tropical83

Spice H20 was PACKED for the Glow Party. It was pretty cool, and we had a lot of fun dancing in our seats and just taking it all in. Before the party started they had people doing face painting with glow in the dark paint. They also gave out some glow sticks during the party.

Pretty Sunset

After we ate we just roamed around and went up to Spice H20 early because the Glow Party would be happening and we wanted to get a good spot. We grabbed a table in the area I mentioned to you earlier in the review, which again is a great spot if you want to be in the action, but don't want to be out on the dance floor. It is also close to the bar! I'll post the picture of the tables again:

When we got back on the ship we went to the Garden Café for a snack then headed up to Spice H20 yet again. Along the side of the bar, there are some nice little couches and tables to sit and enjoy the view of the water. We sat there for a while and relaxed before it was time to get ready for the night.

I found 1 picture of the area I'm talking about, sorry its not the best

Another beautiful day

We checked out the menus for the main dining rooms and nothing really appealed to us. They have the menus posted outside of the restaurants daily. So we decided we would just go to the Garden Café. Again, plenty of options. They have a pasta bar where they make you what you want. I just kept it simple and got some noodles with meat sauce and it was really good! Some salad and veggies on the side and that was enough for me!

The third stop was called Playa Bonita. I didn't take pictures here. There wasn't really much to the place lol.

The last stop was called Rastas, again not many pictures here.

The two first stops were definitely a lot better than the last two. I'd say we were at each stop for about 45 minutes. When the tour was over, they dropped us off right back at our pier. There were a few others from different cruise lines at different piers and they offered to drop them off right at their piers as well.

Overall the tour was fun, it was a great way to see the natural beauty of the island and get away from the touristy shopping area!

The second stop was Coconuts which was my favourite. We had some chips and guacamole here and it was the best I have ever had!

LOL

The first stop was Punta Morena. Here are some pictures:

Some pictures on the way to our first stop

Day 6 – Cozumel

When I woke up we were already docked in Cozumel

Today we had the Cozumel bar hop booked. It was $57 a person. We had instructions to meet at Senor Frogs at the Punta Langosta Pier which was perfect because that is the pier that NCL docks at. We were to meet at 10:30 am which was a good time. We met our friends at the Flamingo grill for breakfast before we headed off the ship. I think there was 18 people total on the tour. We rode in an air conditioned bus to the "other side" of the island, away from the tourist area. This side of the island has no electricity, just some beach bars! The tour took us to 4 different beach bars, and a welcome shot was included at each stop as well as Cozumel Bar Hop T shirts. If you wanted additional drinks or any food, you would have to pay that on your own. Cash only! The prices were decent, not too expensive.

The tour guide was Colleen and the driver was Pedro. Colleen was a great guide, she gave us some history on the way there and she kept things interesting and funny. She was also a fellow Canadian. Although she has lived in Cozumel for years now.

Thanks! I will check online. By chance do you recall (or does anyone else know) if there were tour operators right outside the port if we decide that day?

You're welcome. Yes there was in Belize for sure. In Roatan we met our NCL tour pretty much right when we got off the ship and they took us to the bus right away. But I'm sure there were tour operators there as well!

Fantastic review ... the islands you visited look amazing. We are hopefully going on Getaway for a transatlantic in Oct 2017. Looks a great ship. Loved all your photos - thanks for sharing :D:D:D:D

Thanks! I'm sure you'll love the Getaway.

One of my favorite things about the Getaway is the variety of entertainment offerings. Not to get ahead of your review, but while you mentioned Howl at the Moon, did you guys get a chance to check out the musical, Burn the Floor, the Illusionarium, the comedy shows, game shows or any theme parties?

