We got back about 5 hours ago from Miami from our 7 night cruise in the Caribbean. For me the boat is still rocking. It was an amazing trip and a much needed break. We were very blessed that we were even able to make it because we couldn't find Omar's Residence Card at home and searched for a few hours. Without that card we would not have been able to go on the cruise. After over like 14 times checking in the bag that holds our important documents I went page by page in our old passports and found it stuck to the back page of my old passport! The Lord really answered our prayers.
It was so wonderful that for 7 nights and like 8 days we did not use a phone or the Internet. I was so thankful for that break. I love technology, but man does it seem to be too much a part of our lives.
Things I learned from cruising:
* It would be more fun to cruise in a group - you wouldn't have an assigned dinner table alone for 2, you get discounts on excursions on shore, and the taxis are cheaper in groups. Plus you have more people to talk to and do different stuff with.
* Bring bottles of water with you on the ship. My friend recommended this to me and we did thankfully because a bottle of water on the ship is 4 bucks!!!
* You don't need as much clothes as you think. You can wear pretty much whatever you want, except for elegant nights.
* Tankinis are a lot better to wear than a one-piece while on shore because it is easier to use the bathroom.
* Eating in the dining room takes forever 1.5-2 hours and the food at the buffet is exactly the same, but just doesn't look as pretty.
* If you do choose assigned dining times - for us the earlier might be a little better because we would be so tired at night that we would be falling asleep during dinner and wouldn't make it to the night shows.
* Staterooms are very small.
* It is cheaper (but scarier) to park your car at a lot outside of the cruise terminal. The terminal was charging $20/day for parking and we paid $8/day and took a taxi over to the terminal for $10. We saved some money there and
* Speaking Spanish doesn't really help you get any special discounts at ports where Spanish is the primary language. But it helps a little with learning more about the area.
* Never take taxis at the cruise ports - walk a little bit toward your destination and you will find taxis for sometimes 1/4 of the price!
* Sometimes getting a taxi to take you around the island for the whole day is actually cheaper than renting a car, plus you get a local tour guide and you don't have to drive with the other crazies on the road
* If you have to tender from your ship be sure to be there before they start giving out numbers. We came 15 minutes after they started giving out numbers at one port and we waited an hour and a half to get to shore.
* Belize isn't as scary as they make it sound.
* Don't bother eating right before you debark on the ship - they will have food there waiting for you. We ate at Subway right before we got on the ship thinking that we wouldn't get food until dinner, we were so wrong!
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