Photo Tsunami!!!! – Family Cruise to Jamaica 2013

Holly and I are pretty good at hosting family get-togethers, even though this time around it was more happenstance. I was simply talking with my niece Jennifer on Facebook about taking a vacation during spring break. One conversation led to another and before long we were booking the same cruise on March 3rd to Jamaica with spouses and kids. Word spread fast and soon Holly invited Jane Sommer and George and Loann Kjeldseth to climb on board. Shirley Dutton, my mom, also jumped at the opportunity and signed up as well. Also my sister Glenda and her husband Lloyd signed on for the cruise. So, all in all, 13 people made their way to Houston, then Galveston, and on to Jamaica!

Everyone arrived in Houston a day or two before the Cruise. We enjoyed some activities before heading to Galveston such as a night at the Rodeo, and a visit to Lakewood Church. We also gathered for our first big feast at Spaghetti Warehouse. This would be the first day of eating lots of food – 7 more to go! We immediately continued the theme by stopping at Tel-Wink Grill our way to Gavleston on Sunday morning.

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On Board Ship

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The weather was great all weekend, and our timing seemed to be perfect on everything! We arrived at the ship after the rush and didn’t have to wait in a line to board at all. Everyone got on board, settled in, and ready to sail the high seas. Jamaica here we come!

There’s plenty to do on a Carnival ship, or you can do pretty much nothing at all. The first two days were on the sea and filled with lots of parties, food, shopping, shows, hot tubs, waterslides, and quite of bit of getting lost as we tried to figure out how to get around on the ship.

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Jamaica

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Fist stop, Jamaica! We got off the ship and split into two groups – Jane, George, and Loann went on a Plantation tour, while the rest of us headed to Sunset Beach Resort for a day of snorkling, paddle boats, water slides, and loads of food and free drinks. I even went parasailing with my mother! Can you believe that?! Mom said she wanted to try it, so I agreed to join her. She wasn’t afraid at all! Up we went to about 500 feet and enjoyed a great view of the bay and the isle of Jamaica. Awesome! I never dreamed I’d one day be 500 feet in the air over Montego Bay under a parachute with my mother!

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Grand Cayman Island

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The next day we arrived at Grand Cayman Island and broke off into 3 packs – Jenn and her bunch went for a drive around the Island, while Holly and Ivy went on a Pirate ship excursion, and the senior citizens went to a Turtle Farm and an submersible boat for some undersea viewing. I actually lost Mom at one point! I was going to go with the senior citizens on their tour, but somehow got seperated from the pack. They were whisked away by the tour bus before I could catch up. But I knew that mom was in good hands with George, Jane, and Loann, so I just wandered around in town for awhile. Holly returned from her adventure a bit seasick. So we chilled out over a margarita at Margaritaville. At one point, some lady thought I was giving Ivy a drink of my margarita and gave me a voodoo stink eye. So I got a picture of Ivy at the bar and then later being passed out and carried out of the bar.

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Cozumel

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It turns out Cozumel has tons of stuff to do. Not everyone wanted to do the same thing, so we went 4 different directions this day with some going on a Swim-with-Dolphins excursion, others on a trip to the Mayan Ruins of Tulum, and others shopping on the Island, and myself to an underground River Cave expedition. Once again, the weather was fabulous with blues skies and temperatures in the upper 70’s.

While at Cozumel, I broke from the pack and went on my own excursion to Rio Secreto, a cave on the mainland outside of Playa del Carman. Other people had given it rave reviews, so I thought I’d give it a try. It turned out to be really neato! After a bumpy ride down a dirt road my group of 7 arrived at the Cave entrance. They suited you up in a wetsuit, water shoes and goggles, and then led us down a jungle path to the cave. From there it was lots of walking and swimming… yes, swimming… through the cave! At one point they turned all the lights off and let us sit in silence and total darkness for 1 minute. Then finally we made out exit, changed clothes, and ate some great mexican food under a cabana. Then back to the ship. Rio Secreto lived up to the reviews. Worth the money!

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Adios Amigos!

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Finally, Sunday morning we disembarked from the ship and headed back to airports and homes to recover. Now begins the weight loss from all that food. That was a great trip, y’all! What a great experience. I hope we can do it again sometime!

Joey Dutton