You Gotta Love it: Highlights from Harmony and the Western Caribbean

No matter how many cruises I take, there are always a few things that stand out from each one. Here’s a batch from our recent Harmony of the Seas to the Western Caribbean:

Port Canaveral’s easy on, easy off. Never has getting on and off the ship been better or faster. The baggage drop-off wasn’t crowded, there were no lines into the terminal and because we did online check-in with our phone and Royal Caribbean app, we showed our SetSail Pass and were climbing the gangplank in minutes.

On disembarkation day, we walked off with our luggage, smiled at Customs, which is now using facial recognition instead of asking to see passports, and were out of the terminal and on the road in a flash. (Note: passports are still needed for the cruise.)

Coco Cay, a fun way to spend the day. The beaches were pretty, there was a lot to see and do, and the food was better than expected. It was very spread out and never felt crowded. (Note: our ship was the only one there.) The tropical foliage was photograph-worthy, there were whimsical sand dunes and people-watching galore. A huge pool with swim-up bar (although there were more drinkers than swimmers). Then there’s the water park.

One side of Coco Cay...

...another side of Coco Cay

Hand-made in Mexico. There were many ships in Costa Maya when we got there, with thousands of passengers descending on the small pier area. But somehow, through the throng, I stumbled on a very special shop, d.origen. Prices were in pesos, so I was initially scared off. But the unique clothing, ceramics and knickknacks—and the helpful and friendly staff (who were happy to convert prices to dollars)—drew me back again. It’s an artisan cooperative, and all items were made by Mexicans, using traditional techniques.

From the “You Won’t Believe This” category. Walking along the busy main road outside the cruise pier in Cozumel, we stopped in our tracks to see an extremely tall man with a tiny woman sitting on his shoulders, reaching up to pick a coconut.

Filet mignon at Chops. I polished off a terrific 9 ounce filet mignon, shrimp cocktail, salad with breaded goat cheese and warm chocolate cake with ice cream. Worth every penny. And beats the main dining room any day.

Dinner with wine. If you’re Diamond Club or higher (Royal Caribbean’s loyalty club), you’ll like this: you can now order drinks off the free Diamond Club menu from restaurants throughout the ship, including specialty dining. Wine with dinner. Sweet!

His and hers. One of the great features of the Harmony balcony stateroom is the two separate closets. It helps having your own space—especially when there’s not much to spare.

A balcony for napping. And here’s another: reclining chairs and hassocks on the verandah, which you won’t find on the Allure of the Seas. You gotta love it—furniture tailor-made for napping!

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Shopping in the Western Caribbean

For some of us Caribbean cruisers, the pleasures of sand and surf are rivaled only by the lure of duty free and souvenir shopping.

For the first, you only need beach and sun. For the second, you need smarts, savvy and some common sense. 

Alas, on my 21st cruise, I managed to leave that last crop behind. Here’s my excuse: something bewitches me when I’m on vacation. My antenna comes down and my wallet comes out. And buyer’s remorse sets in long after the ship sets sail and it's the point of no return.

To help you shop the Western Caribbean and not get burned, here are a few thoughts:

Plain vanilla? Entranced by signs of cheap hecho en Mexico vanilla at the pier in Cozumel, this

should-have-known-better foodie picked up two bottles in a tourist shop, spurred on by a fellow cruiser who swore she returned to the same shop regularly for the “best vanilla” in town.

Vanilla the price of souvenir dolls--this foodie should have known better

Back at home, once the vacation was a fuzzy memory, my antenna made a reappearance. I began to wonder about the vanilla’s uber low price, the “final sale” signs everywhere and the disconcerting fact that the shopkeeper wouldn’t let us take photos after my purchase. The test was over but I was only now doing my homework. When I found what I was looking for, of course, it was too late.

Nearly all of what’s sold in Mexico—99 percent, according to one website—is in fact, not vanilla at all. It can be a mixture of too little alcohol (a lot is actually part of the real vanilla production process), too many chemicals, coloring and sweetener. And some of it—this is truly frightening—contains a toxic chemical called coumarin, which is banned in the U.S. (See this piece on where real vanilla comes from.)

Was the vanilla I bought the real thing? Only that store owner knows for sure.

Bottom line: know what you’re getting and get what you know.

