Birthday Fun

We celebrated husband's birthday with a western Caribbean cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean ship Serenade of the Seas.

We had a nice "small" inside cabin for the week.

We spent most of our boarding day on the bow of the ship. Enjoying the sunset and passing under the Tampa Bay Bridge (a.k.a Sunshine Skyway Bridge).

Our first full day was birthday day at sea. The weather was spectacular and warm.

Happy 54th!! He enjoyed gluten free cheesecake after dinner.

Our first port stop---Cozumel, Mexico.

We spent the day aboard a catamaran.

Snorkeling in crystal clear water.

They dropped us off at an all inclusive beach club and we grabbed some chairs in the shade. 

It was my first time climbing through an inflatable "obstacle course". Then we tried out paddle boards.

But I think this was my favorite. Floating in the sea is where I love to be!

Back to the port area we enjoyed some local food and drinks before hopping back onboard.

Next port...Roatan, Honduras. We booked a two tank Scuba through Royal. They contracted with Anthony Key Resort. They picked us up in a van at the port and we headed to the other side of the island to their resort. Spent close to 2 hours under water checking out two different dive sites, Four Sponges and Peter's Place.

I liked the small group size (only 8 of us). And both the dive master and boat captain were really friendly and helpful with our gear. I would dive with this operation again.

No dive camera this trip so dive boat pic will have to do.

We grabbed a couple of beverages back in the port.

In Roatan we were in port with a Virgin cruise ship. We left port before them and I liked their balcony lights "sign".

One huge downside to our inside cabin was trying to rinse and dry all our dive gear. It was a bit cramped for the next few days in our cabin bathroom.

Next stop...beautiful Belize.

We booked a snorkeling excursion through the ship to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. We spent more time on the boat than in the water as it's quite far from Belize city.

Saw turtles...

And nurse sharks....

Then back at the port I grabbed some local beer.

And a rum and coconut water for husband.

The next port was our last port for this trip...Costa Maya, Mexico. We've never seen this port so crowded.

We headed to the city of Mahahual for a beach day. So many people there too. But I took my float with me and we both enjoyed floating the day away.

Our final day was a sea day.

 Perfect for reading...

And knitting....

When we have inside cabins we travel with our own camp chairs to find quiet spaces away from crowds on ships where we can get some fresh air.

It's hard to get used to things being so crowded. No-one wearing masks, no pre-cruise covid testing, hardly anyone using hand sanitizer upon entering food venues, and people coughing everywhere.

The final sea day the "puke" bags were installed throughout the ship. Rough seas?

We had a great time relaxing under the Caribbean sun and floating in the ocean but I was looking forward to getting back home after this trip. There were people coughing all around me for the entire 2.5 hour flight home!