Great Itinerary & Awesome Service, But Aging Ship

We flew into FLL one day prior and stayed at the Hilton Downtown Miami. We only ventured as far as the marina area for dinner. It’s easy to fly into Ft Lauderdale or Miami and Uber to a hotel near the cruise port. There are plenty of hotels & restaurants near the cruise port to choose from that allows for a quick and inexpensive Uber to the port on embarkation day.

This was our first time here. We loved the fact that we didn’t have to spend a dime to enjoy our day, as food & beverages were provided (we were able to use our drink package here and in Labadee). We brought along our own snorkel gear so ventured over to Chill Island first and snorkeled around the rock levee. The water was cloudy, but there was plenty of fish to be seen if you ventured out far enough. Harmony was in port as well, but there were plenty of beach loungers to be found and plenty of wait staff eager to fetch a cocktail. After Chill Island, we ventured over to Oasis Lagoon. The water was clean and refreshing, but the bar was packed. Afterwards, we grabbed chicken sandwiches (with mozzarella sticks inside) and French fries that were extremely tasty from a Snack Shack. We eventually made our way to South Beach where we remained for most of the day. I wanted to try out the swim up bar, but it was totally overrated! The water was over my head, so once you got up, you had to stay until you finished your drink (unless you have special swimming skills)! There was only one bar tender, so the wait was extremely long. We really enjoyed sitting on a sand bar and even tried out the big round trampoline looking floats that were super comfortable. Once Harmony left port, we felt like we had the island to ourselves and scored front row loungers. We eventually made our way back to the ship but stopped at the Oasis Lagoon along the way. By that time, it had become an obnoxious, overage, drunk, Spring Break-like party (luckily our kids weren’t with us). Tip: Bring a waterproof phone case on a lanyard where you can store your sea pass card and cash along with your phone. That way you can comfortably leave your beach bag with towels, sunscreen, snorkel gear, etc in a lounger when you’re in the water without worrying about it disappearing.

This was our favorite stop! Labadee was picturesque and serene. Once again, we didn’t have to spend a dime to thoroughly enjoy ourselves. We started at Nellie’s Cove where we swam and relaxed in loungers (there were plenty of loungers to be found on every beach). We then made our way over to Columbus Cove where we swam again. We ate hamburgers and watermelon salad at the Columbus Cove Cafe. We walked through the shops on our way over to Dragon’s Beach, but didn’t buy anything. At Dragon’s Beach we waded out to the swim up bar (not as deep as the one at CocoCay) and tried out the over-the-water swings. We agreed that we liked Nellie’s Beach best, so made our way back & remained there for the day. Note the walk is not as far as it appears. We took the tram in, but walked all the way back to the ship. Next time we will be sure to pack some blow up noodle float chairs!

We booked the Blue Hole, Dunn’s River Falls, Reggae Hill excursion. The trek to the meeting point was a lot further than expected and was chaotic when we arrived, but it all worked out. I recommend leaving early! This cruise was in celebration of my husband’s 60th birthday, so we chose to do the most adventurous excursion thinking we might not be able to do it in years to come. Neither the Blue Hole or Dunn’s River Falls would fly in the US because of safety issues, but we survived and had a blast!! Water shoes and waterproof phone cases are required. You’ll want plenty of cash for tipping. AMEX is not accepted anywhere. You can leave your bags with towels and sunscreen in their locked van at the stops. Ride to and from the cruise port is a little over an hour, so if you’re uncomfortable riding back in a wet suit, bring dry clothes.