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Costa Maya has been a stop that I flip a coin if I’m going to get off the ship or not.  I’ve been too many times and really don’t have much I want to do there.  My wife and daughter wanted to walk around the port and shop so we did that.  I needed to make some calls back home about my car which was in the shop to authorize some repairs so it worked out.

We walked around the port for about two hours and shopped.  I bought my wife an early anniversary present when she found a pair of earrings that she wanted that I felt good about purchasing not from our family jeweler.  
 

We ate breakfast in the Haven that morning and we have had the same server for the most part the entire cruise.  Princess Bautista has been amazing to my daughter up in the restaurant all week and even brought her “special pancakes”.  I have to say that the crew overall has been more than amazing this cruise which I think is one of the pluses of NCL.  
 

Dinner was in Teppanyaki and it was by far our favorite meal.  The chef was super fun and had us singing and laughing the entire meal.  It also helps when you have a great table that also interacts with each other.  The food was good overall and if it wasn’t that didn’t matter because we had a blast.  

Just a general comment here about the previous post that I made.  I cruise with NCL and the Haven for the overall product.  I agree that it is family friendly area and have no problem with this.  The problem becomes when the few ruin it for the many.  For instance the Haven hot tub is no closed because one of the kids who has been using the hot tub as his personal wrestling ring hit a glass that was on the edge that should have never been there to begin with that was brought by another kid.  I blame the lack of parenting that happens more than the kids.  While I’m just as guilty of putting my nose in my book or phone I also keep glancing up for my daughter.   If more people would actually parent instead of expecting others to do it then I think this is never a problem.  

I’m going to bring something up that my wife and I have been debating the past few days about the Haven and the pool area.   Having a generally well behaved kid who is respectful and polite most of the time (she knows the fear of my wife and myself if she isn’t) there has been a lot of tension and issues with kids in the Haven.

On our first sea day I apparently missed an altercation between an older couple and a family with some kids.  It carried on through parts of the day even into the evening when they were going at it in the lounge.  To be honest both sides of this were making themselves look bad in public in my opinion and it was a shame.  We have all paid good money to be in here and all should try to get along.  I don’t how to fix the amount of kids who were doing things or rough housing to make everyone happy here but you can tell some folks without kids were  definitely not amused with the amount of rough housing or ball throwing going on.  
 

Interestingly enough a member of the cruise staff and hotel staff came by while we were having pre-dinner cocktails to ask us about our cruise so far (this was Sunday night) which was a bit abnormal and I think in response to what had happened.  The only thing we said was maybe have some quiet hours in the Haven so that adults could use the hot tub in the Haven instead of boiling up on deck. 
 

I think this will be a problem for future cruises with lots of kids or during Spring Break.  It didn’t bother us at all but I could see a lot of people who were. 

Tuesday at Harvest Caye was nice and we had a good time.  My wife and daughter did the zip line tour and had a great time going over the beach in the prone position.  They said it was very well done and would do it again

Breakfast was in the Haven Restaurant and dinner was at Ocean Blue.   While people rave about it I found it to be okay.   There was nothing really special about the menu and while my wife’s lobster looked good ($25 up charge) my cod was okay and my daughter’s chicken was over cooked and tough.   I don’t think we’d go back there again.  
 

A couple of notes for those who have asked:

The District didn’t have any music posted but there are some in the dailies which I will post when we get back home.

Definitely missing the broadway style shows.  We were a big fan of them on previous cruises.  
 

My daughter has been on the go carts a number of times and really enjoys them.  There has never been a wait and there is a separate line for Haven guests.   I don’t know if that is why but I’m okay with it.  The staff there has been great and to be honest I’m scared at how good my daughter has gotten in the few times she’s driven them.  Her only other driving experience has been the Tomorrowland Speedway at Disney.  

Before rumors start flying as to why we aren’t moving the captain said they need to recalibrate our positioning system for when they are stationary without an anchor.  The process takes five hours and we will be in Cozumel on time.  
 

So having way too much fun with my daughter on her first real cruise and having a hard time keeping up here.  

Let us start with day two in Roatan.  
 

