We passed it as we do most days at sea: eating meals, playing with Emerson, taking a nap, reading books, etc. It also gave me ample time to pack our bags and make ready for our not-so-long journey home.

We had an Italian dinner at La Cucina, which we’ve come to enjoy on this cruise. The staff there especially dotes on Emerson, which she loves (almost as much as grandmother and great-grandfather enjoy watching her getting the attention). For my part, I’m never fully comfortable with the added attention of having a decent percentage of the ship’s staff knowing my daughter and greeting me with “where’s Emerson” when I’m not with her.

What can I say? I’m not a social creature.

We departed the ship early and took Pop on a tour of San Miguel. We then returned to the ship and left Emerson with Mom and Pop while we went shopping (mostly browsing) in town. I did buy a bottle of aged tequila, and Libby bought a set of silver hoop earrings to replace one that she’d lost a couple of months back. We then had an enjoyable lunch at Pancho’s Backyard (pretty good food, decent prices, and an appropriately festive ambiance).

We returned to the ship in time to avoid a deluge, which turned out to be more than just a brief tropical shower. By the time we’d left port, the weather had turned rather foul. We spent the evening sailing into high winds and twelve foot seas, much to the chagrin of some of our fellow passengers.

This didn’t stop us from enjoying an excellent meal at Le Bistro, which we felt was much improved over prior visits. The starters, entrees, and desserts were all tres bien, as was the nice bottle of Cote de Rhone. Indeed, for me it was one of the rare, magical moments in life when you’re just happy to be where you are, doing what you’re doing, with whom you’re with and to know at the time that you should remember and be grateful for it.

Continuation…

I don’t normally do a lot of advance planning, especially for Caribbean ports of call. For Costa Maya, I’d read in our Frommer’s guide that there was a nice private beach right by the pier, as well as a good spot to get some local cuisine. Planning done.

Sadly, the book was wrong on both accounts. The private beach was dilapidated and abandoned, perhaps the result of Hurricane Dean. The local restaurants were replaced by a Señor Frogs and a Carlos’ ‘n Charlie’s.

Fiddle sticks.

Also, since we’d planned on using the beach at the port, I didn’t have much cash and no ATM card with me, as we were going to return to the ship and pick up Mom and Pop for lunch. To go to the beach now, we’d need a taxi and to pay for entrance to one of the clubs. So, I hustled the 1/2 mile roundtrip on and back on the pier to get my wallet.

The beach club (pictures above) was actually very nice. For $15 per person (Emerson was free) + $12 for roundtrip transport, we had free beach chairs, umbrellas, a pool to use, water toys, clean restrooms, and wifi. For $20 more, we could have had unlimited drinks, which was a real bargain compared to the prices at the port. I’d do this again in a heartbeat on a visit to Costa Maya (and I’d stay to eat lunch at the club too).

In our case, we returned to the ship around noon to pick up Mom and Pop for lunch. We went to Carlos’ and Charlie’s… it was wildly (I mean wildly) overpriced for so-so Mexican food. While it was good to get Pop off the ship to enjoy the ambiance, I wouldn’t eat/drink there again. You’re essentially captive… and it’s (what’s the Spanish for it?) a “trap tourista.”

We had dinner at Bambo and attended the show, which was altered after an accident at the earlier performance. It seems that one of the dancers/acrobats took a fall from a height during (we believe) the song “Defying Gravity” — sadly, he didn’t. Irony aside, it’s good to hear his injuries don’t appear to be life threatening. (Update: he broke his hip, was disembarked in Cozumel, and flown back to Miami for treatment).

We undertook this exercise and then explored the port area of Belize City (nothing too exciting there). Most major sights are located some distance from the city… however, we didn’t bother with an excursion as most were to either Mayan ruins or the beach–neither of which seemed worth the expense and travel time to us based on past experience. So, we returned to the ship in time for lunch, a nap, and dinner at Cagney’s (the ship’s steakhouse). All in all, it was a pretty good day.

Today’s box score: +1 country (Belize)

So, we all piled into a somewhat dilapidated minivan and set off with our driver and tour guide. The trunk latch of the van was broken; as a result, we had to put Pop’s wheelchair up with us between the middle and front seats. This meant the tour guide had to sit sideways facing me… probably a good thing, as she didn’t really project her voice much for the mildly interesting narration.

The island itself is relatively attractive, but it’s a bit like Grand Cayman in that its primary allure seems to be offshore. It’s also relatively poor, though far better off and much less rough than mainland Honduras, which is one of the poorest and crime-ridden countries in the Americas. Indeed, French Harbour–which was one of the local communities that we visited–had homes that looked to be little more than garden sheds in need of repair. That said, the infrastructure isn’t too bad and evidence of development in the locals’ areas suggest that this island is on the economic upswing.

