In Belize, we stopped at Harvest Caye, which was very sanitized, like Disney. It was certainly very clean. We rode some Waverunners out across the bay and back, with some information about the ecosystem from the tour guides. We recommend this excursion. Then, we did snorkeling at the great barrier reef, which is very much alive, teeming with fish, and well worth the time and cost. (The rum punch was not good, though.) By the way, apply sunscreen only after snorkeling; even “reef-safe” sunscreen is bad for the reef (despite the marketing). The reef snorkeling was a blast.

In Honduras, with tour guide Elizabeth, we did a buggy ride through the jungle, which was really on dirt tracks. The buggies were fun, but ours broke down and we ended up on an ATV, which was more fun but that also broke down, so we got a second ATV and then, after another breakdown, a buggy. That sounds worse than it was. The breakdowns were handled very well, and we enjoyed ourselves massively. This was also the company’s first customers in over a year, so they were still working out some kinks. I’d do the buggy excursion again, but on an ATV.

Our last stop was Cozumel. Here we had booked what ended up being the best excursion of the entire cruise: a VIP dolphin tour at Dolphinaris. We didn’t know it when we booked, but we booked a fairly exclusive tour. And, as it happens, my wife and I were the only two booked for our time slot. We had drinks, a good lunch, our own infinity pool, but, most importantly, just the two of us for over an hour in the dolphin pool (connected to the ocean) with the dolphins and a trainer. We got to learn about conservation, the dolphins, and training. We got to pet the dolphins, dolphin “kisses,” high fives, and the highlight: grabbed the dolphin’s fins for a wild, high-speed ride across the pool. Very good. Our guide for this, more a concierge, was Lazer, and he took care of us very well. We would certainly do that again. It was brilliant. At Cozumel, we docked in a mall-like area, with lots of silver, tee-shirt, gift shops, and the like. There was even a Hooters, which we ignored, in part because we had the premium-plus beverage package onboard. This was the only place where we were pestered for our business, but it wasn’t horrible.