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On March 29, 2022, we started our 12-day cruising journey with Norwegian Jewel. We had never cruised before this trip and had such a wonderful time, so much so we purchased “Cruise Next” deposits to be used within 4 years.

Prior to this cruise, I tried to research what to expect and how to prepare for a cruise and came up dry. My hope is this blog, albeit a long one (my longest), might help YOU during your planning stages. 

Important things for me to note:

1. We are a family of three ages at the time 38 (Mark), 33 (Me), and 13 (Hayden) during the cruise. The average age of guests on our cruise was 62 and we are not their target audience.
2. We were chosen for a bid upgrade, so we were staying in the 2 Bedroom Deluxe Family Balcony Suite – Room 11530. This particular room received al the perks and benefits of staying in The Haven minus The Haven specific amenities, such as their private pool area and rooms with private balcony hot tubs.
3. We had several “Free at Sea” offers with our booking. 250 free minutes of Wi-Fi for the cabin, $50 credit per excursion for one person, 4 free specialty dining meals (for Mark and I each), and premium beverage package which is unlimited drinks for the duration of the cruise that cost less than $15 USD a la carte (for mark and I).

We went into the trip with an open mind and minimal expectations as first-time cruisers. We knew we would have downtime, and we welcomed it in theory, but we are so go-go-go all the time that it was hard to accept the downtime, especially while on vacation when we usually are even more go-go-go than we are when we are home. We are definitely “I’ll sleep when I get home” kind of travelers.

Day 1: The cruise started in Colon, Panama, which is on the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal. There is not a lot to do in Colon and the part of town we drove through is pretty run down. If you are flying into Panama City (on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal) a day or two in advance, I highly recommend that you stay in Casco Viejo and then travel to Colon day of for your cruise. You can find my 36 hours in Casco Viejo pre-cruise itinerary blog here. 

It is important to mention, and I still have no idea why this is, but our driver had us give him $5 USD per person for him to give to the cruise terminal check-in center before he was allowed to drive us to the drop off area at the terminal just a few feet away. We were not made aware of this in advance. It all happened so fast, we were told to stay in the vehicle, and there was definitely a language barrier without a lot of patience on the driver’s side to ask additional clarifying questions via Google Translate. At the end of the day, it is just $5 USD per person and isn’t that big of a deal, but if you don’t have cash on hand, it could pose a problem. 

Pro Tip: It would be a good idea to have lots of $5 and $1 USD during your trip. I wasn’t keeping track, but I believe we spent about $500 in tipping money during our 14 days between shuttle drivers, tour guides, restaurants/bars, terminal fees, etc. Everywhere we went before the cruise, and during the cruise at the ports, accepted USD or credit cards. There is no need for advance currency exchanges or ATM withdrawals to get the local currency. 

Once our luggage was offloaded, we were very quickly shuttled through the terminal. We had people taking us to the first kiosk and taking our luggage. Then, as we were being sent to the second kiosk, we were told we were VIP… which was new news to us. I thought we just got approved for a larger room, not that it came with all these added perks. As VIPs we were told we get to cut all the lines and we were escorted to our first “The Haven” line, but for customs – remember, we were not staying in The Haven, so I was convinced we were in the wrong spot this whole time and somehow getting away with things. Because the whole process happened so quickly, we were not able to shop the Duty-Free area. We did walk through it on our way to customs, and from what I could tell there was lots of good stuff.

If you are in the Colon, Panama cruise terminal, don’t skip the Duty-Free shop even if you feel like you are being rushed (now of course, if you are indeed rushed, do skip it). Aside from what is on the boat and two more ports on this itinerary, this will be the only Duty-Free shop during this cruise, and at quick glance, is the best one. The designer purses were calling my name and I regret not stopping. 

Once we got to customs, our personal concierge greeted us and handed us each a bottle of water. Everything still is moving very fast, and I simply don’t have enough hands for everything being asked of us. We somehow successfully stumbled through the process and were then met by our “The Haven” escort who took us to our “assembly station” for a debriefing in case of an emergency. 

Since we were the first sail for the Norwegian Jewel in two years due to the COVID-19 endemic, our escort took us directly to our room. Being able to go to your room immediately upon boarding is not typical for any cruise ship or line because the room stewards are still having to clean the rooms from the cruise guests that disembarked that morning. Our room was spectacular! However, I am not going to go into detail about that here, but I have written a blog post about the room specifics here.

