Our Not So Epic Adventure with Pics 1/11/15-1/18/15

I didn't know they offer independent excursions on great stirrup Kay.

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I believe they were in Grand Cayman...?

I believe they were in Grand Cayman...?

They tender at Grand Cayman?

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Yes.

They tender at Grand Cayman?

 

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Yes - Costa Maya was a tender port. Apparently this is a port that can be a hit or miss depending on the waves, as the week before I was there, they had to stop the tendering for a few hours b/c the waves were too big, and a few weeks before that, they skipped the port all together. So if you're booking a private excursion, make sure you check for a refund policy if the ship can't stop there.

Yes - Costa Maya was a tender port. Apparently this is a port that can be a hit or miss depending on the waves, as the week before I was there, they had to stop the tendering for a few hours b/c the waves were too big, and a few weeks before that, they skipped the port all together. So if you're booking a private excursion, make sure you check for a refund policy if the ship can't stop there.

Grand Cayman is a tender port. I have been to Costa Maya several times and always docked. I guess if they have too many ships in, they could tender, but I have never seen it.

Yes - Costa Maya was a tender port. Apparently this is a port that can be a hit or miss depending on the waves, as the week before I was there, they had to stop the tendering for a few hours b/c the waves were too big, and a few weeks before that, they skipped the port all together. So if you're booking a private excursion, make sure you check for a refund policy if the ship can't stop there.

Yeah I wouldn't know last time I was on the epic we actually didn't get to go to costa Maya, everyone's excursions had to be refunded and everything.

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We booked a private tour on Grand Cayman. ..last week it was incredible! 3 stops snorkeling, starfish beach, stingray sand bar...it included pics and lunch. Captian Mario was knowledgeable and fun. Nice yacht - had space below to get out of sun and change

Small group- 24 people

Only $50 each

http:// http://www.caymanstingraycitysnorkel.ky/

We booked a private tour on Grand Cayman. ..last week it was incredible! 3 stops snorkeling, starfish beach, stingray sand bar...it included pics and lunch. Captian Mario was knowledgeable and fun. Nice yacht - had space below to get out of sun and change

Small group- 24 people

Only $50 each

http:// http://www.caymanstingraycitysnorkel.ky/

That sounds like that's going to be a lot of fun.

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We booked a private tour on Grand Cayman. ..last week it was incredible! 3 stops snorkeling, starfish beach, stingray sand bar...it included pics and lunch. Captian Mario was knowledgeable and fun. Nice yacht - had space below to get out of sun and change

Small group- 24 people

Only $50 each

What a great deal. Those pics look amazing! We really enjoyed our cheap day in GC, but that looks great for a good price!

It's was...and those pics are actually us :)

It's was...and those pics are actually us :)

I thought about doing the Stingray excursion before but I'm kind of nervous, isn't that how Steve Irwin died? What precautions do they put in place to make sure nobody is hurt by the stingrays? If it is safe I definitely would like to try it.

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Not the same type of stingray...different part of the world. These stingrays are like puppies they're there because they are used to being hand fed by tours for over 30 years l. Also our guide made sure we didn't bother the stingrays he did most of the handling, mostly to protect the rays from us. Also you can just stand there and not have to hold them. Our group only had one ray to pet and feed and she was very calm and seemed to love the interaction and affection plus she got fed very well :)

There were quite a few others around swimming

Not the same type of stingray...different part of the world. These stingrays are like puppies they're there because they are used to being hand fed by tours for over 30 years l. Also our guide made sure we didn't bother the stingrays he did most of the handling, mostly to protect the rays from us. Also you can just stand there and not have to hold them. Our group only had one ray to pet and feed and she was very calm and seemed to love the interaction and affection plus she got fed very well :)

Oh ok,that sounds cool.

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Great review!! Waiting to hear if you all got sick..really hope not. Keep it coming!

Mary

Thursday Night: Second City Comedy Show

DH with sunset after leaving GC.

Second City: a good laugh, but not an Epic laugh

We were thankful for our late lunch that day in O'Sheehans cause we had 7pm tickets for Second City so that meant a late dinner for us. After a long rest in the cabin DS perked up and we all went to the show. We have seen Second City a few times before but since its different comedians and mostly improv, it is different every time. Tonight was not the best we have seen but we laughed and we were entertained.

