flights, hotels and transportation

So...we're flying from JFK to MCO on Oct. 22, staying at a hotel at MCO that night, and taking a shuttle to the Port  the next morning.  After the cruise, we're renting a car and driving to Tampa, where we'll stay with some friends for a few days.  We'll fly home from Tampa.

Flight from JFK to MCO has been booked.  Hotel has been booked.  Rental car has been booked. 

Still left to do?  Book the shuttle from MCO to Port Canaveral, and book the flight from TPA to JFK or LGA. 

This is really happening, isn't it?

Not exactly a shore excursion, but...

Six years ago, on the Valor, we did the "Behind the Fun" tour.  Our group got to go backstage at t the theater, then we went down to the non-passenger decks and saw the galley, the storage areas (you need a lot of food to feed all those passengers and crew!), the laundry, some of the crew areas.  Then the engine room, and then all the way up to the bridge to meet the captain and officers. Interesting way to spend time on a sea day.

RCCL offers a similar tour.  I think we will be doing the tour.

Jamaica

I wish we had two days here!  So much to do!  Do we want to go to the waterfalls?  Do we want to do something involving Jamaican culture and history? 

We have a rather extensive list, we're trying to narrow it down.

Labadie

It's the "private island", it's primarily a beach resort.

But they do have a few excursions  -- a walking tour, a short cruise, speed boats....

Grand Cayman

We were there 6 years ago, on the Valor.  We did two excursions. 

The first was a submarine ride to see the reefs, fish, etc.  We both really loved it.

The second was a tour of the island.  The bus took us past several historic landmarks on our way to the rum outlet, the town of Hell, and the turtle farm.

So we're really having a bit of a problem figuring out what to do this time around, because there isn't much that interests us except the things we've already done.

weight loss and cruising

OK, so here's the thing.

When we sailed on the Valor six years ago, and when we sailed on the Breeze three years ago, I was very, very overweight.  Morbidly obese.  And yes, it negatively affected my enjoyment of the cruise. 

I mean, I had a lot of fun, ate a lot of good food, enjoyed shore excursions and shipboard activities.  But...well, being that heavy definitely wasn't a good thing.  And not just on the cruise.

After a health scare last year -- turned out to be nothing -- I make the decision to finally start eating healthy and exercising. I bought a Fitbit and joined Weight Watchers in March 2015.  So far I've lost 65 pounds.  I have a mini goal of losing another 8 pounds before the cruise in October.  I have a lot more to lose after I meet the mini goal, but I'll worry about that after the cruise.

I feel a lot better since I lost the weight, I have more stamina, more endurance, I'm not sluggish or tired.

So, how has this affected my cruise planning?

Well, I'm actually looking forward to checking out the fitness center on Freedom of the Seas.  It sounds like they have state of the art equipment.  I've been a regular at Planet Fitness for five months now, I'd like to see how their equipment compares to the machines I'm used to.   I'm also planning to look into whether they offer any classes, like yoga or Zumba,  to try something new on board, and maybe add it to my routine at home if I like it.

And then there's the issue of food.  As in, you can easily gain five - ten pounds during a cruise.  How do I enjoy the food without overdoing it, but without feeling deprived?  I'll have to come up with a plan before we sail. 

decisions, decisions

Actually starting to look at excursions. 



We pretty much know what we want to do at Cozumel.  Six years ago, in Belize, we took an excursion to the Mayan ruins.  We loved the ruins, but were disappointed by the very short amount of time we had to see the ruins.  Our excursion included a boat ride up the river to see the wildlife, lunch at a small hotel, then a bus ride to the ruins; the group that did the ruins first was late getting back to the hotel for their boat ride, so our time at the ruins was cut short.

So we're going to Mayan rins in Mexico, and this time we will pick an excursion that is exclusively about the ruins.