Cruisin', Part III

Back to the cruise highlights. It really was an amazing week. Since we managed to avoid the hurricane, our weather was glorious the entire week. Never too hot, although our excursion to the ruins at Chacchoben was almost too hot, but not quite.

The Disney cruise line spoils its passengers wonderfully. And, like that dreaded ride at Disney World, it truly is a "small world after all." Let me explain how Disney accomplishes this.

The staff onboard the ship are literally from all over the world. Our dinner serving team were from India and the Phillipines, and our room wait staff was also from India. We met other staff from Poland, France, the Czech Republic, the U.K., Peru, Chile, Germany, Scandinavia, and Italy. In addition, the staff doesn't just work, they take the time to talk with guests, and we made friends with several staff onboard. Making those connections is part of the magic.

A special connection happened to me, Thursday afternoon, when we had high tea at Palo, the adult only restaurant on board. Our server, Laura, is from the U.K. I asked her where she is from, and she said Manchester. I said, wow, my mother is from Manchester, so she asked what part. When I told her New Moston, she just about dropped what she was carrying, as that is exactly where she's from! We talked, and shared family names, and I promised to email her after I spoke with my mom to see if she knew Laura's grandmother. Laura said she would mention the family name to her grandmother and email me after she heard any information. It really was a "goosebumps" kind of moment, and really did illustrate that "small world" mindset that Disney tries very hard to execute!

Other things: food was DIVINE, and I especially loved the smoked salmon that was available every morning for breakfast, no matter where you ate breakfast - the buffet on deck 9 or in one of the restaurants. Lots of wonderful seafood. There was also pizza and chicken fingers available at almost any time. Can I tell you the chicken fingers were some of the best we've ever had? I kid you not.

But the best of all was being at sea, surrounded by it, and on one occasion, immersed in it (I'll get to that in the next blog). I truly believe that sea air will cure whatever might ail you. Being on the water, feeling and smelling the breezes, hearing the sound of the water, was invigorating. I know that someday I will need to live permanently near the sea. It's where I belong.

Gillian had an amazing week, and was usually headquartered at Ocean Quest, the hangout for pre-teens. She made a gang of friends, and they did everything together, all week. She made very good friends with a girl from Chicago, and they had dinner together with each family on two nights, and generally ran around the ship together. It was also very nice that Ocean Quest was on the same deck as our cabin, and she could run back and forth whenever she pleased. We just had one rule: dinner together every night.

Coming up: photos from our two excursions: the underwater helmet dive in Cozumel and the trip to the Mayan ruins at Chacchoben!