The stand up comedians on CCL are our favorite part of the onboard entertainment. I think I prefer that set up better then the Second City, but again, every comedian is hit or miss just like Second City improv can be.

Post Show Dinner

I was so glad DS was feeling better (for now). He enjoyed his ice cream that night and we enjoyed dinner.

DD and Kids Club

Our DD loved Splash Academy. Each night they had a different themed party. Tonight was Super Heroes so she came back to us as Wonder Woman.

Cozumel

So, our day in Cozumel started a bit bumpy. DS and I both woke up feeling worse and now DH was starting with a sore throat and cough. Thankfully, we brought all kinds of over the counter meds to combat our symptoms and keep them at bay.

We really love Cozumel. This was our 4th visit to Cozumel and we have a favorite place that we go every time. Paradise Beach Resort.

We ate breakfast and painlessly disembarked the ship. We were docked at Punta Langusta in downtown San Miguel. We walked straight to the taxi stand where all 9 of us squished into a van. The taxi was $30, plus tip. About 20min later, we arrived at Paradise Beach Resort.

Paradise Beach Resort

Quick Disclaimer: since DH and I were not on our A-game, pictures did not make the priority list...but, here are the pics from our last visit 1 month prior, in December 2014. So, these pics are recent and everything looked exactly the same. Honestly, I could have gotten these same exact shots the day we were there because the weather was similar too.

We love PBR. It is beautiful and it offers something for everyone. $3 buys you an admission wrist band and use of lounge chairs, beach, and pool. For an extra $15, you get unlimited use of kayaks, paddle boards, snorkel gear, and inflatable water slides. A $10 minimum drink/food purchase per person is expected. The food is delish. My favorite is the chicken nachos. The mixed drinks are a waste of money...pricey and weak.

The Beach

Inflatable Water Fun

This place got me hooked on Paddle Boarding

Paradise Beach Continued

The Pool

The Beautiful Grounds

Beautiful Grounds Continued

Summary of PBR

The highlights and pros: Great fun for a great price. Great food. We had an Epic all family war on the water teeter totter. Great exercise and calorie burning fun. Paddle Boards. Flush toilets and outdoor showers. Cabs always ready to take you back to port.

Warning/Cons: the only negative thing we have noticed about PBR is they always try to rip us off in at least one way every time we go. Its always minor and if you know before you go it helps. 1st time we went, they put us all on 1 check and wouldn't let us have a copy of bill to check accuracy and divide up what each of us owed and refused to do separate checks. 2nd time, they took our $ for 2 wrist bands but only gave us 1...had to argue for 2nd one. 3rd time, the waiter asked if we wanted to upgrade our $2.50 soda to a "large" but failed to mention the "large" cost $8 and comes in a pricey souvenir glass. He then refused to take it off the check when we tried to send it back after finding out it was $8. Ok, that was our bad. We should have asked how much when we agreed to up grade...but still shady at best. Please note: you really need to keep your own record of what you order and what you owe because they will not show you a copy of your tab. The total owed has always been close to what I estimated...but still shady.

With all that said, we still love it. All 9 of us had a great time. Our kids especially love it here, but so do we. If i can get some more pics from my fam, I will post them later. For now, know that we had a blast and it is still our favorite activity in Cozumel. Total spent with taxis, food, and fun for the 4 of us was $162. We are hard pressed to find this much fun, food, and transpiration for 4 people for that price while at port, so PBR is a win for us.

Back to port

After day of crazy and exhausting fun, we headed back to Punta Langusta via taxi.

We got back early so we did some shopping for a new hat for DH at the mall at the pier. He found a good quality hat for a deal! The shop owner kept coming down since he didn't have just the right color we wanted.

Around port is a nice area. These pics were taken in December 2014, just across the street from the mall, on the port side.

Back On Board

Once back on board, we were exhausted. We rested back in the cabin but apparently it wasn't enough. DS and DN both fell asleep at dinner and our sweet waitress, Marciella, found pillows for them to lay on. She was by far the best wait staff we encountered.

