Welcome! This year I turned 40, and decided I would celebrate in style by taking a Western Caribbean Cruise on the Norwegian Dawn. We (my husband, Dave & I) managed to score a last-minute balcony upgrade, so we would be sailing in stateroom 9076. My dad & Sue were joining us in balcony room 11118. Both rooms were excellent. Ready? Away we go!
Thursday, February 27th, 2014
We booked an evening flight from Bradley Airport on JetBlue, which was originally slated to get us to Orlando Airport at 10:10pm. A few months before we travelled they change the flight time, so now we would be scheduled to arrive at 10:50pm. Since we would be travelling during the winter, we decided to use a valet parking service, so we didn’t return to find our car buried under two feet of snow. We used LAZFly, who had an online coupon code where we were able to book our twelve day valet parking for a total of $59.95. Sweet! Our forecast was clear, but as our plane was being disembarked so we could board I looked up at the skylight and noticed that a freak blizzard had appeared, and it was snowing like crazy! When we did get on the plane, the ground was already covered, and we would be delayed while they de-iced the plane. Yikes! Fortunately the de-icing worked and we took off without incident, arriving in Orlando at around 11:45pm. By the time we retrieved our bags and were picked up by my dad and Sue, our day was pretty much done and we all turned in. We had to be up early the next morning to visit Islands of Adventure!
Friday, February 28th, 2014
Mid-70s, clear skies, exactly what the doctor ordered. When the park opened we made a beeline for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and immediately rode the Forbidden Journey, a super-cool simulator-ish attraction. Once we did that, we wandered the area, checking out all the amazing touches that Universal incorporated. I had my Butterbeer, which was every bit as excellent as I remember. Moaning Myrtle moans in the restrooms, the mandrakes in the shop windows shriek – everything is just done so well! Once we had our fill of the WWOHP, we checked out the rest of the park. Making use of the single rider lines (we didn’t need to ride together), we buzzed through everything we wanted to see by mid-afternoon. Seriously, it was amazingly quick. We tried to visit Pat O’Brien’s in Citywalk, but it didn’t open till 4pm, so instead we headed out to Ron Jon’s on International Drive so Dave could look for a new bathing suit. From there we went to the Brick House, where they have a huge patio & bar area, excellent service, and yummy food & drinks. It’s one of my favorite spots in the Orlando area, and I enjoyed it just as much as I always do. We spent the rest of the evening at my dad’s house, just hanging out and relaxing. Tomorrow we visit Universal Studios!
Saturday, March 1st, 2014
We didn’t need to be there for the park opening, so we had a leisurely breakfast of mickey waffles, and then headed over to the park. Sue opted to stay at home to pack and such before our cruise, so it was just me and the menfolk for the day. We did a thorough tour of Universal Studios, and rode almost every attraction, with the notable exception of Despicable Me. It was broken when we passed it in the morning, and it had a 75 minute wait later in the day, so we skipped it. It was a little warmer today, in the mid-80s, so a good transition to our cruise weather. On our way out, my dad & I stopped at Fat Tuesday while Dave shopped, and we had the coldest drinks I’ve ever encountered. Seriously, there was a sheath of ice climbing up the straw, even after twenty minutes of sitting in the sun. Crazy cold! Then we went back to the house to pickup Sue and headed to Three Sisters Restaurant in downtown Kissimmee. My dad’s & my meals were very good, but both Sue & Dave ordered cobb salads with modifications, and they mixed them up. Unfortunately instead of making fresh salads the chef decided to pull the avocado & onion off Sue’s and just move it to Dave’s, which is obviously unacceptable behavior. The server was very apologetic, but still, I’d be wary of dining there again. Back to the house to re-pack – tomorrow we leave for the cruise!
Sunday, March 2nd, 2014
The NCL Dawn was sailing out of Tampa, so we had about an hour’s drive to get to the port. When we got to the port, my dad dropped us and the luggage off at the curb, and started to drive away. Unfortunately he was unaware that his rear driver’s door was open, so I went running after the van and banged on the back door to get his attention. He stopped, and I ricocheted off the back of the van and sort of rolled around to the driver’s side, where I closed the door. Five porters, Dave & Sue all watched the whole thing with a collective “Oh…that had to hurt!”, but really I was fine. Once my dad got back from the parking garage we headed up to check in. Now is probably a good time to mention that I’m active on a forum called Cruise Critic, and had arranged a meet & greet for the group of Cruise Critic members sailing with us. This info will be relevant shortly. So the four of us go upstairs, fill out the health survey, and each head to our own check in counters. Dave & I go through the process, and we get to the part where they would normally give us our keys, and instead they bring someone over to escort us to the concierge area. It seems we’ve been given VIP status, thanks to my organization of the meet & greet – nice! We met our concierge, Patrick, and as soon as the ship was cleared they brought all four of us up to Cagney’s for lunch. By the time we’re done eating, our rooms are ready, so we each go to check them out. A short while later Sue called us to invite us to their room for some wine, and we got to check out their balcony. As their PCC told them when booking, there are only a handful of balconies on deck 11, and the ones that are there have twice as large a balcony as the lower decks do. After the wine we headed up to Bimini, which is an outdoor bar on the uppermost deck. It’s a great location. We made it back to our respective rooms in time for the lifeboat drill, and then I headed back up to Bimini while Dave wandered the ship to get the lay of the land. We had all agreed to meet at Gatsby’s at 4:30, but when I showed up at 4:25 I was the only one there. The bartender, Rolendo, asked if he could help me, and I kiddingly said “Only if you can find my father”, and he said “Big guy? Belvedere martini?” Yes! He had been there already, and would be back at 4:30. In fact, he came walking up as we finished our conversation. Rolendo would turn out to be our favorite bartender on the cruise. After our pre-dinner cocktails, we headed to Aqua for dinner. Everything was very good, both for the food & the service, and continued to be very good throughout the week. From there we headed to the casino to get our slot play coupons applied, and to gamble a little. I even won a free lotto ticket in the casino raffle, but that pretty much summed up my winnings for the week. The casino was not kind to me , but I had fun. I intended to go to Sing It If You Know It, which I had attended on the Pearl and really liked, but the format had been changed entirely and now it was just a who-can-act-dumber contest. I left during the second song, and heard from my dad & Sue that it went further downhill from there. I decided to call it an early night and headed back to the room. Sea day tomorrow!
