In the dead of the night, 2026 crept in silently and without fanfare. New Year’s Day was quiet around the Dunn household. Several of us diehard pickleball players gathered at the courts for a few really fun games. The rest of the day was nonchalant, though we did eat black eyed peas and cabbage.

Church and social activities, medical appointments, pickleball, and golf filled out the rest of the early January week through Thursday.

On Friday, January 9, we began another “adventure,” though it was pretty uneventful. Be it experience, a short trip, our planned lack of activity, or a combination of the three, we didn’t begin packing until the morning of our departure. The approximately 5 hour drive to Nacogdoches, Texas, was uneventful. Nacogdoches was  our overnight stop. The Hampton Inn and Suites was one of the nicest hotels in which we’ve stayed. Early to bed, early to rise saw us up quite early. The hotel room coffee had little taste. After a quick hotel breakfast, we began the short drive through Houston to the Port of Galveston. The route brought back memories of our many trips to and from the Rio Grande Valley where we wintered for nine years.

We made the short three-hour drive to the Galveston port Saturday morning, dropped off a single suitcase, parked, and caught the shuttle to the Royal Caribbean cruise boarding area. Boarding was efficient and quick, and lunch was quite good. The suitcase arrived a couple hours later. As per usual, Kay organized clothes and toiletries, and unpacked our CPAPs. We were surprised to find only two AC receptacles in the entire room. A request was made for two extension cords (for our CPAPS) and they were delivered shortly afterwards. For the rest of the day, we read and lazed about the rest of the day. Dinner in the main dining room was good.

Sunday was a “sea day”; thus, no ports of call. We were up early,  and Kay procured latte from the coffee shop three floors below; it was very good. A stroll about the ship revealed three pickleball courts on the 13th level. Despite windy and occasional mist conditions, we sat and observed new players trying out the game for the first time. The ship’s pickleball “coach” was advising, and actually didn’t know much at all about the game. Kay and I offered to help, and enjoyed watching the “newbies” enjoy the game. After the introduction/instruction period Kay began playing and played a bunch while I only played a couple of games in slip-on shoes. Most of the players in this group had brought their own paddles and were primed for competitive pickleball. We hung around the pickleball courts till lunch.

Lunch was good, mostly veggies and protein, followed by reading and napping in the afternoon. Dinner was in the main dining room and frankly, was not too good. After dinner, we attended the first of two musical shows on the cruise, and it was entertaining.

The ship continued sailing southeast from Galveston on Monday. Up early, we enjoyed another latte before before actively beginning the day. Regrettably, it misted most of the morning negating any outdoor activities. Continuing southeasterly, and then around the Cancun peninsula, the ship reached the day’s port of call, Costa Maya, Mexico, just north of Belize City, Belize. We remained onboard, and hung around the adult pool area and read as there are lots and lots of kids, mostly under the age of 12, aboard, as well as large family units. They occupied most of the space in the larger open pool and spa area. After last night’s blasé meal, we bypassed the main dining room—the nightly theme for dinner was Caribbean—and snacked in the buffet-based dining area. Entertainment for the evening was an ice skating show, “Ice Under The Big Top”. The show was really good.

After a short sail during the night, the ship docked Tuesday morning at Cozumel, Mexico, an island just south of Cancun. It rained lightly most of the day until late afternoon so there were no pickleball games. Towards mid-afternoon, the drizzle lightened enough for us to venture into the cruise port shopping area in Cozumel, mainly to buy amoxicillin and Z-pacs (cheap and without a prescription). Sun broke through the clouds late afternoon, and we hung out and read at the crowded adult pool area. Only three and a half days in, we’re already tired of the ship’s food, so we again snacked for our noon and evening meals. The night’s entertainment featured a standup comedian which we bypassed.

Wednesday was another “sea day”. It was once again cloudy, and windy, too. The big event today, at least for us, was the cruise’s pickleball competition. There were several good teams, and some newbies, competing. Neither Kay nor I competed; I didn’t have appropriate shoes. Many of the matches in the double elimination competition were close, but the best team did win, though it wasn’t by much. We attended the ice skating show, “Ice Under The Big Top” again, and it was just as good. Royal Caribbean tries to use as many Ukrainian skaters as possible, and some had been Olympic participants. After that, we hung around the pool area and killed time.

Thursday was disembarkation day, and it was without incident as we only had one suitcase and handled it by ourselves. We were in the car at 8:30 AM and headed north, arriving home about 4:30 PM. The cruise was good, not great, but at least we used some of our Royal Caribbean credit!