We cruised with Carnival and were supposed to leave Miami at 4pm on Saturday, spend Sunday at sea, arrive in Jamaica on Monday and spend the day, then arrive in the Cayman's on Tuesday for the day, then spend Wednesday at sea and arrive back in Miami on Thursday. Well, we got to the cruise port terminal at noon when it was said that was the earliest time you could board the ship. There were thousands of people there, and no one getting on. The ship arrived WAY late (11:30am when it generally arrives at 6-7am) which prevented us from getting on board. The reason for it's late arrival was a faulty engine, which then prevented us from leaving on time, which then, completely changed our scheduled ports. So instead of going to Jamaica and the Caymans, we were told we'd go to the Florida Keys, a day at sea, Jamaica, a day at sea, then home.
The Keys were nice and it was nice to not have to worry about walking around on our own because it was Florida, but then again, we were a bit upset because it was Florida. We can drive to the Keys anytime we want, if we wanted to...we can't drive to the Caymans to spend the day. We walked around and planned on having a drink at each of the different bars, but decided we needed to eat lunch first. So we found a place called Kelly's Brewery and ate there. Greatest find and greatest downfall. The food was amazing and the key lime pie was to die for, the downfall...we were so full after that that neither of us could drink anything after that.
I had a Havanna Red Ale while John had the mojito
We had this amazing appetizer. Southern Clipper "Pizza." They apparently were out of it and never told our waiter...so they made one just for us, the only one of the day (which then I don't know how you could be out of it, but whatever...it was amazing!!)
John had the chicken salad.
I had the mango barbecue pork. I could only mange to eat a little more than half of the pork, without the bun or the fries. If I was willing to make myself feel miserable, I'd have eaten the whole damn thing!!
And then...there was the key lime pie we split for dessert. Now, mind you, I've never had key lime pie before so I don't have anything to compare it to, but let me tell you...AMAZING!!!
Our waiter was fantastic and he gave us the information of who to get in touch with if we ever want to order a pie. John and I both said we figure it won't be cheap, but it'd be worth it for a special occasion!
The day at sea was ok. We soaked up some sun for a bit, played bingo, and just kicked back. That evening was the captain's dinner so it was nice for us to get dressed up for once. I wanted to get our picture taken by one of the many photographer stations they had set up, but John was unwilling to participate (insert frown face). So all we have are the pictures we took of ourselves.
And then there was Jamaica. We were less than impressed and have NO desire to ever go back. We knew that there were going to be lots of people trying to sell us things and that their idea of selling is, "You touch it, you bought it," but to have people physically trying to put things in your hand and the women telling me and asking me if they can braid my hair was utterly ridiculous.
The first part of our excursion was to Dunn's River Falls which ended up to be really cool. But upon arriving at the park where it was and getting out of the van, there is a guy who is handing out water to everyone (had a badge on like he works there) and then as soon as you took it, it's 2/$5. We had no idea they'd allow someone to do it right there and make you think he works with the excursion company and is "handing out" water. But, oh well, that was the only money Jamaica got from us.
The hike up the falls was neat. You literally hiked up the rocks the water was coming down from. We hiked in a line of 15 or so people while we all held hands to help out if anyone slipped or needed an extra pull. The only downfall of it was that it was not an "intimate" experience. Not sure why I thought it would be, but it was overall pretty cool.
Here's a picture I snagged off the Internet. This isn't our group or us, and I'm not 100% when I'll ever get the pictures developed from our underwater camera since we didn't do anything else that involved water, but I wanted you to get the idea.
After that we headed off to Dolphin Cove for our "Ultimate Beach Adventure." Sadly it wasn't that at all. It was a small beach, a small little portion of water for you to swim in, a crappy DJ who played the same 30 songs over and over, and a bunch of people like John and I who were left disappointed with Jamaica and our "ultimate" beach experience. I did partake in the beer drinking contest, which I lost, and the tug o war contest, which I won. My reasons for participating...so the DJ would stop talking about it and trying to get people to participate. We just wanted to relax! Beyond that, we didn't spend as much time there as we were hoping based on our expectations. Then it was back onto the ship, and setting sail by 5:30.
So overall, it was good to get away. John and I enjoyed our time together and the warm weather. We didn't enjoy the pan-handling, missing out on the Cayman's, or the fact that our stateroom was directly beneath the club. We both had to sleep with ear plugs which, in my book, isn't comfortable. But we enjoyed each other which is what's most important. Our next vacation, we decided we'll just fly to wherever we want to go and stay there...and make sure we've done our research on where it is we're heading.
It was good to be on vacation, but it's good to be home now.
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