Our First Cruise

 It was fun to experience something new. We are happy to have had the opportunity to experience something new. The wait staff were all super helpful and friendly. 

Our room attendant was Ida Bagus, he was very attentive and cleaned our room daily. We stayed in a suite room 9206 it was a nice size had two sinks in the bathroom and a balcony. 

The bedding is supper comfortably- felt like sleeping on a cloud. I also took the advice and asked for an extra blanket. The blue blanket was super plush and I absolutely loved it! 

We dined on the Scarlet deck in the evenings which was one of my favorite parts of the cruise. I enjoyed having a nice dinner with my hubby and dressing up. We picked early dining at 6p.m - because we generally do not like to eat late. It messes with my tummy. I do need to remember for next time to ask them to leave out acidic foods such as lemons and tomatoes. I may have had one rough night with acid reflux after eating pasta with red sauce. 

I had to walk across the ship every morning to get my coffee on deck 10 - my hubby doesn't drink coffee. I hid over ducks in the mornings - leaving some on the elevator and even dropping some in Christmas stockings that were left outside peoples cabins on Deck 9. I really enjoyed hiding ducks - even found two myself. Deck 5 offered a daily puzzle and brain buster printable that you could complete if you liked. Deck 5 also offered daily trivia games if you wanted to participate. I'm not very good at that stuff. They also offered a daily coloring worksheet if you wanted to color - with a limited supply of coloring pencils. 

December 24th, we went to Costa Maya! Located in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The temperature was in the 80's. We opted out on excursions for this and the next trip. We were a little disappointed to just see shops, stores and overpriced restaurants. We had imagined it to be different. We were hoping for more beach seating - being able to step into the ocean. I think we would opt to do at least one excursion per stop - if we could have done it differently. 

The 80's Rock and Glow party was at 10:30p.m I dressed up for it - but didn't stay long. We just aren't late owls. If I had known all the dress up activities were after 10:30p.m I would have packed less. I definitely over packed - I had two full suitcases, if I were to do this again. I think I would try my best to get it into one suitcase instead. Christmas Eve did not feel like Christmas Eve - I missed being with family. 

December 25th, Christmas day in Beliz- our first Cruise Elegant night. We stopped at port and got stopped by tons of salespeople and then said yes to get my hair braided. I was thinking a cute French braid or two - but the ladies fingers moved so quickly that I forgot to ask how much this would cost me. After completing 5-6 braids (which I wouldn't have normally agreed to) She then, said that each braid would be $10). I then thought in my head O' my gosh - do I tell her to stop now and have some weird funky hair style or just let her do her thing? I then decided - I'm on vacation and the lady wants to make her money - so I went with it. It took her about 20 minutes to do my hair. The total cost ended up being $180 for my hair. I was not prepared for that and had to ask hubby for his cash. We were thinking that we would only spend around $50 - $100 each on port - I went over! In the evening, we enjoyed a nice ugly sweater show and listened to some Christmas music. 

 

 

December 26th, the day after Christmas we decided to join an excursion "A Mexican Christmas" in Cozumel. Ed was starting to feel a little under the weather that day. We took a Taxi to an older looking building that looked like there was some construction maybe happening around it. Outside the building the guide showed us a variety of Nativity Sets and how they are all different from different parts of Mexico and told us that they will also be for sale in their shop after the tour. After viewing the Nativity sets outside - we took part in some sing along (that no one could sing - not our favorite part). After a painful sing along and dress up with hats we were guided to a area where we could paint some ornaments. We were given 25 minutes to paint with 2-4 colors and a little paint brush. We did our best with what we had - making memories (lol). After painting we enjoyed a meal and desert with some poinsettia juice. 

December 27th, Day at Sea - Ed was sick all that day. He managed to get himself to breakfast in the Scarlet dining area - but spent the rest of the day in bed. I went to the "Sea Day Brunch, in the Scarlet Restaurant - which I enjoyed. I had a nice seat by the window that overlooked the ocean. It felt very relaxing, and the cake was creamy delicious. The waitress did try to sell me tea - but I went with the free green tea. I decided to try my hand at a game of Bingo. There were only three winners on the whole ship - I wasn't one of them. I did buy the photo package from the Pixels Gallery - they had a sale for 4 Free Wallet Photos. I bought the $180 photo package which was the best deal for 12 8x10 photos, wallets and a USB. Now, what do I do with 12 8x10 photos of my husband and I? Maybe I'll send everyone in the family a picture of us - lol? I attended the Early Dining, in the Scarlet Restaurant for dinner alone - due to Ed not feeling well. I missed not having him there with me, but I got a nice photo of me with our three dinner time waiters (Sergio, Rhea and Eli) they were super nice and uplifting. After that I went to Deck 0 - the medical area and asked for a Thermometer for Ed. We took his temperature, and he was running a low-grade fever after taking some Tylenol headache stuff we took on board with us.