Monday, February 16, 2026, was a “sea day”; thus, no ports of call.

After our early morning lattes, we climbed to the 15th floor to the three pickleball courts; they were packed so we just watched till mid-morning. Breakfast and lunch were at the 16th floor buffet and was what one would expect—just okay. Dinner was in the main dining room and was good. After dinner, we attended the first of several shows on the cruise, Voices, and it was entertaining.

The ship continued sailing southeast from Galveston on Tuesday. Continuing southeasterly between Cuba and Mexico, and then around the Cancun peninsula, the ship sailed towards the tiny Central American country of Guatemala. Up early, we enjoyed another latte before before actively beginning another sea day. And then it was off to the pickleball courts. Entertainment for the evening was Frankie and the Dreamers, a show paying tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, but mainly featuring songs from the Four Seasons. The lead singer had been a star on Broadway, but age was taking its toll. This was the third tribute show relative to Frank Valli and the Four Seasons, and it would rank third out of three. Our dinners in the main dining room were very good, with exceptional waiters.

After a short sail during the night, the ship docked Wednesday morning at Roatan, an island in the Caribbean, about 40 miles off the northern coast of Honduras. It was our third time to Roatan, so we didn’t bother getting off the ship. We hung out at the pickleball courts, and then lounged about and read the rest of the day.

The night’s entertainment was an ice skating show, 1887: A Journey in Time Ice Spectacular. We really enjoyed it. Afterwards, Kay tried her luck at the casino and I attended The Love and Marriage Game Show, a standard on most cruises. It was just okay.

After making a U-turn and sailing north, the Harmony of the Seas attempted to dock at Costa Maya on Thursday, but heavy seas created an unsafe situation. Consequently, it was another slow “sea day”. Reading and lazing about were our main activities for the day, though we did attend The Fine Line Aqua Show featuring high-flying feats, mind blowing stunts, and physically demanding acrobatics, including several high dives. It reminded us of a Cirque du Soleil show we saw in Las Vegas almost 25 years ago. The aqua show was definitely worth attending.

Continuing northeast during the night, the ship docked at Cozumel on Friday morning. Cozumel is premier Mexican Caribbean island famous for world-class scuba diving, snorkeling, and pristine beaches, particularly around the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Kay disembarked briefly to buy some Mexican vanilla for a friend. Otherwise, it was another quiet day on board. The evening’s entertainment was Columbus, The Musical. The show featured an outstanding set, but the singing was just okay, perhaps because the show was a bit “silly”.

Saturday was another sea day, with no ports of call. Running out of things to occupy our time, we hung out at the pickleball courts for a few minutes, and then read most of the rest of the day. Having exhausted the ship’s entertainment (that we wanted to see), we attended another ice skating show, iSkate Ice Spectacular, a show allowing the skaters to showcase their best moves to their preferred music—awesome skaters!

Sunday was disembarkation day, and it was without incident as we only handled our two suitcases ourselves. We were in the car at about 8:00 AM and headed north, arriving home about 4:00 PM. The cruise was good, not great. 

Among our observations was that cruising has dramatically changed in recent years. Lots of children are cruising with their parents (homeschooling) as well as multi-generational families of 20 or more. Both the children and the multi-generational families totally overwhelm the dining facilities, shows, and recreation areas, including the pickleball courts. And, there were many preteen and teen children attending adult entertainment venues. This was likely our last cruise on Royal Caribbean, and we understand that Norwegian is similar. IF we cruise again, it will be on an adult only ship or one that favors adults.

Glad to be home, on Monday, February 23, 2026, we both played pickleball with our respective groups. Hot Springs Village is such a great place to live! 

On Tuesday, I dug out the camera and managed photographs of an American Goldfinch at the house, and a Hair Bittercress “weed”.

And then, some Spring Beauty wildflowers along Cedar Creek Trail in Hot Springs Village were photographed.

More Spring Beauties were photographed on Thursday, February 26, 2026, along Cedar Creek Trail.

Kay’s half first cousin, once removed, visited and he and Kay enjoyed lunch and catching up of old times and family. He was so enjoyable with whom to visit, and Kay was definitely thrilled to spend time with him.

And then on Friday, I hiked the Beaver Dam Trail in the Village and photographed a Water Moccasin, and some Rue Anemone and Bloodroot wildflowers.