Business? That I love? If you’re talking retail, maybe. And then it should come with the name Costco, Trader Joe’s, Zappos, Target, Amazon, or Shutterfly. Other than that, “business” and “me” don’t belong in the same sentence. Or paragraph. Or essay. But let me just stretch this a little bit to talk about something I never in a zillion years expected to enjoy – a cruise. Cruise ships may be many things to many folks, but they are mos’ def businesses. And a discovery to me.
Gotta have some background here.
1. I believe in trying as much as possible, embracing life and what it offers, and giving almost anything a chance.
2. My husband never, ever, wanted to go on a cruise. Period.
3. We had a great trip to China which involved three days on a boat on the Yangtze River, which we both loved. It was a small boat.
4. A worldwide recession exists.
5. Alaska Air kept sending dirt-cheap offers for Carnival Cruises.
6. I wanted to surprise my husband with an anniversary trip but money was short.
7. I took a chance and booked a cruise to the Mexican Riviera.
I’m a great planner and researcher of vacations we take, but this time I just went for the best offer, a seven-night Mexican Riviera cruise on the Carnival Splendor. I added three shore excursions, hoping I chose what my husband would like. After 41 years of marriage, I hope I have a little insight there!
What we don’t do: We don’t stay up late, we don’t enjoy casinos, we aren’t night-life people, we aren’t big socializers, we aren’t big drinkers. Not saying we’re opposed to those things, but when you’re in your 60s, some activities just aren’t as easy! Cruise ships are HUGE on night life, drinking, casinos, and FUN FUN FUN. There are SO many opportunities to separate you from your money on a cruise ship. Not complaining, it’s a business. A big one.
What we like: Outdoor stuff, nature, culture, hot tubs, relaxing, water, quiet.
First big surprise: A cruise ship that holds 4,500 people is remarkably uncrowded. We were amazed. Everything is so well organized that even embarking and debarking go smoothly. Very few lines at all. Except for the Mongolian Hotpot line.
Second big surprise: Every single employee is so friendly that it’s impossible to be annoyed by anything, even the jangling decor and reverberating music on the Lido deck.
Third big surprise: I’m a photographer. I document. In excess. I was so surprised that every single photo of my husband from this cruise shows a much more relaxed man than I’ve seen in a long time. And my husband could never be called tense in the first place! He must have been having fun.
If we could like a cruise, anyone can. I’d just go with one caveat: go to relax. Don’t go to soak up local culture, to tour – just go to relax. Here’s some relaxing:
It’s a huge ship – but we never felt crowded.
Our room is important to us – we DO spent time in there. This was so spacious and comfortable. If that curtain were open you would see…
the ocean. It’s important to me to be able to see the outside. I sat on that balcony every night before bed and other times too.
We spent plenty of time in hot tubs. This one had a great view of the ocean and we saw dolphins. The other spas were on decks in the open.
This was a fabulous deck.
Then there were the shore excursions. Many people don’t take them; they go ashore and shop, or they aren’t even awake since many seem to stay up in the casinos and seeing the shows. Maybe that’s why we didn’t find it crowded. But what a waste of fresh air and ocean expanses!
Catamaran trip around Los Arcos, the tip of the Baja Peninsula at Cabo San Lucas.
Gorgeous pool overlooking the ocean at Mona Lisa Restaurant in Cabo, where our excursion stopped briefly.
Mark and I ocean kayaking in Mazatlan.
Beautiful color as we return to the ship in Mazatlan.
Hiking on Deer Island, Mazatlan. Can you spot the iguana?
Giving a 3 1/2 month old lion cub a bottle as we return to the ship at Cabo. Yes, I paid to do this and I’d pay even double the $20! Or triple! The money is for environmental habitats for wildlife in Mexico City.
Finishing a visit to Cacti Mundo in Cabo. Fantastic cactus garden.
Walking on beautiful private beaches in Puerto Vallarta.
Seeing frigate birds (not that I have anything against pelicans and sea gulls).
A beautiful sunset off Puerto Vallarta where the cloud bank and the hills looked like a mouth gobbling up the sun.
More ship fun. Me sitting on the Serenity Deck (no children allowed).
Waterslide fun.
Finally, frou-frou drinks whenever you want them (and want to pay for them). But you know what’s especially fun about this? You can take your drinks wherever you want all over the ship – clubs, restaurants, wherever. The whole thing is your playground.
So my “business find” of the year is the huge cruise ship industry. We’ll probably do it again!
Tags: #best09, business, Cabo San Lucas, Carnival cruise, Carnival Splendor, cruise ship, Gwen Bell Blog, Mazatlan, ocean, Puerto Vallarta
oh, susan, i so did not need to see your excellent post today! for the past 10 years, we take a cruise at christmas, and it didn’t take me but one year to know that that’s the only way i ever want to celebrate the holidays again;) this year, however, we are staying home to be with my mother. we usually take her with us, but this year she wanted to stay home, so here we are. and i am trying not to be grumpy about it. we do love cruises, too. yes, yes we do.
ha! just read this (found your blog thru Gwen Bell’s list of #best09 posters) and read your post –
got all excited about cruises – who knew? not me! I lived on a boat for a few years, but never got near a cruise ship – had the idea that the rooms were the size of my butt — but here you’ve got photos and all these cool pics and your description makes me want to start packing
then, as I went to put my comment up I saw my friend wholly jeanne was here already – that gal gets everywhere before me!
glad to find your blog – I’ll be back