Cozumel, Mahahual, Roatan by Cruise Ship: Undercurrent 04/2024

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Dear Fellow Diver,

I'm in a mixed marriage: I dive; my wife doesn't.

Sun Divers' dive boat, Roatan As we age, it's become more difficult to plan a vacation that satisfies both of us, especially my spouse, who has tired of being left alone at home when I go off diving. We've gone together to dive destinations where she and our daughter have spent time at the pool or beach, watching the clock until I return with diving-fueled anecdotes about which they could not care less.

Adhering to the philosophy of "Happy Wife, Happy Life" over the 34 years we've been married, we've alternated tropical vacations where I can get wet with sightseeing trips in America and Europe. I've also taken dedicated trips with my dive club to locales like Cozumel and Little Cayman.

Five years ago, we discovered the joys of luxury cruises, traveling to the Mediterranean and Alaska. But I missed my diving. So, when the opportunity arose for us to join my wife's best friend to celebrate a milestone birthday in the Caribbean in mid-February aboard the Sky Princess, we were enthusiastic, especially since one of the two other couples joining us were divers.

The Sky Princess is an enormous mothership, a 3,700-passenger liveaboard, with 1,800 crew on a 19-deck-high floating city nearly three football fields long and over 50 yards wide with all the amenities you'd expect including spacious staterooms, a private balcony, a dozen dining options, four pools, eight hot tubs, a spa, pickleball courts, a fitness center, an outdoor movie screen, Broadway-style entertainment, a casino, and 24-hour room service. The Lido Deck on at-sea days was akin to Spring Break in Florida - blasting music, SRO in swimming pools and hot tubs, passengers four deep at the bars to order boozy drinks two at a time, and folks loading up their plates from the poolside pizzeria because they had to get their money's worth. The lounges were all taken. People staked out a chair with a towel before breakfast. And the food? It was good considering that 3,700 people were fed three times daily....

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