We had been warned that passing through Jamaican immigration could take quite a while by standing around the hot airport, but this turned out not to be the case and we breezed through the formalities and boarded our waiting coach. We then drove down to Montego bay cruise terminal to join the cruise ship "Thomson Dream".
We had a couple of drinks on deck an attended the emergency boat drill. As the ship left port at 20.00 we had something to eat and the retired for the evening after a long, tiring but enjoyable day.
Day 2.
Our first day at sea started with breakfast on the Lido deck and then a couple of hours sunbathing and relaxing by the Aft pool. In the evening we were invited to the Captain's Gala in the Broadway show lounge where we were introduced to the ships senior officers and heads of staff. We then attended the formal night.
Day 3. Playa del Carmen
We arrived at the Mexican resort of Playa del Carmen, we had breakfast on deck as we watched a glorious sunrise. We took the 40 min drive to Xel-Ha marine park The snorkeling in the lagoon was superb with an abundance of fish, we also tried to make our way down the lazy river on an inflatable, now that was a sight to behold.
We returned to the ship and made our way up to the Lido deck to celebrate Mandy's Birthday with a couple of drinks and watched a glorious sunset over Playa del Carmen as as sailed away.
Day 4. Havana - Cuba.
We arrived in the capital city of Cuba, Havana, after clearing immigration and customs, We began exploring this fascinating city. The streets were bustling with all the old classic cars that the city is so famous for. Directly opposite the terminal building was an exhibition of bears representing the countries of the World.
We then began walking the streets of old Havana and our first stop was the impressive old capital building which houses a museum to the cuban revolution and an old tank stands outside as a reminder of those historical days. There we so many impressive building and street characters to take in and photograph.The local people were very friendly and helpful and we never felt harassed. We then wandered over to the square where the crumbling Cathedral stands and once again a number of colorful characters were on show.
We then went for a lovely meal at Dona Eutimia restaurant, which is just around the corner from the Cathedral and we sat outside as trio of wandering troubadours played relaxing background music as we ate our meal of shredded lamb and refried beans washed down with a couple of glasses of red wine. We took one last look at the old cathedral, now lit up for the evening before taking the short stroll back to the ship.
Day 5.
Several months ago we made contact with a personal tour guide in Cuba and after Several e-mails we booked a tour with him and at 9.00 we met Radik outside the Cruise terminal and we were so happy that we chose this particular guide. First of all there was his car, a Red 1951 Lincoln Lido convertible and secondly Radek who turned out to be a super host and guide with a tremendous knowledge of Havana.
Our first stop of the day was the home of the famous writer, Ernest Hemingway. The house stands in beautifully lush grounds with spectacular views of the Havana Skyline. The house itself is set in a time capsule and looks just like the day Hemmingway left, even his clothes can be seen hanging in the closet. We then moved on to see the impressive marble statue "Christo" that overlooks the harbour.
Next stop was the huge fort of San phillipe with its huge walls and double moat, this fort was never attacked, just its size put off any intended raiders. We then took a break for lunch at EL Canonaz restaurant where we enjoyed a superb Fish meal and the local rum based drink, Mojito. Back on the road we headed down the famous sea drive of the Malecon and its famous old hotels. We also visited Revolution Square, the impressive main train station and stopped off at a tobacco shop to buy a few of Cuba's famous cigars. All to soon it was time to bid farewell to Radek after a six hour tour of the city and thank him for such a wonderful day in his beautiful classic car.
We returned to the ship, went up on deck and slipped out of Havana as the sunset. We both agreed that it had been one of the most enjoyable cities we had ever visited. At night we went to see the hugely talented entertainer, Fogwell Flax.
Day 6. At sea
After 3 busy days it was time to kick back, relax and to try to take all we had seen and experienced in the last three days. The ship's bartenders held a demonstration of their skills at making cocktails on the pool deck. In the evening we went down to the Orion restaurant for a meal followed by the waiters and kitchen staff parade complete with Alaska bake.
We then made our way up to the show lounge to watch the ships take on popular musicals and we thought it was a superb show.
Day 7. Grand Caymen - Georgetown
We arrived in Georgetown early and transferred boat which took us out to sandbank called Stingray City, snorkelled and fed squid to rays. This was a unique experience having so many Rays around at the same time. We then popped over to Tikki beach, had sandwich and conch fritters.We had swim and then returned to Georgetown and Went for "Hurricane force 4" cocktails at "Breezes bar" overlooking dock.
Day 8. We sailed back to Montego Bay.
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