So for our honeymoon, we decided to take a cruise. Sandra had never been on one before, and I had always talked about how great Royal Caribbean was, and she was excited. However, we had a pretty bad experience on the Norwegian Star. It was an older ship, the shows were great, and there was some excellent entertainment onboard. However, there were some negative points as well, most importantly the food (keep reading to see how you can get the good stuff).
We tried the buffet, the main dining room and the Irish Pub (O’Sheehan’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill.) The Irish Pub was the only one we were able to get to that actually had good, warm food. We did attempt to go to some of the speciality restaurants, but they were booked before we even got on the ship. I am guessing people knew the other places sucked for food. We had the drink package included with our purchase, and the feature was nice and helped balance out the food. It also made the Irish pub more enjoyable. (I would recommend asking for the window if they try to seat you inside as it was much nicer to be able to look out.)
The shows on board were very entertaining, and we didn’t have any troubles finding decent seats. There were games like bingo which has a free card to get you hooked and then offer more for purchase (cruise-lines love having up charges.) The pool was really crowded, and it was more directed to kids. (However, it isn’t your only option) There is another pool and hot tube on board this ship for adults but, there is a catch. These amenities are included in the price of the spa access. This area only gets so many passes so that it won’t really be crowded at all. We had some onboard credit, and we decided it was worth it, even just to be away from the crowd. We also met many great people here, and we were probably the youngest ones hanging out in this area, but that made it fun.
Most of the stops were great but you did get some pushy people at some places but normally are very respectful. Our first stop was Roatan, Honduras which was a pretty island. The ship docked at the port, so it was easy to get on and off the ship. We didn’t do too much at this stop as it is similar to our home (the Cayman Islands) and decided we would hunt for food and local beer (I love trying new beers). Our first stop was to a bar located near the port called the Crusty Crab. They had free wifi and more importantly beer! We did have a hard time finding local food, but we found it, tucked away behind what looks like a house from the street but, opens out to a nice water view.
After Roatan, our ship head to Belize. The boats do not dock here as they have the largest living coral reef. However, it was so well organised what we were told was a 30-minute tender felt like 2 minutes. Living in the Cayman Islands we tend to hear complaints about our tenders taking hours and the boats are actually only about a 5-minute tender, so I must get it to them. We got off the tender and joined the amazing team to go cave tubing. I would highly recommend this excursion as we had a blast. The guides would joke around, and each guide only had around 10 people, so you don’t have to worry about missing something. The guides were really fun encouraging some friendly water fights as you pass by each other keeping everyone moving. Oh, and by the way in March its, as they put it, shockingly refreshing! We ended with some great food and once again, a nice local beer.
Next up on our trip was Costa Maya. The boat docks here and you exit into a tourist trap. We decided we wanted to try the mini jeeps (UTV’s). From previous experiences, I try to get excursions on land (if I am not 100% into it or the price lol) and discovered that it is all run by the same people here. However, we noticed on the drive out that there were some places you may have found for less but still not guaranteed. So we got on the bus, and they took us down the road a bit to a beach compound with the mini jeeps lined up and discovered they didn’t have enough but luckily they had one more that was actually a dune buggy that was manual. I got excited that I got the real thing and was having a blast getting all muddy. Then something happened that I have never had before. The shifter sheered right off in my hands. Once one of the guides realised I had an issue, they came right over to help. They took Sandra to ride with another family while I helped them limp it back home. Once we got it moving again (luckily it was stuck in gear so had to rev the hell out of it but it moved) we were able to get back safely and got to laugh a little with the guides because none of them had seen that before either. After everything was done, they gave us the option of staying by the beach or heading back to the port. We decided to go back to the port and get some food and shop around. We ended up eating at the main restaurant in the compound, and the food was AMAZING! I would highly recommend this spot. Got a few gifts haggled my way to a huge discount and did some more window shopping. Many of the small shops are a little more negotiable than the bigger place, so be willing to shop around if you are on a budget like we are. Overall, we had fun here.
Lastly, we went to Cozumel. Another docked port that had no waits (long as you could find the exit that’s hidden behind a building) It reminded me of somewhere like Miami, busy main road and very built up with hotels and shops. We didn’t have too much time here because we had an excursion but were able to walk around get some freebies and some more gifts. We got on a boat and headed to the mainland to see Tulum, which is a Mayan ruin location. We were a little disappointed in them as they are not the type you come to expect when you think of Mayan ruins. This place was packed with tourist like an amusement park. It was pretty all the same though with a nice cliff view. I picked up some more local beer after having some nice lunch. My parents recently visited Cozumel as well and tried the other Mayan ruins and said they were really nice, so that might be a better option.
So my overall opinion is that it is a nice budget ship. The food isn’t perfect, but there are other options, just get them early, so you don’t miss out as we did. It is not new by any means but doesn’t look run down either. Pick up the package for the spa and have a nice relaxing trip.
*Disclaimer: This cruise was taken in 2016 and may have been refurbished since.