Miami Florida – Caribbean Cruisin’

Going on a cruise in the age of COVID-19 may seem risky to some, but we actually felt as safe on the cruise ship as doing everyday things like grocery shopping. The safety protocols and limited amount of passengers made for a very pleasant vacation. We travelled with my mom and step dad. We enjoyed the nice dinners and snorkeling and swimming together. Good times.

The ship departed from Miami and ported in Jamaica, Bahamas, and MSC’s private island, Ocean Cay. Ocean Cay was our favorite. Great to just walk off the boat, relax at the beach and snorkel all day without a care in the world. But the Caribbean sun is intense. Even after reapplying the sunblock 3 times throughout the day, I still had a pink, luckily not red, back. Sipping island cocktails, lounging in the shade of a palm tree, beautiful turquoise water. Paradise.

In Jamaica, we visited the Green Grotto Caves and back in town enjoyed lattes made with local Blue Mountain coffee. We love our coffee and this stuff was good. In the Bahamas, we hit up a few breweries and visited the Versailles Gardens.

On the ship, we did plenty of soaking in the pools and hot tubs. Enjoyed excellent food. Great live shows. I even got in a few spin classes which definitely helped burn some calories and booze from the night before 🙂

My favorite part of the ship was the dome roof that went the length of the main concourse. Covered in curved digital displays, it would change throughout the day, simulating the outdoors and even turning into a mini show. Some of the shows included space exploration, walking with dinosaurs, and underwater exploration of the lost city of Atlantis.

During the 1st several months of COVID, we took the stance that staying home to mitigate the spread was the best course of action. Now that we are vaccinated, we want to get out and try to help struggling industries recover by spending some dough. Yes we understand even being vaccinated, risks exist, but we are OK with the risks. We would rather take calculated risks instead of continuing with lockdowns. Lockdown or no lockdown, these waves are continuing to occur. Maybe one day we will attain herd immunity, but until we do everyone must decide for themselves and their families the course of action that makes the most sense to them.