Monday, March 3rd, 2014
A little breakfast at Cagney’s, and then I headed to the Pearly Kings for some Morning Trivia. My dad & Sue joined me, and we did badly, 12 out of 20. From there we headed to the Star Bar for the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet, where we met all the officers as well as a nice group of fellow forum members. After the M&G we went to lunch, and finished up just in time for the Latitudes Cocktail Party. I donated a little more money to the casino, and then we rounded off the afternoon with a martini tasting. Unfortunately the crew member slated to do the talking portion was sick and could barely be heard when he spoke. The drinks were fine, but the educational portion was sorely lacking. Fortunately for me, I’ve been to many martini tastings over the years, so the talk doesn’t usually tell me anything new anyway. For dinner we gave the Venetian a try, which was just as good as Aqua. We finished dinner just in time for the VIP cocktail party we had been invited to, which was held in the Star Bar. A nice gathering, actually, and the Star Bar is a better venue for it than Spinnaker was on the Star. I decided to kill half an hour or so in the casino until the 9pm showing of Band on the Run, but I ended up missing the beginning and deciding to head back to the room. Lots of fun today, and tomorrow we’re in Roatan!
Tuesday, March 4th, 2014
Welcome to Roatan! Sue & I will be spending the day at Maya Key, while Dave & my dad plan to wander the port area. We were slated to meet the ferry over to Maya Key at 9:15, which we did and immediately after arriving at the island I signed up to do their Sea Lion Encounter, which I had been looking forward greatly. I was scheduled for 10:30, so we killed a little time up at the bar before heading over to the sea lion enclosure. The sea lions were swimming around, and as soon as their trainer came over they popped right over to the gate – they knew it was showtime! The trainer went over the basics of what we’d be doing, and told us as soon as he came back with a second trainer, we would start. The interaction area was fully enclosed with a chain link fence, but there was a hole in the fence to take pictures through. For me, Sue would be videotaping the whole encounter. When it was my turn I entered the enclosure and met Ting, my new sea lion friend. He was huge! About 700 pounds of cuteness, and he was a true ham for the cameras. We did four interactions – the flipper shake, the photo op (they pose you with your heads right next to each other), the hug (basically you put one hand on his front and one on his back) and the fishy kiss. The kiss was hilarious, as they’ve been trained to pose until the trainer blows his whistle, and Ting was heavy breathing in my ear. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and I had a great time with it. After I was finished we decided to grab some lunch before the animal sanctuary tour. They have amazing fried sea bass! We finished up and decided to visit the sanctuary on our own, rather than waiting for the tour. They have a fairly large collection, given to them from a variety of sources. Most of the animals are not able to be returned to the wild, so they live out their days on Maya Key. We wandered the full circle of the island, and then decided to head back to the ship. Maya Key does have a beach and a pool, but we’ll be doing our beach day in Costa Maya instead. Today was all about the animals, and we had a great time! We made it back to the ship just in time for trivia, where we crashed and burned again. We did our usual meet at Gatsby’s before dinner, and tonight we opted to have dinner at Moderno, the Brazilian Churrascaria onboard. Being a non-meat eater, I just partake of the salad bar, but everyone seemed to enjoy it. After dinner my dad & Sue went to the Atrium to see Jose & Patti, and Dave & I visited the casino. Still no luck getting paid, so we headed back to the room. Belize tomorrow!
