Western Caribbean Cruise
An added bonus of having the extra time before the sailing was having the chance to spend Saturday shopping. We all headed for Saw Grass Mills which has to be the largest shopping centre I’ve ever been in, and there were loads of bargains to be found. From picking up last minutes things we needed for the holiday, treating ourselves to designer hand bags and sun glasses (the prices are that good!), and having dinner in the Cheesecake Factory, we must have spent 12 hours there.
We ordered taxis on Sunday morning to take us the short distance to Port Lauderdale. Driving up to the awaiting cruise ship is so exciting and even though I was expecting it I couldn’t help but be impressed by the size of it. ‘Oasis’ has eighteen decks and accommodation for 6,000 passengers and with its pools, Jacuzzi's, and seven separate ‘neighbourhoods’ it really is a floating resort. Some of the ‘neighbourhoods’ on the ship are , the Royal Promenade, an interior two storey, shopping and entertainment street, ‘Central Park, an open air park, packed with greenery and surrounded by bars and restaurants and ‘the Boardwalk’, a recreated boardwalk complete with a carousel and a hot dog stand. The Royal Caribbean staff took our bags away for delivery to the state rooms and we were sped through check in. In under an hour we were sitting on the pool deck enjoying a pina colada.
Our western Caribbean itinerary included stops at Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico, and we started with Labadee, Royal’s private resort on Haiti. This stop is just a tropical playground for Royal Caribbean passengers, with sandy beaches, a craft market and plenty of places to eat and drink. There are lots of local arts and crafts to be had in the indoor market. There are lots of activities here, including a floating playground, the ‘Dragons Breath zip line’ and the ‘Dragons Tail coaster’. The zip line is the longest in the world over water and it was fun to watch people flying by overhead. When we got there we took one of the open air buses to ‘Adrenaline Beach’, we picked this beach for two reasons. The first is that this is the location of the coaster. You sit two to a car and are pulled up the mountain, but on the descent one of the passengers controls the ride while the other gets to take pictures of the breath taking views over the beaches and port. Make sure your camera is ready to go if you ever get to be the photographer on this, otherwise like me you could end up with 15 pictures of your finger covering the lens and one picture of a tree that could have been taken anywhere. The second reason for picking this spot is the floating bar. There is nothing that says ‘Caribbean holiday’ more than swimming out to a floating bar to indulge in a few ‘Labadoozies’, the local signature cocktail.
Our second stop was in Falmouth, Jamaica. The private port area is beautiful and is full of shops and bars including a ‘Margaritaville’. The actual town is just outside the port gates and it is very pretty and lively. There are plenty of excursions that you can book on the ship or before you travel on the pre cruise planner.
Our final stop was Cozumel, Mexico and once we exited the bustling port area we caught taxi’s to the centre of town. The centre is pretty and the atmosphere here is fun and very relaxed. The shopping here is good. We stopped to drink Margaritas by the water and a wandering Mariachi band serenaded us with ‘La Bamba’. We couldn’t have had a more Mexican experience if we planned it with the tourist board.
I looked forward to the cruise days spent at sea as I got to laze on the pool deck. I did move occasionally to join in some of the many activities. Our group won the ‘Harry Potter’ trivia quiz and came second in the progressive bar quiz, I have the medals and the highlighter pen prize to prove it. We went to see ‘Mamma Mia’, all the Royal ships have extensive entertainment schedules which include a Broadway quality musical. There were two formal nights during the week’s cruise and it was a great chance to get glammed up, I had to remember to wear my fitted dress first because I couldn’t get into it by the end of the week. Did I mention how good the food was? As we were cruising over Halloween we got to attend the Halloween party and parade. I had learned from the year before that most people dress up for this so we all brought costumes from vampires too Hogwart’s students. One couple dressed as Crocodile Dundee and his crocodile, (yes, my poor sister had to spend an evening in a crocodile costume).
When we finally left the ship we headed for Fort Lauderdale Hilton Beach resort to unwind. This hotel is located right on the beach and the rooms are huge and luxurious with spacious balconies. The next day we headed to Miami and booked into the Royal Palm Hotel right in South Beach, This hotel has a real art deco feel and the rear entrance leads right to a private stretch of South Beach. The water is great and the beach was fantastic for relaxing. In the evening we strolled down to Ocean Drive to watch the crowds and the pimped out cars. Versace’s mansion is located here, it is now a restaurant. This whole area is vibrant and busy with loads of places to eat and drink, I recommend heading down ‘Espanola Way’ if you are looking for a restaurant if only because the street is so pretty and lively. On the way home we stopped off in Washington and I am writing a separate blog on this because there was so much to tell. Make sure you have a look at it.