My Spring Break Cruise: Viva México
Last Thursday, 31 friends and I set sail on a 4 night/5 day cruise to the tiny island of Cozumel, Mexico. The first two days on the ship were extremely dreary, but thankfully Mr. Sunshine came out to play and cheered everyone up during the second half of the trip! Warm sunshine, blue skies, and tropical breezes are the three ingredients for a perfect Spring Break. 
If you’re in the island spirit, click play and listen to “Roots, Rock, Reggae” by Bob Marley. It’s one of my favorite beach songs!
It took us two days to sail to the beautiful island of Cozumel and when we arrived, we had about 6 hours to play on the island. Needless to say, we all grabbed our beach towels, sunblock, and took a taxi to a private beach called Playa Mia. For about $50 we had access to the beach, a water trampoline, floating rock climbing wall, kayaking, an open bar, and more.
I accidentally broke my sunglasses as soon as I got off of the taxi in Mexico, so I bought this cowboy hat in a local shop to keep the sun off of my face. It was the best $15 ever spent!
Here was our amazing ocean side bartender:
As soon as the sun began to set, we all scrambled back onto the cruise ship. It was so sad to leave! The crystal clear water surrounding Cozumel is absolutely gorgeous. It’s extremely hard to say this, but Florida, your coastal water is nothing compared to Cozumel’s.
Back on the cruise ship, we all dressed up for a formal dinner in The Great Gatsby Dining Hall. The food was delicious and we could choose as many appetizers, entrees, and desserts as we liked. Overall, my favorite appetizer was the pureed pumpkin soup. It was garnished with candied walnuts and sour cream and I ended up ordering two bowls of it! I need to find the recipe and recreate it ASAP.
Another night I ordered the Prime Rib as my main entree. I guess I’m not a fancy eater because it didn’t taste that great to me! It was a lot fattier and kind of squishy compared to a regular steak. On the side of the prime rib, it came with a baked potato, veggies, and a buttery polenta mixture.
Wherever you go, it’s always a good idea to try new things and experience different cultures. On our cruise, my friends and I made a huge effort to experiment with various types of foods that we would normally never order in a sit down restaurant. One night we put on our “adult taste buds” and tried the infamous escargot. It was an interesting texture, but lets just say I’ll never order cooked snails ever again. 
The ship’s buffet area was decorated with cute fruit and veggie creations such as these two monkeys. I love fun decorations like this! You have to wonder who is the master mind behind these creative and edible sculptures?
For the majority of our time spent on board the cruise, we lounged by the pool or relaxed in the jacuzzi. An amazing live band set the tropical mood with some slow and steady reggae music.
Overall my friends and I had the best time on the cruise. The tropical weather, delicious food, and company were all amazing.
Tomorrow night, I’m extremely excited because I get to attend Caitlin’s presentation on Operation Beautiful at the University of Florida! I can’t wait to meet her and learn more about her inspiration behind OB. Jenny from Exercise and Eat and I are meeting up for the event and we’ll definitely be taking our cameras. Have a terrific week everyone!
Have you ever gone on a cruise? What was your favorite part about it?
Thanks for the shoutout girly! See ya tomorrow:)
wow — talk abut the trip of a lifetime!! that looks SO fun!!!!! and you are just glowing, sweetie!
enjoy Caitlin’s presentation tomorrow, I would give anything to be there!
OMG, how FUN!!! You are simply gorgeous sweetie, and what a fun way to relax and get some sun!
I actually went on a Caribbean Cruise 2 years ago and visited Cozumel. SO MUCH FUN!
xxoo
Heather
It looks like you had a blast, girlie! I am going to Mexico in a little less than month, I’m pretty excited.
And those two monkeys, too cute!
looks like fun! i love cruises – well, i’ve only been on one, but i had a blast.
I love those fruit sculptures! I’ve never been on a cruise, but it looks like so much fun.
And girl you are a STUNNA!
i’ve been on tons of cruises – all Royal Carib of course – and I’ve been on this boat 3 times too! love Cozumel, it is seriously one of my fave places in the world. playa mia is awesome, their pina coladas are sooooo good and they aren’t even that bad for you since they are all fresh local ingredients! we were just there in january and my lil sis was just there last week too
glad you had a good time!
That’s so neat you’ve been to the same place and on the same cruise!!!!! The pina coladas were SO good. I didnt realize they were made with fresh local ingredients though! Now I’m craving another one…
the room for the presentation has been changed to 34 anderson just so you know!
Thanks Caitlin! See ya later tonight!
errr i meant 34 Anderson Hall
Hey! I’m so glad to find your blog, I live in Gainesville, too!
Do you know if non-UF students can go tonight?
Thanks!
By the way – love the cruise recap! Makes me wish I was back on the one I went on last July!
That is so neat you live in G-ville too!!!!! I love finding local bloggers
I think Caitlin’s presentation is open to the public.. you should definitely come & sit by me! It’s in Anderson Hall Room 34. See you later tonight maybe! <3
Looks like you had so much fun. The beach looks great. I can’t wait until it warms up here so I can head to the beach.
I went on a cruise down the Yangtze River in China, not a world class cruise, but it was still a boat and I stayed in a room with a bed, so it counts. Now that I think about it, I also travelled by boat from Athens to Haifa. I was so sick that I slept through most of it.
I’ve never been on a cruise if you can believe it! But I’d definitely love to one of these days! Your cruise looked like so much fun!! A friend of mine recently went to Cozumel… I feel like the only person left who hasn’t been there!
WOW – amazing pics, girl!
Looks live you´ve had a BLAST!
Cozumel must be beautiful..
Have a great Thursday!
Wow, that cruise looks like such a blast! I’m glad you got to have some fun in the sun with your girlies:)
What a great vacation! I’m terrified to get on any type of boat. Yikes!
Oh wow–what a fun time!! I am in love with those edible fruit sculptures. I am catering a grad party this May–I am bookmarking this and might have to try my hand at em’. Thanks for the fun recap!