Caribbean Cruise! (Key West and Cozumel)
Where in the world do I start?!!! THE MATTISONS WENT TO MEXICO!! It was a bundled birthday/anniversary/Christmas/gradaution present, and boy was it phenomenal!!
It was gorgeous, exhilirating, and I totally gained weight from all the amazing food we had (I have no regrets)! We flew out of Greenville on a dreary monday morning, and into Ft. Lauderdale where it was sunny and hot. From there Carnival transported us to Miami where the speedy check in process to our ship happened. We met the sweetest newlywed couple from D.C. while in line, who were equally as excited as we were. As we proceeded to get our cabin keys, the clerk gave us tons of info that was helpful (Translation: we were informed we could order as much food off the dinner menu that we wanted) and we put some cash on our onboard account in case we saw something we wanted.
From there, we started toward the dock to board the ship when we were stopped to take a pre-departure picture in front of a ship cutout as a backdrop! We entered the ship and where overwhelmed by a grand atrium; there were lights EVERYWHERE and I loved it! We found our cabin and Kelsey seemed really pleased! King size bed, TV, Closet, bathroom, vanity, and thats about it. We didn't spring for the ocean view, so we had a curtain that covered the fact that we didn't have a window, but hey! The price we paid for it was great! We hung out and got food on the Lido deck and enjoyed the sights of Miami before we had our safety briefing and departed for Key West. We pretty much slept until dinner because it was a travel day and we were just glad to be able to rest!
Dinner was top-notch! Fancy Dining room, the waiters put the napkin in your lap, and you're served a 3 course meal based on whatever you want off the menu. Can you say HEAVEN?! We could tell the ship cooked things a little differently than we would have had in South Carolina, but it was great nonetheless! One night on each trip there's a Captain's Dinner where everyone gets glammed up and fabulous and takes pictures, and we couldn't help but participate! For the rest of the cruise, some foods we tried included Flat Iron Steak, macaroni, ALLIGATOR, and even Mahi Mahi! All were actually good!
Now for the Ports:
Key West: This place is a beautiful paradise, masquerading as a resort town.
Things we didn't expect:
Statues tall and short, all beautiful
Roosters in only one specific abandoned storefront
A Walgreens (pleasent surprise)
Things we loved:
KEY. LIME. PIE(I had this and was soo pleased)
The beach! Beautiful!
Souvenir stores where everything is 5 dollars
The fact that we were at the southernmost point in the Continental U.S.A. (and 90 miles from Cuba)
Hearing 'This Christmas"(Chris Brown's version) and singing our hearts out in the store
Meeting a girl who biked across the country and got a tatoo to commemorate her journey
Taking a selfie with previously mentioned girl
Going into stores with cold air just to get a break frolm the scorching sun/heat
Bascially, Key West was a win.
Cozumel: Poor country that serves as home to the most beautiful sights and the sweetest, most hardworking people.
Things we experienced:
The competition between everyone, from the taxi drivers/tour guides to the souvenir shop people.
Ending up with literally the sweetest taxi driver. His name was Ivan and he is a precious soul! He took us all around the island of Cozumel
THE. BEACH. The softest sand, the clearest water, and the palm trees right on the beach! Take. Me. Back.
We got to haggle prices down on souvenirs between competing vendors...and it was so much fun! They were all funny and good hearted.
Everything in the "touristy" area was photogenic. Every turn, there was beauty.
Flip side of that: past the "toursity" area was all vegetation and beach. It felt like a 3rd world country.
Disappointment that the Ancient Mayan ruins that I so badly wanted to see were closed for the day-we arrived too late and they closed :(
We did get a little first-hand Mexican culture when watching a market performance of...something intriguing and scary at the same time. They telling some ancient story through movements and constumes, and it was amazing. So there's that.
We toured the Tequila Factory and saw the plants that they make the REAL Tequila from(hint: a lot of "tequila " sold in the states is not authentic. In Mexico, they call that stuff "Te-Kill-ya". They say the side effects of the fake stuff is horrible, and doesn't happen in Mexico with the authentic stuff.)
More 5 dollar t-shirts!
Unfortunately, we didn't eat anything in Mexico, but we completely stuffed ourselves when we got back to the ship.
We'd say that Mexico was a TRIPLE WIN!
Pictures of the ship to come!
