Cruising in Mexico--Day Two

(The author and his wife just returned from their first cruise, and he is sharing his experiences for those who are wondering if a cruise is really the right vacation for them to take.)

It's Tuesday morning. Lorrie and I sleep in a bit as we've discovered the bed is very comfortable. We need to make a few changes, though. Not to worry--we find our room steward and let him know our requests (a few extra pillows, a larger ice bucket). He's easy enough to find; we end up running into him several times a day throughout the trip. He's always friendly and helpful, asking how we're enjoying things so far and inquiring if we need anything extra.

We clean up and head for the Lido deck for breakfast. As we step out onto the deck and see the Gulf of Mexico, we both gasp. This isn't the brown water we are used to in Galveston; it's blue--and I mean BLUE blue, all the way to the horizon. There's not a sign of land anywhere. Wow! Breakfast is delayed while we hit the outer deck and snap photos. Thank goodness for those digital cameras we brought. We're playing with the settings, checking out some of our features, and not feeling the least bit guilty about tossing pictures we don't like. Eventually we head back in for breakfast.

Our options are the dining room (which is not assigned seating during breakfast and lunch), the grill on the Lido deck, and the buffet. We opt for the third choice. We will discover that breakfast consists of some pretty standard stuff; eggs, french toast, pancakes, bacon and sausage. The salad bar contains pastries and sliced ham, turkey, and cheeses. Lorrie makes herself a breakfast croissant with ham and Swiss cheese. I scarf down a few of those pastries. Afterwards we head back to our cabin long enough to freshen up and then begin our exploration of our ship.

We learn that there are nearly 2,100 passengers on board, and over 900 staff. You'd think that would make for crowded circumstances, but this is a big ship. We rarely saw the same people more than once or twice the entire trip. And we almost never saw children, which is amazing when we found out that there were over 300 kids on this cruise. There's an entire section of the ship dedicated to caring for, entertaining, and keeping children 17 and under occupied so their parents can enjoy some adult time.

There are bars, and lounges, and shops, and a casino, and a big theater. There are two dining rooms, the buffet lounge, and the grill. There is a health club and spa, with an outdoor running track. There's an art gallery. There are so many places to go. We could easily have gotten lost trying to figure out where to go and what to do, but thankfully the cruise line publishes a daily newsletter which details all the activities scheduled on board. You can look over the items listed, pick the ones you want, and plan accordingly. If you're more into going with the flow (like us), they even give you a tear-out sheet with the daily intinerary so you can carry it with you easily and make last-minute decisions for your entertainment.

So, what kind of entertainment do they offer? Take-offs on game shows like "Match Game", "The Newlywed Game", and "Name That Tune" in some of the lounges. Seminars on the ship and how it functions, brought by the captain and his crew. Karaoke in various forms and in various places. Golf lessons (on a ship? You betcha!). Informational sessions on many of the shore excusions the cruise line has to offer. Bingo and Vegas-style shows in the main theater. Health and beauty seminars in the spa. Sessions on shopping tips for those planning on spending some money in our two ports of call. There's the casino, which is open anytime we're not in port. And don't forget the all-important poolside sunbathing, sandwiched between several bars and the grill on the Lido deck.

We plan out a general itinerary for the day, but are concerned about our dining arrangements. We need to bump our time up a few hours. Not a problem; the maitre-d takes our information and schedules us for a 6 pm seating. We won't be going tonight, though; it's Formal Night, and the dressiest item of clothing either of us brought along is a pair of jeans! The rest of the day is spent wandering all over the ship, checking out the casino (more on that later), and taking even more pictures. We do stop so Lorrie can try her hand at Bingo, and she plays a round of "Match Game" with strangers outside the Metro Bar. But there's no fixed timetable, and we find ourselves adjusting our schedule as we feel like it until dinnertime, when we again head for the buffet.

Dinnertime at the buffet consists of some standard fare on one side (usually beef, chicken, pork, and seafood entrees along with veggies, soup, and bread) and themed food on the other (French one night, Spanish the next, Carribean the next). The salad bar is loaded with basic green salad fixings but has more exotic options as well, such as a raspberry chicken salad (not too bad). After we dine we head back to one of the lounges to play "Name That Tune" and come in second (lucky for us the theme was "Show Tunes"). Finally we head back to our cabin to get some sleep. It's a little strange laying in bed and finding yourself rolling whenever the ship makes a course correction or hits a rough spot. Still, it's much calmer than sleeping in our waterbed when one of us turns over!

Tomorrow morning we hit our first port of call, Progreso. We're so excited!