Caribbean Here We Come!

Caribbean Here We Come!

July 16th, 2010 @ 1:59 pm by Mrs. Sand Dollar
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Well, today we booked our honeymoon! We’ll spend one week aboard the lovely Carnival Conquest for the Western Caribbean cruise. We’ll snorkel, ride horses, zipline, and most importantly, eat to our hearts’ content! I’ve never been on a cruise myself, but Mr. SD has, and assures me it’s loads of fun. I cannot wait to go. We’ll stop at Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Montego Bay. I’m hoping we get to see some Mayan ruins and do a bit of shopping along the way.

For me, the best part is you don’t lose much in travel time; whereas flying to Europe or Hawaii would have cost us two days, the cruise starts right up at boarding. We can take a walk, lounge around, hit up the pool, and visit the shops. I’m excited for the shows and nightlife, too. Basically I love the lack of thought process that a cruise provides. After all this hyper-speed about budget and planning and fixing up our house I’ll just need a break. I’m already counting down the days.

Are you considering a cruise honeymoon? What are some of the pros and cons?

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13 Responses to “Caribbean Here We Come!”

Member

mareundarum (message) 83 posts, Worker bee

We’re headed on a cruise too! The mister has been on one, and it’ll be my first time, so any tips you come up with pass them along on your posts! We’re headed on the Carnival Triumph. It was one of the only ones that didn’t port in Mexico (we can’t go there right now since we’re both military and it is forbidden!).

7/16/10 @ 2:02 pm (reply)

Member

beccaod (message) 46 posts, Newbee

We are doing a cruise honeymoon. I am so excited! My FI went on his first cruise earlier this year and loved it and is super excited about going again. I love them so much, this will be my 7th…

7/16/10 @ 2:07 pm (reply)

Member

upstatebroad (message) 342 posts, Helper bee

Cruises are the best of both worlds. We went on a cruise last year and had the time of our lives. The pros are that there are endless things to do on the ship, casinos, great food, entertainment, dancing, shows, etc. And if you pick interesting ports to go on then that makes it even better! I will tell you a big plus about the Grand Caymans, they have a huge liquor store right when you get off the boat where everything is incredibly cheap, as well as great shops for cigars if that’s what the hubby is into. We also did the snorkeling and swimming with the sting rays which I would suggest!

The cons: Luckily we had amazing weather except when we were in the Keys…which meant that our water activities were cancelled. Also, they give you this magical little card that is your lifeline. The bad thing about it is that drinks are not included in the price and they never tell you how much anything is and just swipe the card, it’s when you’re about to leave and get this bill for $$$ that you realize the card is evil!

But other than that you will have a fabulous time! Make sure you go to plenty of shows and try to particiapte in some since you can win prizes!

7/16/10 @ 2:14 pm (reply)

Member

VintageDivine (message) 337 posts, Helper bee

We did a Western Caribbean cruise in February - It was AWESOME!!

FYI, don’t bother with the Mayan Ruins on Cozumel itself. Go to the Ruins of Tulum if you can. Also, be prepared for Grand Cayman to be PACKED. They day we pulled into port, there were 5 other cruise ships docking that day too. And extra influx of about 10k people makes it damn near impossible to get around town.

Have a great time!

7/16/10 @ 2:26 pm (reply)

Member

Maggie Mae (message) 649 posts, Busy bee

You will have a fantastic time. I’ve been on four cruises and have loved them all. I always try to get to the port early ~ the fun starts as soon as you get on the ship!! Grand Cayman is beautiful, but expensive. The swimming with the stingrays is a must!! I’ve never done an excursion in Cozumel, the two times we’ve been there we just take a cab into the older tourist section, have lunch, drinks and shop! Cozumel is my favorite port. Have fun!!!!!

7/16/10 @ 2:59 pm (reply)

Guest

kerry

We’re going on two back to back! It’s going to be a blast

7/16/10 @ 3:06 pm (reply)

Member

rawrkitty1022 (message) 516 posts, Busy bee

I went on that exact Carnival Conquest cruise as my graduation present to myself and I LOVED it. In Montego Bay I went horseback riding through the mountains, on the beach and in the ocean, and ziplining through the jungle (so fun!!). I went to stingray city and snorkeling in Grand Cayman (feeding the stingrays was amazing) and in Mexico we did the Excarat park and went floating through the cenotes and stuff. All awesome excursions! My friend went to the ruins and had a really nice time. Apparently the pineapple and banana plantation in Jamaica is great too. Glad you booked this cruise!!