It is recommended that you carry on with you items you will need for the day, as it could be several hours before you will be able to access your room and luggage.

Items you might want to keep with you:

1. Bathing Suit
2. Sunscreen and Sunglasses
3. Medications
4. A Change of Clothes
5. A Book/Tablet/Cards

We spent this first evening exploring the ship and getting aquatinted where everything was located since it was our home for the next 12 days.

Day 2: Our second day was technically not a “Sea Day,” but it also kind of was because it was our Panama Canal passage day, and we did not stop at any ports.

This day was our Panama Canal passage day, and we did not stop at any ports. We passed through the 40 miles of Panama Canal Locks (Gatun, Pedro Miguel, and Miraflores) over the course of 9 hours at a speed of 12 nautical knots. As industrial as this experience and process is, it is also incredibly fascinating watching the mechanics of how locks function and I believe that everybody should experience this passage at least one time in their life. We met a couple that had done the Panama Canal passage 5 times now and they said it never gets boring. I am going to take their word for it.

On the way out of the canal we passed under the Bridge of the Americas, which was oddly way cooler than I expected. It is a 5,007-foot-long arch bridge that connects North and South America. I am not sure just viewing or walked across the bridge would be as cool though.

We wrapped up our evening by visiting the Stardust Theater where we saw “The Magic of R.J. Cantu,” a magician from Las Vegas.

Day 3: Our first official Sea Day, and boy was it difficult to just relax and stay busy. My inability to relax or stay busy was no fault of the cruise ship and 100% my fault. I hadn’t taken a traditional relaxing vacation since 2007 and I just couldn’t figure out how to do it. In my mind I had to stay actively busy and just hanging out in the pool/hot tub or lounge chair was ridiculous to me. I did eventually hop into the pool, and to my surprise it was salt water and you naturally just float. No swimming required! That in itself was magnificent. As for the concept of relaxing, I crave it now…

Day 4: The first port was Puntarenas, Costa Rica from 8 am to 7:30 pm. Our excursion for the day was two parts. The first part was “Forest Sky Walk” and the second part was “Tarcoles Eco Cruise.”

The Forest Sky Walk, formally and locally referred to as the “The Sky Way Tour at Hotel Lapas” was promoted by the cruise line as a walk through the rainforest skyline, and although it wasn’t wrong, it also wasn’t what we were expecting and it kind of was a letdown. There are three hanging bridges hanging at 180 feet above ground during the 1.5-mile walk. Each bridge ranges from 131 to 300 feet in length and are very wobbly. I am surprised they haven’t fallen if I am being honest. I would not recommend this part of the excursion, but the second part I do recommend and the only choice you might have to include the second part would be to include the first part. You’ll also want to bring bug spray.

The Tarcoles Eco Cruise, formal and locally referred to as the “Jungle Crocodile Safari” was very neat! I am going to sound old saying this, but seeing the crocodiles was cool and all, but seeing all the different species of birds we don’t have in Washington was awesome. We were handed small booklets of all the different birds we could see and every time we spotted one Hayden would cross it off. All said and done, we saw over 30 different species and a few iguanas. Once done, we were shuffled to a gift shop with light refreshments (complimentary). You’ll definitely want to grab some local snacks and a drink here for the ride back to the ship. I do recommend this excursion, and from what I observed there is little to no disturbance to the natural wildlife of the area.

Once we got back, we had a little bit of time to explore the nearby area by the port. There was a small farmers market happening, but everybody appeared to be selling the same things and there were also a couple restaurants nearby. It does have a fun sign of “Puntarenas” to take a photo with though! If you get back from your excursion with time it is worth a quick walk through, but unless you plan on sitting down for a bite to eat you won’t need much time.

The evening’s entertainment was “The Comedy of Vince Acevedo” and it was a blast! In the Stardust Theater there are three seating sections – right, middle, and left. We were sitting with Hayden a few rows up from the front in the right section from Vince Acevedo’s viewpoint, and he latched onto Hayden being 1 of 7 children on the ship and being the only one in the theater at that time of his set with “all the old people.” Needless to say, Vince had the whole theater rolling with laughter while age appropriately roasting Hayden and she quickly became the cruise ships local child celebrity for the duration of the cruise. Everybody knew who Hayden was even if they didn’t see the show where Vince roasted Hayden.

