Freedom of the Seas - Part II

Grand Cayman is a wonderful place, and I wouldn't mind retiring there. The water is probably my favourite -- the colour is beautiful, and it's always warm and lovely. And they have lots of lizards. I am very fond of lizards.

Grand Cayman Water

Say Hello to My Little Friend

Our excursion for Grand Cayman was the Deluxe excursion to Stingray City. I think it was worth it. Instead of a crowded bus, we were on a charming old-fashioned trolley. We got to see a lovely bit of the island before we arrived at the marina. The catamaran was nice, and had a cash bar, so we could relax with a libation while our captain expertly piloted us to the sandbar. Once there, the stingrays were plentiful. The crew gathered some for us, so that we could feed and hold them. The stingrays don't seem to mind this and keep coming back. Presumably for the free squid. I am not quite sure if this is a good thing from an environmental standpoint, but I think the educational opportunities are worthwhile, and at least it's an open area where the animals come of their own accord, and no one is cutting off their stings.

On the Trolley

Stingray City

Sunset at Sea

Our last port of call was Cozumel. I am always a little leery of Cozumel, having had some negative experiences there, but the last several visits have been blissfully uneventful. This trip, we chose the Twister to Isla Pasion. The Twister is a speed boat that does high speed doughnuts, so it's kind of a fun ride on the way to and from our beautiful all inclusive beach.

Twister

Hermit Crab

Lovely Beach

Lollygagging at Isla Pasion

All inclusive is a slight misnomer, however, since the delicious buffet, and every single bar all have tip boxes prominently displayed. The beach is beautiful however, and I never find that the sand here gets hot enough to burn your feet. The water is nicely warm, especially in summer, and there are a bunch of floating toys and other water equipment to keep you entertained for hours.

It was almost a private beach at this point

In honour of it being Mexico, we made an appointment at the new upcharge restaurant Sabor. They start by making guacamole at your table - your choice of mild or spicy. And then they continue to try to kill you with food. We ended up taking half our desserts back to the room, but were still pretty much in a food coma for the rest of the night. One of the highlights was the Aztec Martini, which is a delicious, fairly spicy, chocolate martini.

Making Guac Tableside

Aztec Martini

The following day was a day at sea. It was the standard final sea day, except for the assembly(?) after main dining (sort of, we had to request they rush us through service so we could get there). The reason we rushed to the theatre was because they were going to introduce the firefighting team that had so handily put out the fire and saved our lives and vacation. Many heartfelt applause and standing ovations went their way. It was a high note to end the cruise on.

Heroes - The Freedom of the Seas Firefighting Team

Obligatory Stateroom Shot