This year we went on a Royal Caribbean Cruise to Mexico with our friends Nellie and Danny. February is somewhat off season and with the Covid effect, the boat was not as crowed as I expected. The cruise was a 5 day adventure hitting two ports in Mexico; Costa Maya and Cozumel. This was our first time on Royal Caribbean (The Adventure of the Seas) and I liked the ship and its amenities. It was a fun week with excursions, good food, and good service. And of course, good friends :-) See the highlights below!

Days of the trip: • Day 1 • Day 2 • Day 3 • Day 4 • Day 5 • Day 6 •

Events by Year: 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015• 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006

Special Events: Our Horses • House Addition • Mustangs 2008/09 • Mustangs 2007/08 • Mustangs 2006/07 • Summer Vacation 2011 • Family Traditions

We got up early in the morning and drove down to the port of Galveston to park the car, and get on board The Adventure of the Seas for a 5 day adventure. Parking spot worked out great and we got a ride over to the port gate. I was surprised how quick and easy they've made on-boarding - we were on the ship within 30 mins of getting to the gate. We met up with Nellie and Danny and started exploring the ship, walking the main lobby until we could get to our rooms. I liked the ship - it was pretty neat. We had dinner in the dining room (food was really good) and then hit a lounge to hang out. Danny and Nellie did some dancing and Nellie and Melody got some lessons in some cha cha or brazillian dance step which was a hoot to watch. We got off to a good start to the trip! We ended the night taking in a Show called Invitation to Dance in the ball room - a good way to end the first day.

We spent day 2 on the high seas exploring more of the ship and doing some activities. Breakfast in the dining room was great, and Melody signed up fore a cupcake making class. We saw the surfing pool which was pretty neat and we found other things around the ship that was pretty cool. There's plenty of activities for a person to do on this ship that's for sure. Its Superbowl Sunday so in the afternoon we headed to the deck to have dinner and watch the game on the big screen. There was a nice sunset we stayed on the deck until the game ended with the Chiefs beating the Eagles.

Day 3 we goofed around on the ship in the morning after breakfast and pulled into the Costa Mayo port. We took a river cruise on bamboo rafts and floated down to a lake where we spent a couple hours swimming and taking in the scenery. The boat ride was very relaxing where the waterway was covered with water plants and tropical shrubbery. When we got back we had lunch at a outdoor area with some tacos and tostadas. Very good. we then got back on the bus to return to the boat. Problem was we were late - the boat was waiting on us to return so when we got to the dock we had to hustle to get back on board. Tour Operator issue, but we were the ones being yelled at by people on the boat as we got back on - fun times. As always the stewards made up towel creations on your bed at night - they are very creative!

We got into Cozumel early and after breakfast, we headed off the boat for our excursion - a Submarine ride in the bay. We took a boat out into the bay and watched as the submarine surfaced. The passengers got off the sub and we got on. It was able to hold about 40 people I think. The sub went down around 100 ft and the water was really clear. We saw several different type of marine life and the wreckage of a boat. After about an hour or so we surfaced and got back on the transport boat to return to the Cozumel port. This was a neat excursion, I'd do it again. Once we got back to port we went to Señor Frogs for lunch. Interesting place with some good food. We then did some shopping in the port, and headed back to the boat for nap. As we set sail in the afternoon, we got dressed up for formal night (I guess?) and had a really nice dinner in the dining room with the staff putting on a show. Afterwards, we went and had some pictures taken with Danny and Nellie, and then we went and saw a band in the ball room playing old 80's music. Good way to end the evening.

This was our last day at seas so we did some shopping in the stores on board. They always have some interesting things on these ships and on the last days they usually have sales to try and push product. Danny and I signed up for a Macallan Whiskey tasting session which was fun. It was good stuff, but too rich for my blood - they want like $400 for some of the bottles. We picked up our formal pictures and eat at the buffet at the back of the boat for a change for lunch. Nice view from there. We had our last dinner in the formal dining room and took in a comedy farewell show in the evening. You could tell it was the end of the cruise since there weren't as many late night events as the previous evenings. We said goodnight, made plans to meet for breakfast and headed to our room to pack.

We got up really early and had breakfast in the dining room one last time. We reached Galveston port very early in the morning and our disembark time was around 9am. After breakfast we said our goodbyes to Nellie and Danny and went back to the room to gather our luggage and head for the exit at our assigned time. Again, the process was very smooth and didn't take long at all. We caught a shuttle to our parking garage and got the car - then we headed into Houston to go to the Johnson Space center before heading for home.

We drove to the Johnson Space Center to tour around and see the exhibits. This is the home of NASA Mission Control, and we got to see the original Mission Control and the 747 which ferried the space shuttle from California to Florida multiple times. They are focusing on the Artemis effort now so thats the main topic on display. The things they have on display are really neat and I highly recommend taking the tour of the Space Center. Space exploration is alive and well in Houston - let's get back to the moon!