our honeymooniversary [part 2]

Did you miss the first part of our honeymooniversary recap? It's all about our stateroom, dinner seating, eating vegan, a day at sea, Costa Maya, and Grand Cayman on the Disney Fantasy's 7-Day Western Caribbean cruise.

Costa Maya
Our second port of call was Costa Maya, which was where Alan and I had booked an excursion to the Chacchoben Mayan ruins. We originally wanted to go on the Tulum excursion (which leaves from Cozumel), which my dad had taken before, but he recommended that we try a different one.

Sadly, I did not take water and was already dehydrated, so halfway through the tour I had heat exhaustion and had to return to the bus. Alan walked me back to the bus and ended up staying with me (I told him to go finish the tour) because by the time he would have caught up with our group, it would have been over. I was disappointed, partly because I really wanted to see the ruins (the largest temple was, of course, the last one on the tour) and I also felt like we wasted money.

On the upside, I finally decided to go to the health center (which was closed the other time I went), which is where I was diagnosed, given some meds, and sent on my merry way.

Cozumel
By the fifth day, I was definitely feeling better (and kicking myself for not having gone to the doctor earlier). Cozumel was hotter than Costa Maya, but I didn't mind it at all and I didn't feel like my organs were bouncing around my body the whole time I walked.

We first tried to go to a beach, but were attacked by mosquitoes about 100 yards from the beach and turned around. I later told Alan that if I'd known the beach was that close, I would have kept walking, but then I rescinded because, let's face it--if there are 9 or 10 foreign mosquitoes trying to suck my blood and I don't have proper vaccinations, I don't care what beach is just around the corner.

Instead, we decided to walk around the town and explore beyond the usual tourist shops. While we were exploring, we found a little hole-in-the-wall place that served ceviche de pulpo. I like ceviche, but have never had Mexican ceviche or ceviche with octopus, so Alan ordered some for us.

I was leery of the open condiments that simply sat on the tables and were shared by everyone, but it was seriously the best ceviche that I've ever had in my life. And, because Alan ordered in Spanish, we were given the hotter salsa which was absolutely delicious/burned off my tongue.

Then, we found a small bakery and bought a concha and coffee. We met two locals--a Canadian ex-pat and an author. We talked with them for quite a while (the author, Vincent, is pictured below); they reminded me of the guys my dad drinks coffee with in the mornings. They told us to eat at Candela's, a seafood restaurant, and also suggested another restaurant on 50th Ave., which apparently has super-fresh fish--you pick the one you want from a cooler. Since we could see the rooftop of Candela's (the other one was a taxi ride away), we decided to eat lunch there.

At Candela's, we ordered agua de Jamaica (a hibiscus drink), a mojito, and two seafood entrees--all for about $30. The food was good, although a little bland, but I assume it was made that way because we were tourists and neither of us spoke in Spanish at the restaurant.

Back on the ship, we reclined in the hot tub on one of the top decks and enjoyed the scenery. The hot tubs are almost flush against the wall of the ship and the outer walls are clear, so you can see what's beyond the ship.

Day at Sea/Senses
For our second day at sea, we purchased two day passes for the Rainforest, an area featuring three saunas (one dry, one wet, and one dry/wet), four different showers with sounds and scents (the Caribbean rainstorm was my favorite), and access to hot tubs and warming chairs. For $16 each, it was totally worth it. The wet sauna was my favorite. It made my skin glow. And, in spite of the fact that everyone on a fully booked cruise was onboard that day, the Rainforest was pretty empty. We shared the sauna with other people only twice.

Castaway Cay
Our anniversary was spent at Disney's private island. We immediately walked to Serenity Bay, the adults-only beach, and went out into the ocean.

Naturally, I was stung by jellyfish twice. (When my family vacationed in Bermuda, I was stung by a jellyfish and nibbled on by a curious fish, which I think kind of started my ocean phobia--when I was younger, I wanted to be a marine biologist.)

Also, I found a whole sand dollar and gave it to Alan as an anniversary gift. He put it in his pocket, where I later crushed it because I was clinging to him for dear life because a shark might have been in the water/sea grass might have touched me/I might have gotten stung again/who knows what lives in the ocean.

So, I found another sand dollar that was almost whole. (It lasted the entire way to Dallas, where it was crushed by a guy who was trying to stuff his bag into the overhead compartment.)

We ate lunch at the adults-only barbeque place near the beach. Barbeque places are not the places to go when you want vegan food. After lunch, we didn't spend much time in the ocean because Alan got a really nasty sunburn (that he still needs to have checked out by the doctor and will hopefully schedule an appointment after he reads this post). So, we headed back to the ship to get ready for our anniversary dinner at Remy.

Remy
To celebrate our anniversary, I wore the dress that I wore to our rehearsal and the nail polish I wore on our wedding day (I would have worn the shoes, but Ophelia ate them). Alan wore his uniform.

The experience at Remy was wonderful and definitely closer to "the Disney difference" that I'm used to (overall, I feel like Disney really sacrificed quality for quantity this time around). The food and service were amazing; I definitely want to eat there the next time we cruise. Alas, I didn't take photos because I thought it would be rude, but the presentation was gorgeous. Remy offers two different menus (or you can pick and choose what you'd like from each); we ordered both so we could try all of the food.

Overall, our honeymooniversary was really well-suited for us--full of "adventures." I think I prefer the smaller ship experiences (Magic and Wonder) to the newer ships, but then again, I'm sure that maximum capacity and me being sick had something to do with our last experience. I'm glad that we were able to explore some new places together and enjoy a week relaxing alone, even though it was bittersweet knowing that this was the last major trip we'll take for a while.