I recently had the opportunity to cruise on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Liberty of the Seas from Galveston, Texas on her 7 Night Western Caribbean with my husband and 18 members of our extended family! We enjoyed stops in Roatan, Honduras, Belize City, Belize, and Cozumel, Mexico. We flew into Houston a day early and stayed at a hotel near the airport which is always a good idea just in case of any delays in getting to your destination. Some members of our group were delayed due to all the heavy snow storms up north and were relieved they had heeded my advice to fly a day prior to sailing. I arranged a charter service to pick up our group for a private minibus transfer from the hotel to the pier on sailing day.
Once onboard we enjoyed 2 days at Sea on our way to the first port of call. I LOVE Sea days and all the various activities available to you. The Liberty of the Seas offers an onboard ice skating rink, rock climbing wall, flow rider surf simulator, 2 waterslides, miniature golf, an onboard promenade mall, shopping, ice cream stands, casino…I could go on. The possibilities are almost endless! We went to see the Ice Show with amazing skaters doing jumps, flips, lifts, and spins. This was one of my favorite shows. The skaters interacted with the audience as
they skated to a variety of music from Broadway classics to Elvis and Bruce Springsteen! Seating is limited, especially for the ice show. I would recommend making advanced reservations online before your cruise, otherwise, plan on being 45 minutes early to claim a seat. We also saw the Broadway Musical Saturday Night Fever with it’s amazing dancing and sets! It is a full length broadway show on the ocean. Of course, the sets included the iconic light up disco floor. We didn’t have any kids with us on this trip but there were Dreamworks characters from shows like Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar for kids to meet and take photos with. They even had a parade through the promenade mall.
Our first stop was Roatan, Honduras. We opted for a group tour to Little French Key, a small island paradise complete with snorkeling, kayaks, paddleboards, live animals like spider monkeys, food, and drinks. Several in our group snorkeled from shore and a small, more adventurous group, took the boat trip to the edge of the reef for snorkeling and free diving. One price covered everything for the entire day including drinks and a wonderful meal of lobster, steak, chicken, rice and beans, plantain chips, and salsa. I even got to hold a spider monkey before we headed back to shore. French Key was a highlight of the trip!
Next was Belize. We opted for a Mayan Ruins tour called Lamani Ruins. We took a 1 hour bus ride to the New River where we boarded a boat. We sped up river for about another 45 minutes to an hour as our guide told us of 2 species of crocodiles, 60 types of snakes, howler monkeys, green and orange iguanas, and all sorts of birds. Once we arrived we had a guided hike through Lamani full of history and information. We had the opportunity to climb both the Face Temple and the High Temple over 130 feet high!
In Cozumel we opted for a short city, shopping, and photo tour and then spent the rest of the day on another gorgeous beach eating amazing food
and enjoying the Caribbean Sun! The day we were in port at Cozumel there were 9 Ships there that day! Some of our group did a Half Day Scuba Dive Charter. Cozumel sits on the Mesoamerican Reef, the second largest reef in the world. Diving and Snorkeling in Cozumel are amazing! We saw eels, barracuda, fish of all colors, crab, an octopus and more! We taxied back to the pier area – make sure you agree on a price before you ride – and did some shopping for souvenirs.
I can’t say enough great things about Royal Caribbean! The ship was great, the food was amazing, we loved the excursions, and loved the entertainment.
If you are considering doing a cruise with any kind of group, whether it be friends and family or work groups, we can take care of all the details so the entire trip runs smoothly. I was able to handle things like pre-registration, charter vans, chartered group excursions, group dining, an onboard group photo, advanced reservations, beverage packages, added amenities, flights, and check in to make a seamless trip to remember for my family!