Cruise Ship: Norwegian Sea
Cruise Location: Mexico, Belize, and Honduras
Cruise Dates: August 2004
By: Razorguy
The Port:
The Port of Houston was dirty and smells of oil refineries but parking was easy and cost $49 for the seven days you are away. They only take cash so be ready for that as the only ATM is a few miles away at a quick stop near the freeway.
Embarkation:
As a Latitudes member this was a snap, I dropped off my girlfriend in front of the terminal and parked the truck, she had already tipped the baggage porters and was waiting for me as I walked back from the parking lot. We arrived at about 12:30 and were able to walk to the front of the VIP line and check in, we had our photos taken and were on the ship with-in 15 minutes of arriving at the port. That was outstanding! We did a quick tour of the ship and had a few drinks up on the pool deck while waiting for the sail away party to start then went to our room and unpacked.
Underway:
After we unpacked and the ship was leaving the Houston harbor we went and setup appointments for the LeBistro, the Pasta Café and our massages. I highly recommend this because if you wait you will not be able to get into any of these places. You do have to pay extra for LeBistro but it was well worth it both times we ate there the food was a notch above the other restaurants on the ship. The food overall was really pretty good the entire cruise. We ate most meals in the Big Apple café because we didn’t feel like getting out of our shorts and tee shirts after doing all the activities all day long. The Seven Seas dinner was fine for the lobster dinner on Thursday but be ready for a wait because this is really popular. We joined the waiting list and agreed to be seated with anyone and only waited about 3 minutes, so if you don’t mind sitting with strangers this is a great way to meet people and pass away a wonderful meal.
Cozumel:
Having been here before I bypassed the ship tours and we walked the many stores to Los Cinco Sol’s and had lunch at Poncho’s Backyard, really good food and drinks that will knock you on your butt. It was a little expensive but very good. After shopping and lunch we then hired a taxi for $10.00 for me and my girlfriend to go the Chankanaab beach, to enter it will cost each person $9.00 each for the entire day. The park is very nice and clean; you can do the Dolphin experience or see a Sea Lion show or just lie on the beach and have a cold one. We rented snorkel gear for less than $20 for both of us and saw tons of bright fish right off the beach. The fish were well-feed and used to people and came right up to you as soon as you entered the water. I have hairy legs and a few of the fish started to eat the hairs on my legs thinking they were food, very funny to watch, my girlfriend was laughing at me as the fish tried to eat my hairs.
Roatan:
I have been here before and we did our own thing again, not recommended if you don’t speak some Spanish or are weak at heart. We hired a cab and driver for the day; he was a very nice 23-year-old college student that tried very hard to show us every thing on the island. We did a taxi tour of the island and then we went to the Fantasy Island Resort. The cruise ship recommended Tabyana Beach for snorkeling and relaxing but I knew it would be wall-to-wall people so that is why we went to Fantasy Island instead. It was $9.00 per person to get in and the rest was pay as you go for food and drinks. It had every thing you could have wanted; a full dive shop, jet skis and only three other families were on the beach. This was paradise!! We had the place to our selves and it was great. WARNING!! Beware of the sand fleas! Make sure you bring some heavy-duty bug repellant with you or you will be eaten alive (I know). We brought some with us but applied it to late. Apply it before you get on the beach or you will be sorry. Bring some benadryl to relive the itch incase you miss a spot. We spent that day snorkeling around the protected bay taking pictures of all the different fish and just laying in the sun and chilling. They have a bar, gift shop, Internet café, changing rooms and restaurant. Beside the sand fleas this was better than we could have hoped for, quite and private.
Page 2 > > More on the Norwegian Sea Cruise > >
