Staci Beck

Age: 31
Occupation: medical
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: ncl
Ship: sea
Sailing Date: September 4th, 2004
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

This was our first cruise and what an experience. We arrived at the port of Houston around 11:00 and were among the first to board the Sea. At first glimps, I she was a bit smalled than I imagined. We were in our room and up on the 9th deck by noon for lunch. They had a good Bar-B-Que going with burgers and hotdogs or you could go into the Big Apple Cafe for the buffet. We then just spend time wondering around trying to get the ship's layout down. I would recommend booking restaurant and spa reservations on the first day. The spa will have different daily specials. We did the Cancun special. It was a 50 minuite massage for $69.00. It was regular $89.00. Ask for Jane. She was fantastic.

Our first port of call was Cozumel. We did the Dune Buggy & Snorkel. All of our excursions were booked thru NCl. It was a lot of fun. You ride a few minuites to the snorkel site. Snorkeling took about an hour. To me, this was a bit too long. You are in the water with an instructor and cannot rest. Then we drove to a private beach for lunch and swimming. The food was excellent. Burritos, taquitos, nachos, chips, salsa, and the best guacamole I've ever eaten. We stayed there about 45 minuites and then continued the tour of the island. I would recommend this tour to any adults under 50.

Our next day was at Roatan. This was a beautiful little town with much hospitality. We did the Tabyana Beach Party. The bus ride took about half an hour but the scenery is gorgeous. We spent all day in the crystal blue water and eating, of course. This tour is good for beach lovers of all ages.

The third port was Belize. This was our least favorite. There is a small shopping village and not much else to do. We had a catamaran snorkel scheduled but it was cancelled due to weather. We did recevie a fullr efund.

Cancun was last. We did the Cancun overview. We wished we had gone touring by ourselves. This tour was packed with seniors and very slow paced. You take a long bus ride to a small set to mayan ruins and then back to a "shopping mall" (one store...not cheap) You have two hours for shopping anf lunch. We did eat at a mexican restaurant that was outstanding. It was suggested by the tour guide. I think Cancun really has a lot to offer but we missed it.

As far as the Sea herself, I thought she was well maintained. When we were in Cozumel, they were painting on the outside. The rooms are small, but you are only there to sleep. We found the food to be outstanding in all restaurants. We ate the Pasta Cafe, the buffets, and the Seven Seas. I wish the inforced the dress code. There were people in the main dining areas with jeans and t-shirts. The chocoholic buffet is to die for. If you can't find something there you like, you should be thrown overboard! Youcan order as much as you want in the main dining rooms. Two appetizers, two entres, anything. The buffet was consistently good. Among our favorites were shrimp, lobster & crawfish fajitas, french toast, and the pasta. Oh...the cheese selection in the main dining rooms were unbelievable. We ordered cheese every night.

Drinks did add up. Most were $4-$8 with a 15% service charge added to each tab. The peach daquiries were very good. Be careful what you order in the casino, coffee is $1.79 each cup. Go to the buffet to get that. They have Coke light in some of the serving areas. This does not taste the same as Diet Coke. It's much sweeter. You can find Diet Coke on the ship. But we did not see it in the ports. All in all, the food was wonderful.

We spent a lot of time in the casino. The Sea is the only ship sailing that has texas holdem'. You can play on $60 all night. They casino staff was very personable.

The shows were excellent, especially Sam Greesebaum, the comedian and the NCL dancers. The dancers did a "greased lightning" show that is not to be missed. We played Bingo several times. Between me and my husband, we won 3 times. But do be very careful, this can be extremely expensive.

We loved the freestyle cruising. It's definately the way to go. Kevin and his staff are teriffic. We can't wait to book our next cruise with NCl. Probably on the Jewel.

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