2 weeks from today

[DragonRider]

Charlene and I, Wingman aka Jamie, Paula, several cousins and their spouses will be departing form NOLA on a 7 day Caribbean cruise.:banana: This is our second cruise and looking forward to it. We are doing it differently this time, only booking one excursion, the rest we will do freestyle on our own. Four ports, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize, and Roatan. If you have any suggestions on what to do or see while we are freestyling, please feel free to let us know. Last cruise was on Carvinal, this one is on the Norwegian Star. :dancefool: Have heard lots of good things about Norwegian.

[TheKid]

DragonRider,

 

There is a group of us going on this same cruise itinerary just on Carnival Dream leaving next weekend Jan 19. My wife and I have three excursions but two were booked outside of the actual cruise. We are doing Underwater Scooters in Cozumel, a river tour/mayan ruin/lunch in Belieze, and dolphin swim and snorkel in Roaton. We are just chilling in Costa Maya. I have also read that downtown San Miguel Cozumel is a lot better place for shopping and the local stuff. Then there is a fishing town in Costa Maya called Mahahual. They say get out of the port which is the trap for all us tourist.

 

Have fun and safe travels.

[Howard B]

We did the same cruise in November on the Norwegian Dawn. Cozumel, Roatan, and Costa Maya are simply tourist traps. We did the Dolphin swim in Costa Maya and loved it. We were told after we returned to the ship that we were supposed to do the swim in Cozumel. Their ticket agent just saw a chance to make more money and accepted our tickets. As far as Norwegian goes, we were a little disappointed. We have cruised Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and now Norwegian. The food was not poor or bad in any way, but it was just not as good as on other lines. Less variety, shorter hours for the buffet and do you need a teaspoon, you have to ask for one. I had Swordfish that was so salty it was inedible. On board was a woman that was making her 98th cruise on Norwegian. She told us the Dawn was the only Norwegian ship with these problems, so hopefully your cruise will be much better. By the way, if you like bread pudding, it is fantastic! So is the apple pie. Rib eye steaks were very good. We did the previous cruise from Quebec City to Tampa and we lost two ports. New York and Maine, but that was because of Sandy. We pulled into Halifax instead. Mother Nature, not Norwegians fault. Enjoy your cruise and watch your weight!

[friesman]

take along something to let you carry your room card around on your neck or wrist. When I was wearing shorts or swimming trunks it was a real hassle to figure out how to get your card with you at all times.

As you need it for drinks or for almost anything anywhere, i found it handy to have around my neck, but the boat didnt have any for sale, i had to hunt for one on shore.

 

I dont drink very many alcoholic drinks so I bought on of their soft drink passes that added on my card so I wouldnt have to pay for my soft drinks. I thought it was a good deal for me.

 

i liked the Norwegian cruise and liked the fact that you can pick or choose what you want to do and that its not as formal as some of the other cruise lines. I booked most of the things to do once I got off the ship for the day it seemed to me it was about half the price, but keep in mind the ship will leave without you if youre late and youre not on one of their side trips, so weigh the situation. I loved most of the Norwegian entertainment and the food was marvellous on the Dawn when I was on board.

 

I think i only ate at the buffet once or twice, there were enough other restaurants on the ship, but the chocoalte night on the buffet isnt to be missed. I usually ate evening meals in one of the dining rooms and had excellent, I went to the upcharge dining rooms once or twice and liked it a lot, but found the food just as good in the regualr dining rooms.

 

Enjoy!

 

Brian

Edited January 14, 2013 by friesman

[K-Rider]

WOW...I wish I was going. But I'll be at work taking up your slack buddy.

[DragonRider]

Last cruise I purchased one of those things you hang around your neck to keep my ID and cruise card in, it worked great until I went out on the foredeck above the bridge and the wind caught it and out of the corner of my eye I saw something go flying over the railing inot the water, I look down at my feet and there is my drivers license, the cruise card went for a swim. We now have water tight containers for carrying cash and cards in, the work really good. I take water and soft drinks also, and the chocolate buffet was way too rich for me last time............

 

 

take along something to let you carry your room card around on your neck or wrist. When I was wearing shorts or swimming trunks it was a real hassle to figure out how to get your card with you at all times.

