Getaway 9/18 - 9/25

Afterwards, we got back to the ship to grab a bite to eat at O'Sheehan's. During the activity that was taking place in the atrium below, a 300 lb drunk guy came through screaming for the manager and how he is a US citizens and nonsense about his civil rights. He was walking towards the stairwell atrium, so I had to investigate. He took off his shirt and was screaming incoherently. There was a crowd on all three floors by this point watching this disaster. Security and the local guards came onto the ship to escort him off. This is one country you don't want to have to worry about getting home from.

Eventually, we made it back to the room and were talking to our neighbors on the balcony. The first night they were loud and drunk, but it just ended up being a first night celebration. The four of us got along very well.

Dinner reservations were at Tappenyaki tonight. Let me just say this...it was our best meal during the entire vacation. I highly recommend making reservations at the 90 day point. The group across from us were situated first and we were the first ones at our chefs station. A group of four came to sit and the hostess sat them next to us. They asked to be moved to the other end and did not speak to anyone the entire time. I have to say, looking at their miserable faces throughout dinner did put a damper on the meal. I am not confrontational, but I did feel like asking why they had to be so miserable. Fortunately, a couple from Bermuda sat next to us and we hit it off. We kept running into them for the remainder of the cruise and they even invited us for a meal in Bermuda next time we visit.

The show and meal from our chef was out of this world. I have never done hibachi and was uncomfortable at first, but he was so engaging it was hard not to loosen up. We did tip the chef in addition to the added on gratuity.

One thing I did forget to mention is the concierge app you can use onboard. It is completely useless. I think it worked for us once during the entire vacation.

A few random things before I head into Belize....

- The pool is incredibly small. I noticed on sea days it is jam packed with people. PACKED.

-Spice H2O is a nice little sanctuary.

-The sun deck in the early evening is perfect!!!

- The chairs on deck 8 were not frequently used except by a few readers... I would take advantage of this if you have an inside stateroom.

- The thermal spa is everything you think it is!

Only shampoo and a body gel. The sink has a pump with soap. I ended up bringing my own shampoo, conditioner, bar soap, and lotion.

If you're Platinum you get a bar of lemongrass soap and lotion in your cabin.

Loving the review so far! I leave on Sunday so I'm really excited!

Oh and thanks for the Little French Key pictures. I have plans to go there too and it looks beautiful! Are you able to still take pictures with the lion cub?

If you please could post the dallies soon that would be amazing. Thanks again!

I did. I will try and post them.

Thanks! That would be great, I'm a planner!

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Day 4 Belize

I am having a hard time deciding if this was my favorite day or Costa Maya.

We booked an excursion for the crystal cave and zip lining through NCL. if you are adventurous in any way, this excursion does the job! We happen to be in port for their Independence Day. Pretty cool! I knew it was going to be a long day. We reserved the second tender to the port. Tendering was not as bad as I expected. Quite simple. The natives do hit you up to buy and book an excursion. They are aggressive, but the NCL excursions really do take a lot of that kind of interaction out of the equation.

The tour guides we had, sue and Pedro, were awesome!!! We learned about their Independence Day celebrations, history of their country, land, exports, and overall culture...as well as their own stories. It was slightly over an hour to arrive.

Half the group started out tubing while the other zip lined. I was more fearful of cave tubing, which is where we started. The cave was awesome, but I was terrified. Don't particularly care for bats but not knowing what was swimming below was frightening. The cave was amazing in itself. I felt like I was in the horror movie "the decent."

Zip lining was probably my favorite part of the entire vacation. Even the walk through the jungle was amazing. The height and speed was exhilarating. To look out into the jungle while zip lining from one platform to the next is hard to describe,

I was unable to capture pictures because everything was in the locker. The go pro pictures need to be uploaded still.

I think she said this was the largest cemetery in Belize.

This was at the cave tubing and zip lining site.

Because all the piranha joes were named after me.:D

We took one of the last tenders back to the ship and made our stop to O'Sheehans for a small meal. Service isn't always the best there, which I think is due to the layout and confusion with the amount of traffic walking through.

Afterwards, we wondered up to the sun deck where we got a good glimpse of the Vibr beach club.

While it does look nice, I am not sure how worth it it would be for a cruise with such a lack of sea days. Perfect if you don't have a balcony and need a quiet escape. If it came down to the thermal spa or Vibe, I'd choose the thermal spa.

The view from the sun deck is magnificent. Every time we used it, it was quiet and relaxing.

With two changes so far in the cruise, the sun set early in Belize.

We didn't have any dining reservations, so we decided to give Tropicana a try.

I had the vegetable lasagna and Seth had the Vermont turkey with stuffing. My lasagna was alright and he said his turkey was dry. Overall, It was a completely forgettable experience. I am used to be "wowed" even in the complimentary venues, but not here. There wasn't one specific thing, but nothing worth raving about.)

I believe we just finished the evening in the casino since we had an early day in Costa Maya. We have discussed almost every night about doing the Ice Bar, but decided to wait.

