Ahoy!

I really need to finish this thread up. Was trying to post up our vacation itinerary, but the pc problems & work have conspired to delayed my entry (I know - excuses, excuses).

Anyway, after we left Jamaica, we hauled our assets northwest to Grand Cayman. Never been on a cruise, much less to any of the islands so any stops were a new experience to me. Grand Cayman was an interesting dichotomy in culture. We landed on the backside of the island (the port of George Town was closed) and had to catch a taxi to town. It was an adventure to unload a boatload of 3000 touristas and coordinate all of the activities. We jumped over to the main town to do some obligatory shopping and buy trinkets/souvineers. Lots of great stores and deals (If you want some deals on jewelry, I have a place for you) - no taxes or duties on jewelry or watches. Tour Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville (I doubt it was the original, but we’re on vacation) or the local Hard Rock Cafe, pose with the pirates, try out some Tortuga rum cakes, or buy really good some Cuban cigars (Romeo Y Julieta). It was a fun little place to visit but essentially a tourist trap with lots of people hawking junk. After lunch, we hopped a bus for a tour of the island (most of the scuba diving and snorkeling was cancelled due to rough seas). This consisted of a lame tour of the island on where we got to visit such wonderful sites as the rum cake factory, seven mile beach, hell and the turtle farm. Yes, I said hell. In Grand Cayman, there is the town of Hell (so named because of the rock formation that looks like the flames of hell). It is supposed to be the running joke to mail postcards from hell (or I was in Hell with my wife). Boatswain Beach (aka the turtle farm) was actually the highlight of the tour. It is a working turtle farm/preserve that is part educational and part conservation. Nice facilities that show lots of turtles from the hatchlings all the way up to the giant sea turtles (weighing 200+ pounds). You get to see how they raise turtles and even get to handle some.

Nice laid back tour. Afterwards, we raced back across the island to make our tender to get back on the ship only for find a parking lot full of people with the same idea. We had to wait an hour to catch a tender to our ship but made it back to the boat in time for happy hour & dinner. Good layover of Grand Cayman but
too short. I would prefer more time on ground to explore.

Dinner and show that night were exceptional, as usual. We are slowly getting used to life on the ship. Not bad having full time room service, as much food as you can eat, and no real pressure. I am definitely not used to this lifestyle.

Next stop: Cozumel.