Vacation: Day #2 and Jamaica

I started Day #2 with a mimosa for breakfast! I've never had a mimosa before and I was underwhelmed. I don't really care for orange juice, so maybe that is why? Or, I should say, I only like totally fresh orange juice that we had at a B&B in Amsterdam when we visited A's sister pre-kids.

Most mornings my breakfast looked like this:

The buffet varied (I wish they had those mini quiches more than once - they were excellent) but the pastries were consistent and I ate at least six of these every day:

Today was the day we spotted a triple stroller containing three boys who looked to be about six months old. On one hand, we were immediately, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH THOSE PARENTS?!" Trying to go on a cruise with triplet infants seems insane. I found that going to the mall with twins was insane. I cannot imagine cruising. That is not a vacation.

On the other hand, babies that age are adaptable, easy to feed, and aren't going to toddle off the side of the boat. There were always a couple adults together and I assumed the older ones were grandparents. The parents and babies were minor celebrities as I'm sure you can imagine, so I didn't feel like asking questions and making them explain themselves again, but I was curious.

We tried the dining room for lunch and I think the food was better than the buffet. I had a wonderful steak salad. It's unassigned seating, so we were seated at a table of eight and it was okay. I learned the next time to ask politely, "Could we have a table by ourselves, please?" because there were a ton of empties. It might have been less convenient for the staff, but I couldn't HEAR the hostess gritting her teeth, so I think it was a reasonable request.

I spent most of the afternoon reading out on the back of the boat while A played poker. It was the formal night and it turns out that A packed two dress shirts and a tie, but forgot pants. It was disappointing and he felt really bad, but if that is the worst thing that happened, I say we are still coming out ahead.

Our excursion in Jamaica was an early one. The boat pulled into the pier at 9 and we joined the throngs of people leaving. It was easy to get off the boat, but getting back on involves metal detectors and security and much more scrutiny. It would be hard to be a stowaway. We had booked our excursions with the ship, so everything was clearly marked and we waited with other passengers in a hot breeze-less tent-like building while they divided us into our appropriate excursions.

Eugene was our driver to the zip line. He was an older man and I could understand the gist of what he was saying, but I was sitting right next to him and had to concentrate hard. I would say that the roads were horrendous, but Eugene was an experienced driver, so maybe exciting is a better word. We got used to driving on the left, but there are so many hairpin turns that the custom is to honk your horn as you come around so that you (hopefully) don't hit anyone. We came very close multiple times - "lanes" are just a suggestion in Ocho Rios.

At one point in time, we were up the side of the mountain and we came face-to-face with another car and I honestly did not see how we could pass each other. Eugene and the other driver yelled at each other and made fisted arm gestures and then figured it out. Whenever something like that would happen, Eugene would call out cheerfully, "It's all part of the tour!"

Our tour group was pleasant. I was worried we would get stuck with excessively obnoxious, loud, and/or drunk people, but everyone was polite and game. We arrived at the zip line place and were fitted for safety equipment. A's head size made the guy do a sort of astonished yelp as he made the helmet bigger and bigger and bigger again.

The guys running the operation gave the impression of easy confidence and I think we all found it relieving. There was one jokester who said things like, "I was up all night watching videos on YouTube. I think I can do this!" as he was adjusting safety lines. I thought of it like when a patient is doing poorly at work. If we (the staff) are relaxed and bantering, everything is under control. It is when we are quiet and tense that you need to worry.

It was a short hike up to the top of the zip line and you can tell by the fact that there is only one person in front of me that I am excited!

Here's the zip line and the first person who went. I was not brave enough to be the first. I was fourth or fifth, I believe.

There were three lines, so you go down the first (and definitely the best) one and reach a platform where one of the guys is waiting for you. Humorously, he calls out, "WHOOPS!" and that is the cue that the next person waiting can come down. Your safety lines are strapped and you sort of sidle around the tree and get strapped into the next one.