7/16/10 @ 3:08 pm (reply)

Member

kelleyandbauder (message) 39 posts, Newbee

We just back from a 7 day cruise that did these same ports! It was so much fun!

As VintageDesign said, if you are going to do the ruins do the Ruins of Tulum. The other 4 hour tour of the ruins (this is the one we did) was a waste time. The jury is still out on whether or not the Mayans actually built them LOL! The best part of that excursion was the beach trip!

On our 3rd port we got smart and ditched all carnival related excursions and did our own using the taxis and people standing around trying to get you to book through them. In cozumel we did the stingray excursion as well and LOVED it! At Montego Baywe hired a taxi driver for $20 and asked him to take us to the beach. He took us on a tour of the west side of the island, took us to an all inclusive beach resort called the Mayan Princess that included pools, snorkeling, showers, beach and restaurant for $10!!! On the way back he took us to the monkey farm. I would recommend doing this.

Mareundarum-we too are military and did this cruise on June 13th. There were tons of military people on this one and the triumph which ported at the same places as us who went into Mexico. we were just told not to leave the city walls in Belize and to stay in the tourist section in cozumel. We had no problems. Could be a command thing though.

7/16/10 @ 3:54 pm (reply)

Guest

Amyluv

We went on the Carnival Conquest for our honeymoon in May! So so much fun! And be prepared for eating pizza and soft serve ice cream all day and all night. We spent a TON of time at the 24 hour pizzaria. Ha ha. We took the catamaran and snorkeling excursion in Jamaica and it was such a blast! Hope you have as great a time as we did. Can’t wait to go again.

7/16/10 @ 3:55 pm (reply)

10.

Member

sunflowers2010 (message) 18 posts, Newbee

Love cruising….no worries! We’ve always had fun and plan on booking one for our Honey Moon tooooooooooo

7/16/10 @ 5:11 pm (reply)

11.

Bee

Mrs. Buttons (message) 5,046 posts, Bee Keeper

I’ve been on a number of cruises myself (helps when there is a port here in Tampa…haha), and they are definitely fun!

Ok, so I’m a cheapskate and itll be your honeymoon, but every time I’ve gone on a cruise I have smuggled at least a little bit of liquor into my bag. It has to be inconspicuous because they do check your bag at the port…but I’ve never had a problem.

If you drink soda, I definitely recommend purchasing the unlimited soda card when you first get on the ship…they are usually around $40 or so, but between the two of you for 4-7 days….it does add up if you pay for each and every soda you drink. You’ll have to go up to the bar separately to be able to use it for both of you, but that really isn’t a big deal.

Grand Cayman is definitely the place to swim with the sting rays if that is up your alley. It terrified me to be surrounded by at least 100 enormous sting rays, but I am a wimp.

Every time I’ve been to Cozumel, we’ve done the same excursion. I don’t know the exact name, but it is a catamaran, snorkel, and beach break. It was around $60 a person…you ride the catamaran, snorkel for about 20 min, and then the party begins afterwards. They have an open bar of margaritas and beer; they drop you off at a private beach area for 2 hours (also with open bar), and then you have about a 45 min boat ride back to the dock (where they play music and you can dance, etc). Loved it every time.

7/16/10 @ 6:02 pm (reply)

12.

Bee

Mrs. Deviled Egg (message) 1,250 posts, Bumble bee

I’m excited for you! I’ve been wanting to go on another cruise even before we our honeymoon cruise was over! They are super fun waking up in a new place everyday is the best!

7/16/10 @ 9:24 pm (reply)

13.

Bee

Miss Cardigan (message) 8,645 posts, Bee Keeper

So, so, so jealous! Both of my cruises have been on the Conquest - it’s SUCH an amazing ship! I have a really great little document with a bunch of cruise tips (tailored to the Conquest!) that my sister wrote for a friend, so let me know if you’re interested. It’s super helpful for first time cruisers!

7/18/10 @ 3:42 pm (reply)