We pulled into Costa Maya around 9:30am while we were eating breakfast. This town is basically a town created by the cruise industry so there’s not a ton to see by walking around. Our mission today was to have a dolphin experience. I think we got off the ship around 10:15. The port looked very similar to the other ports we stopped at with jewelry, cigar, t-shirt and...
It was a slightly later start today with the ship not arriving in Honduras until 11am Eastern. After our usual breakfast at the Windjammer buffet, we headed down to the gangway to start our day in Roatan. We wandered through the port shops to the exit so we could locate our tour. We arranged the Daniel Johnson Monkey & Sloth Hangout with a small island tour. Our...
We arrived in Cozumel at 9:30am. We were at the Windjammer buffet for breakfast again when the captain announced we were cleared to leave the ship. We didn’t have anything formal planned so we took our time finishing our meals then gathered our things from the room for the day. It was sunny and humid and getting hotter. We wandered around the port shops near our ship...
Today was our first sea day of two. We had breakfast in the Windjammer buffet then we started looking around the ship. I headed over to the napkin artistry demo at 10am while Eduardo did his own thing. Surprisingly, the napkin folding activity was quite busy and they ran out of room at the venue. They walked us through 5 napkin folds, 4 of which I was familiar with...
We woke up fairly early for getting to bed so late the night before. The hotel included breakfast but it was pretty slim pickings. Basically some waffle machines, cereals, yoghurt and juice. No eggs, sausage or fruit. Our check in time for the ship wasn’t until 10:30am so we walked over to the Walgreens next to the hotel to have a look around. We didn’t bother...
It was an early start to the day but no earlier than a work day. We were up by 6am and out the door around 6:45am. It was an uneventful 50 minute journey to the airport parking lot. We were in line to drop our bags off at 8am. We are traveling business class for this trip so we got to use priority check-in but the line was super long so it didn’t feel too much like a...
Just before lunch and right next door to the palace, we stopped to check out the observatory. The Jantar Mantar is a collection of nineteen architectural astronomical instruments built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur, Rajasthan. The monument was completed in 1734. It features the world’s largest stone sundial, and is a UNESCO World...
Our next stop was Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum. The museum is spread out over a series of courtyards. It was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II as part of his ambitious city project, and his successors continued to ornament and add to the elegant buildings up until the 20th century. The palace has always been much more than the grand residence of a...
Once we were both at the top, we spent a good couple hours with our guide visiting many buildings and rooms around the fort. The Amer Fort, situated in Amber, 11 kilometers from Jaipur, is one of the most famous forts of Rajasthan. Amer, originally, was the capital of the state before Jaipur. It is an old fort, built in 1592 by Raja Man Singh. This fort is also very...
Our second stop of the day was Amber Fort. The fort is situated on the top of hill so there were two ways to get there: by car or by elephant. The elephant option was presented to us when we booked this trip. As with other countries that have elephant rides, it’s difficult to know that the animals are treated well when not in private. I chose to skip the...