I have forgotten to mention, we did have lunch at Taste our first sea day. I had a Mexican soufflé and it was just alright. The service was slow. One more thing... why does everywhere I go outside of philly insist on putting bell peppers and mushrooms on a cheesesteak. We never do that! Had to vent!

Enjoying your review! Your pictures are great! Thanks!

Enjoying your review! Your pictures are great! Thanks!

Thank you!!! There are a ton on the go pro that need to be sorted.

Forgot one. Costa Maya up next with lots of pictures.

Great pics! Little French Cay looks amazing!! Can't wait to go there in January.

Yahoo! More review and pictures! Thank you!

Is your Little French Key in Rotan? I do not have anything booked for that day and I want a relaxing beach day. Is that in Rotan? Would you mind letting me know how you booked it or did you just take a taxi there and pay when you arrived? It looks amazing!

Thank you!

Yahoo! More review and pictures! Thank you!

 

Is your Little French Key in Rotan? I do not have anything booked for that day and I want a relaxing beach day. Is that in Rotan? Would you mind letting me know how you booked it or did you just take a taxi there and pay when you arrived? It looks amazing!

 

Thank you!

Reserve your spoon littlefrenchkey.com. You pick the package you want and you will receive an email on instructions. You have to meet hem outside the gate of the port. They were easy to find, but it was overwhelming with everyone on the street and people trying to sell you crap. One of them has a list of all who had reserved. One group forgot to reserve and they had no proble, letting the, go. They have several vans that take guests there. It's not the most comfortable ride, but did the job. They shocks must go all the time with their road system. It takes 20-30 minutes to get there. Once there, you make payment..there is a little bit to seep. The mainland where you lay, but take the complimentary ferry over to their island.

I cannot recommend them enough, the owner came by to see how we were doing, but didn't over do the welcome.

Day 5 Costa Maya

Chacchoben, beach, and lunch

We had quite a busy day booked. We booked this one through NCL. It was pricey, but well worth it. Our tour guide, Daniel, made the day. He topped the guides in Belize. He was funny and very informative....even taught us how to speak Mayan. There were a lot of excursions going on here, but had no issues finding our group. NCL really nailed the organization for all excursions. We had a comfortable bus for the hour long ride there. Costa Maya really has nothing to offer, so I recommend an excursion. Daniel gave us the rundown of the ruins so we could maximize our time there.

The ruins were simply amazing. Yes, it was hot, and yes the shop attendants weee aggressive, but this is something I highly recommend. I felt more a part of the jungle here than I did zip lining in the jungle in Belize. I did the ruins on an excursion in Cozumel years ago, but these were far better. We saw several ruins, had a brief discussion, but had time to explore ourselves and to take pictures. On our walk to the last one, we saw a monkey jumping around d in the trees. I was fascinated. It was so cool compared to the squirrels we get here.

Unfortunately, our time was running close and we didn't have much time at the last of the ruins. On the walk back, we saw a family of monkeys in the trees. So cute.

I have an obsession with palm trees

Day 5 Costa Maya

Chacchoben, beach, and lunch

 

We had quite a busy day booked. We booked this one through NCL. It was pricey, but well worth it. Our tour guide, Daniel, made the day. He topped the guides in Belize. He was funny and very informative....even taught us how to speak Mayan. There were a lot of excursions going on here, but had no issues finding our group. NCL really nailed the organization for all excursions. We had a comfortable bus for the hour long ride there. Costa Maya really has nothing to offer, so I recommend an excursion. Daniel gave us the rundown of the ruins so we could maximize our time there.

 

The ruins were simply amazing. Yes, it was hot, and yes the shop attendants weee aggressive, but this is something I highly recommend. I felt more a part of the jungle here than I did zip lining in the jungle in Belize. I did the ruins on an excursion in Cozumel years ago, but these were far better. We saw several ruins, had a brief discussion, but had time to explore ourselves and to take pictures. On our walk to the last one, we saw a monkey jumping around d in the trees. I was fascinated. It was so cool compared to the squirrels we get here.

Unfortunately, our time was running close and we didn't have much time at the last of the ruins. On the walk back, we saw a family of monkeys in the trees. So cute.

 

 

which tour did you get, there are a few offered by ncl. thanks for the reveiw, we go in march. any thermal spa pictures?

Looking up at the monkeys

Can't get enough of the palm trees

Part 2 of the day coming up

Afterwards, we headed to Obero beach. I fell asleep along the way, but I want to say it was about 40 minutes away. The rest in the A/C on the bus was well needed. This beach was awesome!!!!! We had a wonderful buffet Mexican lunch. Tons of options. Open bar was included. We had an hour and fifteen minutes at the beach. There was plenty of shade, chairs, a few kayaks, and some snorkeling gear. There was also a bridge that went out into the water 200 feet or so with a zip line to take into the water. Tons of opportunity to see fish from the bridge. there was a lot of seaweed, but I expected that from reading about the tropical storms.

This was the view from the bridge I mentioned.

which tour did you get, there are a few offered by ncl. thanks for the reveiw, we go in march. any thermal spa pictures?

Thermal spa pictures are coming, we did the Chacchoben, beach, and lunch tour. I believe it is $169 pp.