A Dream Cruise

We just got back from a Dream cruise. It was not a "dream" like Alaska or the Panama Canal, but the ship was the Norwegian Dream, a medium-sized ship that has recently cruised across Europe via rivers and canals. This was her first cruise to the western Caribbean from New Orleans. There was a multi-national crew and many of the Europeans were excited about the different ports and tropical climate.

We left New Orleans an hour before sunset and cruised down the Mississippi River far into the night. Many on board had believed that New Orleans was at the mouth of the river.

Monday was spent exploring the ship as we cruised toward Cozumel, Mexico. On board with us were,daughter, Laura and her husband, Erick, plus our two youngest grandchildren, Tori , and Alex. They were on deck six, starboard, aft and Willette and I were on deck five, port, forward. Both rooms were outside with a big window. It didn't take Tori and Alex long to learn the route between staterooms.

Dream is a big ship, but not as big as the current crop of super cruise ships. She had two swimming pools, several restaurants, a small library, an internet café, a large theatre, gym, lounges, nightclubs and casino. All of these are pretty much standard on today's cruise ships. Deck seven was the walking deck and it wrapped all the way around. 3.5 laps equaled one mile.

This was our first "freestyle" cruise which allows for less formal dress and the freedom to make last-minute decisions about when and where to eat. There were three fairly formal restaurants with table service, a pizza parlor which featured a lot more than pizza, and a "sports bar," which was not a bar at all but a cafeteria-style restaurant. Outside on deck eleven, there was omelet service in the morning and charcoal food at noon. There were three large charcoal grills featuring burgers, ribs, pork chops, hotdogs and such. Each afternoon, ice cream cones were available from 2:00 to 4:00.

In the evening, shows featured a lot of singing and dancing, comedy, magic and a juggler.

The food, fun, and sun were interrupted from time to time by shore excursions. We stopped first at Cozumel, then sailed to Roatan, one of the bay islands on the coast of Honduras, then Belize City, and Cancun. I use these brief stops to scout for places to visit later. Roatan and Belize are on my "never again" list while Cancun is a strong maybe. Cozumel is filed under been there, done that. This was the third time we have been to Cozumel and I still think of it as typically Mexican, which is more than I can say for Cancun.

There is a scruffiness to Cozmel that makes it seem more authentic. If you arrive on one of the giant ships you are docked at a pier that is an overpriced taxi ride from town, but the Dream docked right downtown. I would advise any tourist to walk back a block or so from the waterfront in Cozumel. That way you see the real Mexico.

The first word that comes to my mind when I think of Roatan and Belize City is "squalor," but I was there for a short time and saw only a small area near the center of town. In these towns, as in Jamaica, you have to work your way through a mass of hustlers trying to sell you something or sometimes just trying to get you to give them money to leave you alone. They are not easily discouraged. This is usually not a problem in Cancun, the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgins and St. Martin. We also found a better reception on the Pacific side of Central America.

New Orleans is still New Orleans. We got lost both coming and going. We arrived in town at the peak of tropical storm Matthew and drove a half-flooded freeway littered with accidents. One was so bad they diverted traffic onto side streets, causing us to lose our way. The cruise dock is next to the Riverwalk near the end of Canal Street. The trip to and from the ship involved a day's drive each way, but that is better than Miami or Fort Lauderdale. Maybe some day they will leave from Knoxville, but right now I would settle for Charleston.
Howard