Lifestyle / The Cruise Life

The Cruise Life

Lifestyle Jan 15, 2015

by Naemah Abid

Cruisin' On Vacation

I like vacationing as much as the next person, but what sets cruising apart is the opportunity to explore multiple destinations in one trip — like sampling a travel buffet! A few years ago, I embarked on a seven-day Western Caribbean Cruise aboard the Carnival Glory. Starting from gorgeous Miami (North America's metropolis with a Cuban flare), we went on to Mexico, Belize, Honduras and the Cayman Islands.

All Aboard!

The boarding process takes about three hours and is quite similar to your experience at an airport. The difference here is that you check in your luggage, which arrives in your room by the evening. On this trip, we got a "Carnival card," which you use for the duration of your trip instead of your passport.

The Ship: Accommodation, Food and Entertainment

Cruise ships are truly floating cities. Mine had everything from water slides, spas, and pools to a Jacuzzi, basketball courts, casinos and restaurants. A cruise ship feels more like a hotel in a mall. There’s a lobby, elevators to the rooms and shops. Our room was on the eighth floor towards the interior, meant for four people. It was surprisingly comfortable, with two bunk beds, a closet, a telephone, a TV and a bathroom.

The food was spectacular!
Our ship had a burger joint from one of the Food Network stars — Guy Fieri. There was a sandwich deli, a Mexican taco joint, a buffet restaurant and many more food options. There was so much variety. The main dining room also offered Indian thalis every day. You can get anything from vegetarian channa to Goan fish curry — pretty much anything your heart desires while you're far out at sea.

There was nightly entertainment with world-class performers such as Jennifer Hudson, who has been part of the Carnival Cruise Line. Also, throughout the day, you can find singing and dancing on deck, movies under the stars and lots of games to keep you entertained.

Cozumel, Mexico

At ports, there are always vans and guides from various tour companies looking to be hired for the day and offering different day trips. Ours included shopping on the island, a Mayan archaeological site, a visit to a tequila farm and some beach time. It was really nice that our guide and driver were punctual — since we are only there for a couple of hours — helpful, knowledgeable and conscious that our ultimate goal was relaxation.

Belize

We had pre-booked a cave tubing excursion, which was an hour bus ride from the port to the site. We proceeded to change into our bathing suits and geared up with life jackets, helmets and light for the caves. If you're not the physical type, take note: we had to carry our tube up a beautiful hike, through rivers that felt like a scene out of the The Lord of the Rings novels.

Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan

From the port, we hired a van to take us around the island, which was quite the experience since the roads were twisty and winding. As a plus, our guide was very knowledgeable and told us that if we were ever in the market for purchasing, property is quite cheap, but getting electrical wires, cable and toilets set up is difficult — and food is imported onto the island. Our trip mainly included an excursion to the picturesque mountain and then down to the beach.

Grand Cayman Island

At any port, you can find many shops that are perfect for buying any souvenirs for your friends and family back home — and Grand Cayman was no exception. One of my friends knew someone on the island, and they were kind enough to lend us their car for the day. Cars drive on the opposite side of the road here than they do in North America. We drove around the island, shopped and finally ended up at the seven-mile beach.

^{_{Title Image Courtesy of Jeremy T. Hetzel

Map courtesy of Carnival

Last Image Courtesy of Ali Razfar

All other Images provided by Naemah Abid}}

Naemah Abid

Author

Born in Saudi Arabia and originally from Pakistan, this Canadian immigrant is all too familiar with airport life. After taking her first pleasure trip abroad post-graduation, Naemah was hit with the travel bug. Find this frequent traveller sharing pictures and experiences, offering up advice and tra...

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