maddie404
March 18th, 2008, 03:17 PM
3/14 Day 6 Mexico
Another night spent on calm seas. I could really get used to this lifestyle. But there are no pets allowed. And I was sure they were missing me. So I put the thought of a life on a cruise ship out of my head and started dreaming of living on a yacht. Then my DH woke me up. We had a 10 a.m. meet and greet with our fellow CCer’s to attend. Today it was on the opposite side of the Crow’s Nest. If a room could be described as having a masculine or feminine feel, this lounge does. The starboard side has leather furnishings and recalls memories of cigar and cognac evenings. The port side is rattan and feels like an exotic drink with an umbrella in it. It is on that side we spent our Friday morning chatting away about our trip, past trips, pets, lives, etc. What a fun group! I’ll cruise again with them anytime they want to put up with me!
One couple left early to go to the Mariner’s Brunch. We’d be attending it tomorrow and stayed in the Crow’s Nest until we arrived in Cozumel. We had already been informed we would tender into port. Oh the horizon we could see a CL, RCL, NCL, HAL and a few others. Lots of ships. The captain informed the ship that we had 3 tenders that held approximately 350 people to ferry us to shore. We anchored out & away from downtown San Miguel.
We had no tours scheduled for the day. I wanted to shop. So did Mom. The men had no choice. They were coming with us. After lunch we got a tender ticket and waited until our number was called. We climbed onboard the tender. All the bench seats were taken. We were ushered through darkly tinted sliding glass doors. OH GOSH!!!! A room that was air-conditioned! It had cushioned seats! And tables! We’d died and gone to heaven! Not quite—downstairs was more seating and THEY had a bar. I guess it does pay off to go further than the first seat you see.
We took a quick, maybe 5-minute ride to the dock. We were able to exit from the top deck or downstairs. We walked through the portside shopping mall and duty free store to get a taxi. For $6 the 4 of us were quickly delivered to the Forum Shops. On the way we passed plenty of bars and restaurants enjoying all of the thousands of cruise passengers enjoying the day. Mucho tequila! Mucho cerveza!
We spent the next few hours strolling and looking and having fingers tapping prices into calculators to make sales. I confess to walking away with pair of tanzanite earrings that couldn’t wait to pop into my ears. And my DH saw an emerald he knew I couldn’t live without. We were also plied with free margaritas and beer. My favorite purchase of the day was a new pair of sunglasses because my pair had popped a lens back on the Veendam. As the heat and alcohol began to take its toll we grabbed a taxi back to the port.
Once in the shade, I got my strength back, and proceeded to do more shopping. Cozumel is a shopper’s paradise. Mom & Dad headed back towards the tender. Somehow we all met up there and sat down inside again. A man selling silver jewelry came up to us and asked if we were interested. In a few minutes we had bought 8 bracelets and he threw in 2 silver bangle bracelets for free. His coworker came by and offered us more bangles for an outrageously low price. By the time we reached the ship I owned 15 bracelets for only $8 each. Guess what my friends are getting as souvenirs?
That evening the ship had a Bar-B-Q around the Lido pool. Dinner is also served in the Rotterdam Dining Room, but the majority of passengers do go to the BBQ. I put on my new Mexican blouse and my new bangle bracelets (I wanted to make sure they were silver and not going to turn anyone’s arm black, ? ) and we took a bottle of wine up to the Lido and enjoyed the evening. By the pool a Mariachi Band was playing, the ice carvings were melting, and the grills were smoking. Drinks were poured, and food was being eaten. It was an awesome ending to an awesome day.
Another night spent on calm seas. I could really get used to this lifestyle. But there are no pets allowed. And I was sure they were missing me. So I put the thought of a life on a cruise ship out of my head and started dreaming of living on a yacht. Then my DH woke me up. We had a 10 a.m. meet and greet with our fellow CCer’s to attend. Today it was on the opposite side of the Crow’s Nest. If a room could be described as having a masculine or feminine feel, this lounge does. The starboard side has leather furnishings and recalls memories of cigar and cognac evenings. The port side is rattan and feels like an exotic drink with an umbrella in it. It is on that side we spent our Friday morning chatting away about our trip, past trips, pets, lives, etc. What a fun group! I’ll cruise again with them anytime they want to put up with me!
One couple left early to go to the Mariner’s Brunch. We’d be attending it tomorrow and stayed in the Crow’s Nest until we arrived in Cozumel. We had already been informed we would tender into port. Oh the horizon we could see a CL, RCL, NCL, HAL and a few others. Lots of ships. The captain informed the ship that we had 3 tenders that held approximately 350 people to ferry us to shore. We anchored out & away from downtown San Miguel.
We had no tours scheduled for the day. I wanted to shop. So did Mom. The men had no choice. They were coming with us. After lunch we got a tender ticket and waited until our number was called. We climbed onboard the tender. All the bench seats were taken. We were ushered through darkly tinted sliding glass doors. OH GOSH!!!! A room that was air-conditioned! It had cushioned seats! And tables! We’d died and gone to heaven! Not quite—downstairs was more seating and THEY had a bar. I guess it does pay off to go further than the first seat you see.
We took a quick, maybe 5-minute ride to the dock. We were able to exit from the top deck or downstairs. We walked through the portside shopping mall and duty free store to get a taxi. For $6 the 4 of us were quickly delivered to the Forum Shops. On the way we passed plenty of bars and restaurants enjoying all of the thousands of cruise passengers enjoying the day. Mucho tequila! Mucho cerveza!
We spent the next few hours strolling and looking and having fingers tapping prices into calculators to make sales. I confess to walking away with pair of tanzanite earrings that couldn’t wait to pop into my ears. And my DH saw an emerald he knew I couldn’t live without. We were also plied with free margaritas and beer. My favorite purchase of the day was a new pair of sunglasses because my pair had popped a lens back on the Veendam. As the heat and alcohol began to take its toll we grabbed a taxi back to the port.
Once in the shade, I got my strength back, and proceeded to do more shopping. Cozumel is a shopper’s paradise. Mom & Dad headed back towards the tender. Somehow we all met up there and sat down inside again. A man selling silver jewelry came up to us and asked if we were interested. In a few minutes we had bought 8 bracelets and he threw in 2 silver bangle bracelets for free. His coworker came by and offered us more bangles for an outrageously low price. By the time we reached the ship I owned 15 bracelets for only $8 each. Guess what my friends are getting as souvenirs?
That evening the ship had a Bar-B-Q around the Lido pool. Dinner is also served in the Rotterdam Dining Room, but the majority of passengers do go to the BBQ. I put on my new Mexican blouse and my new bangle bracelets (I wanted to make sure they were silver and not going to turn anyone’s arm black, ? ) and we took a bottle of wine up to the Lido and enjoyed the evening. By the pool a Mariachi Band was playing, the ice carvings were melting, and the grills were smoking. Drinks were poured, and food was being eaten. It was an awesome ending to an awesome day.