Yes I agree, there is a lot of variety when it comes to entertainment. No we didn't really check out any of that stuff. We did think about Illusionarium but then never did it. As for themed parties, we did go to the Glow party at Spice H20 which I will mention later on. As I mentioned earlier, we just really wanted a relaxing vacation with our friends and didn't really want to have too much planned on the ship. We really just wanted to go with the flow. I guess we just had a good time doing our thing that we didn't feel the need to book any shows or anything.

Loving your trip report!!! Ahhh.... That water. 101 days for me:D

Thanks! Your cruise will come quick!

We were pretty hungry so we went to the buffet to eat. After we ate we all decided that a nap would be best since we didn't sleep nearly enough the night before.

We were going to meet our friends for dinner but my husband had an upset stomach so he didn't want to eat. I decided that I would just go to the buffet myself and check out what they had for dinner. I thought the dinner options in the buffet were pretty good. Way better than the dinner buffet options on Carnival on my last cruise. There were quite a few people eating dinner in there, but it wasn't overly crowded or anything. I figured that since my legs feet and ankles were pretty bad I would try to eat as healthy as a could to take a break from all the sodium.

Later on my husband was feeling better so we met up with our friends and hung out at 678 Ocean Place, and the Sugarcane bar for a while. We then went to Howl at the Moon. We didn't stay that long because it was getting a bit repetitive.

Love the stairs

We then went to Spice H20 and just enjoyed each others company. I loved being out there at night. The inside of the ship is beautiful, but there is just something about feeling the warm ocean breeze at night! Later on we headed to O'Sheehans for a while. My husband was hungry since he didn't eat supper so he ordered some Wings. I felt like a little snack but there wasn't really anything I wanted to order. Again, I really wished the menu was better when it came to late night options. I didn't exactly feel like ordering Fajitas, or a burger and fries, fish and chips etc at that time. Spinach dip or something would have been perfect. After O' Sheehans it was time to just head back to the room, sit on the balcony for a bit and go to bed.

Our towel animal, and the clocks went ahead 1 hour

Just wondering if you booked your Belize and Roatan excursion through the cruiseline or with another operator? I was hoping to just go to the beach near the dock in Roatan but now realize that we dock in Coxen Hole and not Mahogany Bay (we have been there before). I am guessing that these are two ports that we need to book something... If you can let me know who you booked with I would appreciate it. Thanks :-)

For Roatan we booked Tabyana Beach through the cruise line. It included lunch and snorkeling gear in the price. It wasn't that cheap though, but ours was in Canadian funds. I think we paid about $100 a person but that would be cheaper in US funds. I'm sure you could get a taxi to take you to the beach as well.

For Goff's Caye in Belize we booked through Island Marketing online and it was only $40 a person!

My itinerary shows that for Belize we go to Harvest Caye, which is supposed to be a private beach area for NCL. Your cruise did not go there in Belize?

As for your leg swelling--even though I suggested compression stockings before--it sounds like a bit more of a problem than I first thought. I suggest you see your Dr to rule out any other causes of this. It could be just due to increase sodium intake on cruise, but I would have it checked out. Cardiac causes come to mind. (I am a retired RN, charge of a 35 bed cardiac unit for many years)

We were supposed to go to Harvest Caye originally but then they switched it to Belize City because Harvest Caye wasn't ready yet!

Thanks for the concern about my legs. I would be more worried if this happened to me randomly while at home, but the only times it has ever happened to me in my life has been after or during a cruise! I do go to my doctor next month and I will mention it anyways.

I'm going on the getaway in March 2017. I've been trying to keeps tabs on Harvest Caye. I read on here that their trying to make the island kind of like Grand Turk. Where you have to pay for everything ...doesn't make any sense to me. Cruise private islands (Half moon Cay + Labadee) are usually all inclusive where they offer a buffet and drinks can be charged to your room...or free if you have the UBP. If you search, there's a thread somewhere on here that has all the rumor. It's really just that, until NCL puts the info out there.

 

OP - Awesome Review! I'm really enjoying it

Thank you, hope you have a great cruise next year!

many thanks for your detailed report and beautiful pictures. we are on the getaway june 26th and so excited.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a great cruise!

