read between the runs

for our one year anniversary trip, autumn found a great deal on a cruise and so we decided it was time to give the open oceans a go! and what an experience it was!

we sailed for six days out of galveston into mexico where we made stops in costa maya and cozumel. as soon as we walked on the ship, we were both awed by the quality of the interior and i felt incredibly bougie. it was a wild feeling (and still is). after checking out our stateroom, which was also impressive and larger than we expected, we took a trip around to locate important areas on the ship. it makes sense now, but i didn’t realize how once you were on the ship, the trip really starts. the food places were open and operating, people were swimming, and drinks were being had, so we dove in.

one thing we immediately noticed was just how much there was to do on the ship. from trivia events, game shows, sports courts, headliner shows, parties, meet-ups, and so much more, we knew there was going to be something for us to do each waking moment if we so chose. and of course, there was the option of just relaxing poolside or sitting on the muster watching the ocean drift by.

meal times were certainly a highlight. i was slightly concerned about the volume of offerings i would be able to indulge upon, but those feelings were quickly absolved when we ate in the windjammer the first time. vegan food felt not like a second thought, but an equal offering for most meals. our ship also held the “dining room”, which can be viewed as a higher class offering with wait-service and three courses. we ate there each night, and developed a great relationship with our staff. as i described it to autumn, “we entered as customers but left as friends”. our guys, iputu and igede, took such great care of us and seemed genuinely concerned about making sure that we had an amazing experience. even though the food there was not my favorite, i felt i could not miss an evening with them.

to keep ourselves occupied, we largely participated in free activities. running around the 200m track or working out in the gym in the morning, multiple trivia’s throughout the day, and game shows or karaoke in the evening. i didn’t keep track, but i feel like we probably played at least eight trivia’s, and i promise that i felt like i could have done eight more because they were such a joy. we went down the water slides, did a scavenger hunt, played a mini-escape room, watched an ice show, the superbowl, hottubbed, and just walked around the ship to see all that there was. i was hoping to read some of my book while i was there, and i really didn’t have much time because of everything else there was to do.

an underrated experience was being up on the track in the morning as the sun rose. although my IT and achilles were acting up much more than i would have appreciated, i yet found myself wanting to rise early to view the rising sun each day. you just can’t see views like that in the city, and i was happy to wake up, enjoy some time alone, and take part in the beauty of the sky.

one aspect that i found unexpected was how well i slept. my sleeps felt incredibly deep and i was rested after only a few hours compared to my typical sleep schedule in houston. maybe it was the subtle rocking of the ship, or the decent quality of the mattress, but i knocked out quickly any time i put my cheeks in the bed. that was a great asset for viewing the aforementioned sun rises 🙂

the last component of the ship that i want to specifically mention is the care and service of all staff members aboard. i already talked about iputu and igede, but they were far from the only crew members to welcome us. from the room attendant (rahmat), to the glass cleaners, windjammer waiters, deck attendants, and literally everyone else we saw, there was a concerted effort to ensure that we felt at home and appreciated for our business and presence. genuine smiles and questions abound, and we were greeted from almost everyone we passed. i was truly impressed with the training they put their staff through to make sure that they can feel as embraced as we did. it was truly impressive.

the excursions

all the quality of the ship is great, but for us we did not sail to mexico solely for the benefits that the cruise line had to offer, but for the destination excursions we had pre-signed up for in mexico.

our first stop, costa maya, was a quick stop. we had roughly five hours in the port and we signed up for a salsa and salsa experience, where we learned to make two salsas and a guac, then learned how to dance the salsa. we were surprised to have a tequila tasting in the middle, and we learned much about the history and quality of tequila. the salsas were maybe not our favorites, but it was cool to see other ways of making salsa and fun to try them. once that was over, we had some time relax on the beach before returning to the ship.

in cozumel, we actually spent almost no time there. instead, we took a ferry over the playa del carmen to go on our cenote and cavern experience. we woke up early, dined at the windjammer, and made our way off the ship. the ferry ride over was TOUGH for a lot of people. they did not play about their speed and rushed us over the rough waters. autumn described the experiences as “every time i almost fell back asleep, i was awoken by someone throwing up” since so many people had seasickness. apparently the upstairs level was better for those prone to seasickness, so we saw almost nobody down on our level on the way back lol.

