Some people sleep in on new year’s day, some drive to Florida. We are the latter group, because we went on a quick four night cruise to Cozumel and back!
This was my first cruise ever. We booked this cruise as part of our Florida vacation. First we’d hop on the boat, and then we’d spend a couple more days in Florida. That’s why I’m dividing this vacation post in two. As I’m typing this I’m still enjoying the warm weather on Anna Maria island!
Day 1
Our ship, The Brilliance of the Seas, would depart from Tampa, Florida at 4 p.m. We spent the night in Savannah, Georgia, so we still had a little ways to go! When we got to the ship we only had an hour and a half left to board. Which is plenty of time of course, but if you’re late, you’ll miss the boat. They won’t wait for you!
We spent those few hours exploring the entire ship. Our cabins were all the way in the back, and I feel like I walked a mile each day just to get to the elevators. Our ship had two buffet restaurants, and three a la carte restaurants. Aside from that, it had two larger pools and a slide! Plus a casino, an arcade, an other fun stuff.
We had dinner at one of the buffet restaurants and got ready for bed after.
Day 2
Day 2 was our first full day at sea. It’s weird going to sleep knowing you’re close to land and waking up in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Let me tell you, cruise ships don’t go fast! Extroverted as I am, for some reason I didn’t feel like hanging out where the people were. I spent most of the day reading and I actually finished my first book of the year this day!
Breakfast and lunch were nice. We could eat as much as we wanted. They had my favorite, cauliflower! For dinner we went to one of the a la carte restaurants. I had carpaccio for the first time in ages, and had a lovely wild mushroom soup as well.
Day 3
Day 3 is what it’s all about. We arrived in Cozumel, Mexico at 7 a.m. It was early breakfast for us! We were afraid the weather wasn’t going to be great, but we didn’t see rain until we got back to the ship.
We decided to take a guided tour of the island. It’s not super big, and you can easily see the biggest attractions within a few hours. We got to drive our own car, which was really relaxed. We visited some really old Mayan ruins, went to a small family owned tequila factory, and climbed to the top of a lighthouse! Our day ended with a complementary lunch at the beach and we had some time for snorkeling as well.
We got back to our ship early, which was a good thing because suddenly the sky went dark and it started to rain! This night we had steak for dinner at another one of the a la carte restaurants on board.
Day 4
Day 4, our second full day at sea, started with a sushi making course. It was lots of fun and my sushi didn’t turn out too bad! It was tasty, too, which obviously is the most important part. I wish I had something more interesting to say about day 4, but the truth is that we got some bigger waves and apparently I am not made for life at sea. I spent the rest of the day in my cabin reading. Oh well, at least I’ll make good progress on my Goodreads challenge.
Before we knew it, we had arrived back in Tampa. Our ship docked super early, so we were on route to our next destination before 9 a.m! I swear I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since January 1st…
And that was our mini cruise! Even though I spent most of my time reading, I did enjoy the trip. The service on board was really good and everyone was friendly. Have you ever been on a cruise?
Want to know where else I’ve traveled? Click here!
