Southland Tale

Each year when we start looking at vacation options, we always come back to (cheap) cruises. Food, lodging, and transportation in one easy package, and they take us to the beaches we desire. So we decided on our third one in the last six years. Just a five-day jaunt. And it had to be out of Galveston since that's the only port we could drive to in a day to avoid doubling the price of the journey just getting there (and back again).

We learned that about the only people who take cruises out of Galveston are Texans. Carnival seems to know this, because the comedian was a cowboy from Blue Collar TV, one of the "Vegas" shows was country music, the food was much more all-American than our previous cruises, and the like.

The Mexican juggler/comedian's joke about Mexicans moving to Texas to take back their land didn't get any laughs. It did get some boos.

Close to half the boobs on board were bought.

We accept that cruisers do so with a sense of entitlement, taking the boat's staff for granted and expecting full service treatment with no gratitude. This time, however, we experienced a new level of rudeness toward fellow travelers. Cutting in line, standing in the middle of the track and not moving aside for approaching runners, leaving trash everywhere, just a general lack of courtesy and consideration of others.

We experienced that doubly so on the crowded Texas roads. We've never been so happy to see Oklahoma.

One advantage to Galveston is the lack of time zone change.

When I think of the ocean I think of breathtaking views and fresh air. For many of our hours in the Gulf of Mexico, all we experienced was the stench of oil and the sight of rigs. Being on deck was not romantic until on international waters.

Speaking of the environment, the beaches were closed in Progresso due to red tide. That was a bummer since it's what we really look forward to and Progresso doesn't have a whole lot else to offer. We can't say we enjoyed the 2+ hour bus ride each way, but it was still an opportunity to view Chichen Itza we otherwise wouldn't have taken. It's one of the New Seven Wonders and was interesting, just not as active as we would have liked (you can no longer climb anything).

The highlight was Cozumel. It's our third time there in three cruises and we're still finding new things to do. This time it was driving a mini-jeep to the Punta Sur ecological preserve at the south end of the island for reef snorkeling at an out-of-the-way beach, sightseeing at an old lighthouse and older Mayan temple, and a look at the saltwater crocodiles.

Even though we hate being herded like cattle and only seeing the tourist view of things, we like the security of being on official excursions. Our first time there we rented a car and were worried the whole time we'd be left behind if we had a mechanical problem and didn't make it back to the boat on time. The second time we walked to a public beach and had to take turns in the water since there was nowhere to lock up our passports and money. There are no worries like that on the Carnival-sponsored activities, so we're happy as long as we can be relatively active and not have to spend our time sitting around like we do all day on the boat.