We rented a little excursion on the island to do some snorkeling. The little boat took us to 3 different spots and our guide was awesome with attracting the fish to us so that we could touch and feed them. I was amazed when a cruise ship excursion came near us, it was seriously like watching a herd of cattle going by. I think this set my mind to private excursions rather then large ship excursions. We had more freedom with our guide to stay as long as we wanted where we were. 


Cozumel

We booked through the internet zip lining and cave tubing. The zip lining was exciting and we had 10 stations one that was 180 ft in the air. The water was a bit low in the cave tubing and we were dragged in a couple spots, but it actually was a fun thing to do. 


Belize City

We rented a vehicle and just drove around the island. I was happy to find a restaurant that actually made conch and introduced our new NY friends to the experience. We just enjoyed the drive and shopping. 


Roatan

De Palm Island booked through NCL. We were all loaded on buses and rode out to the private dock to board a ferry, they only had one for all the many buses, and then to the private water park. It was fun with the snorkeling for the adults, and the slide were child sized but we went on them for the fun of it. The food was decent and the drinks were plentiful, though the time was rather short there. It would have been much better if there had been a couple more hours there. We spent the extra time checking out some shopping and relaxing before going back on the ship. 


Aruba

We rented a "wreck" and even though I wore sunscreen unfortunately burned pretty badly. We visited the Hato caves and they were worth the small fee. Though you could not take pictures in some of the very pretty caves for the comfort of the bats there, which was totally understanding. Our guide in the caves Hubert, spoke 5 languages and was very knowledgeable of the caves and their history. After leaving the caves we drove from one end of the island to the other taking pictures of the beautiful buildings and the HUGE bridge on the island. 


Curacao

Unfortunately I could not go on the excursion we planned due to the bad sunburn I had, but I did cover up with a long dress and a shawl and we took a taxi into town with a couple of CC'ers and went to Pusser's Pub to grab a tea and do some shopping. We slowly wandered back from town to the ship, it was a short day, and did some shopping and picture taking on the way back. 


Tortola

We loved our cabin and our Stewardess Goldie and her assistant Nathalogan.  It was perfect towards the front of the ship #8018.  The only slight downside was the loud music we could hear from the floors below us if we wanted an quiet evening in our cabin.  Usually though by midnight it seemed to quiet down a bit.  We loved our very quiet balcony and was very happy we did not upgrade to a mini suite which balconies were not as private. Our room was always spotless and was perfect for we two adults.  I have no complaints and only compliments in regards to our cabin.

Happily John O'Hara was at the meet and greet and he was the great asset to making our first cruise so wonderful.For first time cruisers my husband and I did intensive research about cruise lines/ships and destinations.

Norwegian Jewel Review

First Time Cruise - Anniversary and Birthday Celebration!

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