We flew into Jacksonville the morning of the cruise. We loved Independence Air! Everything was smooth, easy and on time. We got priority embarkation onto the ship because we were sailing Concierge Class. We were handed champagne as we arrived. We had our clothes unpacked and our welcome drink in hand within an hour, and enjoyed touring this rather small ship. At 4 pm sharp, the Zenith set sail towards Labadee, Haiti.

The first two full days were sea days - no ports. These are relaxing days, where Dave sleeps and Dawn reads or works on photos. We met our Cruise Critic friends the first day, with a subsequent, ship-sponsored meeting the second day. We also had our first formal night, where everybody dresses up and plays grownup! Always a favorite for Dawn and a chore for Dave (at least so he says). We had late seating dinner (8:30 with a show afterwards), and found we couldn't stay awake that late, so after missing the first formal night dinner, we switched to early seating, where we were placed with three lovely couples, whose photos will appear on later pages.

Labadee was our first stop. We didn't know what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised! The cruise line owns a peninsula which is set up just for cruises. There were several beaches, an old fort, a barbeque lunch, and some beautiful scenery to see. We grabbed some lounge chairs on the ocean side and enjoyed the warm, clear waters. The shopping was scary - the locals are very forceful and intrusive and we ran through the shops at lightening speed, not daring to stop. We did find one area where there was no pressure, and they got what little business we gave. All in all, it was a relaxing, enjoyable day in Labadee.

In Jamaica we took the Dolphin Touch and Dunn's River Falls excursion. The Dolphin Touch was very lame - we got some facts on dolphins, and were able to touch them two or three times, long enough for them to get some photos and videos to sell for a fortune. We fell for the photos, which will eventually be posted here, but not the video. Then there was a short nature walk where we touched some native creatures.
Dunn's River Falls, however, was wonderful. We climbed up a 600 foot waterfall over a span of about 45 minutes. The guide was kind enough to carry Dave's digital and take some photos along the way, which are posted here. We ran out of time and did not get to see much more of Jamaica, so we hope to come back someday for more - we found the Jamaicans to be very friendly folks!

In Grand Cayman, we did the Reef and Rays with Lunch tour. After a wacky bus ride, we boarded the McCaw for a 20 minute ride to the barrier reef. We did about 45 minutes of snorkeling. We saw a shark, barracuda, and hundreds of assorted tropical fish. Then we went to Stingray City, where we were able to touch, hold, feed, and yes, even kiss, dozens of sting rays. This was a most amazing experience, and we purchased the video they filmed of our excursion. Swimming with the Rays was much more exciting than swimming with the dolphins in Jamaica! It was a wonderful and memorable event. Unfortunately the excursion lasted longer than anticipated and we had to miss lunch and a scheduled visit to 7-Mile Beach. As we were leaving, we were called to another boat to evacuate a woman who had been stung in the face by a Portuguese Man-of-War! An ambulance awaited our return. There are some underwater photos of this excursion in the Underwater Photos section below. See a video clip here (this is the same one as linked at the top of the page). We did have enough time before getting back onboard to stop at a local pub for some local beer and luscious rum punch (and they let us keep the glass!)

Here are some photos taken underwater during snorkeling and at Stingray City. Included is a photo of the Nurse Shark we saw. We plan to add more photos and maybe some more video clips soon.

There were three formal nights onboard. On each formal night the singing and dancing troupe performs a Broadway-style performance. Photos are allowed but no flashes or videos are allowed. Here are a few shots from that night.

Roatan was a wonderful surprise. We got off the ship an hour before our tour began, so we went into the nearby town, where a young many of about 11 began walking with us, telling us about the shops and sights. Another young man in his 20s joined us too, and began giving us some history and more advice on where to shop and go. When it was time to return for our tour, we tipped these friendly young men and went back to the pier. There we caught a bus which took us about 30 minutes away to West Bay, where the Tabayani Beach Resort is. We spent a leisurely day swimming, snorkeling, listening to a wonderful island band (Dave hoped they had a CD for sale), and eating an American Style barbeque lunch but with lots of fresh tropical fruits. Dave was trying beer from each of our stops, so he purchased a Honduran beer for himself and a rum punch for Dawn. Two more beers later, Dave went back in the water but forgot to remove his digital camera, so we lost most of the in-town photos taken that morning. However, there are some photos here that well-depict our enjoyable and relaxing visit to Honduras.

We had a full day in Costa Maya. We left the pier a little past 7 am for a 2 1/2 hour ride to visits the Mayan Ruins and the Temple of the Masks at Dzibanche and Kohunlich. We had a terrific guide who brought along native handmade artifacts, cocoa beans, natural chicle (used to make gum), goard bowls, etc. He also brought lots of photos to illustrate the lessons he gave us on Mexican and Mayan culture and history. We were saddened by the abject poverty we saw along the way - Americans cannot imagine how desolate and poor this region is! Yet the locals were friendly, waving to our bus as we passed through their poor, dusty towns. The ruins themselves were amazing, and surprisingly, we were allowed to climb them and photograph them to our heart's content. We didn't have lots of time because of the distance back to the pier, but we spent a total of about 1 1/2 hours touring the ruins in these two locations. It was amazing to see the ancient ballfield and learn about the ancient ball-playing rules, and see these buildings that were once part of a thriving community. Dave was amazed at how steep the stairs were (he climbed some and then wished he hadn't) since we assume the Mayans were not large people. though there was not time to shop or visit the pier area, it was, all in all, a great day in Costa Maya.