Rotterdam Spring Break Cruise 4/1-4/8 Western Caribbean Review

Enjoyed your review and VLOG. Can't imagine how hectic it would be coming off one of the new mega ships. Yikes.

Part 4 Seaday 1 is up for viewing.

Up next - Honduras

A few items of note:

1. If you plan to do a review start on it as quickly as possible. Thelonger you wait the more things start to run together.

2. Pictures and videos really help pull things back together.

3. There is a lot involved with doing a quality review and/or blog. Ittakes a generous amount of time to get it done right.

Now back to the review.

On this day we had an early port stop and an early excursion. As usualTeeny and I were up and at it early on. We hopped up and made it out intime to watch the ship pull into port. Afterwards we headed back to thecabin to meet up with Mama for bfast. Today we went to the MDR as afamily. We figured it would be less hectic than the Lido. We got atable with a nice lady from South Carolina. Her travel mates were notearly risers, so she usually ate along. We had interesting conversationas we waited on our meal. The service was on par as usual, but it wastaking forever to get our meal. Normally, this would not bother me buttoday we had an 8:30 excursion that was meeting somewhere unknown to us insidethe port. As we were waiting it dawned on me that they were waiting onmama and the nice lady to finish up their first course before they brought anyof the main courses to the table. I spoke with the matre d' aboutour timing and he quickly ushered the remainder of our meal to the table. Note to self. When in a time crunch ask the dining staff to bring theentire meal at one time.

Despite getting to the pier exceptionally early, the boat did notopen for exiting on time. The conspiracy theorist in me was thinking theywanted to let the Carnival Magic off before us so they could get the best seatsat the beach lol. As we had an excursion pending we bypassed theport pictures and headed up to the rendezvous spot. This was a bitchaotic. The Carnival excursion were all marked boldly on metalposts and were easy to distinguish. There were no markers for the HAexcursions. With a little assistance from the port workers, we found ourway. FIY the HA excursions are just people holding standard sheet sizesigns in their hands.

Our excursion for the day was the semi-submersible boat tour out of West EndVillage. This tour included a 30 min boat tour of the reef, a 1 hour stayat West End Village, and a 30 min stay as the Stone Castle CameoInstitute. Overall, we felt this was a really nice excursion and wouldhighly recommend it if you are looking for something to do outside of theport.

The boat tour was performed right in the bay adjacentto the boat launch. The captain nevertook her out of idle, so if you get sea sick easily this probably won’t be anissue. The only time the boat swayed waswhen another boat passed and created a wake. We saw several species of fish, a ray, and a handful of seaturtles. After the boat tour we walkedaround West End Village and visited the Chocolate Factory. While out and about we encountered a fewstreet vendors none of whom were very pushy. We then headed over to the institute, of which I did not even know waspart of the trip. I found this stop exceptionallyinteresting. Tony, the narrator, wasvery knowledgeable and had great passion for his craft. After listening to him a part of me wanted toself the farm and move down there to start carving. Note to self: Take extracash if you want to purchase something. The artwork was nice and carried the price tag to match.

Once back at port we were a little worn out from ourmorning ventures, so we decided to skip out on the beach. Instead we just took a leisure stroll acrossthe bridge to check it out for a future visit. The beach area was nice with a lot of things to keep your interest. Did I mention that it was packed? Well “IT WAS PACKED!!!!!” It was virtually standing room only. (Addingfuel to my conspiracy theory). We didnot make it down to the cabana area but did see it off in the distance. I was totally seduced by the spray mistersabove the hammocks. Initially, we weregoing to book one of these to enjoy our day at Roatan. Based off our experience at Grand Turk, wevowed to never hit the beach without a cabana again. Somewhere down the line I thought it would bea better idea to take in the cultural scene this cruise, so we backed off thecabana and took the ecological/cultural tour.

