Getaway Tips on Ship & Ports

I am just back from a week on the Getaway and thought I would share some highlights of the week’s activities and port excursions.

Ship highlights (in no particular order):

1) For one of the first cruises I can remember, the crew enforced the “no kids” at the adult pool. The sea days at this pool were definitely the most crowded location on this ship all week.

2) James Morris plays the piano in the evenings at various venues and includes tributes to Elton John, Billy Joel, and James Taylor. He is really talented, and when he played in the Mojito bar, the seats filled up fast.

3) Do not miss the free 11:15pm show the magicians from the Illusionarium perform in Fat Cats one night (absolutely incredible!).

4) For those interested in the time changes, you set the clocks back one hour on Sunday night and another hour on Monday night. Then, you set them forward one hour on Wednesday night and another hour on Friday night.

5) If you elect to do the self-assist for disembarkation and carry your own bags off the ship, the process was very organized and fast. We were in our car before 8:00am.

6) Many people on the message boards seemed disappointed that Million Dollar Quartet replaced Legally Blonde for the main show. I have never seen Legally Blonde, but I will say that Million Dollar Quartet was excellent. The guy that plays Jerry Lee Lewis was fantastic.

7) The Flamingo on deck 16 served the same breakfast as the buffet each morning and was never crowded. They also had some pastries, yogurt, and breakfast sandwiches that the buffet did not have.

8) For those that have insulated cups (e.g. Yeti’s), they come in really handy when drinking frozen drinks by the pool on sea days. Otherwise, your drink will melt literally in minutes.

Excursions (all were booked independent of the cruise line):

1) Honduras – Little French Key. We did the $88 package that includes full use of the facilities, kayaks, paddleboards, lunch (chicken, steak, shrimp, lobster tail, rice), and two drinks. This place was very clean, beautiful, and not crowded. It is a bit difficult to find the drivers when you get off the ship. You have to actually LEAVE the port area through the gate, and then walk up the right side of the road to the last vendors there. Would definitely return on the next trip!

2) Belize – Cave tubing with Vitalino. Very well run and organized company. Cost includes round trip transportation (45 min bus ride) from the port, two mile hike through the woods to the river, float through the caves (40 mins) and down the river (20 mins), and then a lunch with chicken, rice, sodas, and rum punch. As advertised, this is one of the only companies that you do not have to carry your tube on the hike. Many others we passed were carrying the tubes themselves. The guides do a great job keeping everything organized.

3) Costa Maya – Beach day at Blue Kay beach. Very relaxing day on the beach. Take a taxi rather than the tram. The taxi is $2/person and will drop you off right at Blue Kay. The tram is $3/person, but does not stop at Blue Kay so you have to walk a bit. I read that Blue Kay charges $5 for a chair, umbrella, and drink. We sat down, ordered two drinks and chips & salsa, spent about three hours there, and was not charged anything. Blue Kay is before the main section of the Malecon, so there are no vendors bothering you every five minutes trying to sell things.

4) Cozumel – Diving & downtown. Ship docks at the Punta Langosta pier which is right downtown. Very convenient for shops/bars/restaurants. Went diving with Blue Magic. Highly recommend as they limit divers to 8 per trip, and the dive shop is right downtown. Also, don’t miss The Thirsty Cougar for a frozen drink. It will be the biggest drink you have ever seen!

Hope this review helps in some way with your planning. Enjoy your travels!

Thanks for the good information, I have this same cruise this Sunday and my family and I are really looking forward to it.

One question, we are thinking about doing the same cave tubing excursion and are worried about getting back on time.

Are we just being too nervous for getting back to the boat on time?

How long did it take you to get off the boat in Belize and take the tender to the port?

Thanks for the help!!

I've never tendered before and am a little nervous about missing shore excursions because of it. Which ports are tender ports? Or will we not know for sure until we board?

Belize City is the only tender port on this itinerary. Im nervous about missing things because of it too. I've personally only tendered once and it was a private island YEARS ago. lol

So its docks at the pier close to Margarittaville?

Anyone ever flown to Ambergris Caye from Belize City. We're supposed to have a flight waiting on us at the airport at 9:30. Kinda nervous about this because of the tender.

How much was the cave tubing?

Anyone ever flown to Ambergris Caye from Belize City. We're supposed to have a flight waiting on us at the airport at 9:30. Kinda nervous about this because of the tender.

I have done this before. You will be able to reserve a tender time on your cabin TV. You don't need to get the very first one. Either way, you should be able to get there on time. The airport is about a 8-10 minute drive once outside the port. The airport itself is very small. Just walk up to the counter and they will find your reservation.

The flight over takes about 10-15 minutes over the water in a very small plane.

Belize is the only tender port on this itinerary. We reserved our tender time the day before (Guest Services or on your TV). We actually got the first tender off the ship at 7:45am. The tender trip is about 15-20 mins. No worries about the cave tubing trip and missing the ship. Vitalino does not wait for everyone going tubing to show up at the desk before they leave the port area. As each bus fills up, they leave for the trip. The next group will accumulate until that bus is full. We were actually finished tubing and eating lunch right at noon. We were back at the port by 1:30pm. The last tender doesn't leave for the ship until 4pm. That gives plenty of time to shop in the port area after tubing. The price for just tubing is $45/person. But many people did the combination of tubing and zip lining. You can check their web-site for those prices. Sorry, don't know anything about flights in the area.

Who did you book Little French Key through? I am on the fence about doing this excursion.

Booked it directly on the LFK web-site. No deposit is required. If you are looking for a great beach day with kayaks, paddleboards, snorkeling, excellent lunch, beautiful water, and a clean place to spend the day, this is the place for you!

Saw Legally Blond last year and truly thought it was just okay, rather lame story line. I'm thrilled they've replaced it with MDQ, the reviews and standing ovations I keep hearing about have me hoping to see it twice in Sept when I sail.

Booked it directly on the LFK web-site. No deposit is required. If you are looking for a great beach day with kayaks, paddleboards, snorkeling, excellent lunch, beautiful water, and a clean place to spend the day, this is the place for you!

Honduras is the only one we don't have an excursion for yet. After seeing the pictures, I think this is what we are doing. Thanks for the recommendation.