A portrait of a smart shopper. Okay, I made a $12 mistake in Cozumel. But, I did do things right in Labadee. Royal Caribbean’s Haitian resort has a robust artisan market. The locals were anxious to sell and I was anxious to buy. Colorful metal wall hangings, wooden sculptures, costumed dolls, painted magnets and so on—much of it made locally and best yet, very inexpensive.

Happy haggling in Haiti

And the vendors are raring for haggling. I walked away no fewer than six times from a seller—each time I was called back with a lower price. I finally left with the price I wanted to pay and a huge beach scene painting that now hangs in my home office and engulfs me in the Caribbean's clear blue waters each time I sit at the PC.

Bottom line: don’t be afraid to bargain and hold out for what you want. You'll not only come away with a treasure to remind you of your vacation, but also the satisfaction of a dollar well spent.

These Ports are Made for Walking Part 2: Western Caribbean

Here’s good news for budget-minded cruisers who don’t want to shell out extra money for excursions at the Caribbean ports: there’s plenty to do just on foot. In an earlier posting, I covered some walkable highlights of the Eastern Caribbean, featuring San Juan and St. Maarten.
 
Here, I’ll do a quick take on the Western ports of Grand Cayman and Cozumel:
 

Slice of the Grand Cayman waterfront

Fish and other fun in Grand Cayman. Most ships dock in the center of George Town. The harbor
horseshoes around the blue waters, and provides plenty of shops—both high and low end—and a Margaritaville, as well as a bit of history in the form of (very few) remains of Fort George, originally built to protect the island from Cuban invaders.

 

Along the waterfront’s Harbor Drive, merely steps from the cruise pier, is a small fish market on the sand, where you’ll be as likely to find a snoozing local in the shade of the market tent as an array of snapper, grouper and other fruits of the sea laid out like handicrafts.


Take your pick among these fruits of the sea

The fishmongers throw chum into the water a few yards away, drawing two-feet long tarpon and other species, delivering an aquarium-like experience literally at your feet.
 
And if watching all this gives you a craving for fresh seafood, you only need to venture a bit further down Harbor Drive to find a restaurant sign beckoning with “You hook it, we cook it.”

Mexican mementos in Cozumel. The docking for most ships is Puerta Maya pier, two miles and about an $8 taxi ride into town. We did the walk a few times, but it’s not for the faint-hearted, especially under the scorching Caribbean sun. Perhaps the only benefit of doing so (along with walking off those newly accumulated calories) is the chance to spy an iguana scurrying in and out of the brush or check out the large modern supermarket (with public bathrooms upstairs) along the way. 

Fortunately, a plethora of shops have sprung up at the cruise terminal and during a recent trip, we found ourselves so immersed in the shopping, we never left it. 

Tchotchke shopping at the pier in Cozumel

While mass produced, there are plenty of inexpensive and different trinkets to bring home as mementos—from costumed dolls (actually made in Mexico!), colorful ceramics and onyx chess sets to the local specialties of vanilla and tequila.

If you want to spend a bit more, the jewelry store owners would be only too happy to show you their silver and stone. The shopkeepers can be quite aggressive, but it does work to your advantage. The price of a silver-and-lapis piece I was eying had dropped in half by the time I exited the store door. Needless to say, bargaining is strongly recommended.

Try to make it to the far end of the shopping village, where you’ll find Los Cinco Soles, the best of the shops. It’s an outpost of the bigger store in town, but has same higher quality of ceramics, jewelry, onyx, folk art, clothing and more. 

Fill your fruit bowl at Los Cinco Soles

One unique offering at Los Cinco Soles is a huge variety of watermelons, mangos, red peppers and other brightly colored papier-mâché fruits and veggies. Filling a lovely wooden bowl from the Western Caribbean port of Roatan (watch for a future posting) with these makes a great centerpiece (and conversation starter) for your table back home.

And if shopping’s not your thing, the pier’s got several places to eat and drink. Or, get your photo taken with a modern Mayan, submerge yourself for an underwater oxygen infusion or turn yourself into mush with a massage by the sea.

