We flew into Houston International airport the day of the cruise. The ship was late arriving as there was an emergency at sea on the previous cruise. The bus arrived about noon and we took our time getting to the port, the driver stopped for us to get a bite to eat at Whataburger and a convenience store to pick up anything else we needed, and then we arrived at the port about 3:30 pm. The ship arrived in port about 1:00 pm and no one was allowed on until 4:00 pm. Our luggage was unloaded and porters took it directly to the ship, we were given a group number #15 and went into the terminal. They had just called 6 so we had to wait inside for about 1 1/2 hours and then were allowed to register and board. It was not too bad a wait. The muster drill was cancelled until the next morning and dinner was moved back an hour for both sittings. We received our luggage before dinner, but casual was okay in the dining room that evening. The ship is very easy to navigate with one dining room, a small casino, two pools one covered, and the Windjammer Cafe. We ate breakfast the first day in the King and I dining room, service was quick and we enjoyed our tablemates. The sea day was spent exploring the ship, playing bingo, eating lunch in the Windjammer Cafe and making our plans for Cozumel and Costa Maya. The first sea night was formal night and we had our pictures taken and then enjoyed the meal in the dining room. The next day the weather was overcast in Cozumel, so shopping was our choice of activities for the day. We tendered in from the ship, quick, and were dropped off downtown. We walked the local streets for a couple of hours and ended up at Carlos and Charlies for a margarita and lunch. Then we strolled back to the ship and did some on board activities. Costa Maya was bright and sunny with winds pushing the waves into the rocks in front of the mall and eating areas. What a gorgeous site to see the ship docked right in front of us, the waves on the beach and the pool area in town were beautiful. We had lunch in the restaurant at the beach and enjoyed the breeze. We decided to go back to the ship and enjoy the sunshine on deck.

The shows were good, we saw both production shows and the final night show. The band in the Top Hat Lounge played lots of different kinds of music. The Karaoke was fun and the Quest was a blast, this was our first time at Quest so we were amazed at the things people will do to win some cheap prizes. We participated in bingo and at the casino and won at both.

On the last sea day a crew member became ill and the Coast Guard sent a helicopter to pick her up and transport her to the hospital in Alabama. It was exciting to watch them in action sending down a capsule and and an individual to bring her up to the helicopter. We lost about 1 1/2 hours to the rescue but everyone was happy to hear she was stable and doing okay. We arrived back in port at 9:00 instead of 7:00 and were one of the first off the ship by 9:30 am. Our trip to the airport was non-eventful and we had plenty of time to get our flight at 3:44 pm back to Detroit. Read more