I think most of our group enjoyed it except for one extremely dramatic lady who screamed in terror the entire way down and then threw herself on the ground and kissed the grass when she reached the bottom. Then she had her boyfriend checking her pulse by FEELING HER BOOB and I wanted to do some education, but neither of them seemed to mind the boob feeling so I left it alone.

I am happy with our experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I would be ecstatic with our experience if we had gotten to go twice. It was a short walk up, we already had all the gear on - it seems reasonable. That's my only quibble.

Luckily, we moved on to river tubing and that far exceeded both our expectations. I had done it on a whim - I always like the lazy river at water parks - and I'm SO GLAD I did. We tubed down about four miles of the White River and it was beautiful. 

We started with a safety talk, some life preservers, and a tube.

It was incredibly clear for a river. We could see the bottom in a lot of places. There were bamboo trees, calm parts, rapids, parts where we could jump off and swim for a while . . . it was awesome. 

At the last rapids, our guide warned us that a lot of people tip over and to let go of the tube if we did. I'm glad I was listening carefully because I tipped. Despite my fear of being in water and not being able to see what's down there, I did not freak out. I had not seen any crocodiles and I didn't THINK I was in danger of being eaten. 

I was a little nervous about tipping (money tipping, not tube tipping) because I know you are supposed to - I'm sure these guys are not raking in the dough and we had such a great time - but tipping can be awkward. Luckily, they ANNOUNCE it at the end when they're thanking you for coming. They say something like, "If you would like to show your appreciation to your guides in the form of tips, this is the time." If I hadn't expected it, I might have been put off, but I DID expect it, so I was relieved to know what I was supposed to do. The cruise critic boards had advised making sure to have a lot of $1 and $5 bills for tipping in port, so we were totally prepared.

I wonder if the guides lay the Jamaica stuff on a little thick because they think that's what tourists want? There were lots of "Yah mon"s and how "In Jamaica, we don't have problems! There are no problems in Jamaica!" We weren't there long enough to do more than touristy stuff and while I enjoy that, I wonder how real Jamaicans live their day-to-day lives.

We made it back to port in time to get some jerk chicken that made my eyes water. Our waiter laughed at us and told us that when his mama made it for him growing up, he would eat, he would cry, wipe the tears away, eat, cry some more, etc. I also took a picture of A getting some sort of alcohol poured down his throat directly from the bottle, but I'm not allowed to post that one.

We got back on the ship and I took a nap before dinner. HERE is where the late dining time came in handy! Before dinner, I had my usual martini and we listened to a singer/songwriter at one of the bars. We were tucked away in a corner by some stairs and it was fun to watch people walk SO CAREFULLY down the stairs. Alcohol definitely makes for better people watching.

We saw one of the ship comedians that night and he was hilarious. A watches a lot of comedians and says they're disparaging toward boat comedians, but the two we had on board were funny and - since we were at the late show - raunchy.

Comments

[Jen]

I am enjoying your cruise reports and am highly jealous of your ziplining adventure! We are, randomly, going on a Carnival cruise to Mexico over Thanksgiving with my husband's family, so your reports are giving me good ideas about what to drin...do on the ship! Glad you had a great time!

[Lisa]

Hahaha on the boob pulse. That was a good laugh how you wrote about it!

This sounds so fun. I'd love to do a cruise sometime.

[Liz S]

Its easy to get off the boat at the port iffffff you aren't attemping to take 300 lbs of school supplies to an orphanage. When I took my Girl Scouts to Encenada, that was our excursion to do some community service. Apparently customs frowns upon that and they can confiscate the stuff. Sooooo I talked with the nice guys on the ship and they re-routed us sort of so that we could roll our huge suitcase past the customs agents without them taking much notice. Once we hired a bus we were good to go. Found the orphanage and gave the supplies to the wonderful kids.

the zip line sounds a bit more fun. ; }

[Swistle]

1. I had a mimosa for the first time recently, and I too found it...less thrilling than expected. AND, I'd expected to feel a champagney effect from it, but I don't think there was enough champagne in it for that.

2. "but neither of them seemed to mind the boob feeling"--ha ha!