Background - 1x HAL (Mexican Riviera), 1X Princess (Alaska), 2x NCL (Alaska and Western Caribbean), 8?x CCL. Self, DW, 2X adult DD (21/24), MIL/FIL. At this point we look at itineraries first and price, not necessarily line or ship. In no particular order...

Itinerary - only Costa Maya was new for us. They cut the port time short before the cruise, so all board was 12:30 PM. Our excursion had been cancelled due to this, so we walked (squeezed?) around the base port for an hour or so. Like our short stop last year in Ketchikan on NCL - a completely worthless stop, We did not venture out of the "trap". On Cozumel we rented a jeep and drove around the island, stopping at a few bars and the Punta Sur preserve. In Roatan (our 4th visit) we did the Jolly Roger tour through the ship. We ended up in the water for about 45 minutes. The catamaran was not near as well appointed as one we took in Barbados in 2019 (CCL trip), and the overall excursion was....boring. Considering the price, I would go private tour again all day long. A huge disappointment.

Ship - the ship was nice. We did not feel it was difficult to get around or navigate as some ships seem to be. The decor was more modern and lacked the kitchy (sp?) look many other ships. It seemed more like a destination resort a la Gaylord Texan than a cruise ship, and there was plenty to do. The downside was that with >6000 PAX, it is crowded. In some cases (e.g. karaoke) a large crowd is more fun. Otherwise it was difficult to find a quiet spot outside of your room. At the end of the day, I don't really know how I feel about that size of a ship. I did love the 5th deck walking track going all around the ship - I love that feature on some of the older boats. Read more