Day 5: Another Sea Day! But this was an unplanned Sea Day. We were supposed to be in Nicaragua on Day 5, but the local government wouldn’t welcome the ship for tourism. I did get better with my ability to relax, but I still wasn’t the best at it. Mark was able to very easily embrace relaxation and I tried to take a page out of his book.

Day 6: Our second port took us to Acajutla, El Salvador where we went on a “Mayan Route” for our excursion. We were at this port from 7 am to 6:30 pm, but we decided to stay on the ship until the time of our excursion at 9:30 am.

Overall, the excursion was good, but the advertisement photo implied we would be seeing some of the ancient, tall, and well preserved Mayan temples and we did not. This was also a two-part excursion. Our first stop took us to the UNESCO World Historical Site of Joya de Ceren and our second stop took us to Ruinas De San Andres. Although I went into this excursion thinking I would be seeing something different, I would still recommend it. Definitely wear comfortable shoes as there is lots of walking involved.

Day 7: Our third port was Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala from 6:30 am to 4 pm. We knew we wanted to visit Antigua, but also knew that after having two tour group excursions in Costa Rica and El Salvador prior we would like a break from the structure. So, when “Antigua On Your Own” was a bookable excursion we went ahead and did that.

Now, you might be wondering why we booked an excursion for that since we’d be doing it on our own… well, it was because we needed transportation from Puerto Quetzal to Antigua, which is about a 90-minute drive each way. Yes, we could have hired a taxi and truly had the day to ourselves, but having transportation handled by the cruise line added that extra layer of security in case we were late back to the ship and was just overall less stressful.

Antigua is a beautiful town, and I cannot wait to visit again. The sheer amount of history and culture is incredible. It took us a moment to get our bearings, but we ultimately visited Jade Maya and Iglesia San Francisco El Grande (highly recommend both) and then wrapped up with lunch at a random restaurant with no tourists (I am shooting myself in the foot for not capturing their name).

One very important thing to note about Antigua, there are dozens of street sellers that walk around and follow you to purchase their goods. They are incredibly persistent. I had one lady follow me several blocks and I finally caved and purchased something for way too much money since I paid in USD and not Quetzal. The pressure of the situation got to me, and I just wanted her gone.

Day 8: Our fourth port of call was Huatulco, Mexico from 12 pm to 7:30 pm. Huatulco is an up-and-coming resort town that first started being developed for tourism in 1983. Our excursion here was called “Huatulco Land & Sea” and it had several parts, but we were able to explore the little town first for shopping and got a nice lunch right on the beach. A nice local trying to get us to book a boat trip with him even asked me to move from under the coconut tree (in which I didn’t know I was standing under) so one didn’t fall on my head randomly. He could have just not said anything since we did decline his boat offer, but he didn’t, and that little act of kindness is something I won’t forget.

Part 1 of the excursion took us to a mezcal and mole tasting with chocolate crickets, part 2 was a visit to the Oaxacan Handicrafts Museum where I bought a beautiful cotton textile, the third part was a stop at a viewpoint with a “Huatulco” sign, and lastly a sea tour of the towns nine bays. This little tour was great, and I loved that the departure time was a few hours after we arrived so we could explore the little area at the port. 

Day 9: Another Sea Day. By this point I was so invested in my book and finally learned how to relax. It was also when Mark, Hayden, and I all started getting the end is near vacation blues.

Day 10: Our fifth port was Puerto Vallarta, Mexico from 8 am to 3:30 pm and it was incredible. Puerto Vallarta was the first place I ever traveled internationally, and it was also the first international destination I returned to. We didn’t do anything in Puerto Vallarta proper though, but we did take a catamaran with Vallarta Adventures to Las Caletas Hideaway, and it was amazing. Las Caletas is an all-inclusive day trip (with the exception of some additional more adventurous add-ons here and there). The food and drinks are included, snorkeling is included, kayaking/paddle boarding is included, lounging in is included, photos with macaws and flamingos are included, the waterslides are included, and that is just naming a few! 

We did not prepare for our trip to this hideaway at all, and that was our mistake. It is important to note that it is a 75-90 boat ride each way, which does take away from the time at the hideaway. I cannot stress enough the importance of brining water shoes or socks. Walking barefoot on the rocks in the water and near the water was incredibly painful and wearing something on feet would help with that. We cannot wait to return to Las Caletas, either with another cruise excursion or on our own because we’re visiting Puerto Vallarta.

