It was overcast and rainy when we got to Cozumel so we decided to walk around and shop. We found several deals and it was fun to negotiate prices, however keep in mind that most items are cheaper as you get further from the dock. My girls got their hair braided while I took advantage of cheap cerveza. You can purchase about 6 cold ones for the price of one on the Jewel. Just before lunch, the sun came out and everyone in my group wanted to find a beach. There is one that I read about on CruiseCritic called Palancar Beach that sounded great, so we flagged down a taxi and headed south. Palancar Beach is one of the southernmost beaches and off the pavement down a dirt road. I was worried about transportation back to the port since it is quite a ways off the beaten path, so I hired our taxi driver for the day. For $75, he drove us to the beach and stayed in the parking lot for two hours while we ate and played around in the surf. The beach there is white sand and the food was excellent. We even collected some huge seashells after walking just a few minutes south down the beach (however, they were not allowed back on the boat and were thrown into the trash). After our beach break, our taxi driver took us on a tour of the eastern shore making a big loop back to the city. He would stop and let us shop or take pictures wherever we wanted and gave us a great guided tour of the island, pointing out interesting details along the way. Thank you Jose in cab 665! This was my wife's favorite port, as there was plenty of shopping, sunshine and white sand.

Cozumel

Trujillo is absolutely beautiful. With a backdrop on mountains, it is a small city built on the side of a hill. After tendering to shore, we walked into town. You can either take the street (which we did) or take the beach (we did on the way back). After what would be about 2-3 city blocks, look up on the hill and you can see cannons, which are part of the old fort. It is a steep climb up uneven sidewalks but well worth the effort. We were charged $3 US to enter the fort, however the sign also said $20 Lempira, which equals about $1 US. We didn't have any Lempira, so we paid the higher rate. Since it is a fairly new port, goods are significantly less expensive here than Cozumel or Belize. It was good to see the kids walking around and selling something instead of begging for money. Each one had something to sell, usually either seashells, jewelry or fruit. We bought a coconut for $1 and drank it with a straw. The beach is brown sand, which my wife hated. The kids didn't care and had a great time. I drank plenty of Salva Vida, so I also had a great time. We stopped at a restaurant that had tables and chairs right on the beach. The rice and beans were served with fried bananas to use as chips and were amazing! Look when you are there at the gold flakes in the sand. I'm not sure it is real, but the sand sure does have a sparkle to it. This was our most relaxing stop since there really isn't much to do, however most of our group said it was their favorite stop. We always felt safe and were welcomed by the locals. Very clean bathrooms at the port. Wear plenty of bug spray. We found our best hand carved items here at great prices. The beach is really calm and not many waves...great for kids playing.

Banana Coast (Trujillo)

Belize was my favorite stop. We booked our excursion ahead of time with Butts Up Cave Tubing (www.cave-tubing.com). They were waiting for us outside the terminal and within 5 minutes of getting off the boat we in a nice van heading for adventure. The drive was close to an hour, however we were going very slow due to potholes and very poor road conditions on the last stretch of the drive. It had been raining in Belize for two days prior to our arrival, so the ATV ride was CRAZY! The water was 2-3 feet deep in places and I loved it and my wife hated it and my kids were mixed. They then shuttled us to the Cave Tubing park, which is beautiful. After about 15 minutes getting everyone ready, we headed down a trail and grabbed our tubes. We had to cross a swift-moving river, holding a tube in one hand, while hanging onto a rope with the other. My wife chickened out at this point and headed back with our 3 yr old son. The guides put my daughters in tubes and pulled them across. It was about a 30 minute hike through the jungle/rainforest before we put our tubes into the water. The kids had water shoes on, but complained that they could still feel every rock on the trail. I just wore an old pair of Nike tennis shoes and aside from wet socks, they were great. The guides tied all the tubes together and one was in front and one was in back. Upon entry, the underground river was moving fast and our guides were in the water paddling the entire time. They did a great job navigating and never let us get close to the sides. The scenery is unreal beautiful and the experience is something I will never forget. My girls loved it too and I recommend the cave-tubing to anyone of any age that don't mind walking. I will say that Butts Up was great and their tubes have back rests. Most of the other tour companies we saw, all the riders had their hands behind their heads trying to keep themselves upright. They got us back way several hours before the last tender with no worry of being left behind. Did I mention that this was my favorite?? Several others in our group took a city tour. Belize was their least favorite stop and they have no desire to ever go again. What I saw of Belize City, I would recommend booking an excursion and getting out of town. PACK YOUR BUG SPRAY! We got bitten all over our legs which did not show up until later. They were wide dots with a red center and itched like crazy! Two weeks later, we were all still scratching.

Clean, lots of storage but TINY. Our cabin did have a fold down bunk bed on one side. They will also bring in another bed so it can be wall-to-wall beds with a loft over one. When getting dressed, everyone had to be on the bed or in the bathroom, as there is only enough room for one person to stand up. We did have our stateroom steward remove the chair on the first day and clean out our mini-fridge so we could use it. Thanks again Jose Olandesca for a great job keeping our room spotless!

We got to visit three very different countries, ate lots of really good food, and spent several days in 70+ degree weather in January at one great price.We made it on the ship just in time to grab a bite to eat and then make our way to the Spinnaker Lounge (top/front of the ship) for a welcome party with all the dancers and Nickelodeon characters (We hoped to go swimming just as soon as we boarded, but it was cold and windy in Houston so no water sports until the third day).

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