Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island

Friday Jim went scuba diving through caves under the sea and he took about 70 photos of that undersea world. Dan, on a Grand Cayman "Highlights" tour saw Georgetown and other locales in this new-looking island, part of the British West Indies. One American investor owns 60% of the island and he has built a huge empire of resorts, vacation dwellings, golf courses, malls, and country clubs. Most unusual was the natural kharst rock formations in a place the locals named "Hell" (see photo.) Grand Cayman was our final port of call on this brief but highly enjoyable cruise. We'll be at sea Saturday and we arrive in Ft. Lauderdale early Sunday for our return flight back home.-Dan

Cozumel, Mexico

On Thursday our beautiful vessel, the Celebrity Edge docked in Cozumel, Mexico. According to on line information, Cozumel, a mostly undeveloped Mexican island in the Caribbean Sea, and it is a popular cruise ship port of call famed for its scuba diving. At Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park, there's diving spots around a section of the Mesoamerican Reef. The ship was not docked at the town, rather at a port area some distance away. Dan briefly explored the shops at the port then returned to the ship to relax. Meanwhile Jim met with other scuba divers from several different ships and the diving operator who would take all of us diving for the day. We went diving at two different sites: Yucab Reef and Paradise Reef. The diving was spectacular with great visibility, warm water, a great variety of sea creatures, and the slow currents that make Cozumel drift diving so famous. Evening activities included attending a special cocktail hour for guests who are Atlantis Alumni who have done four or more cruises with the charter company. Afterwards we joined our new friends Rich and Ken for dinner. Here are some photos from Jim's scuba dives in Cozumel.

Costa Maya, Mexico

On Wednesday our ship docked in Costa Maya, a small port with a huge deep water docking complex, designed to accommodate several large cruise ships at a time. There is actually no town, rather a complex of shops at the port. The primary reason for the port is access to the many seaside Yucatan resorts as well as access to Mayan archaeological sites. Jim spent the day scuba diving on the lush reef that is situated just offshore, while Dan relaxed on board after a short stroll to investigate the port. We joined our new friends Rich and Ken for cocktails and dinner in the evening. They are both retired academics and Ken taught art history, so we really enjoyed chatting with these two most interesting people. Today, Thursday, we're in Cozumel where Jim will enjoy another day of scuba diving. Dan will probably walk around the town, which we last visited probably 25 years ago.

Key West Adventures, Celebrity Edge

Our adventures on the luxurious new Edge, a ship only in service around three months, started in Key West on Monday. After high-powered walks on the ship's jogging track and gym workouts, we explored Key West. The town still boasts many lovely, old Victorian mansions, but the main street, Duval, has been over-commercialized with shops or bars in every building. Hoards of tourists crowd the streets. For lunch, we had a reservation at Bistrot 245, a pleasant eatery on the waterfront, overlooking our ship. After eating, we walked to a different part of town, more residential and quieter. On Whitehead Street we visited one of Key West's most popular attractions, Hemmingway's house. It's another early 19th century mansion and the most unique attractions are descendants of the authors six-toed cats, who lounge everywhere, even on his bed, and have their own kennel. Late afternoon we returned to the ship. Jim enjoyed the Dog Tag tea dance party before We headed to the Martini bar and then dinner at the Tuscan restaurant, one of four different- themed main restaurants on board Edge. Tuesday the Edge sailed the Gulf of Mexico north of Cuba enroute to our next port of call, Costa Maya, on the East coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where we we spend the day on Wednesday. - Dan

On Board Celebrity Edge

We flew to Ft. Lauderdale on St. Patrick's Day and boarded the brand new Edge. It's a really fantastic ship with design features unlike any other cruise ship, such as a theater in the round, four different main dining rooms, cabins that have balconies that can be made a part of the room, and a walking and jogging track that spans two decks. We visited Key West on Monday and we'll be at sea Tuesday headed for Costa Maya in Mexico.