mark his words: Cruisin' the Carribean

I had mixed expectations upon boarding our cruise vessel in Miami. Whilst both Harry and Mike had given me a fair rundown of ship activities, procedures, events, and cruise culture, that had been a completely different cruise company, in a completely different country. We arrived on time for departure, which it would become apparent, was a couple of hours later than the majority, as we queued, and queued, and queued, before being issued with the cruise equivalent of a credit card (all transactions on the ship are cash-less) and making our way onto the behemoth ship (110,000 tonnes, 290 metres long and with a combined crew and passenger capacity of over 4,000 persons).

Once aboard, we made our way to the first of many buffets available to us three times a day, every day. Eating is a massive part of the cruise it seems, and whilst the buffet offered food as good as I had seen in any buffet previously, it was only the tip of the iceberg, if you will, in regards to the amazing food on offer in the restaurant everynight. From haute cuisine such as lobster, frogs legs and escargot, to the more accessible fillet mignon, roasts, grilled chicken and every pasta imaginable, the ships dining offerred a level of decadence and induced drool to a level matched by any restaurant I'd ever been to, and best of all, it was free.

And that's the beauty of the cruise. Besides alcohol, any gratuity, and (optional) excursions ashore, practically everything is incuded. A health club to rival any back home, performances from stand up comedians (a bit hit and miss, but generally quite good), and the aforementioned cuisine were but some of what was on offer.

Our first port of call was Cozumel in Mexico. After escaping the slight tourist trap that surrounded the port (think Hillarys Boat Harbour), we were walking up and down the streets of 'regular' Cozumel. The juxtaposition of much more modest housing against the more lavish tourist areas was extremely noticeable, giving an insight into how important the tourist dollar is to Cozumel. I consoled my ill-thought out purchase of a sombrero (how the hell did I think I would fit that in my bag?) with a beer overlooking the ocean, made all the more enjoyable by FINALLY getting to say 'dos cervesa por favor' (two beers please).

Cozumel, Mexico

The next day we stopped in the Central American country of Belize. A thirty minute boat trip and we were at Ghost Quay Island. If you close your eyes, and picture your stereotypical deserted tropical island, you'll probably picture something similar to Ghost Quay Island. White sand, a handful of palm trees, and no more than 50 metres in diameter, the island was surrounded by turquoise blue water, with a rickety jetty, tiny shack and portable toilet the only manmade additions. With snorkel gear in hand, we headed about 50 metres off shore to the reef, before swimming amongst amazing sea flora and fauna.

Belize

After a day spent doing little more than swimming on the beach in Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras, we were in the Cayman Islands, home to some of the worlds dodgiest bank accounts, and home to yet again some amazing tropical beaches. Going through an independent operator (much cheaper than going through the cruise), we got a lift out to Stingray City, where we spent a couple of hours swimming, holding, patting and even kissing (it was very weird) stingrays and snorkelling amongst even more amazing sea life. Post swimming with rays, we ended up catching some rays (ha!), as we chilled out on the catamaran's hammocks on our way back to shore. If it were ever possible to take a holiday during a holiday, this cruise was it.