My sister won a Casino on the Seas cruise, and she invited me to go with her. She let me choose the week. I flew to Fort Lauderdale and took an Uber to Miami. At embarkation we were supposed to go through the fast lane as Casino on the Seas travelers, but the employee right at the sign told us no. We were ushered to the regular line, but it wasn't that slow after all. All week if I needed something from the Info desk, I never had to wait very long in line. We stopped at Roatan in Honduras, Harvest Cay in Belize, and Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico.

I chose three Norwegian-sanctioned excursions at the four stops. The Mayan healers in Belize were excellent and well worth the boat and bus trip. The primary language in Belize is English. Their chicken lunch was delicious. I bought chocolate tea. It's not meant to taste like hot chocolate with milk. It is actually quite good and supposedly healthy for you. I learned there are Mennonites who settled in Belize, and I saw a few. I went diving for the first time ever and in Costa Maya. I recommend people not only know how to swim but also have snorkeling experience. It helps to being accustomed to having a piece of plastic in your mouth the whole time you are in the water. The diving instructors were very patient with me. I also enjoyed the Jose Cuervo experience in Cozumel. It was way more thorough and fun than I expected. It wasn't just sampling tequila. There are opportunities for picture taking, dioramas of various Mexican pyramids, an aerial show of acrobatic men, and a lovely gift shop.

On the ship itself I had a really wonderful time at the Macallan whiskey tasting, attending two art auctions, attending two healthy living seminars, competing in the library with the crossword puzzles with my cousin, using the gym twice a day (so much good food on board!), attending a comedy show, catching the tail end of the hypnotist's show, consulting personally with the spa doctor, shopping for bargains in the on-board stores, oh, and netting $500 in the casino for the week! :D Read more