Last year we cruised on the NCL ship the Norwegian Epic and it being another Mega-ship, the experiences were very similar. Both ships had great shows, excellent food and many options for dining. I would do either ship again if they got better itineraries. These 7 day cruises on both ships have only three ports of call. One of which is their own private beach port. For the prices both these ships charge, they should stop at 4 real ports, not two real ports and their private beach port, like both NCL and Royal Caribbean do. For me, the private beach port is a total waste of time and nothing more than a huge moneymaker for the cruise lines. For the Oasis of the Seas, that port is called Labadee. Royal Carribean has a lease on this little sliver of land in northern Haiti until 2050. The Haitian government gets $6 per person on the ship every time it docks, so it does help Haiti out financially a bit. My problem with Labadee and ALL the private ports from all the cruise lines is that they make tons of money from guests at these private beaches. EVERYTHING you might want to do on Labadee is fee-based. The Dragon's Tail roller coaster is $22 per ride (the second rider is free), the zip line is $93 per ride (once trip across the water) and the water slide and water playground also charge for admittance, as do the parasailing and jet skis. The ONLY things free are the beach chairs and the buffet food, which you could get it you stayed on the ship. Don't get me wrong, the beach is beautiful, but there are only two small areas where swimming is allowed and the rest of the beaches are too rocky, so no swimming is allowed and life guards are there to prevent you from even trying to get in the water in those areas. On the plus side, if you get off the ship as quickly as possible, you can find either sunny spots or shady areas, whichever you prefer. The beach chairs are free, but be careful of the staff on the beach. They will open up or move a beach chair for you and have their hands out for a tip. Just walk over to the stacks of chairs and pick them up and move them where you want them, for free. No tipping is required and our cruise director told us to get our own chairs. The buffet food was good and plentiful in a couple different locations. The roller coaster was excellent and a must-do. We all enjoyed the zip line over the water, but we all thought the $93 price was WAY too steep for one zip line. Avoid the Artisan Village at all costs. The local vendors will hound you to death and shopping is very unpleasant. Royal Caribbean charges the locals a fee to sell their wares, so they hound you to death to get you to come into their stores. Plus, there are way too many of them. It would have been better with a handful of shops, rather than long rows of shops that are there now. We met a family whose son got badly hurt on the metal waterslide, so I would avoid that option. It was designed poorly and riders can slide up the side of the slide and hit their heads, which was what happened with this young boy, leaving him bloody and with two huge knots on his forehead. There are plenty of bathroom facilities and the ships sells liquor and beer here also so bring your key card with you.

The next port was Falmouth Jamaica, which is newer cruise port with nothing to do at the port except take a ship shore excursion or an excursion offered by one of the local, which we did. The ship tours are all very expensive and we also do shore excursions by the local at every port we go to and we usually pay about half or less than what the ships charge. We chose to board on the Rio Bueno river, which was a blast, but also dangerous. You can also go tubing or rafting from the same operator, so pick the way you want to go down the river. These are only class 1 and 2 rapids, so you are safe in a tube or raft. The board are a different story. When using the boards, you must wear elbow and knee pads, helmets, as well as swim gloves to help you safely navigate the rapids. Your knees and elbows and the rest of your body will scrape the rocks and bottom of the river at times, and it can be hard to stay on the boards through the rapids so it was a challenge. It was very fun, and we did fall off a few times and the current makes it difficult to get back on, but that is what made it fun too. We've already tubed and rafted on rivers before so we wanted to try something different and I'm glad we did. After your river adventure, you are given about 2 hours to relax and swim in the ocean, eat some food or drink some beer (at an additional cost). This excursion is only about 20 minutes from the port, so you don't have to worry about getting back to the ship on time. Do this excursion from an outside vendor and save $$$. Don't walk around Jamaica without a tour group as it is dangerous at times. There are a few new shops at this port, but nothing great. There is some shopping for souvenirs, a couple of bars and some restaurants. You can venture into the downtown area just outside the port, but it is not recommended as it is not safe for tourists and is basically an old commercial port. Not much to see, but prices are cheaper than in the immediate port area. You can also rent a taxi to Montego Bay for a 30 minute ride or go to Dunn's River Falls and climb up the falls, which is also very fun and a must do if you've never done it before.

The final port was Cozumel, Mexico, which is always fun even though it is getting run down and the shop owners have become more aggressive over the years. There are so many options and things to do here that you could spend a few days here. We rented Jet skis and parasailed, both of which were half the price of the ship tours and were longer in time. For a real treat, take the 30 minute ferry ride over to Playa Del Carmen and do some shopping or tour a cenote, which are really cool underground caves and caverns that you can swim in with a headlight. They also have a great monkey habitat called "The Jungle Place" but the tours book up fast so you have to book months in advance. Again, you don't need a ship tour here at all. You can catch the ferry over and back, just watch your time and make sure you are back on the ferry before the ship pulls away because the ship will NOT wait for you unless you are on a ship excursion. Snorkeling is free on Cozumel and is accessed from walking in from the beach, so NO tour is necessary. There are people all over trying to sell you snorkeling tours but you don't need them. Walk into the water at the beach and swim out a few yards and the coral reef is right underneath you. Bring your own snorkel hear with you and save some $$$. You can rent motorbikes, scooters or a car if you want to tour Cozumel on your own or just go to a beach or private all-inclusive resort, which there are several. Cozumel is an island and is mostly safe for tourists. The crime you hear about happening in Mexico is on the mainland and not in Cozumel. Walk back three or four blocks from the main shopping strip for the best deals on food and shopping. Prices fluctuate greatly, so don't buy anything until you've checked all the stores and done some careful negotiating. A great port of call not to be missed. Read more