We went to the Bamboo Beach Club, which promised an ongoing buffet and open bar. The reality is that you are assigned a waiter when the tour bus leaves, and he or she is responsible for providing food and drink. Our waitress must have been the runt of the litter, since the other groups around us seemed to get food and drink more quickly and more plentifully. The food was a rice disk, a cold pasta salad and jerk chicken. It was fairly good, but portions were similar to other island excursion buffets, so don't bring your appetite. The drinks were good, and you were allowed two at a time which helped cut down the waiting period, as long as you don't mind watery drinks.  

The beach itself was very pretty - there was an area of water open for swimming and snorkeling and another we were told to avoid since there were sea urchins in the area. We just stayed in our (provided) beach chairs and relaxed.

In the afternoon, we took the Atlantis submarine tour which was a lot of fun. You tender out to the sub, and you descend to over 100 feet. You will see the drop-off to deep ocean and a lot of interesting reefs, plus a lot of fish. You are underwater for about forty-five minutes.

We took a quick island tour, stopping at Hell (an excellent stop if you appreciate cheesy tourist traps - we had our passports stamped), the Tortola rum cake factory (which was really just a store with small samples provided) and the turtle farm which was a very interesting stop, and where you spent the most time. The drive was along Seven Mile beach, but not on the beach, so while you could see the hotels, you couldn't see much else.

This was our second visit to Cozumel, and we returned to Playa Mia to take Chef Luis' Mexican Cooking Workshop. Highly recommended. You prepare a three-course meal while enjoying an open bar. Then, you eat your creations. Afterwards, there is (minimal) time for a visit to the beach.

This was a handicap balcony cabin. When the two beds were joined to make one bed, the alarm button was in the middle of the bed. My wife and I each set it off by bumping into it.

This year, the focus seemed to be New Year's Eve, which I thought was unfortunate, since that was the end of the last evening of the cruise.In all, it was a good cruise, but not a great one.

Norwegian Pearl Review

New Year's is not Christmas

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