My wife and I had been planning this cruise since May, and booked in the Spring. This was to be our first vacation with just the two of us in over 20 years. The itinerary was exactly what we were looking for: Key West (and the added bonus of Fantasy Fest), Grand Cayman (where my wife could para-sail), and Cozumel (where I could see some Mayan ruins).

You all remember the hurricane season? Well, we left Galveston on October 23, just as Wilma was aiming towards Florida after having ravaged Cozumel. The first thing that we heard was that our ports may have to be changed......understatement. Key West was not to be, Cozumel did not exist, and Grand Cayman..who knew what was going on there. We ended up in Ocho Rios, spending the morning at the beach, and after lunch we climbed Dunn's River Falls. That was terrific, even though I slipped on the rocks and thought that I was going to turn the falls into a giant water-slide! The down side of Jamaica is that it is very poverty stricken and the vendors were relentless in their pursuit of selling things. It was downright creepy as they would not leave you alone and it was difficult to not be rude.

Grand Cayman was cancelled as the surf was too rough for tender landings, and the captain announced that we would be going to Progreso; this was the gateway to the Yucatan and one of the excursions was to Chichen Itza....well, that was the highlight and something that I had always wanted to see. And it was great! We both did not mind the changes in the itinerary and plan to re-book on the same cruise with the original ports. Read more