It’s been 21 months since our last cruise. 21 looooong months! And during that time we thankfully survived the pandemic. It was on our last cruise in February 2020 that Carol decided it was time for knee replacement if she was going to enjoy future trips of any type.
So just days before the 2020 Covid lockdown, she had surgery to replace her right knee. I guess she enjoyed the experience so much that she had the left knee replaced in March of 2021. While she has no plans to run a marathon, her recovery has continued to progress and she is ready to cruise. After all, we only had to cancel three cruises due to the pandemic.
Some friends express surprise that we are willing to be on a cruise ship while this virus is still around. We feel very confident in the protocols put in place by the cruise industry along with rules placed by the CDC for cruise travel. Vaccinations and proof of a negative test within 48 hours of sailing are required. We were concerned that scheduling the test may be a problem since the cruise was leaving on Sunday after Thanksgiving. That meant we needed to have the test done that Friday or Saturday.
We decided to order the self administered home test that is approved by the cruise lines. There are many Youtube videos showing details of how this test works. Since our two day window to take the test started Friday after Thanksgiving, I was having trouble finding a place that was available for walk in testing. However, that Friday morning I saw a nearby CVS had openings. We decided to take that and have the self administered test as backups.
Time was set with CVS and they called about 90 minutes before our scheduled time and said they had earlier openings. We were only 10 minutes away so off we went. The nurse came out to the car and handled the extremely easy testing. I received my results in about 20 minutes and Carol received hers about an hour later. Both were negative, so now we are ready to cruise.
The only hiccup had nothing to do with Covid. I had noticed low air pressure on a tire and saw a screw sticking into it. Trying to get service on Thanksgiving day was impossible so I was at the nearest Firestone dealer when they opened at 7 Friday morning. I was told they were short on workers and couldn’t say for sure when, or if, they could get to me. Ended up going to two more places before I could find a business that could do what I thought would be a simple patch. No such luck. They said the screw was in a place that couldn’t be patched and I’d need a new tire. Well, what are you going to do? If this is the worse thing to happen on this journey, that’s ok. At least I feel there will not be a blowout while traveling down I-95.
“Our bags are packed, we’re ready to go” (Do you remember the song?). Our passports, Covid-19 vaccine card and testing documentation in hand, we departed for Tampa to spend the night before boarding the next morning on the Carnival Pride. A Spirit class ship, it went into service in December 2001. While not the smallest in the fleet, the Spirit class is one of the smaller ships with a capacity of about 2100 passengers. Compared to the newest ship, the Mardi Gras, which can sail with 5282 passengers. We will be writing a report on the Mardi Gras when we sail on her in January 2022.
Getting onboard was fairly easy, just had to show the extra documentation of vaccination and negative Covid test. Cruising is everything we remembered. We quickly got to the Lido deck for our first of many, some would say non stop, meals and beverages. A little walk around the ship to become acquainted with the layout and into our cabin at 1:30 to settle in. The new procedure for the required muster station drill is something all seasoned cruisers hope will continue. It takes all of two minutes although you should still watch the complete video on your cabin TV.
While we’ve become accustomed to seeing people in masks, I find it strange not to fully see a person’s face and read their expressions while having a conversation. However, early in my photography career, I was taught that the “eyes are the windows to the soul”. You could tell from the various staff that they had excitement in their eyes and happy to be working again and helping to make our journey a memorable one.
Our ports on this cruise were ones we had visited in the past and will be seeing again. Costa Maya, Mahogany Bay-Roatan – Belize and Cozumel. Each stop was met with wonderful weather of blue skies, nice ocean breezes and temperatures in the uppers 70’s.
Mask are required in the various ports except while eating at a restaurant. Many stores had signs showing the maximum number of people allowed in at one time. Beaches were open and while people had their mask close by, the open area and social distancing allowed a mostly mask free experience.
This was probably the first time in many years that I felt I was one of the younger people sailing. Well, not really, but the obvious lack of young children, teens and young adults was noticeable. Of course it was the week after Thanksgiving and school was back in session but Covid protocols have definitely decreased the number of young children.
We have always enjoyed our meals in the Main Dinning Room (MDR). This cruise, for the first time, we reserved one evening at the specialty dinning room, David’s. This is an extra fee but well worth it. Beautiful decor and top quality service as you would expect with any fine dinning experience. There was soothing music being played and the staff was attentive without being intrusive. The food preparation, presentation and taste was fantastic. I would recommend that any couple consider one evening in a specialty dining room that is available on each ship. This should be an adult experience as the extra expense and experience would most likely be wasted on children. It also is about a 90 minute experience with all the different courses. You would not want to rush the experience by trying to get to another event. So plan for an evening and reservation time that would allow time to enjoy.
Our stop in Costa Maya must have been Carnival day with three Carnival ships docked side by side. In addition to the Pride we saw the newest ship, Mardi Gras (which we will be reporting from soon) and Carnival Dream. Most of the ports have easy access to a shopping area and meeting place for excursions. You can tell the locals are glad to have tourist back. It’s difficult to imagine how they have survived without the cruise industry which is the backbone of their local economy.
On to Mahogany Bay, one of my favorites. In addition to the shopping area there is a nice beach adjacent that can be reached by a stroll through a paved walkway lined with tropical plants. If you don’t feel like the walk, there is a “ski lift” available for a small fee. Several places to eat and get drinks are available throughout the port.
I need 1 million people to donate $1 each to make this come true!
Belize is a port of call that requires the ship to anchor away from the local port due to the reef and shallow waters close to the harbor. This will change in 2022 as Port Coral, an offshore man made island dock and port finishes construction. We anchored close by and could see the buildings and pier were nearing completion. Shopping areas, beaches, pool and restaurants will be available. For the time being, a tender will take you to the mainland for excursions, but in the future a causeway is planned that will provide direct access to Belize City.
Cozumel has always been one of our favorite stops. A beautiful island near the Yucatan area of Mexico. This visit brought us a unique surprise. Many years ago while on a cruise, we met mother and daughter, Birgit and Jana who were from Germany. Friendship developed and they have joined us on past vacations to Las Vegas and Birgit sailed with us on our last cruise before the pandemic put a stop to everything. Jana responded to one of my Facebook post early in the week and asked if we would be in Cozumel. Turned out that she was nearby on Isle Mujeres. We met her and her friends at our favorite Cozumel restaurant, Palmeras. We could not stop laughing as we spent a wonderful afternoon together.
Our daughter is in Europe as I write this, visiting with friends who were exchange students in our home 30 years ago. Birgit invited her to spend some time at her home in Germany, so we have traded spending time with each other’s daughters this month. It truly is a small world.
From Germany and South Carolina to meet in Mexico
All cruise ships are beautiful with each having a unique decor. I enjoy getting up early when few people are up and bask in the magnificence of each ship. Sea days, when you don’t have a port call, are among my favorite times.
Mardi Gras following close. 
One of our favorite areas. 
A popular entertainment venue.
Daybreak 
Sunrise on the ocean. 
Another sunrise…Tequila Sunrise.
Our return to cruising was a great success. Everything wonderful that we remembered with only a few adjustments due to Covid. Obviously there will continue to be restrictions until this pandemic is under control, but we are confident enough to have three cruises planned for 2022.
For those of you who have said you’d like to return to cruising or take your first cruise, let us know. We are always happy to answer questions and invite you to sail with us sometime.
We have an exciting cruise coming up in January with another couple that have been life long friends. This cruise will include a special celebration for us all. Watch for our reporting on Carnival’s newest ship, Mardi Gras.