Day 7 – Sea Day

Eat, sleep, swim, tan. Need I say more?

Day 8 – Costa Rica

If you want to do anything here you must do an excursion. This port town is just a sandbar and it feels very 3rd world. There’s nothing to do here, everything is in the mountains. Mind you, the terrain jumps quickly from sea level to several thousand feel but it’s not something you should tackle by taxi. 210 people were on a non-ship sponsored excursion and they got back an hour past our scheduled departure. Had it not been for such a large number of people being late we would have left them. They were stuck in the mountains due to weather. Just plan on booking an excursion through your ship as the shortest distance you must go to see anything is 2 hours.



I did the Original Canopy Tour (and zip line). This was a 10-line course through the jungle of Costa Rica. Thankfully we’re at the end of the dry season so there’s not a lot of mosquitoes around. I can see how, when it’s really raining, you’d be eaten alive. If you’ve not done a lot of zip lining this would be a fun excursion. If you’ve done a few trails, I’d say skip this as you cannot go upside down and each line isn’t that long. Again, all about experience. My table mates did the Sights and Sounds of Costa Rica and were very happy as they got to see a little bit of everything there was to see / do in the country. It’s a 9 hour trip but from their pictures, I think I would have preferred to see all they did.

Day 9 – Sea Day

Wow, the trip is half way done and I’m enjoying this format of sea and port days. With the other cruises I’ve done I usually need a vacation from my vacation as it’s a series of get up, go, eat, and repeat. With this day on, day off format I can tire myself out in a port and then relax and chill out the next day. Mentally this is the first vacation I’ve been on where I am actually relaxed. Yes, it’s a bummer there are not more single people or even married folks my age that I could spend some time with. If that’s my only complaint about the trip when I’ll measure this trip as a total success. Weather has been perfect. Highs in between 85 – 91, fairly high humidity but not enough to be uncomfortable, mostly sunny, overall very comfortable. It’s only rained for 30 minutes and that was at the end of the day in Columbia. Otherwise, Mother Nature is taking care of us nicely.

Day 10 – Puerto Quetazal, Guatemala

Well, we were due for a stinker of a port and today is that day, both literally and figuratively. This morning when I opened the balcony door I was knocked over by the smell of what I can only liken to manure mixed with the aroma of forest fire. Don’t forget it’s also humid as heck so those smells mix and stick to everything. It’s a smell that you can’t get rid of nor will it leave your cabin while you’re docked here. Thus far all of the ports have been very solid and well worth the trip. Guatemala has no landscape other than being flat (at least as far as I can see), some jungle that you saw in the other cities, and not much else.

This morning there were two couples sitting next to me. “What’s your plan today?” asks couple one to which the second couple replied “Right there, tent city. We should be back on the boat in 10 minutes.” The actual port terminal is (no joke) 50 meters by 50 meters and can accurately be described as a tent city of vendors. There is nothing in eyesight of the boat to do.

There are two problems with this port right now: distance to things and the cost of everything. Boat excursions are double the price of Columbia and you get half the adventure. Want to visit a old Guatemala town? $89. See a coffee field, $99. Both activities are going to require at least 3 hours of driving each way. My dinner mates did both and they both had the same comment, people here are so SO poor and there are beggars everywhere when they got to their destination. The AVERAGE salary here is $2/hr. They said they just couldn't get over the poverty to enjoy the excursion.

If you don't want to see what it's like to be extremely poor just plan on this being a day to nap or hang by the pool. It’s suppose to be 98 degrees with 70% humidity. Maybe today will be the much overdue massage. I’m off to see what’s discounted today. Wifi fans, there is a spot but it's expensive, $5 for 30 min.



On the cool side of things, the President of Guatemala is onboard today! Apparently we're the largest ship to visit the port and the first ship that Royal has brought. Only two boats port here a month and the President is trying to drum up additional business with Royal. Now it makes sense why the army was out in droves all around the dock and pier.

Tomorrow is another sea day and then Acapulco.

Day 11 – Sea Day

People are different today. When we’ve had the last sea days people took the off time to relax, sleep in, eat, etc. Today the entire pool is filled, the library is filled, the computers are filled, couches filled. In contrast, the buffet is rather empty, there are hardly any “do not disturb” signs in the key slots. Everyone is either reading a book, enjoying their eReader, or sharing a laptop. One older couple even had their iPhone out just so they could play a game of backgammon. Seems that people are getting antsy and they just want to be busy. I can’t blame them, I’m feeling the same way. 10 days is a great number of days to be on vacation. But this 11th has me crawling to get back to work (ok, maybe not work but certainly home). Four more days… I may need to learn a new card game to hold me over these next days.

Day 12 – Acapulco

After Ixtapa, Acapulco is maybe the most beautiful Mexico port on the Pacific. Besides the beauty there is lots to do as a traveler. There’s a lot you can see when you visit here and all the excursions ships offer are pretty solid. Don’t want to do a formal tour? Just walk out the terminal, hang right, walk 100 yards or so and there are beautiful beaches. The cliff divers are always a safe and interesting excursion. The dolphin swim is unique in that you will swim in a stadium that mimics SeaWorld and after you get to spend time in the local water park. No one I talked to around the boat hired a private taxi or tour guide to show them the area.

Now, the down side with Acapulco. When I was here in 2008 it was a big, yet cozy and safe town. Things have changed a bit in the last 5 years. The drug violence has found its way to this town and problems have occurred in and near the tourist areas. If you decide to do any tour or sight seeing on your own, stick to the beaches. Should you decide to venture off the main street to see things, take a tour. Things are bad enough here that the US has officially issued a travel warning for all American citizens. The day before we arrived in port everyone received a separate piece of paper from the captain, warning us about the dangers and need to be extra safe. We received no such paper in any other port nor have I ever on any other trip I’ve been on. As a result of all this, the boat is packed. In fact, at noon you’d think we had a sea day with all the people still onboard. Rightly or not, I guess a lot of people are worried enough to simply not take a chance by getting off today.

Just be careful when you stop here. Be mindful of your surroundings and don’t put yourself in a position where someone or something could take advantage of you being our of your normal surroundings.

Day 13 – Sea Day

Those midnight buffets are sure tasty. The second or third trip to the pasta station and the open-almost-all-the-time grill has food that hits the spot. It would seem that today everyone realized they had fallen “victim” to the Cruse 4. If you don’t know, when the average person cruises they put on 4 pounds during a 7-day cruise. Why do I say people are aware of this today? The walking track around the upper deck is packed. All the gym equipment is being used. The cardio classes have no room on the floor. Lounges are not filled today like they have been. I guess the theory is that if they put the weight on in 11 days they can take off a good chunk before they get home if they’re REALLLLY serious about it (yeah, like that’s going to happen). Here’s a little trip, if your boat offers a class on how to eat correctly on your cruise, take it. It’s full of simple lessons on how to eat most what you want and yet not leave the boat and still be able to wear the pants you had on before embarking on the trip.