Roatan was beautiful upon first sight. As said before, we chose to do our excursions not through Norwegian Cruise line as they were very pricey and not really worth the money. walking off the boat we were greeted by a 10-person percussion/dance team performing traditional Honduran dances. We stopped by a few of the duty-free stores, but found that the prices were surprisingly more expensive than some of the stores located in NYC where we live. We encountered a number of islanders offering different excursions in the very rainy weather and settled on an island tour for $20/person. On the tour we stopped at the monkey park for $5 ($50 if booked through NCL) and stopped to eat official island food on the West End. The West End was a very cultured part of Roatan, and obviously frequented by tourists because lunch prices at the restaraunts out on the sea docks were insane. We walked down the road and found a roadside taco BBQ and bar where fresh-made burritos were 3/$6 and the island's signature mudslide monkey la-la drink was $4. Delicious! The island itself has many activities to do, many interesting small shops will lots of hand-crafted materials and tons of places to eat. 


Roatan

As far as the port is concerned, the only area that was seemingly safe was the waterfront itself. Unfortunately, Belize is an extremely poor country, and as soon as you leave the port grounds it becomes very evident. We walked along the waterfront and found a tour company offering cave tubing for $35/pp ($99 if booked through NCL - they use the same company). There's only one cave tubing/rainforest trekking location, so no matter who you book with, it's the same place. The location itself was about an hour away in a bus ride but the grounds were incredibly beautiful. The tour guides were awesome and very knowledgeable about the rainforest, the history, the caves, and the foliage. The rainforest tour booked through NCL does not offer the chance to stop and discuss different types of plants encountered along the walk to the cave tubing enterance, and if you book on your own you walk for about 30 minutes more than those who booked through NCL, so you get about 20 minutes more worth of the cave tubing experience once you hit the water. The caves are breath-taking, there are at least two tour guides for every group so safety is assured. Beware - even though the temperatures are hot, the water is freezing! It's definitley well worth the money spent. On the cave tubing grounds you can sample locally made liquor and purchase a coconut filled with Belizean rum for $5 - very smooth and refreshing, and well worth the price! 


Belize City

After two days of physical activity on our other two ports, we chose Costa Maya to relax and enjoy the sunny weather. Although the location of where the boat docks is not very appealing, there are a number of beautiful and serene beaches not too far up the coast. The port itself is filled with wonderful small shops filled with handmade crafts not found anywhere else on the cruise. We walked for a few minutes and encountered a man selling tickets to a beach party with an open bar for $50/person. We were able to talk him down to $25 each, and took a short 2 mile bus ride to BOH beach which was located amongst a very busy tourist stip that faces the boat dock. The beach was beautiful, the water was crystal clear, and we were offered our own personal sunchairs and palapas for the price we paid for the open bar. The service on the beach was wonderful, we recieved a 45 minute massage for $20 right on the beach grounds, free paddleboats to enjoy the water, and the opportunity to rent snorkle gear or a banana boat. My suggestion for Costa Maya is to do nothing but relax on the beach and let yourself be pampered for a great price. Costa Maya is a very up-and-coming tourist area and had no shortage of activites to do by simply waking along the busy coast. There were free shots, free food, lots of craft vendors, and an all around beautiful beach scene. 


Costa Maya

Key West was a pretty little coast city, but the one downfall is since it's located in te U.S., the prices for excursions are very pricey and non-negotiable. We visited the aquarium which was definitley a wonderful highlight of our entire trip - we visited the small markets and the Key West Mall, and really just took the opportunity to walk around and enjoy the scenery of the bustling town. We made a point of purchasing a slice of key lime pie from one of the award winning storefronts on Duval St. Unfortunately, time is very limited in Key West due to the fact that the cruise ships must leave by 12:00 PM. In Key West, sundown is celebrated each day, therefore the boats must be cleared from the port so the sunset can be seen. 


Key West

Very peaceful, comfortable size, nicely decorated, small toilet space, very clean, decent sized balcony.

Dining: My boyfriend and I spent 5 nights in the Indigo main dining room, 1 night in the sushi restaraunt, and one night in the garden buffet.We opted to eat in the sushi restaraunt one night due to the fact that the main dining room served italian, steak, and seafood entrees, so we did not see fit to pay extra to eat in a specialty restaraunt where a similar entree would be included in the main dining room.

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