As you need it for drinks or for almost anything anywhere, i found it handy to have around my neck, but the boat didnt have any for sale, i had to hunt for one on shore.

 

I dont drink very many alcoholic drinks so I bought on of their soft drink passes that added on my card so I wouldnt have to pay for my soft drinks. I thought it was a good deal for me.

 

i liked the Norwegian cruise and liked the fact that you can pick or choose what you want to do and that its not as formal as some of the other cruise lines. I booked most of the things to do once I got off the ship for the day it seemed to me it was about half the price, but keep in mind the ship will leave without you if youre late and youre not on one of their side trips, so weigh the situation. I loved most of the Norwegian entertainment and the food was marvellous on the Dawn when I was on board.

 

I think i only ate at the buffet once or twice, there were enough other restaurants on the ship, but the chocoalte night on the buffet isnt to be missed. I usually ate evening meals in one of the dining rooms and had excellent, I went to the upcharge dining rooms once or twice and liked it a lot, but found the food just as good in the regualr dining rooms.

 

Enjoy!

 

Brian

[Hummingbird]

That sounds like too much fun -

 

We have never done a Caribbean cruise but last year we did take a 2 week Mediterranean cruise around Italy, Spain and France with one stop in Croatia.

Just want to be careful when ordering a beer, we got 6 draft beers and a sandwich at a side walk cafe in Nice France (it was my turn to buy) and it cost 75 euros, that's nearly $115

 

Did you get a balcony suite ? nothing like the sound of the wave to put you to sleep

 

enjoy - enjoy - enjoy

[Howard B]

I agree. Balconies are the only way to go. Just be careful when you open the drapes. I opened the drapes one morning only to discover we were already in port and we were so close to shore there were homes looking right at us. Bring some "pj's"

[Eck]

From Cancun to to Cosmel (and back), there is what they call the "Party Boat" ride.

 

It is an old paddle wheel boat that slowly rides down the coast.

 

It has three floors with a glass bottom on the first floor to see what is beneath in the waters under the boat. Each floor of the boat has a "bar" at the aft end and several tables and chairs on each floor to sit at.

 

When I went on this "party" it was $35.00 per person. All the food and drinks you could consume was included. They even stopped on the beach (somewhere) and we played volley ball (if you wanted to), a PIG roast, snorkling & swimming was also all included in the $35.00 price.

 

Best darn party I ever atteneded..

 

The 2nd and 3rd floors of the boat have a huge openings (holes) in the middle that are fenced off so you dont fall over/ through, but you can look down to the 2nd or 1st floor and see everyone. The first floor also has a band that plays the whole time you are on the boat..

 

A ride you will remember............

Well, unless you consume to much of the drink..

[DragonRider]

I dont leave any slack at work, you couldnt handle it if I did..........LOL

 

 

WOW...I wish I was going. But I'll be at work taking up your slack buddy.

[Condor]

Charlene and I, Wingman aka Jamie, Paula, several cousins and their spouses will be departing form NOLA on a 7 day Caribbean cruise.:banana: This is our second cruise and looking forward to it. We are doing it differently this time, only booking one excursion, the rest we will do freestyle on our own. Four ports, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize, and Roatan. If you have any suggestions on what to do or see while we are freestyling, please feel free to let us know. Last cruise was on Carvinal, this one is on the Norwegian Star. Have heard lots of good things about Norwegian.

 

 

Yep, the wife and I took that cruise out of Galvastan aboard NCL. It was a hoot. We didn't do a lot of expensive excursions, but one we enjoyed was the jungle cruise in Belize. Roatan was interesting as all get out. Visited an Iguana farm and had lunch at a restaurtant on the way back, where we tossed back a couple of Salva Vidas. Good stuff!! We didn't go ashore in Cancun because we'd just spent a week there the previous year, so we took a siesta... In Cosumel we took a circumnavagation of the island and then took off by ourselves and ate lunch in the mall called Bucket of Shrimp or something??? One of the things we liked about NCL freestyle is the constant intertainment and unending eats. They have a cafeteria that was open 23 hrs a day at the stern. The buckets of bacon and sausage were my favorites... One of the things you gotta do is have dinner at the resturant on the top deck. It has a $20 cover charge, but their idea of surf and turf is fillet mignon and 2 lobster tails... Have a great trip. You're gonna have fun....