Once back on deck we rested in the room and went todeck 3 to watch sail away. We thenrested up some more and began to get ready for the events of the evening. My initial plan was to do Pinnacle Grillafter Guatemala given it was a more laidback day; however, the Grill wasconverted to Rudi’s Sel de Mar on that day. Around 6:30, I took the little one up to check out the dinner menu. She was undecided on room service, MDR, or Lido. The MDR menu did not look all that great soshe decided on freshly made pasta at the Lidl. Afterwards, I took her to kids club and ate dinner at PG with Mama.

Man-O-Man this meal was over the top and exceededexpectations. I have been to a coupledifferent cruise ship steak houses and this one was the best by far. The food was cooked perfectly, and theportions were way more than an average individual should tackle. This place is worth every penny you spend. Being that it was included in our cruisepackage made it that much better. Because I booked it on such short notice wehad to take a late reservation. We gotthere at 9 and finished up around 10:30.

Kids club was over at 11 so we took a leisure strollaround deck 5 until it was time to pick her up. Afterwards, we walked around deck 9 and ended up at the Crow’sNest. There was a hand full of people inthere listening to music but for the most part it was empty. After that we headed down to get ready for Guatemala.

Side Note - It has been the norm for us that excursions through theship carry a higher price tag than doing it yourself. I did not find thisto be the case for HA. All the excursions we booked were either at costor cheaper than the DIY option. This was a nice touch. Good priceand the "We Won't Leave You" guarantee. Additionally, we feltwe were getting extra value with the additional options that were added on topof the main attraction.

Guatemala:

This stop was one of the main factors that put us on this cruise. Of all my cruise searches, this was the first time I noted a call in Guatemala that matched our travel plans. This was a chance to knock a more obscure port off our list. After reviewing the port and the area in more detail, I was then on the fence about it as the port was not set up for cruise travels per say. In the end we kept with this cruise as our last two trips had been Eastern Caribbean cruises.

Today was another early port stop; however, our excursion was an afternoon trip. After all the day’s adventures in Roatan and then hanging out exceptionally late yesterday, Teeny was not feeling getting up early with me. I got up in time to catch the boat pulling into the Amatique Bay. I stayed up top and watched the ship pull into port. This port is tiny and not made for maneuvering. There was a local tug boat on the scene to help jockey us into position.

After we docked I had a little breakfast in the Lido and then jumped off the boat to check out the market. I was looking to see if any of the vendors had a short boat ride around the bay that I could take while the girls were sleep. Unfortunately, the timing did not work out as there was a chance I would miss my afternoon excursion.

After checking out the market I went back onboard and got the girls up. After slightly rushing them to get dresses, eat bfast, and exit the boat for our excursion, it came to our attention that we were an hour too early for the excursion. I don’t know if it was the frequent time changes or what, but in my head, we were supposed to be headed out at 11:30 not 12:30. Oops on my part. Oh Well just roll with the punches. We went back into the market to look around some more. They had lots of local made items for sale in there. Mama and Teeny enjoy that kind of stuff. Me – not so much. While they looked around shopping,I watched the locals perform their singing/dancing routines.

Around 12:15 we headed over to the rendezvous spot for the second time. Our excursion was the “Tale of Two Cities” tour where they drive you around the neighboring Towns giving you the history of the area and the Country. Overall, I enjoyed the experience and liked the stories that the narrator told. Midway through the tour you get a rest break at Amatique Bay Resort. The published literature on the boat calls fora short 30 min drink/restroom break. While we were headed there the narrator told us we would be stopping there for a full hour. This gives you enough time to enjoy the water if you feel up to it.

Originally, we were looking at taking the Amatique Bay Resort excursion through HA, but most all the reviews we found on it were negative, so we stayed away. I am glad that we got to stop there and check it out. Nothing that we read about this place was true at the time of our visit. I would not hesitate to go back there if I ever get to this port of call again.

After the tour we boarded the boat and headed up to Lidl to grab a bite to eat. We hit the burger/dog spot again. We then lounged on deck 3 and watched sail away. We then went back to the room to chill out until dinner. We ended up falling asleep. I woke up and started getting ready for dinner. The girls were loving the bed too much, so I went on by myself this night. This night I tried the turkey and dressing. It was another pallet pleaser.