once we were at the cenote, we placed our items in a locker, and hopped to it. they did a great job of taking our pictures throughout the whole time, and we ended up purchasing the photo package. but, we started with a jump into the cenote from 12 feet up which was great fun, and followed that with a zip line down into the water. then we had time to snorkel around the area, so autumn and i got to use the great new masks she had purchased for us! now, i set this up to disappoint myself because i thought we would be somewhere there might be turtles, and turtles there were not. not even close. that was a huge disappointment for me, but i know it was all my own doing.

after swimming for a bit, we hopped back on the zipline and platform jump before being taken to the cavern cenote. apparently this was part of one of the largest underwater systems in the world, which was super cool. we dove in the dark and explored for some time before grabbing lunch from their buffet. honestly, this was the meal that surprised me the most. it was delicious despite me thinking it would be quite disappointing, and i loved just how simple but scrumptious everything was.

last, we had about an extra hour before heading off to the beach, so autumn and i obviously used this time to jump into the water even more. i could have done that all day long without getting tired of it, but eventually our time ran out and we had to head out.

a conversation about resorts, all-inclusives, and cruises

taking a cruise and going to a resort are two very different experiences. based on our exceptionally limited personal experiences, i will now break down pros and cons and comparisons for the three types of vacations. all can be really great for a vacation, but it depends on what it is exactly you are hoping for. do you want to spend time in your destination location? are you wanting to just sit and relax? would you prefer to have options of activities to do at every hour? do you want to create your own schedule? answers to these questions help decide what type of trip to take.

going to a resort

this is for the person who wants to get the most out of the location they traveled to. they don’t want to be tied down to one place and prefer to be able to explore around the city/town/country of their visit. this trip is great for doing lots of different things and choosing your own itinerary of where you want to go and be. i think choosing a hotel as a basecamp provides the most customization for going on a trip compared to a cruise or all-inclusive. it can be a bit more stressful to plan day by day and event by event, but the payoff can definitely be higher. i feel like this is the type of trip that the majority of people choose when going on vacations.

going to an all-inclusive

an all-inclusive is perfect for someone who wants to have one homebase that they don’t leave. it’s great for being pampered, not exploring, drinking, and simply sitting by the beach. i think i would most appreciate an all-inclusive most when i need a break from a stressful time in life and want to truly just sit back and feel the sun on my skin or dip into the ocean. if you’re wanting to do a lot more than that, it’s probably not great for an all-inclusive, despite their having excursions and entertainment. since you get the most benefit from being at the resort, it makes the most sense to spend almost all the time there. however, i know i’d also probably want to step away and explore in addition to my relaxing, just not to the same degree as other trip types.

going on a cruise

this options is a bit harder to place. it has many of the essentials of an all-inclusive: ability to sit and relax by water, food included (and maybe drinks), a small area to claim and have the option to stay within, but also excursion options. however, a cruise completely enhances the amount of activities to take part in while relaxing. it’s near impossible to become bored on a cruise because there are literally so many things that you can do at any point of the day. the problem with a cruise, though, is that if you’re super interested in exploring the country or area you’re cruising to, you may leave disappointed. a lot of cruise time is spent on the move instead of on location, so you don’t get as much of a chance to enjoy the location itself. lastly for a cruise, the vacation starts immediately when you get on board. there is no waiting to travel to the location. once you’re on, everything is good to go. and same with returning, you can keep enjoying the cruise life right up until you disembark and return to your car. it’s a pretty nice perk.

honestly, the opportunity to go on any sort of vacation, especially one outside of the country, is a true blessing, and there is great fun and lifelong memories to be made on any such trip. autumn and i have been fortunate enough to leave the country together each of the past three years in different ways, and i have made exceptional memories to keep with me on each trip. i am beyond excited for us to continue to make memories and take new trips in different ways as they become available to us.

here’s to cruise life and whenever we get to do it again 🙂

do great; be happy