 

Princess Preferred: A Review of the Caribbean Princess

A mouthful of luscious Love
from the Caribbean Princess

From the Norman Love truffle pops at the Welcome Toast to the restaurant-like beverage service in the buffet, Princess is filled with surprises that make it my favorite among the mass market cruise lines.

It won’t blow you away with bumper cars or carousels, but what it does deliver is consistently solid service, attention to detail and an eagerness to please.

The recent trip on the Caribbean Princess, our fourth on the line, proved to be as good as the first. With many of the lines noticeably scaling back, Princess is an exception. Here’s some of what made it special:

Ship shape. Princess’ mini-suite is ideal for those who want more space but not at a suite price. It’s essentially the size of a hotel room with two flat screen TVs, a full-sized couch, large counter, and porch furniture featuring reclining

A mini-suite is a perfect size but
doesn't come at a steep price

chairs, foot stools and a large table. The closets in the mini-suites—as well as the balcony rooms—are the largest we’ve had on any cruise line, and can accommodate three hanging shoe bags, along with a whole lot of clothes.

The staterooms—as well as the public rooms—were immaculate. You’d really have to look hard to find any evidence that the ship was built 11 years ago.

The piazza, the hub of ship activity, this trip featured a pianist, a we-can-play-just-about-anything band and singer, steel drums and a former circus performer who twirled lighted hoops in a blaze of 

A performance in the piazza

color and grace.

The only downside to the handsome piazza is that it can’t always accommodate everyone who wants to be there. Getting a good enough view to take photos of the Mardi Gras party or a seat to eat your International Café quiche can sometimes be all but impossible.

Food; themed and otherwise. Speaking of food, it ranged from fair to good, in both the Main Dining Room and Horizon Court buffet. One innovation in the MDR was Caribbean cuisine, a welcome reminder of where we were. And it was nice to see lobster tail still on the formal night menu.

Horizon Court themed nights were a lot of fun and we found ourselves there more than the MDR. German night was alight with a color-changing, larger-than-life beer stein (in ice, not on ice), landjagger bites and German hams, pretzel rolls, red cabbage, sausages, and linzer and sacher tortes. Italian night, with its gondolier-costumed waiters, served up prosciutto and hunks of parmesan, fennel au gratin and pasta many ways.



Part of the bread spread on German night

The bakery stuff is where Princess really excels. The breads are great—from the sunflower-studded rolls to the cheese-topped croissants to the onion-infused focaccia. The chocolate desserts were excellent, rivaling some of the best bakeries on land.

The ship was as generous with its buffet hours as it was with the food offerings. You can get breakfast until 11:30, lunch until 3:30 (if you miss this, there’s “afternoon snack” from 3:30-5:30, which is a scaled down lunch), and full dinner is available until 11. Late dining was an especially mellow meal, just us, a few other night owls and the crew.

Fun and games. While standard fare, the entertainment was generally good; highlights were a juggler/comedian whose not-G-rated shtick brought on belly laughs, and a magician/comedian with same-but-different sleight-of-hand tricks and fast wit.

In fact, everyone seemed to be a comedian on this trip—including the cruise director, Paul Chandler-Burns. The Brit’s quips shot out like sparks—in an understated, under-the-breath sort of way—and made him the ideal emcee. His banter during the “The Marriage Match Game Show” made it easily one of the best we’ve seen on any ship.
 

Love Boat disco

There were several themed parties, the most memorable was the “Love Boat Disco Deck Party” held by the pool. The ship’s singers and dancers, dressed officer-like in white pants suits and captain hats, did the hustle and other moves, while the Movie Under the Stars screen revived scenes from the TV show, interspersing its octogenarian cast members somewhat disconcertedly jiving to a disco beat.

Well served. Service onboard was attentive from the room steward to the well-orchestrated disembarkation. Ironically, some of the best service we had was in the buffet. One night, I was asked by three different waiters within 10 minutes if I wanted any water or coffee.

With the generous room space, great service, varied entertainment with plenty of laughs, satisfying food sprinkled with surprises, and four good Western Caribbean ports (seven days of sun didn’t hurt either), we felt gloriously pampered from ship to shore. And felt that Princess did its best—and succeeded—in helping us “come back new.”

Small talk: Princess Patter, the onboard newsletter, was named after the very first Princess cruise ship, the Princess Patricia.

 Photos by RJ Greenburg