On February 17, 2003, Pat and I left on a 6 day 5 night voyage to Mexico. We returned home on February 22, 2003. We booked a cruise on Carnival (the ship MS Jubilee) that would visit 2 ports (Cozumel and Calica) in Mexico. The ship is based in Galveston, Tesas. We drove to Galveston on the morning of February 17 from Dallas. We boarded the ship that afternoon. The ship left Galveston at around 5 PM that evening. We had the late dinner seating. The food, served in the dining room, throughout the trip was good (and plentiful) with multiple choices each evening. There were always beef, seafood, chicken, vegetarian and pasta choices available. Special entries included lamb and turkey. Alternative dining choices included sushi for dinner, a 24 hour pizzeria, and a casual buffet/grill for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The dining room also offered breakfast and lunch each day. And of course, there is the midnight buffet. The show this evening was a welcome aboard talk/comedy by the cruise director. While he was ok better was to follow on the next four evenings.
February 18th was spent at sea. It was cool on deck, so we did not spend much time outside. The show this evening was a comic. While he was good, better was to follow the next 3 evenings.
We arrived at Calica the morning of February 19th. We would spend this day visiting Chichen Itza. This is a marvelous and probably the most famous ancient Mayan ruins site. We left the ship at around 9:30 AM and boarded a bus for Chichen Itza. While traveling on the bus, we got some appreciation as to how many people live in the rural areas. Thatch roof homes were the norm. We would not return until 7 PM that evening. Most of the day was spent traveling on a bus, but we had a good 2 hours and 30 minutes at the site. Over half of the site is off limits with archeologists and others continuing discovery and restoration efforts. See the link below for photos and commentary on the Chichen Itza site.
The show this evening is a Las Vegas style production of the best of Broadway. This show (singing and dancing) was very good, and Pat and I enjoyed ourselves.
We arrive at Cozemel the morning of February 20th. Cozemel is 25 or 30 miles from Calica. So I think we spent the night anchored somewhere between the 2 ports. The ship anchors about a mile offshore. We then use ship tenders to go on-shore. There must have been 7 cruise ships at Cozemel. It appears that only 4 at a time can dock. The other ships need to use the tenders to offload their passengers. Today we signed up for a tour of the island (Cozemel). See the link below for photos and commentary for the activities this day.
We are scheduled to leave Cozemel at 5 PM. As we are heading out to sea, the ship turns around and returns. There is a medical emergency. I believe there were 2 medical emergencies on this voyage. The show this evening was a magician and a comic. While the magician was good, the comic definitely the star. He was non-stop talk and action. Audience participation was the name of the game.
February 21st is spent at sea returning to Galveston. The weather was pretty nice, so Pat and I spent some time out by the pool. Today we also play the slot machines. We turn $20 into $39 and call it quits. There are 2 shows tonight. the first is a Las Vegas style production called the best of Hollywood. The same singers and dancers put on this show. Again it was very well done. The late show was a talent show. There were 6 acts, all singers. For the most part, they were very good. It was enjoyable. Tonight we also pack and put our suitcases out to be collected. We do remember to retain a change of clothes for the next day.
We arrive at Galveston the morning of the February 22nd. We have breakfast, clear immigration, claim our luggage, and then clear customs. I get our car and we load up and are on the road by 11 AM. We are back home by 5:30 PM.
Pat and I enjoyed ourselves. We are glad we did this trip. Overall, everybody (crew and passengers) were friendly.
Here are 3 photos that did not fit on the other pages. The first was taken in Galveston. The second is an artists rendering of the ship MS Jubilee. The third is of Pat and I taken on formal night.
We hope you enjoyed this set of pages on our Mexico trip.
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Mike & Pat