Shall We Gather At the River?

The Mississippi River that is! Then head south to Cozumel!

We sailed out of New Orleans on August 31st on the Carnival Fantasy. It was a fantasy deal too since it was the peak of hurricane season. But we just kept praying for good weather and were not disappointed. The surprise for us was that the Port of New Orleans sits well up into the interior of the Mississippi. So the exit out to the Gulf Of Mexico took a good six hours. That turned out to be an absolute treat. We really were taken with the sites of the passing neighborhoods, ball fields, levies, fishermen, and even later into the evening as we dined, we enjoyed the lights of the small towns and oil refineries passing by.





I have cruised on the new mega ships of Carnival and Royal, and will have to admit that the little Fantasy holds its own. The quality food was the same, the crew service was great, and everything seemed a little more convenient. Another great plus is that the rates are more affordable this time of year. You just can't beat that.





This trip I finally got up the nerve to just get off the boat, hail a cab, and ask for suggestions! Since I had my 87 yr old mother and a semi-handicapped brother with me, we really didn't think we could handle the snorkeling, beach bumming, or trek up the Mayan temples. The cab driver was Mayan and very helpful. He took us to a cultur park/movie/art museum/botanical garden with replicas of the ruins. It was called Discover Mexico. The Cozumel community leaders together with the support of native groups are still in the process of completing this nice little park. It is sort of like visiting the Smithsonian except on a much smaller scale. Anyway, it was perfect for us. We felt like we actually touched on the real Mexico and were back on the ship in time for lunch on the Lido Deck.





The sail back up the Mississippi on the last evening took eight hours. Seeing the Gulf of Mexico full of oil rigs all lit up like Christmas trees was one last pleasant surprise. We could not have asked for more perfect weather, and had a full moon to boot.




The shows on board were excellent. The free 24/7 pizza and ice cream kept us miserable. There is one area that I noticed a scale back. The full blown midnight buffets have gone by the wayside. There was a Mexican Festival buffet one night with a band and pool party. Of course there was live music all over the ship. You just migrated to which ever flavour you enjoyed most.

I'll be posting two other cruise reviews soon, so check back.