Earlier this year, we cruised out of New Orleans to the Western Caribbean. We left in January when it was cold and snowy at home, so we were pretty happy to escape to somewhere warm. Though we’ve both been to New Orleans many times, somehow we had never traveled there together. So we arrived a day early to spend a little time in the city.
We had a lot of fun just walking around together exploring, shopping, eating (have to stop at Cafe du Monde, of course), listening to music, and just being tourists. It was actually the very first day of Mardi Gras, and that night we happened upon a parade celebrating Joan of Arc’s birthday.
Oh, New Orleans, you never disappoint. I’m glad we finally got to experience the Crescent City together.
We boarded the ship at noon the next day. This is always one of my favorite things to do- walking the gangway onto that ship is just such an exciting feeling. The unique thing about sailing out of New Orleans is meandering your way down the Mississippi River for several hours before you make it out to the Gulf of Mexico.
The next day was spent at sea. I always enjoy these relaxing days. It wasn’t really warm enough to lie by the pool, but we found plenty to do. We went to a wine tasting, explored the ship, listened to music, read, and had a great time with no schedule or agenda.
Our first port was Cozumel. We’ve spent a lot of time over the years in Mexico, so we opted to spend the day at a beach club enjoying sand and sun. There are several clubs to pick from in the area, but we chose Paradise Beach. (The reviews we had read said Paradise Beach was more adult oriented and not as much of a “party” atmosphere as some of the others.) We walked right off the ship to the taxi line, and after a 20 minute cab ride we were checking in for our beach day. We had made reservations ahead of time which is highly recommended because they do fill up. We had also reserved a day bed which gave us a little extra room and guaranteed shade.
We were very happy we chose this for our day. There is unlimited food and drink (the nachos were seriously amazing), and the service was excellent. The staff checked on us often. The pool is large enough to never feel crowded, and there is lots of room on the beach as well. Though we spent all our time relaxing by the pool and beach, they also offer other fun activities. They have everything from kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, parasailing, massages, henna tattoos- a great variety. I wouldn’t hesitate to spend the day here again on a return to Cozumel.
After a full day here, we caught a cab back to the port, shopped for a little while there, and boarded the ship. The next day we’d be in Roatan, Honduras, and we had a full and very busy day planned. Check back soon for the recap of the rest of our trip including Roatan, Belize, and Costa Maya.
And again, this blog is a work in progress, so please leave comments or send a message from the contact page on suggestions for future posts and things you’d like to see! Stay tuned for more!
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