It’s been a year and a half since our last cruise on the MSC Meraviglia. Who would have thought that when we got off of that ship in November of 2019, that it would have taken us this long to get back to cruising? And everything else? Since then we have had to cancel two cruises that we really wanted to sail, and two trips to Disneyland, which we’ve never been to.
But we have traveled!
We have missed out on these trips, but we have traveled. Not going to let a little virus keep us down. We’ve been to Myrtle Beach and Savannah. We’ve visited Florida a number of times with two trips for Universal Studios, and three trips to Walt Disney World. We hate masks but have dealt with them for the sake of travel. And we had a lot of fun despite all the restrictions.
And now it’s time to cruise again…hopefully
I have to admit that I’ll believe that we’re going to cruise again when I’m actually on the ship. We’re scheduled to be on the Carnival Magic on Halloween! We have to jump through some hoops first before we are allowed on the ship. Even though we’re vaccinated, we have to take a rapid Covid test on Friday, September 29th to get on the ship. Fingers crossed that we test negative. We’ll also have to wear a mask many places on the ship.
We’re scheduled to visit three ports, Belize, Cozumel, and Costa Maya. We’re not going to do a lot in Cozumel and Costa Maya. In Cozumel we’ll probably take a taxi into town and shop. Cozumel isn’t one of my favorite ports because the shopkeepers are kind of pushy, but I want to visit the Mega Store again. Last time I didn’t have a peso converter so we didn’t shop. Most stores price things in American dollars, but not the Mega Store.
In Costa Maya we’ll just stay at port, if it’s open. On the Costa Maya port website, it doesn’t sound like they are open yet. It is normally a very good port with lots to do and see. They even have a dolphin encounter right at the port.
Belize activity
We’ve been to Belize twice before. Both of those times we visited the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins. Now, Belize isn’t a place where I’d want to sightsee on my own. It doesn’t seem the safest place to walk around. Plus, they do not have a ship dock, so the ship has to anchor out and see and you have to tender into the port. So, we’re taking a ship excursion.
This time we’re going to a different Mayan ruin, Altun Ha. In my opinion, I’d rather pay a bit more and take a ship excursion in Belize. That way you are guaranteed that the ship will not leave without you. Everything is a distance from the port, plus since you have to tender, it’s going to take you longer to get to the port, and then get back to the ship. I just feel more secure on a ship excursion, so that’s what we’re doing with Altun Ha. Our excursion comes with lunch, so I’m looking forward to some good Belizian food. Normally that ends up being jerk chicken, rice and beans, and plantains. Sounds good to me!
And then what?
Our next cruise is scheduled for early April on the Carnival Pride. We’ll be leaving out of Tampa for the first time, and going to the Panama Canal for a partial transit. This is one of the cruises that we had scheduled for 2020 that we had to cancel. We’re really looking forward to that eight day cruise, we’ve never been to the Panama Canal or Limon.
And after that, who knows? We’ve been considering an Alaskan cruise if we can afford it. And we still want to go to Disneyland, we’ve never been there although we’ve been to Disney World countless times. We’re both talking about retiring in the next year, so we’ll see how it goes.
Blogging from the ship
Be sure to check back after Halloween for my cruise blogs. I’m planning on blogging from the ship, so you can see how cruising is going in this new age. Can’t wait to let you know how it goes.
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