After dinner I sat in one of the lounges and listened to the piano/violin duet. Then I went to the theater to catch the comedy act. Following that I went to the casino to test my luck. Unfortunately, I was not feeling lucky, so I kept my coins to myself and turned in for the evening.

Guatemala VLOG can be referenced below:

Amatique Bay Resort tour can be referenced below:

For those of you following along I am sorry for the delay. Work cranked up and then I had a family issue that came up. Regardless I am back. so where did we leave off??? Oh Yeah - COSTA MAYA:

This port was different from the first three ports of call. We did not have any excursions planned this go around. Our main objective was to get Teeny to the beach. Like most every other morning, Teeny and I got up early and walked the ship until time for Bfast. When we arrived at port there were two other ships in front of us. This was the first time I was on a ship that was waiting in an holding pattern. I must say spot lock on a cruise ship is a lot harder than on a small fishing boat. While we were holding in no man's land, Teeny and I hit the MDR for our morning vittles. Teeny tried the Forest Mushroom Eggs Benedict. I went traditional with eggs, bacon, and grits. We also shared an order of banana bread french toast. While eating I got a crazy hankering to go swim with the dolphins. Not really a big deal since we had no other real plans for the day. After the meal we met up with Mama and proceeded to exit the boat.

My plans for a family swim fell on deaf ears. Neither of the girl wanted to accompany me on my journey. Once off the ship, we wondered around the port looking at all they had to offer. Eventually, I made my way over to the dolphins. As we were walking around Teeny got seduced by the pool area and decided she wanted to stay there versus finding a beach. No arguments here! So, we let her swim around while we waited for my turn in the dolphin pin.

After the excursion we took up residence at the shaded bar inside the pool area. Teeny swam around with her friend she met in kids club while Mama and I enjoyed each other's company. I got in the pool for a short while. Water was warm and had lots of chlorine in it. The pool was packed but there was enough room that you were not bumping into your neighbors.

We stayed there until it was time for our port day to end. We chilled in the room until dinner time after sail away. Tonight was the second gala event aka lobster night. Mama and I had the lobster and filet. Teeny had the asian style duck. By far this meal was the most underwhelming meal of the trip. I expected more from the surf-n-turf given the quality of all the other dishes we had onboard. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't that take my breath away experience I was anticipating. The duck was better in my opinion. After dinner we walked around taking random pictures of the ship. As we were headed in for the night we were intercepted by the "Chocolate Parade". It was a nice way to end the evening. It also explained why there were so many people just wandering around deck 5 after dinner. We never saw this many people in all the other nights combined.

The link to the Costa Maya VLOG can be round below:

Loving your VLOG. Might have to try on next trip

Loving your review!

Thanks for following along. I hope to finish it out today. I got the final VLOGS completed.

Seaday 2:

Being this far along in the trip I am guessing you all already know how our morning started. Yes that is right. Teeny and I up and at em roaming the ship while Mama sleeps in.

Our last day on the ship is our "Bucket List" day. This is the point where we cram everything we did not do (and some we have done) to feel like we conquered the ship. As the ship was small and not crowded, my list was already completed. This day was all about Teeny. After all it was her spring break right?

Today we hit up the Lidl buffet for our meal. During our meal she planned out the events for the day. There was puzzle time, kids club time, pool time, and dessert time. After bfast we started checking off the list. Our first stop was the library to get some puzzle time in. She joined a nice lady that had already started a puzzle while I read a book on whales. We hung out there until it was time for American Test Kitchen. We learned our lesson from seaday 1 and showed up early for the event. This time we got front row seats. This presentation was on cooking steaks. I don't know if it was because we were on the front row but this time around was much better than the previous.

After the presentation, the Capt was doing a virtual tour of the bridge in the theater. This interested me but some how another I forgot to go there. The plan was to drop Teeny off at kids club then go back to the theater. I never made it and don't remember why now. Either way, I ended up heading back to the room to check in on Mama. She had ordered some room service and was enjoying a book and a movie on the tube. After the movie was over we started packing our bags for disembarkation.

I left Mama packing and went to grab a couple dogs up on Lido. I got an extra one, picked up Teeny and headed back to the room for her to eat and change for the next adventure. We were now headed up to the Lido so she could indulge in the pool and hot tub. I was not interested in swimming so I just took up residency in a place where I could watch over her and let her have at it.

We stayed up there a couple hours and then headed back down to get ready for dinner. Tonight was the Chef's special menu so we could not miss this one. We got up there a little early, so the girls messed around with the puzzles a little more. I vegged out on the sofa. (I am now starting to wind down and get mentally prepared for the drive back home).

During dinner I had the prime rib while Mama and Teeny had the roasted chicken. Both were equally tasty to us. Towards the end of the meal Carlos, the CD, said a few words and some of the kitchen staff came out. It was pretty low key and anti climatic. Following the meal we thanked our servers and headed to the theater for the variety show. The show was interesting and we had a lot of good family laughs. Following the show we headed back to the room and finished up our packing. After I put the bags in the hall we turned in for the night.

Side note 1:

I like cruises where you have 2 sea days on the back end of the cruise. This gives you a full day to enjoy the boat and another full day to get prepared to exit the ship. I kind of feel cheated when there is only one sea day on the back end.

Side note 2:

The CD was nice and pleasant but he was never present except at the gangway at port. I never ran in to him while wondering around the ship. This was new for me. I am use to the CD being everywhere all the time on my other cruises.

A link to Seaday 2 VLOG is below:

Loving your VLOG. Might have to try on next trip

You should. It is a good way to capture the memories. That is if you don't mind talking to yourself a lot and getting strange looks from people sometimes as they try to determine who you are talking to.

Disembarkation:

Even thought we had a late night, I was up and at it extremely early this day. I woke up around 4:30 and could not go back to sleep. I turned the tv to the map and noted that we would be approaching the Sunshine Skyway Bridge pretty soon. I decided to head up to the top deck and check out the passing since we were at dinner while we were headed out and I could not get a good look at her. I chilled out until around 6 am then headed back to the room with my Drill Sargent hat on.

Once the girls were up and dressed we headed to the Lidl for bfast. We leisurely ate our meal and then went out to the back of the ship to check out the sights. One thing I like about Hal's check out is they give you the option of hanging out in your room until it is time to check out. This gave us a place to store our carry off's instead of having to lug them around the boat with us while we ate.

Things were running smoothly and they actually called us to exit the boat around 8:45. We got off the ship, claimed our luggage, and checked out of customs all within 20 minutes.

Note to self and others: They do not have the fancy rollers for your luggage like the airport. Your luggage is sitting on the floor waiting on you when you get off the boat. To locate your luggage quickly, look for your check out tag colors on the columns. It took me a minute to figure this part out.

Just as speedy was our trip back to our car. The shuttle was waiting right where they said it would be. We were to our car, loaded up, and headed home in approx. 15 minutes.

The entire check out process was so much better than my experiences in Miami on the big boats. I was on the road headed home at 9:15. If I would have requested an early disembarkation I am pretty sure we could have cut at least an hour off that. When we leave from Miami it is always around 11 am before we hit the road.

Overall I give the check out process on this boat and this port a big A+.

Overall I give the cruise a B+. No major complaints just could have stood to see just a tad bit more onboard entertainment. I knew going in it would not be a big party environment, of which I hope you can tell we don't require from reading this review; however, I did expect just a little more options for things to do during the day.

Our drive home was more pleasant than I anticipated. We hit a small back up in Wildwood and Ocala but not too bad. We then hit some back up in Macon due to an accident. Spring break traffic through Atlanta was much lighter than anticipated. We made it in around 5 pm. Not a bad trip at all versus what I expected.

Thanks to all that followed along with this review. The link to the final VLOG can be found below:

You can find links to my other reviews in my signature and links to my other VLOGS on my youtube page (popatop912)