Your review is great! I think we will book this cruise for June 26 very soon so finding your review with pictures has been really helpful. We haven't been to Belize or Costa Maya so seeing some of these ports from your perspective has been great.

 

Regarding swollen legs, we were on the Breakaway last June and by day 5/6 I had swollen legs and it was our 14th cruise and the first time this had happened. I had swollen legs flying home at times or the last day of the cruise, but mostly when I came home and very slight. I attributed it to the UBP (more mixed frozen drinks than usual for sure)... but not sure. I also eat very light at home and home cook so I am not used to a lot of salt or sugar, but I do indulge when cruising :-). I think I will ask my doctor for a water pill before I cruise... never thought of that!

 

I look forward to seeing more of this cruise! Thanks!

I'm glad my review has been helpful to you!

Sorry that your legs get swollen too! It does seem like a lot of it is because of the drastic change in our diets from back home to when we cruise. I still wonder if being at sea has anything to do with it or its all because of sodium.

Goff's Caye really was beautiful. Again it was very small, but I am so glad we experienced being on such a small island. The whole excursion was about 4 hours, including the boat rides there and back. I think that was a perfect amount of time.

Once we got back to the pier we walked around a bit and then got on a tender to head back to the ship.

We seemed to be the first group there so we were able to grab a picnic table. I still felt woozy and just sat at the picnic table for a little bit while the others went out in the water. As I sat at the table, my legs start swelling quite a bit again! I wasn't happy. Again, I just couldn't sit there, I had to move around or just lay my towel down in the sand and lay there on and off. Anything was better than actually sitting. I also massaged my legs and that seemed to help a bit as well.

None of us did the snorkeling. We were going to but I really wasn't feeling up to it and neither was anyone else. I overheard people talking and they said the snorkeling was really awesome.

There is lunch available to purchase but none of us bought it. I think it was BBQ chicken and rice and beans. There was also chips and chocolate bars available for $1. Beverages were available too, but the excursion included punch and water.

The tender ride took about 20 minutes to shore. Once we arrived we found someone holding a sign and they directed us where to go to pay the remainder of what we owed for the excursion. We then made our way to another boat which would take us out to Goff's Caye. The boat ride was about 30 minutes, maybe a little bit more. I wasn't feeling the best and the bumpy boat ride just wasn't helping. I felt pretty woozy and just couldn't wait to get to shore.

Pictures of Goff's Caye as we arrived. It really is tiny!

Day 5 – Belize

Morning came pretty quick. I was still so tired and had to force myself out of bed.

Here is the Carnival Dream tendered beside us

We had made plans the day before to meet our friends at the Flamingo Grill for breakfast at 7:45 am before we caught our tender to shore. We ate in silence, all feeling tired and hungover, regretting our decision to stay out so late the night before lol.

Today we had an excursion to Goff's Caye booked through Island Marketing. It was only $40 a person and it included snorkeling, punch and rum punch. All the excursions through NCL seemed pretty pricey so we decided to go with Goff's Caye.

We didn't get to bed until after 3 am. And we had an excursion the next morning and an 8:15 am tender booked. Oops.

Our towel animal!

Our collection so far

We continued to roam the ship

We walked by Bliss nightclub. I will say that we are not the nightclub type of people. But we decided to check it out anyways. It was a younger crowd late night and they didn't really play music that I liked. However for some reason we ended up staying and dancing until the club closed. Let's blame it on too many "woo woo" shots during Howl at the Moon lol.

This is a picture of Bliss during the day time

I found a picture of the "woo woo" shot I mentioned earlier

The girls

We stayed at Howl at the moon until the end. We were having so much fun that we didn't want to go to bed yet. We roamed around the ship and found ourselves in the arcade. There is a vending machine in the arcade and they had cool ranch chips so we just had to get some of those.