baby turtles. They
also have freshwater and saltwater lagoons divided by a shark tank. 
The freshwater lagoon is like a pool with
chairs and a slide. Bix and I went
snorkeling in the saltwater lagoon which a large saltwater lake on the
premises. We saw lots of different fish
and were able to snorkel right up to the shark tank to see the sharks. I think we snorkeled for about 45 minutes and
it was great.
Back in town you can do some shopping near the pier and then
re-board the tender to go back to the ship.
Cozumel
When we go to Cozumel we like to just chill out – it’s
usually the last stop on the itinerary and our favorite place to chill out is
at Playa Mia. It’s like an all-inclusive resort for the day
with lunch, drinks, and fun things to do.
Go check out the website link for more info, but you can really do all
kinds of things from watercraft to hair-braiding, to pools, snorkeling, and
beach games.
We had a day at sea on the way back to Texas and the kids wrested in their Mexican Lucha Libre masks.
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| The smooth sea |
The sea between Cozumel and Galveston was as smooth as glass.
When we docked we only had a short drive through a Houston downpour to get back to Austin.