Boarding the Carnival Glory was a lot smoother process than boarding the Caribbean Princess had been. This time we had a balcony room, and I loved it. It was significantly bigger than the interior cabins, and, of course, had a balcony.
We had a great view of Miami and the harbour as we set sail.
Our first full day was spent at sea, which gave us lots of time to settle in and explore the ship. Some of the highlights:
- definitely the gym again, which included a steam room and sauna in each change room, both of which had windows looking out onto the sea;
- the jogging track, on the second highest deck, which provided a great place to exercise in the fresh air; I especially enjoyed using it at sunset, because it was relatively cool at that time, plus the views were incredible;
- the mini-golf course on the very top deck, set out on either side of the smoke stack--it was fun to play, but the wind could get pretty strong way up that high;
- the water slide--sliding down with a view of the sea was relaxing, and lying back and going full speed was exhilarating;
- the library was a cool place to spend an hour or so in the evenings, with comfortable chairs and books and board games and general peace and quiet;
- taco and burrito bar with wonderful fresh toppings and fillings--this was my favourite place to each, but sadly it was only open for lunch
On Monday morning we were arriving into Cozumel as we woke up.
Unlike in the Bahamas, we could dock in Cozumel, at a port they call Puerta Maya.
This meant disembarkation was super simple. We had purchased an excursion, and we met at the end of the pier.
Our group was loaded into taxi vans and we were driven up the street a couple of kilometres or so to a private beach area. We could still easily see the Carnival ships down the shore.
The beach was nothing special, but we weren't there for sand, we were there snorkeling.
We were able to use a locker on the porch, and then geared up down below. Neither of us had snorkeled before, which is why we wanted to do the excursion. Plus, at $25 each, it seemed like good value, and it was.
Snorkeling itself was easy enough, and there wasn't much we learned, but we a had a guide who took us out to the man-made reef. Apparently there used to be a reef at this spot, but it died. Now they've put in some structures specifically designed to encourage reef growth, and they say the fish just came back all by themselves. Anyway, it was pretty remarkable to see all the fish, and our guide was good at finding the rarer animals, such as sting rays, seahorses, and so on.
After about 45 minutes or so he led us back to shore, but we could stay there as long as we liked on our own, so I went back out twice more by myself while Andrea lounged in the sun.
It was close to noon when I decided I was done and came out of the water. Once we had showered and dried off and more or less dressed, we left the little compound and went for a little walk further up the street along the shore.
It was a nice walk, except it was getting very hot, and we were getting hungry, so we went back to the beach to get our stuff and catch a cab back to the ship. The cab rides were included for us as part of the excursion, so that was nice.
One of the best parts of having the ship dock instead of having to tender is the ease with which we could go back on and come back off. We considered eating lunch ashore, but decided to go back on, and that way we could have a real shower as well.
We ate at the taco bar (where else--we're in Mexico!) and after an hour or so of eating and showering we headed back to land. We walked out of the tourist village at the port and did a little shopping for souvenirs, beers, and some more practical items, like dental floss.
We went back aboard the ship late afternoon, and I went up on the top deck to use the jogging track. On each lap I could watch other cruise ships set sail and see Cozumel and even mainland Mexico. I ran until the sun began to set and we pulled away, bound for Belize.
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