Our alarm went off at 6:30am. We got dressed and headed up to the Lido to grab breakfast. We docked a few minutes later than scheduled, and were surprised that we were among the first off the boat. Since the ship docks at a naval station, they shuttle cruise passengers into town on open-air trolleys (for security reasons). We were dropped off at the north end of Duval Street, which is the main drag in town. Since it was early and since we were the first off the boat, Duval Street was empty. We didn’t have a ton planned for Key West but one thing I did want to see was Southernmost 
Beach. There is a marker that marks the southernmost point of the continental United States. Quite touristy of us, I know, but I did want a picture. Once we had that, we walked to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park to hit the beach. Key West is definitely not famous for its beaches, and we knew ahead of time to not expect anything fancy like we’ve seen on other islands. As expected, the beach was just average. I’d heard the snorkeling was okay, but one glance told us that it wasn’t even worth taking our gear out. We did take the 
fins out and did some swimming (the water was colder than we expected, hence the apprehension on my face in the picture!). We laid on the beach for a while to dry off. Prior to the beach, we wandered around the old fort area. It was okay, but nowhere near as cool as El Morro or San Christobal in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We’ve been spoiled.We headed back to the ship real quick to grab my good camera, then went back into town. We walked through a couple of bad gift shops which are always fun, then made our way down some residential streets. Saw some great architecture (which is always one of my favorite things about the islands) but didn’t take a lot of pictures. Didn’t buy
anything other than a shirt for Owen. Oh, I did have a key lime float! That thing was amazing and I’ll definitely make them at home. Only thing that would have made it better would have been a little tequila. That’s an easy fix.In the end, Key West ranks pretty low among the places we’ve been to. It didn’t offer anything adventurous or unusual, which is what we’re always after. The people who live and work there weren’t very friendly which was disappointing. But then again, it’s an American port so I guess it’s to be expected. In foreign ports, even in very poor areas, the locals will at least offer a “g’mornin’” when you pass them on the sidewalk. If you like shopping, Key West is for you. If you’re looking for adventure like we always do, look somewhere else.
We boarded the ship and headed upstairs for lunch. I’d been bugging Chris to go to the art auction and to my surprise he agreed. We took a really cool art history class together in college and loved it. (I loved it so much that I took a couple more art history classes which prompted Chris to give me the nickname “art major.” I don’t really why he found that so funny but whatever!) Plus, they had free champagne. It was fast-paced, we learned a lot, and Chris even surprised me and bid/won a piece of art. We got a great deal and have had the piece appraised (I won’t say the price, but we got a screaming deal).We went back to our room just in time for the live phone-in trivia game. The cruise director was on tv asking questions and if you knew the answer, you were supposed to call in. I actually got the first question correct! It was fun to chat with them on live tv.
We had dinner, and then I talked Chris into hitting the hot tub with me. But somehow we ended up at the big waterslide. We were the only people out there and each went down several times. I totally felt like I was 10 again! It was so much fun. We did sit in the hot tub for a little while after that.
We went to the big singing/dancing show that night. You know you’ve been on a lot of cruises when the performance is one you’ve already seen. No worries though.. the entertainment is so good that you really don’t get tired of seeing it. We were going to hit the late-night comedy show but we were tired. Went to bed and slept well!
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