Pirates of the Caribbean

Well, I wouldn't exactly call us pirates, but we did cruise through the Western Caribbean last week for seven days of adventures at sea and four ports. With Sarah's parents Kenny & Marilyn, her brother Paul & sister-in-law Cathy and kids, and brother Brian, we had 14 in all with our crew. Somehow we managed to coordinate all of our shore excursions and activities with a group of that size and have a blast doing it.

Here's the Royal Caribbean "Liberty of the Seas" that took us from Miami to Labadee, Haiti, then to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, followed by George Town, Grand Cayman, and a final stop in Cozumel, Mexico before returning to Miami:


Each location along the way had something unique about it and different from the rest. Haiti is such a beautiful country, but I have to admit it was hard to fully enjoy the island due to the current state of the Haiti nation with it's corruption and economic condition. I don't recall seeing many local Haitians working at the private resort smiling or radiating with joy, but I can't fault them for that. Haiti does not provide for a peaceful easy lifestyle, by worldly standards anyway. Although the cruise ships bring tips and income to the locals, I can only empathize in what they perceive when the "rich tourists" show up on massive ships to lavish the beauty of a country that only brings them poverty.

The beach area in Labadee is blocked off from the rest of Haiti by security fences and guards around every corner. It was surreal to be playing in an island 'paradise' but feeling uneasy about the deep stares and empty expressions from the local people. We did manage to enjoy the visit and got in some decent snorkeling just off the beach, and Braden found a cool Brittle Star starfish. I confess, however, there was a level of comfort getting back on the ship as there was not much we could do for these people on a brief cruise ship excursion, short of giving them tips.

Here are a couple of shots (from the ship) of the Labadee beach, bay and the iridescent blue water:

Our next all aboard took us to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. There was a night and day difference between the overall feel of Jamaica and Haiti. There was much going on at port with a lively atmosphere. Aside from the typical tourist information the guides offered, we found the locals in Jamaica very willing to talk about everyday life when asked. A few locals that we met on our jungle canopy zip line tour were interested in learning more about us, our jobs and families, where we were from, etc. I wish we had the time to hang out and get to know these people more. Many of them have interesting stories.

Here is a view of the Jamaican countryside, a hike through the jungle, and me (Brock) and Jared by one of the 'white' rivers after our zip line excursion:

We left Jamaica for the Cayman Islands and the town of George Town. Very nice town with the English language completely understood as this is British territory. The easier snorkeling off the beach of Haiti was a nice warmup to the deeper water snorkeling we did off a boat along the Cheeseburger Reef.

The underwater photos didn't turn out as great as I had hoped, but a couple of shots weren't bad. Here's a shot of Braden from below the surface, and another shot of some coral:




Our last port was in Cozumel, Mexico, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the cruise. We went to Chankanaab National Park to swim with the dolphins and snorkel in the beautiful waters just off the shore. Unfortunately, the underwater camera had run out of pictures, but we snapped plenty of photos with the dolphins from above the water. Be sure to check out the full picture album on the right side of the page.

Meet Picasso, a cool dolphin that showed us a great time while in Cozumel:



If there is ever another opportunity to cruise the Western Caribbean, one thing I would do different is take more time in the ports versus doing so many excursions. The excursions are definitely a blast (albeit expensive), but they eat up most of the day leaving little time to explore the local shops and fare. Two days at each port would be ideal.

If you get a chance to hit up a cruise, you won't regret it. Just be ready to be ridiculously pampered on the ship (and gain about 10 pounds from all of the food).

To see our complete photo album from the cruise, click on the Caribbean Cruise Album in the right hand pane. Enjoy!