The following are some of our experiences on the Oosterdam 3/10 sailing out of Tampa Florida. The itinerary included the ports of Cozumel, Roatan Honduras, Santo Tomas Guatemala and Costa Maya. We have about 26 cruises under our belt and chose this particular voyage because it included 3 new ports for us and also gave us the opportunity see family and friends living in the area prior to departure.

Admittedly, we weren’t too excited about this trip as the sailing date approached. We were very underwhelmed by our last HAL cruise - September 2014 on the Maasdam and totally “wowed” by our last 3 Celebrity cruises in a row.

Pre-cruise: we stayed at the Double Tree, Rocky Point. I wouldn’t recommend this property if you don’t have a car, there is nothing within walking distance. And even with a car, it is still a poor value – it is an old property in need of updating. While it might be OK for business travelers, it didn’t seem appealing to vacation travel. Read more