NORWEGIAN CRUISE TO BELIZE & COSTA MAYA, DECEMBER 2019
What do you do when you have left over PTO and want to do a fun trip on a budget? Go on a cruise!
I had never been on a cruise prior to this but have always been curious what all the buzz is about. You hear the good and the bad, open bar, buffet, awesome adventures at port, but then you hear about the sea sickness, the lost passports, etc. So I thought it was time to embark on my own trip and form my own experience. The trip I chose was a 5-day Western Caribbean cruise leaving out of Miami, Florida. Our ports were Belize and Costa Maya, almost full days at each. My trip included premium open bar, gratuity, 2 nights of special dining, upgraded room, and excursion credits at port. All in all the cruise cost $720, this didn’t include traveling to/from Miami or my hotel the night I got down there.
I really enjoyed the cruise overall, especially not having done it before. The open bar is an exciting perk of the trip for sure, mostly just the convenience to go get any type of drink you want at any given time, all you need is your room key, swipe and go. The same likely goes for the food, I’ve heard horror stories about the quality of the food once day 2 rolled around, that was not my experience. While there were some restaurants that were better than others, all in all the food was fine, my real complaint was that it was too accessible and I gained weight! Each morning it was great to wake up and look out the window and see the open water. Days at sea were nice, you could cruise the decks and get in a nice walk, hit the pools and relax, take part in the driving range or other ship activities that were available. Port days were great too, you wake up, have a nice breakfast and disembark from the ship and explore the local shops, activities, or indulge in the bars & restaurants available.
The ports for my trip were Harvest Caye, Belize—this island is ultimately owned by Norwegian and manifested to be the experience they want to promote, not a native port run by Belize, and Costa May, Mexico which is a native port with many diverse things to do. Harvest Caye was a ton of fun, but not a port where you really get to indulge in the local culture. The port had an awesome beach, multiple tiki bars, you could walk around with a coconut rum drink, see massive iguanas running loose, and enjoy a GIANT pool with a swim up Landshark bar. We rented kayaks while at the port and paddled around the designated area, the small bay was full of starfish and other smaller aquatic life and netted off from the larger bay to keep larger fish from entering the area. While paddling around you had some great views of the further shoreline of Belize and got to enjoy individuals zip lining above you. At the Costa Maya port we decided to take advantage and visit the Tulum ruins. This was an absolutely fantastic experience and completely worth while. While touring the ruins we were able to see pyramids and other ruins as well as wildlife such as monkeys, pigs, chickens, etc.
My trip was great, I did have heartburn at the end of it (self inflicted), and I definitely crossed off a bucket list item. Would I do another cruise? I think maybe. If I do another it will likely be an Alaskan cruise, the ability to see Alaska (or similar locations) when it is cold and icy would be an experience worthwhile I think, and almost impossible to do otherwise. The Caribbean cruises are fun, but your time at ports is so limited that it wasn’t the full experience I was hoping for. The environmental issues are also a big thing for me, many of these companies dump waste in the waters and burn cheap oil once in international waters, that part was hard for me. I’m glad I did it, I now know what it is all about, but for the future I think creating my own adventure is the route I will continue to take.
