The alarm went off at 7:00 and we were excited to get on with our day in Belize. We had ferry tickets to take us from Harvest Caye to Placencia so we could wander the narrow streets of the village, nibble our way through chocolate shops, eat fresh fish and sip rum punch while we sunbathed. Buuuut none of that happened because as we were getting ready the captain announced that the weather was too windy to dock and although he made several attempts he was unsuccessful. Day ruined, we were so disappointed. Instead we got a day at sea and since we now had a full 24 hours to reach our next port the captain took it really slow so we weren’t blown off the pool deck.
We saved a couple of pool chairs, had breakfast, made reservations for the Ice Bar and spent the day poolside.
We ran into a lady we met the first day at sea and she told us that the last time she took this cruise they didn’t stop in Belize due to weather. So if anyone has actually gotten off a Norwegian ship in Belize please tell me about it, I have questions.
Once we washed all of the sun cream and remnants of a day at sea off of us we made our way to the Martini bar where we could order a real espresso martini, not that fake shit. The martini bar is a nice place, they have a bar inside and outside with lounge seating in both areas. It would be a nice place to sit and watch the sun set, probably. This is wear we waited for our Ice Bar reservations. Oh the overated Ice Bar, exactly as it sounds is a small bar made of ice. The staff rolled out a cart of hanging ponchos which they gave us complimentary along with some gloves. These two things did nothing, the ice bar was well, fucking freezing.
The bartender was offering couple of different cocktails, we all got one free drink which was basically 2 oz. of said cocktail in an ice glass. I couldn’t handle it, we drank it and split. No thank you, the Ice Bar is not for me, not enjoyable what so ever.
Once we had feeling back in our limbs we went to the sushi restaurant for dinner and it was absolutely delish, one of the best meals on the ship.
And then, “no and then” it was music time.
Followed by some french fries and bedtime. Tomorrow we were hopefully going to be in Costa Maya.
The reason we chose this cruise was because of the itinerary. NOLA to Cozumel, Roatan, Belize and Costa Maya. I know right? NCL really does the have best deals, what they lack in certain areas they make up for on their price tag.
We woke up in Cozumel and as soon as we stepped off the ship we were in heaven. The weather was perfect, the water blue and before we knew it we were hopping in a taxi to go eat on the beach.
I read all about the all-inclusive beach clubs and we decided against it not wanting to commit to one place our first time there. However, looking back, I think that is a good way to go. There isn’t much to do in Cozumel unless you are doing a certain excursion or renting a car. So if eating, drinking and swimming is what you want to do, then head to Mr. Sancho’s or one of the other popular places.
We started at Albertos Beach bar and we had the place to ourselves. We ordered fresh caught seafood and margaritas and we were in a happy place.
When we were ready to mosey on, we had our waiter call us a taxi. We were on the southern part of the island so we decided to head closer to the port.
Money Bar beach club.
This place was very nice, reminiscent of Europe. Located on a reef, lounge chairs are above with stairs to take you down to the clear and warm water. And they made delicious espresso martinis.
When the time came to head back to the ship we made one last pit stop. Welcome to Miami is right across the street from the port. A small hole in the wall bar with a Captain Jack Sparrow character stumbling around out front which in itself was strange, but who am I to judge? We stopped in for one more drink.
Once we were back on the ship and clean, we went for dinner. Then, yep you guessed it, back to Syd’s Pour House. We took turns waiting in line and grabbing drinks at Malting’s whiskey bar which was located right outside Syd’s. After the show we wentto pool deck for an 80’s party.
This pool deck was supposed to be adults only but that rule was lenient. I also tend think all young people are 14 years old when they are in fact, legal drinking age and that saddens me. There were a lot of those around this cruise, dancing to music that came out before they were born, sigh.
We ended each night at O’sheehan’s bar and grill. A pub that’s open 24 hours a day and a perfect spot for late night snacks before bed. The pub also had two pool tables but those were being run by professional 14 year old billiard players, or so they thought.
They next day was Shawna’s 50th and we woke up in Roatan.
Packing for a vacation is one my most favorite past times.
Remember when I said we most likely wouldn’t cruise Norwegian Cruise Lines again? Lies, sorry. We took another Norwegian cruise for Shawna’s 50th birthday. But, this ship was bigger than our last one, and checked all of our boxes in terms of on board entertainment and ports. You guys, this trip was amazing!
We were at the airport early because we must make sure the gate is where its supposed to be and then we hit the bar for the obligatory pre flight spicy bloody.
We were on our way to New Orleans which was a first for us. Once we dropped our bags in our hotel room, we hit the ground running. We only had one night to get it all done. We walked along the river and straight into town for dinner.
We had gator, oysters and delicious cocktails. Then we strolled our way to Bourbon street .
We people watched, bar hopped, and listened to all the music. We ended with a nightcap at our hotel bar and then to bed.
Our transfer to the port was included in our package and was effortless. Our time to “check-in” on the ship wasn’t until 2:00 but we just went ahead and got in line right when we got to the port at noon.
I probably shouldn’t spill the tea but you guys, we walked right on (knocks wood for next time). Our cabin wasn’t ready but that wasn’t a big deal because we took our asses straight to the pool deck and made ourselves at home.
This ship was very different from our first rodeo with Norwegian. There was a lot of everything, people, bars, entertainment, people…Once our cabin was ready we went back and got ready for the evening. We had a small dinner in one of the smaller dining rooms but since there was a short wait we sat at the adjacent bar and ordered ourselves an espresso martini. This is where we learned that one can’t just order an espresso martini anywhere, those were only available at the martini bar, so we had something sort of like it, but not as good.