After dinner, our cold symptoms were catching up to us and we hit our room for an early bedtime.

PBR looks so beautiful. We've never been there before but looks amazing. Great pictures and the one of your husband and the sunset and the kids sleeping through dinner are my favorites! Great review, keep it coming, you're doing a fantastic job writing it.

Our Sucky Sickly Sea Day

I so wish I could end this cruise review on a good note but to that would be a lie. All 3 of us sickos woke up feeling like we were death warmed over. We were miserable. We were starting to think we had the worst cold ever :eek::(

Knowing we had to keep away from others, we self-quarentied as best as we could. The 3 of us spent most of the day in bed in our cabin. We were sure to be fervent with our hand washing and sanitizing. It was a chilly day, way to cold for water fun, so it would have been lame either way.

DD managed to stay symptom free and dodged the dreadful all together. To this day, she didn't get it. (Woohoo) So, she was happy that she got to go to kids club that day.

That night, DS and I were too sick for MDR dinner so we stayed in the room. Boo!

The Silver Lining

I am so glad we were able to enjoy most of our cruise before our illness got the best of us. Unfortunately it almost ruined our post cruise fun too :roll eyes:

Disembarkation Day

We woke up feeling crumby. Again, very thankful for our stash of over the counter meds. We were in no rush to get off the ship. We were planning to stroll off the ship, grab a taxi, and head to the airport rental car facility. We were heading to Key Largo for 2 more days of what was supposed to be fun.

Sunrise back in Miami was beautiful.

A not so smooth disembarkation.

Worst disembarkation ever. To be fair, this was largely due to our craptastic fallen state of creepy crud. But NCL and POM helped to make it suck too.

We ate breakfast and then waited for our color to be called. We waited and waited. After being called, we then waited more in line to get off the boat, then waited in line to get thru the terminal, then waited in line to get thru customs. POM is always a cluster of chaos and today was no exception.

We grabbed a porter who was such a big help with luggage and getting a cab. SO thankful for that guy cause we were in no shape to manage all our luggage and 2 kids on our own.

On to Key Largo

We shared a cab with DH's parents who needed to head straight to the airport. Since we were heading to the airport for a rental car, we went with them. It was nice to have the extra sets of hands with our kids and luggage again. Gma and Gpa were such blessing that day!

After another long wait, DH came by with rental car and we were on our way to Key Largo. We reached our rental condo at about 3pm, where nothing but this happened...

...we were bushed. All we wanted to do was lay around and sleep. We spent 2 nights in the keys. It was nice but we didn't feel well enough to truly enjoy it. We did get to go snorkeling and ate the best Key Lime Pie we have ever had, so all in all, it was a win.

Sorry we don't have more pics but we just didn't feel like doing much...not even take pics :(

On Tuesday we were all slowly starting to feel better, just in time to go home. :roll eyes: We headed back to Miami and decided to go to Miami Beach Park across the channel from the Port before our 4pm flight. It was fun to go there cause we have seen it so many times from the ship.

Farewell Miami

Before we knew it, it was time to return the rental care and catch our plane. Our travels home were uneventful, thankfully!

In Summary

So maybe this cruise wasn't "Epic" for us, but we did have a good time. While the Epic is not my favorite ship by any means, I can see how some people really like her. I think we would have liked her more if our kids were older or not with us.

With cruising, you win some and you lose some. This one was tied, not a total loss but not a total win...and thats ok because my hope is not built on having the perfect vacation. As a sinner, my hope is built on nothing less then Jesus and His perfect righteousness. He is my treasure and my portion forever and not even the best cruise comes even close to that kind of Hope.

Happy Sailing Friends!

PBR looks so beautiful. We've never been there before but looks amazing. Great pictures and the one of your husband and the sunset and the kids sleeping through dinner are my favorites! Great review, keep it coming, you're doing a fantastic job writing it.

Thanks for the encouragement and for sticking with to the end!

A not so smooth disembarkation.

 

As a sinner, my hope is built on nothing less then Jesus and His perfect righteousness. He is my treasure and my portion forever and not even the best cruise comes even close to that kind of Hope.

 

Happy Sailing Friends!

:confused: