Just back from Star with Pics and dailies

[DeeT]

Loving your review! Very entertaining! Can't wait for more. Will be on the Star in August to Bermuda.

[autrucheplume]

I'm really enjoying your review! We're on the Star next Sunday, so I'm getting more and more excited :)

 

Do you happen to remember which night was lobster night in the MDR? I seem to remember it was the first night, but I'm not sure. (I know a lot of people are disappointed in the lobster, but we'll be going anyway!)

[Streak-n-Deacon]

We were in a deck 10 SF on this same sailing. As soon as I download the pics of the suite I'll post some. Which SF do you have? We were in 10728.

 

We are in 10226. DW can't wait

[JMHAM1]

I'm really enjoying your review! We're on the Star next Sunday, so I'm getting more and more excited :)

 

Do you happen to remember which night was lobster night in the MDR? I seem to remember it was the first night, but I'm not sure. (I know a lot of people are disappointed in the lobster, but we'll be going anyway!)

 

Lobster night was the first night in the MDR's.

[JMHAM1]

I think I got my days mixed up with earlier posts...Embarkation Day = Day 1 then what I called Day 1 was NCL's official Day 2 or the first sea day.

 

Now we are up to Day 3: Roatan

 

Roatan was a dock port even though our cruise tickets indicated it was a tender port. It was POURING when we arrived. We had booked on our own to Bananarama Resort and was supposed to meet our driver at 9:30. That gave us enough time to go to the MDR for breakfast. The food was good. I had waffles and bacon and DH had the Eggs Benedict and he was surprised that they were cooked perfectly and was still hot when they arrived. The service was swift and we were on our way.

 

We were soaked by the time we exited the port complex to meet the driver. I guess in Roatan, taxis, etc cannot come inside the port complex so you have to walk all the way out and through the gate to meet any sort of driver. They were expecting us and two other couples also from cc and it was super easy. On the drive we got a pretty good look at the area. Lush vegetation everywhere. The driver said there was a coffee place that roasted the beans daily on our way to the resort and we wanted to stop there but I didn't see where it was and it was terrible rain anyway.

 

When we arrived, we arranged a time to meet the driver and we checked in. They had snorkel gear, chairs and a locker for your stuff. The snorkel equipment they had was not very good. Neither of ours would hold a seal. Also the snorkel area was way down the beach (Taybayana Beach) and they had music and entertainment down there. If I had to do it again, I would just go to Taybayana directly. It was great to be able to snorkel on our own because DH had never done it and I was rusty. We saw a few things but really missed the good stuff. I don't think we went out far enough. After snorkeling it cleared enough to sit in the beach loungers and enjoy the sun a bit. Hard to relax when the beach is COVERED with people selling everything from watches and sunglasses to massages and seashells. They even had kids that would come right up to your chair even if you were napping and put items up to your ear or right on you. I did not like that but the area and the beach were lovely. The water was a bit brisk at first but you easily got used to it. There was a really nice swimming area too.

 

We took advantage of the attached bar/restaurant and enjoyed a MonkeyLaLa frozen beverage. When I saw what went into it, I didn't think I would like it but it was soooo very yummy!!

[JMHAM1]

Our driver met us around 2:30 to take us back to the ship. By that time, it had started raining again and we were soaked by the time we got back inside the shopping area at the port. We had wanted to pick up some coffee and had plenty of time to do that at the shops. We got back on the ship and went up to the room to change into dry clothes and then grab a quick bite for a late lunch at the buffet.

 

There was a sail away party but we skipped it. This day was my husband's birthday and I had arranged for the birthday package. They had decorated our cabin and brought a cake. I was not expecting much out of the cake but it was much bigger than two people could eat. DH said it reminded him of our wedding cake since it was white layers with a berry filling. I also had them to bring champagne so we spent sail away on our balcony enjoying these goodies.

 

The entertainment this night was Dr. Scott Lewis the comedy hypnotist. DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW!!! We did the 7:30 and seriously considered going back and watching it again at 9:30. Don't be afraid to volunteer either. I so wished one of us did! Hilarious and I wished the show was longer.

 

After the show we went to Aqua for dinner. It was good. I put up some pics of dinner on this post. After dinner we opted to go up to the casino. We went to the website that is often mentioned on the boards and I got the $50 slot coupon for $25 for each of us before we sailed so we went to have fun with the slots. The coupons worked great and it made it more fun that half the money we had on there was free. We left the casino $110 positive and still had $30 each left on our cards. YAY!

 

We were pooped and went back to the room to relax for our day in Belize.

[JMHAM1]

Let me first say that I did TONS of research about Belize and did not book anything until the very last minute. There was so much conflicting info about this port, the safety and practically everything else. Our experience was AWESOME!!

 

Belize is a tender port which is not my preference but NCL has the process down. We again did an excursion on our own. We did Shark Ray Alley at Caye Cauker and it was better than we thought it would be which is always a nice surprise. (We booked through Coral Breeze Tours and everything could not have been easier)

 

Two things I wish I had done differently....one-brought more spending money. We had NO IDEA that the shops would be so great. We bought some great knock off coach bags including a rolling duffel to give as gifts when we got home. They also had a little pharmacy nearby where we picked up some meds that we typically spend $35 per monthly copay. Ended up getting 100 tabs for $20. We spent all they money we brought with us and since it was a tender port, it was not easy to get back for more. Two--we forgot our underwater camera. BIG MISTAKE as there was LOTS of pics I wish I had gotten. Gives us a reason to return right?

 

The tour met us at the dock and we boarded a boat for the trip out to the reef at Caye Cauker (this is a separate island on Belize) We stopped at two places for a guided snorkel tour. Their equipment was top notch and we had no issues with it at all. The first stop was the fish and reef area. The reef was beautiful and the fish were all over the place. One of the guides even brought up a black starfish for me to hold. We saw rays, eels and lots of colorful fish. The coral in some places was so high that it was just a couple of inches below your belly while swimming. We reboarded the boat and went to the second area which is called shark/ray alley. They were right! As soon as we got near, you could see all the sharks and stingrays making a beeline toward the boat. They put out some yummies for them and it was on! The water was only chest deep and the rays and sharks are swimming all around. I had a 6 ft shark swim through my legs! Very exciting!

 

Back on the boat they had fresh fruit and other snacks as well as some water. We docked at Caye Cauker for lunch. Since Jan is the rainy season it started to pour just in time to get soaked on the way to the restaurant. You got to select your lunch items prior to the tour and it was delicious. Pick the burrito as it was HUGE! The prices at the restaurant are in Belize dollars and the exchange rate was very good. I want to say that a bucket of 6 beers was only $5 US. We had time to explore the island. It has 3 streets only so you cannot get lost. We got back in time for one of the last tenders to the boat. Very good day ashore!!

[gelo7]

Loving your review.

[JMHAM1]

The snorkel trip was more swimming than I was used to so I was extremely tired when we got back on the ship. We dried off and rested a bit then went down to Aqua because DH did not want to put on long pants.

 

This was the only night that Aqua was busy enough that they were giving out beepers. We decided to go elsewhere and boy were we in for a treat. We went to Ginza which was never crowded on this ship. Not sure why because the food was super good. I took our waiter's suggestion and ordered the Szechuan beef and it was just the right amount of heat and flavor. Typically we would not eat and a pay restaurant twice on the same trip but Ginza was the exception. Because it was not busy, we were able to chat with both the waiter and the manager. I did a STYLE card for our waiter, PuTu, because he was so gracious in answering all our questions about life on the ship and his homeland in the South Pacific. I think Ginza may have been empty on this trip due to the demographics of most of the people on board vs the menu. I told the manager he should take samples of some of the items like the pork and the shrimp around to BINGO to try to get more butts in the seats.

 

The entertainment that night was Shout! The Mod Musical. As usual the theater was packed well before showtime and this did not seem to be a show that we were just dying to see so we hit the casino for a bit and tooled around the ship. We missed the perfect couple gameshow in the Spinnaker which of course gave another couple the chance to win. :p

 

A full tummy from Ginza, a full pocketbook thanks to DH's luck at the blackjack table and all the swimming from the day had the bed calling my name. That's all for Belize!

[Richpontone]

Can't wait either although there is no front indoor observation deck to watch the voyage

[Planmaam]

I'm enjoying your review, too, JMHAM1. We will be doing this itinerary next January, and I was disappointed to hear that January is the rainy season. I had not done my research to know this before. But I don't care; it's a cruise!

[JMHAM1]

Loving your review.

 

Thanks so much!! It has taken me longer to complete than I intended. I appreciate the patience with me

[JMHAM1]

I'm enjoying your review' date=' too, JMHAM1. We will be doing this itinerary next January, and I was disappointed to hear that January is the rainy season. I had not done my research to know this before. But I don't care; it's a cruise![/quote']

 

I did not notice that either until we got really close to sail date. It really didn't impact our trip much. It was overcast a bit and it did rain off and on for two of the days but we just went on with our plans and it was great. The water can be murkier than in the other months and we did have an issue with "turtle grass" in the area but I would go there again in January in a heartbeat!

[JMHAM1]

Day 5 we arrived early in Costa Maya. We had made plans to go to Maya Chan and it was worth twice what we paid for it. Because you could go there at any time, we took our time getting up and went down to the MDR for breakfast before going ashore.

 

We got off the boat and made our way to the taxi area and they were expecting us. Keep in mind that this IS Mexico and Mexican taxis can often give you a story to tell and we do....that is later on tho so keep reading. They told us it would be about 20 mins so we walked around a bit and bought some trinkets for the kiddos. After 20 Mexican minutes we were on our way with another lovely family with 2 small children in tow. I spoke to them later on in the day and they said the kids (aged 2 & 3 were having a great time at Maya Chan)

 

When we got there, I was extremely impressed. They had us in our own private cabana with a lounger and 2 reclining chairs. They brought us chips and homemade salsa along with some rum punch. We felt like we had been transported to another world. We had spoken to some other cc-ers who were at Maya Chan a few weeks prior and they told us if we wanted a massage, to do it early while they were not busy. They felt that they were hurrying as the slots began to fill. We settled in and went to get our massages on the beach. HOW DELIGHTFUL!!! The slots did fill up as the Allure arrived in port around noonish.

 

After that we walked around a bit. Maya Chan had all the beach equipment, snorkel gear, glass bottom Kayaks, etc all included. DH took a Kayak out and I went to the bar for a drink. Not sure how I missed that it was an OPEN BAR!! :eek: I got a monster strawberry frozen drink and had a nice rendevous with my kindle waiting for DH to return. In a bit, they came around letting us know that lunch was served. I had the yummiest steak tacos ever. We were enjoying lunch with another cc couple when they brought out a birthday cake for my DH. I didn't even tell them it was his birthday. They must have gotten that from our reservation. It was nice they made him feel special. You can choose your return time to the boat and I told them we wanted to stay until they kicked us out which for us was 3:30. I can't convey enough how wonderful the experience was and we would not hesitate to go back again and again.

 

Now comes the taxi story....

[JMHAM1]

Taxi story as promised....We were the only couple from the Star who opted to stay as long as possible. Since they are obligated to use the port taxis, they called for one for us. Apparently another couple decided to stay longer than they said (they should have left at 3). The taxi meant for us had another couple already in it. Let me say, this taxi was SMALL!! I am not a small person and my DH is 6'5" 310 and we squeezed in with another couple who were also American sized. Both guys were on the passenger side...DH in front and other guy in back. As soon as we started I could hear the rear tire rubbing against the wheel well and I could smell the rubber. Since we stayed for as long as possible and all aboard was 4:30 at it was coming up on 4:00 then...I was imagining all sorts of bad things. Every time we hit a pothole, I was listening for the tire to blow. I was also imagining the door would pop open and I would tumble out onto the street too at any moment. Our luck held and we made it just in time. We even gave the driver a tip so he could put it towards the cost of a new tire. :rolleyes:

 

We hustled back and made it onboard with nary a minute to spare. Whew!

 

We took a super quick shower and went to see the hypnotist, Dr. Lewis, do a seminar on Stress Relief in the Stardust Theater. He also did one on weight loss at another time but we missed them for some reason.

 

We made reservations at LeBistro. We enjoyed it on the Gem and knew the food would be good. LeBistro on the Star is extremely small and shaped like a long rectangle with the kitchen near the front entrance and a row of windows that overlooks the walkway. There was a large party seated in the back of the restaurant so we were seated at the front near the "window". The kitchen is open so you can see the food being prepared. It does not look like this was on purpose because it is not pretty. You can see the back of what looks like a microwave and the prep and pick up areas for the servers. My DH did not like the atmosphere in this area. People walking by also paused to look in the window at the table. Not romantic if you are looking for that...be sure you ask to be seated in the rear. We bring our romance with us so it was not a huge thing for us...just sharing for y'all.

 

The food was great and I believe I had a little food-gasm when they brought my mushroom soup and poured the cream part over the roasted mushrooms. One bite and I was in soup heaven. That soup was worth the price of the whole meal in my opinion.

 

We thought we had timed it right to hit the late show that evening which was "Angels" but we were again shocked by the number of people who get there early. No huge thing as we ended up at the Red Lion for Karoke. There were lots of great and not so great singers on this cruise which makes Karoke so delightful.

[ChasK]

Thanks so much!! It has taken me longer to complete than I intended. I appreciate the patience with me

 

I too have been enjoying ever update, and they're all worth the small wait! :)

 

Thank you for sharing, and for the level of detail.

[chadjackson]

Did you pay extra for the private cabana at Maya Chan?

[ilovelucy]

How did you go about making your plans for Maya Chan ?

We will be doing this itinerary next Feb on the Pearl.

Thanks

[bluesea777]

Now we are up to Day 3: Roatan

 

When we arrived, we arranged a time to meet the driver and we checked in. They had snorkel gear, chairs and a locker for your stuff. The snorkel equipment they had was not very good. Neither of ours would hold a seal. Also the snorkel area was way down the beach (Taybayana Beach) and they had music and entertainment down there. If I had to do it again, I would just go to Taybayana directly. It was great to be able to snorkel on our own because DH had never done it and I was rusty. We saw a few things but really missed the good stuff. I don't think we went out far enough. After snorkeling it cleared enough to sit in the beach loungers and enjoy the sun a bit. Hard to relax when the beach is COVERED with people selling everything from watches and sunglasses to massages and seashells. They even had kids that would come right up to your chair even if you were napping and put items up to your ear or right on you. I did not like that but the area and the beach were lovely. The water was a bit brisk at first but you easily got used to it. There was a really nice swimming area too.

 

 

I don't think you can go there directly yourselves. That beach, with its amentities, is exclusive for NCL cruisers. You have to buy a NCL Beach Party excursion to go there. There are shuttles going and fro between the ship and that resort. Price is reasonable and it includes lunch. Beautiful beach and sea . Next time we return to Roatan we'll go back there.

[bluesea777]

I'm enjoying your review' date=' too, JMHAM1. We will be doing this itinerary next January, and I was disappointed to hear that January is the rainy season. I had not done my research to know this before. But I don't care; it's a cruise![/quote']

 

We did Star on 1/22 and the weather was gorgeous. The day we went to Roatan we were told it rained hard the day before. But we had lovely weather.

 

It rained when we were in Cozumel - in the morning. All other port days we had good weather - only Cozumel was an exception.

[bluesea777]

Can't wait either although there is no front indoor observation deck to watch the voyage

 

I don't think you really need it for the Bermuda cruise. The tiered outdoor decks are great.

[JMHAM1]

Did you pay extra for the private cabana at Maya Chan?

 

No we did not but I did mention in my email regarding the reservations that I was quite fair and would prefer something that had plenty of shade. Maybe that is the reason or maybe they did it because of DH's birthday. In our opinion, we got the best one at the best location too!

 

How did you go about making your plans for Maya Chan ?

We will be doing this itinerary next Feb on the Pearl.

Thanks

 

We contacted them directly. You should be able to google Maya Chan Costa Maya and pull up their website or if you want to give me your email, I can shoot you their info.

[ilovelucy]

No we did not but I did mention in my email regarding the reservations that I was quite fair and would prefer something that had plenty of shade. Maybe that is the reason or maybe they did it because of DH's birthday. In our opinion, we got the best one at the best location too!

 

 

 

We contacted them directly. You should be able to google Maya Chan Costa Maya and pull up their website or if you want to give me your email, I can shoot you their info.

joybuckley1@cox.net AND thanks

[stlrboo]

Enjoying your review, even tho' we are doing an entirely different itinerary in April on the Star!..:) Tampa to NYC via Aruba & Curacao..:D

[ansmom]

Enjoying the review we'll be on the star in november....can't wait!