We returned to the ship for lunch and had an afternoon nap. We then watched the sail away from our balcony before heading to La Cucina for dinner. In the past, we’ve never been overly impressed with NCL’s Italian venue, but it was very good last night. The restaurant’s staff was especially fond of Emerson. They gave her a Happy New Year’s hat and took pictures of themselves with her. Needless to say, Emerson enjoyed the attention.

I’d like to say we stayed up late and rang in the New Year “partying like a Norwegian,” but in truth we were in bed by 10pm after seeing the musical show. I did wake up to hear the Captain announce the arrival of 2014… at 11:30, 11:50, 11:55, 11:59, and finally for the countdown to 12:00. However, by our standards, this was a very festive way to ring in the New Year!

Today’s box score: +1 country (Honduras)

The dock in Roatan:

Happy New Year:

Tonight, we went to Bamboo, the ship’s Asian restaurant. We ordered all seven appetizers and shared them among our table, dim sum style. All of the food–including our main courses–was excellent. This has always been one of our favorite dining venues aboard NCL.

After dinner, I went to see Second City perform. The show was mostly of the sketch comedy variety… some better than others. However, it was packed. Indeed, the cruise generally is busy. Lots of kids and families. Lots of people out to have a good time this holiday week.

I’ll blog along the way, but I may not update posts daily, preferring to use wifi on land if/where I can find it.

This should be a fun, relaxing cruise with Mom and Pop. It’s also the first time we’ll have been on a cruise for New Year’s.

Update

Sailing out of the Port of Tampa and down through the mouth of Tampa Bay took about 2 hours. Libby was especially excited to pass under the impressive span of the Sunshine Skyway bridge. Honestly, it’s not the most attractive sail away we’ve experienced, and the weather was gloomy with clouds and rain. But, it was still special to leave our home via the sea.

For dinner, we went to Moderno Churrascaria. It’s the ship’s new (to us anyway) Brazilian steakhouse concept. You start the meal with a ‘salad bar’ that was actually quite a bit more impressive in terms of the quality of its selections than the name suggests. Indeed, it was more like a Latin-themed antipasto spread. We then enjoyed a number of meat carvings (like 10 different selections) and a host of side dishes. According to Emerson, it was a T-Rex’s delight!

I’m off to Minneapolis today…

Today (our final day aboard Dawn) has been much improved — everyone is feeling better and largely just relaxing as we sail back home. I’ll post a summary / review after we’re back in Tampa.

In the meantime, I’m off in search of margaritas.

We docked around 11:00. Mom, Pop, and I headed ashore almost immediately. L opted to stay aboard the ship and skip the island tour as it wasn’t going to be well-timed for E’s lunch (and really she wasn’t that excited about ‘driving around another island’ anyway).

So, that’s how I found myself in a taxi mini-van driven by Harris, who was whisking us around the southeastern peninsula of St. Kitts — the ‘tourist side of the island’ made up primarily of resorts and the homes of wealthy foreigners. Tourism in St. Kitts is relatively new and the southeastern part of the island remains largely undeveloped (or under construction). It is, however, in a word simply spectacular in terms of natural beauty. I’m also sure that the development will be successful given the appeal of the setting and all of the similarities–for good or bad–with contemporary master planned communities in the US (e.g., all under ground utilities, homogenous floor plans, etc.). I wondered whether or not the locals were sorry to see the landscape of their West Indies paradise changed forever, as it seemed bittersweet at best to me. But, Harris told me that they welcomed the development for the associated economic growth and prosperity.

We returned to the ship by 1:30. I dropped off Mom and Pop and then picked up L and E to explore the town and allow Libby to get her “shop on” (as she likes to say). The port itself is relatively new, well-maintained, and fully pedestrianized. The surrounding town is less ‘constructed’ and a bit shabby around the edges, but it is nonetheless somewhat charming… and the home to obviously friendly and inviting people. We didn’t do too much in town, but we did stop off for refreshments (at which time I sampled the local brew, Carib lager).

Overall, I really liked St. Kitts. For me, it was tops in terms of natural beauty. I’d be happy to return to explore more of the island.

Being Thanksgiving, we opted for dinner in the Venetian. NCL put up a respectable Thanksgiving menu… actually better than the Turkey Day food on Royal Caribbean that I recall from a couple of years ago. Standouts included the duck confit, pumpkin bisque, and Parma ham rolls. The main entree (we all opted for the roast turkey and trimmings) was also very good… with moist turkey and especially good mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, E carried on more than usual at the table, and I ended up leaving with her about halfway through the main course (which is less problematic on a cruise ship as food is always available). Dining outside of the casual buffet (and Libby’s less than usual amount of sleep while on holiday) are the primary challenges of traveling with a baby on a cruise-only vacation for us.

Here’s a photo of St. Kitts (with Nevis in the distance):