So many options on evening entertainment but we chose The Pour House the first night and every night after. This was a group of four singers with their band that just blew us away, they were so much fun. All of this while we sailed down the Mississippi river.
Day 2 was a sea day which meant a pool day.
This is when it really sank in that we were on a cruise with a lot of people and kids who were on their spring break. Lesson learned, no cruising in March.
The pool was packed but we still had a great time. We met so many fun people, a lot who were on this cruise for their second time, that was good sign.
Dinner, I am sure we had it. I will still stand by the fact that the food on Norwegian’s dining room is just O.K. nothing spectacular. After dinner, you guessed it, back to the Pour House. This time we were in line early. Yes, I said “in line” that’s how packed this ship was. If we wanted a seat we had to get there super early. But this night was important because they were doing a Fleetwood Mac tribute.
We said adios to 2022 while cruising down to Mexico. The cruise deals lately are phenomenal, I highly recommend taking advantage if you can. Most cruise lines are now offering unlimited drink packages which are really hard to beat, if you like that sort of thing. Since flying anywhere lately is not only expensive but also a shit show, we decided to go back down to the Mexican Riviera but on a different cruise line. We were really spoiled with our Holland American cruise last year, very few people, ZERO children and great musical entertainment so there were big shoes to fill. We decided on Norwegian because it was a first for both of us, the dates worked out and the price was really easy on the pocketbook.
The itinerary had us leaving San Diego on New Years eve and hitting Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Ensenada, then back to SD.
We arrived at the port mid day and had a very simple embarkment. Unfortunately, new years eve was a cold and drizzly day, not an ideal way to start the trip. Pool deck activities don’t hit the same when it’s cloudy and cold, but we still gave it our all! Once we found our cabin, we hit the Lido deck for lunch, took a stroll around the ship, grabbed a couple of adult beverages and snagged a couple of pool loungers for people watching.
Norwegian’s selling point seems to focus on freestyle cruising. That means they give you more freedom from the OG of cruises. Instead of fancy dinner attire in the dining room at either the early seating or later seating, they have multiple dining rooms where you can go eat at anytime. While you can’t show up in board shorts and flips, you can wear pants and a t-shirt. However, I feel like most cruise lines offer that now, on Holland we went to dinner when we wanted to not at a certain time each night. Besides the two main dining rooms, there were also a handful of places to eat that were included. A buffet on the pool deck along with a poolside bar and grill. There was also an Asian restaurant and a 24 hour diner type place called O’Sheehans. It looked like a Hennessey’s but the food wasn’t great. The 24 hour part was exciting as we really needed that on our last cruise, but it turns out we didn’t need it on this one.
The view wasn’t bad.
These days the cruise lines have a few extra restaurants that you can dine at but for a price, some may have a fixed price and some are priced by entree. The Jewel, which was the name of our ship, had six to choose from. Italian, French, Sushi, Teppanyaki, a steakhouse and a Churrascaria. When we booked the trip, our package included all beverages $15.00 and under, wifi, one excursion and one alternative dining choice.
The captain pulled anchor at 4:00 and… we were off like a prom dress. Then the wind kicked in, so we bid a farewell to the pool deck and went to see how the casino was doing. Maybe we played some Roulette, and then we went to get ready for dinner and some dancing.
There were two dining rooms to choose from and honestly neither of them were anything grand and sadly, either was the food.
After dinner we chose to go to the Spinnaker lounge where the house band was playing top hits and then a DJ was going to count down the night. This would be the place we went to end each night, sadly it wasn’t anything great either.
We woke up to a new year but the weather was still in 2022.
Knowing that the sun was in our future, we spent the day playing Battle of the Sexes, Majority Rules and Bingo.
We tried the other dining room for dinner and this was a clear look into Norwegian’s “free-style” dining. Some guests did not care about what they wore, ordered or acted at the dining room. Classy is the opposite of what we saw. The night ended the same but we ordered room service and watched whatever we could find on the tv until we fell asleep.
We woke to sunny skies in Cabo San Lucas.
We were excited to head back to Medano beach and just lounge with food and drinks with our toes in the sand. That was all we wanted to do in each port. We walked around the marina, stopping for a couple of margaritas.
Then we walked through town to Medano beach seeking out The Sand Bar.
The beach was packed so we weren’t going to be able to lounge on the beach, the holiday brought ALL of the people. We were lucky enough to find a seat at the Sand Bar but then we proceeded to wait forever to be served. Sadly they were out of the octopus so we ordered a spicy shrimp ceviche, fish and shrimp tacos. Nothing was memorable aside from the view and the weather.
When we were finally able to wrap up our meal, we hit the street and got a cab to take us back to the main drag. We were going to pop into Cabo Wabo (don’t be judgy) for a drink but with three cruise ships in port, that was a HELL NO. So we asked around for a place with a good margarita and we were sent to The Monkey Bar.
This place was literally just an outside bar with about eight bar stools and a handful of tables. We chatted up a couple who just moved to Cabo and met a man who was a tour guide. We got his card for when we head back in June, hopefully he can hook us up with some fun activities.
The margs were pretty good.
When our glasses were empty we hopped on the tender and went back to the boat. We soaked up some sun at the pool, had dinner and then tried our luck at the martini bar.
Two days into the trip we knew that this cruise wasn’t going to live up to our Holland American cruise, sadly.
The Art of Thyming 