Island Breeze Cruise Ship
Premier Cruise Lines 7-day Mayan Itinerary
March 7 - 14, 1999
Author: Bob Stern

General Information We are married adults in our late 50's. The primary purpose of the trip was to visit the maximum number of islands for scuba diving.

I made all arrangements myself, including air from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale. All accommodations and special requests were worked directly with Premier Cruise Lines and everything was booked about two months before departure. The web site www.premiercruises.com was used extensively for information.

A special request was made for room accommodations that could handle the daily washing and drying of our wet suits and scuba gear. (I also purchased the special gift package for couples as a surprise.) Four days of diving were also pre-booked and prepaid.

The many AOL Cruise notes on the quality of Premier, age of the ships, bugs, and other stories made us somewhat concerned. However, we rapidly learned that people, who do not have anything to complain about, generally do not say anything. Those who may have a complaint tell and retell their story a myriad of times.

2. Trip Notes:

Sunday, 7 March 1999: Flight was uneventful, except for $100 charge by US Air for our dive bags. That is another story. Retrieved our bags and took a quick taxi to the pier. Although the Islandbreeze was not at her regular pier, there were sufficient signs redirecting traffic. Premier personnel greeted us as we got out of the taxi and took our five bags of luggage. We processed through the system and were in our cabin in less than 30 minutes. Premier had upgraded us to a Junior Suite that included a large tub, perfect for divers. We met our cabin steward as soon as we were in the room. We explained our dive plans and requested a few additional towels since there would often be wet dive gear. Our luggage arrived shortly after we departed. We visited the Shore Excursion desk and they confirmed our dive plans. Snacks at 4:00; dinner at 8:15 and a "Welcome to the Boat" show rounded out the first day. Dress for the first night was "casual." For me that was khakis and a button shirt, wife pants and blouse.

Comment: If you have to gamble, do the slot machines the first night. Wife won $65. I'm convinced the machines are very loose on the first evening and then they will be tightened. Our policy is $10 a night worth of quarters.

Comment: We were not comfortable with our dinner table partners, nor the waiter. After dinner, I approached the maitre d' and requested a table move. It was done immediately.

Monday 8 March 1999: All day on the water to Cozumel. We explored the ship and relaxed. She is old, appears well maintained, and the beauty of real wood shows throughout. All the staff must be on Prozac, because everyone is always smiling. Dinner dress this evening was "formal." That is a great way to do it, since you have the entire day to relax and prepare for a dressy evening. For me that was tux, wife very dressy dress. The ship's photo team took formal shots. Ours was great!

Comment: No smoking in the dining room. Smokers have taken over the community area where the Purser, Duty Free Shop, etc., are located. This is also the passage to the dining room. I accept that there should be somewhere for "them" to go, but there should be another place designated, instead of an area that has the maximum passenger traffic. Generally, smoking was not an irritation, just this one area.

Comment: The modern day attitude of "doing your own thing" is slightly irritating to us old people. Although we looked forward to a dressy evening, other passengers' clothing went all the way from tuxedo to sloppy.

Tuesday, 9 March 1999: Cozumel. All the certified divers assembled early. We were met at the boat (pier) by the local dive shop. One of the Islandbreeze (PADI) dive team traveled with us. Two wonderful dives, interrupted by a box lunch, made for an enjoyable day. We got back to the ship with sufficient time to go into town. We purchased a dozen bottles of vanilla and a tee shirt for the grandson. Mexican vanilla is the greatest for baking. Had today's underwater film developed by the photo group and I enjoyed showing off the pictures! Washed our dive gear and the steward had left five big beach towels. Dinner dress was "informal." I used a sport coat and tie. Again, other passengers went from coat and tie to jeans or sloppy. Thankfully, no shorts are permitted at dinner, or they would do it, too. We attended the evening's show and there is no smoking permitted in the showroom. By the time we got back to our room, it was refreshed and prepared for night.