This is our second time doing this itinerary but first time on Joy.  Last time we booked with Daniel Johnson for our excursion and had a blast.   We decided to do that same but a different excursion with snorkeling and a beach break added in.  Early breakfast in the Haven and my daughter is being well taken care of by the staff.  They know her by name and her order for breakfast.   My wife and I are just amazed at how well they are taking care of us.  Head out via the Haven priority elevators and we are off the ship by 10am.  I think we also arrived and were tied up early.  
 

If you book with NCL excursions you don’t really leave the port except by your bus or van.  For independently booked ones you need to leave the port following your way out past all the vendors and other tour companies.  It’s not a long walk from the ship at all and once out most vendors have a sign.  What I like about Daniel Johnson’s is that for families of 3 or 4 they get you a private car.  Trent was our driver and he took great care of us.

First stop was the sanctuary where we got to hang out with sloths, monkeys and macaws.  Then we snorkeled off Little French Key for about an hour.  Then we had a beach break. 
 

Overall I would do this excursion again as it was priced well and the staff was great.  
 

Back to the ship and we did a little shopping in port and my daughter got her hair braided.  Priority embarkation was awesome because there was quite a line waiting to get back onto the ship. 
 

Dinner at Cagney’s was good overall.  My wife had the lamb chops, my daughter had the filet and I had the ribeye.  All were cooked well to our liking and we are picky about our meat temps.  I enjoyed the shrimp cocktail but they were definitely smaller than the one I had in 2017.  
 

We hit the bed early for our next day in Harvest Caye.  
 

I’ll post dailies when I get home.  I’ll see if I can find out who is performing in the district as well.   
 

I suck as a live poster.   Couple of posts coming up shortly as we just got back from our day in Costa Maya.  

13 hours ago, Pitzel said:

My 14 yo is on the smaller side, so the bed should be just fine. I am curious -- what room would you want to get next time instead of the HI? 

Forward or Aft facing Haven Suite so my wife and I can have some privacy and so can she.  

Back to normal and had a great day in Roatan.  Let’s go back to last night and talk about what we did.  
 

So I finally felt better last night after a nap and some advil.  I don’t know what it was but it came and went quickly.   We got dressed for the Captain’s cocktail party at 6pm and headed to the Horizon lounge. It was nice and we said hi to everyone and then headed to the concierge for our Elements at 7PM. 
 

We got escorted down and got some good seats for the show.  Since they removed Footloose this is the only true production on the ship now.  Overall it was good but I wouldn’t go back and see it again.  I think the best part was the acrobatic couple and they were amazing.  
 

After that we headed up to the Haven restaurant for dinner and called it a night as we had a big day in Roatan.  

10 hours ago, detroitlions said:

I think folks hope the second bed can fit an adult in them. And I know I would not be getting much sleep in the couch bed or those beds that come down from the wall.

For the record my daughter is 5’2” and about 110 lbs and fits okay.  I don’t think I would make it on there at 6’2” and 300 lbs.  We would probably get a different room next time even though she likes this bed. 

Been a long day.  I ate something that really threw my stomach off and spent most of the day in the room minus a few minutes with the fam at the go-kart track.  Finally felt good enough to eat some dinner.  Sorry for the lack of live reporting today but I didn’t think you wanted to hear about the movies I watched.  
 

13 hours ago, Pitzel said:

We will be sailing in an HI cabin on our next cruise. Would it be possible for you to snap a pic of what the second bed looks like when it is all made up? I am also curious to hear what your daughter thinks of that bed. Is it comfy? Is it big enough?

Thanks!

Here you go.  My daughter who is 11 and a terrible sleeper said it was fine.  I don’t think the mattress is that thick but she said she slept well.  

2 hours ago, princevaliantus said:

Is this the UNLIMITED WI-FI PACKAGE or the UNLIMITED PREMIUM WI-FI PACKAGE??

I have the unlimited non-streaming  package.  I only need emails and some chat capabilities while I’m away.  If I find someone with the streaming package I’ll see if I can get them to give me a screen grab.  

Found out that the ship didn’t spring ahead last night it only fell back an hour as they normally do so it’s really 1012 right now here on the ship.   Just a note for those who travel when we do the awesome time change thing in the US. 

These are the mornings I love.  Slept in until 10AM this morning.  Woke up to calm seas and light winds which makes for a great day at sea.  