Day 11: Our last port was Cabo San Lucas, Mexico from 7 pm to 1:30 pm. Cabo San Lucas is a “tender port” and this means that the ship stays in the more open water nearby and you are shuttled, via small boats, to and from the shore. Remember on Day 1 where we learned we were VIP? Well, this meant we got to get off the ship first by utilizing the safety boats that are on the ship. However, this also meant that in my mind that is what we were taking to get back to the ship. It was not.

The cruise lines contract with little boats ran by the locals to shuttle guests back to the ship. Which is fine… but what I didn’t like was the unplanned expectation that we needed to tip. I thought we were taking the little cruise ship boats back to the ship because that is what we took to get off, so we offloaded all our cash to the excursion guide and driver as a tip. The looks we got from the locals on the tender boat when they were walking around with a bucket for tips back to the ship was not great. Keep some cash on you for this so you don’t look foolish like I did.

Now, as for the excursion it was overall great! We splurged and booked a UTV adventure along the coast with a mezcal tasting. The excursion when booking online says it is over $400 per person, but it is actually per group of 4, so make this booking in advance over the phone or wait until you get on the ship to book it. 

We had some disadvantages that made me sad, but I worked through them. I was going to drive the UTV on the way back, but when I got into the driver’s seat I couldn’t reach the peddles. I am 5’3″. We pulled the seat as far forward as it could go, but then I couldn’t buckle because the straps were attached to the frame of the UTV and not the seat itself. The combination of my size and my height prevented me from being in the driver’s seat and I was so frustrated. Had the seatbelt been designed as little bit differently this wouldn’t have been an issue. Literally everything else about the UTV and experience was great.

With that said, they may have had extenders, but that likely would have been something that needed to be addressed prior to leaving and when we left, I was the passenger, with the seat all the way back, and the seatbelt fit. Additionally, the guide wanted to help once we learned it wasn’t buckling and I got all up in my emotions and refused his help and just got back into the passenger seat. The other UTVs were ready to drive, and I didn’t want to hold up the group. 

Now, onto some positives. You’re driving around for over an hour and you’re able to hit some exhilarating speeds, especially on the straight patches on the beach. You stay within a group, but you also feel alone since you don’t want to tailgate the UTV in front of you. A photographer assigned to your group also follows you around and captures action shots and will take photos of your group during the break. At the end, you can purchase some or all the photos and it makes for such a great souvenir since taking photos with your phone or non-secure Go-Pro is not allowed. Not having your phone on you during the adventure is also great because then you remain in the moment. 

Day 12: Our last day and our last Sea Day! The end of vacation blues really hit hard this day. We had to balance enjoying our day, but also packing up to leave the next morning. We said our emotional goodbyes to our butler Carlos, our whiskey bar bartender Alex, and our poolside bartender Gregory.

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY warned us about the emotional goodbyes we would have with the cruise staff, especially when on a longer cruise like this one. You look forward to when you get to see them. You look forward to learning about their home and families. You look forward to hearing about their goals in life and why they are working on the cruise ship. So, take this as your warning. It’ll be hard to say goodbye, especially if you are on a first name basis, but building that connection with staff is so wonderful. 

For disembarkation day and we got off in San Diego. We delayed getting off the ship for as long as possible, since the fight Norwegian Cruise Line booked for us wasn’t until around 8:30 pm (I even tried to get on an earlier flight). I tried for weeks to find somewhere to take and storage luggage so we could do something in San Diego with Hayden since she hadn’t been before, but I came up dry. The airport used to do it, but the service closed during the pandemic. We even tried to get the airline to take our luggage so we could call a taxi to take us somewhere and they wouldn’t take our luggage until 4 hours before the flight; 4:30 pm. We were trapped at the airport with very little to keep us entertained for hours. We couldn’t even go through security due to having a large suitcase that needed checked to get to a bar or restaurant. Fortunately, there was one convenience store opened at the airport to get snacks, but nothing else. 

Norwegian Cruise Line often runs a special for Buy 1 Get 1 Free airfare, and that is a good deal. For us three combined, round-trip airfare was less than $1000. I highly doubt I could have booked that for cheaper, which is why I went with the special. However, you don’t have any say in the time of your flights or what airline is used. If you want to take advantage of this special, come prepared with your patience, but if you have the funds to book the airfare yourself, do so because you will have more control over the airline and time of flights.