Wednesday, 10 March 1999: Roatan. We were picked up at the dock by the dive boat. Our first dive was a beautiful wall. We were extremely pleased to see how much the coral and life has returned since we were there in December 98. Apparently, the lower water temperature (82 to 79) has made a tremendous difference. We traveled to a nice beach and club area for lunch. Everyone else did his or her own thing. We were met by a young friend from the island and she spent the lunch hour with us. We returned to the dive boat for another great dive and return to the ship. We dumped our gear in the tub and RAN for the 4:00 snacks. After snacks, I dropped another roll of underwater film off. They only charge $10 a roll. We washed our gear and then prepared for dinner (as if we had not just eaten). Dinner dress this evening was again informal. We sat through the show, but we don't remember even walking back to the cabin.

Thursday, 11 March 1999: Belize. We did not dock, but anchored offshore. The dive boat that picked us up was high speed and small. We had a fast, at times bumpy, two-hour fun ride to the Blue Hole. The dive leader said, go to depth as fast as possible. A group of about 12 sharks greeted us. They were not big...just seemed about tractor-trailer size. They stayed at 200 ft and we stayed at 130. We traveled to a "Booby Bird" sanctuary for lunch. It was a beautiful small island and the barbecue chicken was very enjoyable. I'm not sure what the white spots were, every where we looked...The second dive was close to the island and then we sped back to the boat. The other dive boat joined us and we traveled together. Same routines, eat, drop film, eat, dress, eat, show, and sleep. Note that, so far, we have never made it to the midnight buffet.

Friday, 12 March 1999: On the water to Key West. We just relaxed. None of the special classes in napkin folding, radish carving, or bingo excited us. However, we did enjoy a tour of the bridge. There were plenty of places to sun or shade. There was no problem finding a crowd or being alone. Dinner dress was formal. Tonight we only ate four courses and skipped a second lobster tail. We wanted to leave room for the special midnight buffet. We went, but ate almost nothing...about one pound of shrimp and some fancy deserts. The room steward had left the proper tip envelopes for us to fill and deliver. We used the recommended amounts, except for him. He had been great and deserved more.

Saturday, 13 March 1999: Key West. There were some problems, possibly political, that prevented us from docking at the pier. The dive boat picked us up at the ship. This was the first disappointment of the trip. The dive boat was extremely small and we were much too crowded. The ride to the dive site was rough and the water cold, typical March Florida diving. No one from the boat accompanied the divers, but the Island Breeze dive leader took control of our group. An inexperienced diver surfaced too fast from 70 feet and she was put on oxygen. We returned to the ship and everyone elected to cancel the second dive. The Island Breeze dive leader had radioed ahead and the medical team was waiting at the ship. The diver appeared to have no problems, but they still took her to the ship dispensary and she spent several more hours on oxygen. Later that evening, when checking on her condition, the Cruise Team advised all of us that we would receive full credit for the second dive. As with most quality scuba people, no one had asked for this courtesy, they just did it. Same routine that night, except we washed our gear first, since there was no second dive. Friends we had made on the ship were great and picked us up tee shirts from the Key West Hard Rock Cafe. After returning to our room we sadly finished packing and placed our bags in the hall.

Sunday, 14 March 1999: Ft. Lauderdale. The ship had returned to its regular pier. Some people had parked at the starting point and Premier took care of transporting them back to their cars. We had no problems gathering our luggage, calling for our rental car, and leaving. We were on our way about 11:00.

General Comments:

We are not passionate cruise persons. We had a very enjoyable time and it was a great way to dive many different islands in total comfort. The ship was clean, comfortable, and relaxing. The ship's personnel were perfect in every manner. I still think the lady who was in charge of the children's programs must be on drugs. She never stopped smiling. We would definitely do it again in a few years and would not hesitate to use Premier. Although this was the first week of spring break, the younger crowd never interfered with our plans or enjoyment. Some of them couldn't even walk after the second day. I would recommend Premier and the Island Breeze to anyone. If you insist on Broadway quality shows, being on the biggest and brightest ship, a private verandah, then Premier is not for you. Bottom line, every time we wear our Premier robes, or we use our Premier towels, we will remember a wonderful week.

Bob and Miriam, Baltimore Maryland

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