The Seven...well, Three... Deadly Sins at Sea

Justin and I recently took our first cruise, a type of vacation that we had never really considered. I tend to like old cities, culture, amazing local dining, and Justin tends to prefer exotic landscapes, interesting wildlife, and trying to kill the two of us under the guise of "adventure". So the thought of being stuck in the midst of tourism at its finest had never really appealed to us. However, it turns out that cruises can be mighty affordable little vacations, especially when they can be funded by American Airline vouchers, which we had received after giving up our seats coming home from our honeymoon (who wouldn't want to extend your honeymoon by a couple more hours?!?). So we scheduled our cruise to coincide with Justin's spring break from La Salle and headed off on the grand ship to Key West and Cozumel.

Now, it's amazing to me that these vessels even sail, considering their size and the almost 4,000 people scarfing down hot dogs and magaritas on board. And that brings me to the first, and most obvious, "deadly sin" aboard a cruise: gluttony. Holy cow... I have never in my life seen such abundance. If you take a step back from the grilled fish and the Chinese buffet and the ice cream stand (not that you'd want to...), it really can make you sick, considering all of those who go hungry on a daily basis. Not that this sickness stopped us... Several pounds added later, we don't know if eating five meals a day was really the best option.

Our first stop on the cruise was Key West, FL. This was where another deadly sin comes in: lust. Namely, I was lusting after a beautiful watch that was a bit out of our price range... like $4500 out of our price range. Probably not the most responsible thing to spend our tax refund on, huh? Key West seemed like the place to be, especially with the 40-year-old women dancing on tables at 11 a.m. Watching the debauchery around us, I suddenly realized my father's fascination with this place... and got a little frightened.

The next stop on our adventure was Cozumel, Mexico, where we were met by a tequila bar ten feet after getting off of the boat. Unforunately we were unable to partake (much to Justin's dissappointment...) because we had to catch a ferry to the mainland. One word on the ferry ride: vomit. It was the most intense boat ride I've ever been on and made someone who can read upside down while driving a car motion sick (that would be me). After 45 minutes on this hell ship, we finally arrived at Playa del Carmen where we boarded a bus (mercifully much smoother) for an hour ride to Tulum, a city formerly occupied by the Mayans. I was a little camera happy here (I had to fit into my American tourist role, right?)...

 

The rest of our cruise experience was spent engaged in the last deadly sin that I'll discuss: sloth. Okay, no not really. Justin and I would probably have an aneurism if we actually tried to relax for too long. In fact, my reaction to all the downtime was to sign us up for an on-board spinning class in the ship's fitness center. I thought Justin was going to kill me when I told him the class was non-refundable. But, fortunately, we both survived the experience and felt a little less guilty about the third entree we ordered at dinner that night (yes, each of us). In fact, we really did relax a little bit on the rest of the trip, laying out in the wind (there wasn't much sun, sadly), having some cocktails, and playing lots of five-dollar blackjack.

The trip was a much needed getaway after several months of school, work, and interviewing stress and we were really forunate to be able to do it. Our next big trip will be to Cincinnati in May! (A little too excited about that, perhaps?)