2 hours ago, princevaliantus said:

How's Starlink working? Standard or Premium worth it?

It’s not great.  They definitely are rate limiting.  A lot of people who have unlimited are not happy.  I have the unlimited but mainly to keep tabs on some work projects.  I’d burn through the 150 minutes pretty quickly and my wife won’t share hers. 

1 hour ago, dcu said:

Thanks so much for posting! Any info on evenings and times of comedy shows? Have a fabulous week! 

I’ll see if I can get them for you.  

Here is the Beatles schedule for our cruise

Overall boarding process for the Haven went really smooth.  We arrived about 20 minutes before our 11am slot.  We were directed to a small Haven stand where they took us up to a private security and check in. 
 

About 15 minutes after that we were on the ship in the Haven.  We registered our daughter for the Splash Academy and then headed to explore the ship a bit. 
 

We ate lunch in the Haven restaurant.  I had the Israeli Couscous salad and the seared scallops and both were very good.  Wife had some sliced veggies and the shrimp scampi while my daughter had a modified Cobb salad.  They said theirs were good as well.  
 

Wife and daughter found their Starbucks and we are just waiting on some suitcases.   Snapped some pics as well.  First steps onboard

Icon of the Seas docked in front of us

Our room is an HI. 

We are checked in and in the Haven seating area waiting to board.   From the last time I was here in 2017 this was an even more smooth process checking in.  Traffic insane though.   

So last night at dinner at our hotel we found out my daughter doesn’t have any tennis shoes.   While she is 11 I was hoping that she would know she needed them.   Looks like we are going to make a quick stop to Dicks Sporting Goods before we head to the port.   
 

We are getting breakfast right now and then packing up to head out.   We have 11-1130 check in time.  My daughter has been up since about 6 I think and is fully running on adrenaline right now.  

Minus some small carry ones this is what our luggage ended up being.  Only one of those are mine.  

We are boarded and on our way to Miami. 
 

16 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Ok...you've mentioned dogs. You realize it is now mandatory you post photos of said "big dogs!" 

 

Alright, you don't really have to. We'll let it slide! 

 

Happy packing, if it's not quite all done yet!

 

Also, I had those kind of groups when I was working on my degree. I was the one that tried to get out as quick as possible - like I have a hike to go on, y'all (in my more slim days). Then we'd be there two hours debating how to present a chart. 

The big one is Jetta, she's 75lb Pitbull/Boxer mix.  The smaller one is Penelope Catherine (Penny Cate) because we live in the south and my daughter said she needed two names and she is about 35lbs and a boxer/blue tick hound mix.

My program team is really good, but when we got into some of the electives, the teams get swapped around.  My team for my tactical asset allocation class is a bit much for me.  I'm also much older than most of my cohort (46 vs the average age of 28) so while they are really like whiney about things at times, I just go with the flow and get my work done way ahead of them.  Last night, I was the only one prepared with the stock screenings we needed to do which pissed me off and took what could have been an email into an hour and a half discussion/research which in the end was them agreeing to go with my suggestions.  I'm done in May and will leave my hooding ceremony running.

Finally started packing.  Forgot how much I hate this part of it.  Even with the list I always think I’m going to forget something.  
 

It’s been a long day for me.  Class went late and my team wanted to meet after class to talk through our deliverables.   Don’t really spend much time with the wife as she was asleep on the couch waiting for me to fit home.  
 

Tomorrows fun before heading to the airport:

big dog to inlaws

dry cleaning pickup

bank withdrawls

finish packing

turn out of office on

40 minutes ago, K_S said:

Look up Hayhu Beach Club Muhahual. 

 

I found it by reading another post on here about CM.  VERY highly rated, non-NCL location close to the port.  We booked the day there. 

 

Space is limited to 40 ppl.  I know they had a large group cancel (think they were sold out), because I just got an email yesterday that they had upgraded our space to the upstairs terrace.  It was sold out when I made our reservation...

 

My 15 and 13 y/o teens will be there, which is your kiddos age range I think.

Thanks  Out of curiosity did you book the VIP package or the Jungle & Beach package?  Looks interesting and since it's kid friendly, a plus for us.  Had to justify the three of us for the VIP package.