Photo Review! Our Family's Spring Break Aboard the Rotterdam!

Thanks for posting your review with beautiful pictures. I love the Rotterdam and am so pleased to see a younger couple with two adorable children enjoying her, too.

Thank you! We loved the Rotterdam too!

Back to Guatemala!

We arrived at the fortress and Hugo, our guide, gave us an excellent tour and history of the place. As we arrived, so did a few armed police men and women. I'm not sure if this was intentional or planned. I know from my time in Antigua, Guatemala, there are armed police everywhere. They want to protect their UNESCO historical sites, and tourism in general. It brings a large amount of revenue to the country, but I think people are often fearful of the murder/crime statistics which are normally centralized in Guatemala City and linked directly to drug and gang violence.

Anyhow, back to the fortress...Hugo was probably the best tour guide I've ever encountered on an excursion. He's also a teacher, and gave us a wonderful history of the fortress and life there 400+ years ago.

It was a very picturesque place with some beautiful views of Lake Izabel and surrounding life there.

More to come...

After leaving the fortress, we headed back through the park towards the bus. There was a little market there with various vendors selling handmade goods, so I bought my kids some outfits and little hand carved toys.

I also snapped a few pics of Guatemalan life.

On the way back to the port, our guide gave us a very in-depth history lesson on Mayan mythology and also handed out some handmade Guatemalan dolls for everyone on the tour!

Our journey took us back across the Rio Dulce before driving another hour or so to meet our ship.

We were back onboard around 12:30pm, and by this point I was starving!

I met up with my family, and we headed upstairs to the Lido to find some food. On this particular day, I tried the pasta station. You basically have a choice of three different types of noodles and sauces and then you can add in extras such as olives, mushrooms, etc. It was just ok, but I was happy to get something hot and quick to eat.

Afterwards, we headed back out to the port to explore the market there. I was actually very surprised by this market! It's a beautiful, large and very clean covered marketplace full of vendors (most of which traveled for the day to be there from their home in Antigua). The quality of the goods is remarkable. No tchotchkes made in China! Lots of handmade fabric runners, beaded goods, coffee, etc. I really enjoyed looking around in there!

After buying a few things, we headed back on board...just in time for afternoon tea!

After teatime, we decided to hang out in the Explorations Cafe for a bit. Our kids really enjoyed playing Chinese checkers and Chess in there! And the vibe and views were very relaxing! There was also a selection of excellent books you could check out while in there!

Sometimes, you just don't get the color you want while playing Chinese Checkers!

After that, we headed upstairs around 5pm to watch the sailaway from Guatemala

Oh, my goodness! Your daughter is just adorable, even with that pouty face! You could hang earrings off of that lip!

I'm really enjoying your review. Please keep it coming.

Great review and great pictures.

When we were in Santo Tomas we also did the San Felipe Fortress tour as well.

It is rough when you don't get the color you want when playing Chinese Checkers. :D

Great review! I was the older sister so I always got the color I wanted in Chinese checkers....my poor brother never did;p

This is a photo that you want to save for her future boyfriends.:halo:

If she looked at me like that, she could have any color she wanted!:D She sort of reminded me of myself when I was a little girl...never worked for me either!:(

Love the pouty face! I have a few of those from our last cruise --- more of a sideways glance, ticked off face --- that I'm saving too. :) They are great because I then have the all smiles versions, which is what most people usually see.

We were thinking of going to the fort too, so I was happy to see your pictures. I didn't think it was 70 minutes, but that's ok, now we know. We spent more time on that getting to a beach in Jamaica on this trip.

Can't wait for more!

Thanks everyone for reading along up to this point!

To finish off our day in Guatemala, here is the Where & When from that day!

Best review ever!! Thank you .

I loved reading your review and what a lovely family you have. I especially enjoyed seeing the pictures of your kids all dressed up, you don't see that very often.

We took my nieces and nephews on 2 HAL cruises when they were young, they are now in their 20's and 30's and still talk about their HAL cruises and Club HAL.

My point is your children will always remember this wonderful family cruise.

PS: we are all booked, again, as a family on the Koningsdam next March and everyone cannot wait.

Great review, really enjoyed it.

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Loving your review.

We met Indy on one of our Zuiderdam cruises a few years ago. He is an adorable dog.

I am very much enjoying your review and pictures of your lovely family. Thank you!

I am loving your cruise review. You have a wonderful family and a great way of taking us all along for the ride. THANK YOU.

I'm enjoying your review so far and very nice photos. Thanks for posting.

Enjoyed reading your review. Thanks for sharing.

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Thanks everyone for reading along up to this point, and sharing all your comments!

I hope to finish up our day in Costa Maya and our Sea Day today and tomorrow!

Our last day in port was Costa Maya, Mexico!

We had never been to Costa Maya before, so this was a new port for us! Including the Rotterdam, there were three ships in port that day, although nothing felt overly crowded!

We were so impressed - it was a beautiful area full of shops, restaurants, Wifi, and gorgeous views! Everything you could want in a cruise port!

Based on some research I had done on CruiseCritic, I decided to book Maya Chan for the day. Maya Chan is a family-owned private beach club about 20 minutes from the port. It is all inclusive of food, drinks, beach chairs, palapas, kayaks, etc. However, it doesn't have that all-inclusive Mexico "party" atmosphere. It's very calm, relaxed, and natural. They only allow 80 guests a day, and typically "sell out", so if you're interested in going, it is important to reserve in advance.

We loved it!

Love seeing our classic little ship holding her own against those two behemoths. Great tip about MayaChan. Thanks again for your adorable family photos. Brother taking care of little sister is precious.

We really loved the service and friendliness of the staff at Maya Chan. It was definitely a special sort of place. Not a 5* mega resort sort of all-inclusive you typically find in Mexico. This felt like a much more authentic, unique place to spend the day.

There are several palapas that are reserved in advance, depending on how large your party is. Each palapa has chairs, tables and a lounging bed. It was really lovely!

As soon as we were seated, we were given welcome drinks and baskets of chips, salsa and guacamole!

The lunch was served around 11:30am and was delicious! Homemade tortillas, sea bass, chicken or pork with related toppings. They even offered to make hot dogs and quesadillas for our kids along with Oreo milkshakes!

We enjoyed sitting in the floating chairs and using the glass-bottomed kayaks. They also had a variety of sizes of lifejackets available for kids and adults...

They had really thought of everything to make your time convenient. They even have a little "treehouse" with outstanding views that also has an outlet in case you want to sit up there, enjoy the scenery and charge your phones!

One thing to note...the area was quite full of sea grass so the water was rather murky. We were prepared for this, and the staff at Maya Chan did their best to rake it out. But it's just how it is. If this is something that might bother you, some of the manmade beaches at the port may be more convenient.

Later in the afternoon a member of the staff came around to ask what time we'd like to leave. Private taxi service to and from Maya Chan was included in the price ($59/adult).

We had a wonderful time and wouldn't hesitate to go back!

Upon returning to the pier, we bought some souvenirs and enjoyed watching the dolphins jump around! Apparently you can swim with them for $40 (although we did not).

Love seeing our classic little ship holding her own against those two behemoths. Great tip about MayaChan. Thanks again for your adorable family photos. Brother taking care of little sister is precious.

Thank you! They really are the best of friends...6 years apart, so it could've been a disaster, but luckily, they really adore each other!

I love Maya Chan, while I don't get in the water,it's a perfect beach day. One of the best gems if you ever visit Costa Maya

Just got caught up with the recent posts.

Great report with great pictures.

You all definitely enjoyed your cruise.