Wednesday, March 5th, 2014
And it’s a beautiful day in Belize! Dave has a land rover jungle tour booked, and the rest of us are winging it in the port area. I got off the ship early with Dave and wandered the port village, as he wouldn’t have time to when his tour was over. Belize City is a tender port, so getting there from the ship takes about 15-20 minutes. It’s a bumpy ride, but nothing too concerning. Anyway, we did some browsing, and ultimately met up with my dad & Sue at the Wet Lizard, a Belize City staple. Dave grabbed some fried bacon, and the rest of us just had cocktails. Everyone but me tried the bacon, and said it was quite tasty. After Dave left to meet his tour group, I roamed the village again, and when my dad & Sue headed back to the ship, I went back to the Wet Lizard to try their famous conch fritters. (The fame is justified – they’re delicious!) After my fritters I, too, headed back to the ship. I made it back in time for trivia, and since I was by myself I partnered with an older couple. It didn’t help, but it was fun. From there I went to the Celebrity Heads game, which I’ll sum up by saying “skip it”. I met up with my dad & Sue at Gatsby’s, and around 5pm I started to get concerned that Dave hadn’t made an appearance. His tour was on a tight schedule for getting back on time, but all aboard was 4:30, so I headed up to check our room. Since there was no sign of him there, I called to guest services, who assured me that a couple hundred people were still coming back via the tenders, so I shouldn’t worry yet. I called again at 5:30, and they told me he had just checked in a couple of minutes prior, and should be on his way to our room as we spoke, which he was. He had a great time on his excursion, and even bought me a lovely necklace during his travels! From there we all headed to dinner at Aqua, which was very good, as always. We finished up dinner, I made my nightly casino donation, and then called it a night. Tomorrow I turn 40 in Costa Maya!
Thursday, March 6th, 2014
We woke up in time to watch the ship pull in to Costa Maya, and it’s another beautiful day! We really had fantastic weather the whole trip. Having been here before, we wove through the port village to the taxi area, where we learned that the shuttle busses had changed, so that you could pick where you wanted to be dropped off. It happened that another couple was trying to get to Nohoch Kay as well, so we managed to go together on one bus. It made one stop in the center of the malecon first, and then dropped the rest of us off at the far end, right next to Nohoch Kay. We were enthusiastically greeted by Jaime, the owner, and all the Nohoch staff who remembered us from previous visits. They put us under a brand new canopy and got us settled in. I proceeded to apply some sunblock, but shortly after I finished, Dave told me that he had arranged for me to get a massage, so off I went! There is nothing like a beachside massage, and the woman who did it had magical hands. The only downside is that I foolishly did not reapply my sunblock when I finished, which would bite me in the ass by the end of the day. Anyway, we spent the day enjoying the food, drink, sunshine, and warm water. Dave did some kayaking, and I enjoyed the ocean breeze. Around the time we got ready to leave, the staff surprised me with a personal key lime pie, and they all sang happy birthday to me. So cute! After wards we headed back to the ship. A nice dinner at La Cucina would round out the evening, and then a quick stop to the casino before bed.
Friday, March 7th, 2014
Today we’ll be in Cozumel, and my dad, Sue & I will be spending the day doing the Cozumel Bar Hop, while Dave does the Speed Boat Escape. Dave & I wanted to do a little shopping before out tours, so we headed off the ship early. Once he left me to meet up with his tour, I picked up a coffee from Starbucks and waited till out group started to arrive. A few people from our Cruise Critic Meet & Greet are also attending the Bar Hop, so we’re sure to be in good company. Once everyone arrives we are taken to our motorcoach, where we’ll head to our first stop, Punta Morena, a beautiful beach bar with hammock chairs and tables set right in the sand. The way the bar hop works is that at each of your four stops you’ll receive a welcome shot, and then you can buy whatever additional cocktails and food you’d like. We spend about 45 minutes at each stop. Our second stop is at Coconuts, which was my least favorite of the four locations. It was just inordinately busy when we were there, so it was near impossible to find a table, and my blue margarita was delivered to me heavily salted. It’s partly my fault for not specifying no salt, but really, who salts a blue margarita? Sugar maybe, but salt? No, just no. Anyway, from there we went to Playa Bonita, where I had a delicious fish sandwich and an excellent margarita. Playa Bonita is a building overlooking the water, not really a sandy beach place, but with a rocky cliff and spectacular views. It was also my favorite stop. Our final stop was at Rasta’s, another excellent location with beach chairs right in the sand. From there we finished up and headed back to the ship. It was such a great time I even bought the souvenir photo CD! Lots of fun, sing-alongs on the bus, just a really neat day that I would absolutely repeat on my next visit to Cozumel.
Saturday, March 8th – Monday, March 10th
At this point I should mention that I’m now past the portion of the trip report I wrote in a timely manner, and have very little detailed recollection of the remaining days now that it’s six months after I returned home. In light of that I’ll close out with a brief overview. Saturday was a sea day, so I filled my day with my usual shipboard activities. According to my Freestyle Daily, which I thankfully saved, I started my day with morning trivia and the officers Q&A, had some lunch, hit up a shuffleboard tournament and a martini tasting in the afternoon, and then had some dinner and attended the Bollywood production show, which I remember as being only okay. On Sunday we disembarked back in Tampa, and spent our last day in Florida before heading back to CT on Monday. Our flight home was uneventful, and the valet parking service we used returned Dave’s truck to us safe & sound. Definitely a company I would use again if I needed to park at Bradley Airport for more than a few days. Thanks for reading!