Christmas Cruise

CRUISIN'

I use a phrase during this time of the year called "out of the loop." It refers to The Santa Loop and whether children are in the loop or out!...enough said. (By the way, I miss the loop!)

Anyway, I have four children out of the loop. So, back earlier this year, we made a family decision to do something a bit different. My kids saved job money, birthday checks, etc., and we went on a cruise to the Western Caribbean.

Six years ago, our family took a cruise and it's been our favorite vacation...until last week. From my 15 year old to my nearly 80 year old parents, we had a blast. I strongly recommend taking a cruise for your family. Ok, sure, some would say it's pricey. But, when you break down the cost of a family vacation, it's really quite reasonable.

For the second time, we've had an outstanding cruise. You know, in talking with friends, some people looked at me rather skeptical about choosing Carnival. I think, originally, Carnival suffered from a inaccurate public perception... a cocktail party for a bunch of singles.

Let me play John Materese and give you a consumer review. Since I didn't get anything from them whatsoever, I can be brutally honest. The reality is Carnival is an excellent cruise experience. The folks were friendly, the food was terrific, and the time on board was very entertaining. If you're looking for a great time, check out Carnival.

We searched hard for right the itinerary and ours led us to Cozumel, Belize, Roatan-Honduras, and Grand Cayman. Pretty Nice!

I won't bore you with the specifics of our vacation except to say, the dolphin experience was generally everyone's favorite. The zip line over the Belize rain forest took us over 150 feet in the air. Yikes! And Gumbalimba Park in Roatan was a once in a life time experience.

Young white faced capuchin monkeys live free and wild in a portion of the park. You walk into the area of the forest, with your guide, and the monkeys start jumping all over you. It turns out, these primates are very gregarious and loving animals. They would hop on your shoulder, person to person, to get around the area.

Here's the real kicker to the story. I met two couples from...Cincinnati! That's right, I'm on a 38 mile long island off the coast of Honduras and I see a guy in a Cincinnati Bengals T-Shirt. The couples were celebrating their 40th anniversaries together.

Finally, just to show you my head is always in the game, check out the final picture in the slide show. I'm standing in front of a Mayan Weather Center.

On top of this elaborate stone structure is a simple conch shell. The Mayans used this building for weather forecasting. In fact, the principle behind their idea is solid. The conch would deliver a different sound depending on the wind direction. The different sounds would indicate different weather ahead. So, apparently, the Mayans didn't need Ultimate Doppler 9!

Here's wishing you and yours a safe and wonderful New Year!