kimequa

We are cruising with Royal Caribbean and have signed up for the "Xunantunich Mayan Ruins with Marimba Lunch" excursion. My mom is 70 years old and usually spends a lot of time working outdoors in her garden, etc... However, she has been having some issues with stamina lately. She is concerned that this excursion will require too much hiking. Can anyone share specific details of how physically exerting this is? (How much walking do you do? Uphill? Super uneven terrain? Were there many elderly or obese people on this tour?) The listing says "Moderate" but you know with cruise excursions, that can mean anything lol. ((Thanks!))

If I knew what company offered the tour, I would reach out to them directly...but when you book through the cruise ship, they like to keep that to themselves 😉

I'm so happy to hear that there will be lots of vegan options with Carnival! I'll be on the Legend July 8-15. I've only cruised once before on the Golden Princess. They were sweet about having me order off the vegetarian menu at dinner, except that there was still only (if I remember correctly) ONE *vegan* option on the menu (pasta). One or two nights they had some other vegan option listed on the regular menu and I would try that.

I didn't starve by any means, but I also had virtually *NO* protein for a whole week. :( I was so lethargic by the 2nd and 3rd day and had no idea WHY until I pieced it together. If I had known that would be an issue, I would have brought some protein bars or peanut butter on board with me.

They did have veggie burgers at the grill.

I'm a little paranoid this time around, so I've packed a jar of peanut butter. Better safe than sorry. I sure don't want to waste days of my vacation being tired and just wanting to nap! And I'm SURE not going to do sugar, salt, and caffeine as a "substitute" for energy again!

My recommendation is the opposite: Buy several smaller memory cards for your camera, and switch them out as needed. Don't put all your eggs in one basket, or all your pictures on one memory card. They are small and easy to carry (and cheaper too).......instead of one 16G, take 4 x 4G for instance. Less risk in terms of damage, failure, or loss.

Yeah, I actually read your comment not too much after I posted mine and thought "man...they got me beat." haha.

The reason I actually bought the big one is so that I could make long videos without fear of the camera cutting off.

Perhaps the key is BOTH. Have one large memory card for videos, and smaller ones for pictures. hmmm... :rolleyes:

Oh, one more thing I try to NEVER leave the house without is:

At least 2 Benadryl. (You might have a different allergy medicine)

If you are allergic to ANYTHING, it is better to be safe than sorry. (If you are allergic to bee stings or peanuts or whatever, you might take along your epi pen as well)

I started developing food allergies RANDOMLY in my 20s. I had NEVER had any allergic reactions until then. One night I was at a friends house, eating random stuff we bought to try out, and watching movies. I had a CRAZY allergic reaction to something I ate (I still don't know WHAT) and half my face ballooned up and it even gave me a speech impediment. I rushed to the emergency room and they put me on an IV of benadryl. Since then I have always tried to have some on me. I only tell you this so that you will consider it even if you have never had allergies before. I was SURPRISED to say the least!

One time my stash of Benadryl even saved a DOG. We were at an orphanage in Mexico and one of the pet dogs started acting really woozy and one side of her muzzle was swollen really HUGE (like tennis sized). Her eye was swollen shut and we were scared that her throat might close up. We gave her half a Benadryl and it did the trick. Her swelling went down and she bounced back (after a nap). We guessed she might have tried eating a bee or something. Anyway, I was SO relieved that I just happened to have that Benadryl on me. You never know, you might save someone ELSE'S life, if not your own.

The best advice I can give you for ANY trip is:

1: Buy a really big SD/memory card for your digital camera. Mine is 16GB and I have used it for many vacations.

2: Buy an extra battery for your camera and keep it charged (remember to charge BOTH batteries every night!!) I cannot tell you how many times I have been snapping random photos for a while because I didn't know something AMAZING was coming...and when it came, my camera died after 2 minutes. :eek: BIG let down!!

3: Make sure you get lots of pictures with YOURSELF in them. I don't care if you HATE the way you look in photos. :o You are not allowed to be "just the cameraman" .....Sometime, 20 years down the line (or 5), you are going to look at these old photos of yourself and think how thin and attractive you look. ;) Believe me. I've always been fat and I will look at old pics of myself and think "I guess I've put on a few. I looked GOOD then-WAY better than I remember looking" hahahaha. Ok seriously though. Take lots of photos of yourself. Traveling SOLO is NO excuse! I have done a lot of solo traveling and I always take photos of myself. All of you with social media profiles know how to do it....just EXTEND YOUR ARM.. try to take the photo from slightly ABOVE eye view to make you look slimmer :p --AND--

3.5: The best trick in the book is to find a couple or a family and OFFER to take their photo together. They almost ALWAYS offer to take yours in return. It's not creepy and everyone comes out ahead.

4. If your camera does video, do it--at least a little. ;) (Again, make sure YOU make a cameo in them--or at the very least NARRATE.)

5. INVEST in a waterproof camera! I bought a pocket-sized waterproof to 10' digital camera that does still and video/HD for like $149 when it was BRAND NEW. Those things have come down in price a little. Mine is a Kodak Playsport. I *love* it.

6. If you can't afford $120-150 for a waterproof camera, you CAN afford $10 for the disposable ones. DO IT. The photos come out SURPRISINGLY REALLY clear and beautiful! We used them while snorkeling at Discovery Cove and our pictures are amazing. For this trip, we actually bought the disposable ones for SCUBA DIVING because they can go much deeper than my Playsport. It's a beginner scuba, so we don't go SUPER deep..so I'm hoping the water will still be clear/light enough for the photos to come out nice. Cross your fingers!

Now as far as packing, WHO CARES. As long as you bring your ID/paperwork, clean underwear, sunscreen, and some deodorant, I promise, you will have a WONDERFUL time :p