Belize City was our destination on day 5. After a tender ride into the port I hopped a ride out to Goff’s Caye. Unfortunately I wasn’t dressed to snorkel. This was a beautiful little island with some nice sand bars and reefs to explore. Lot’s of people just hung out in the water. We had great weather in Belize that day.





It was just a short overnight cruise to Costa Maya for day 6. A village has been built there since the last time we stopped in Costa Maya. Kind of a short day in port as we had to start heading back across the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans.



After our time in the village in Costa Maya, we took some pictures of the waves crashing on shore on the way back to the ship.



Day 7 was at sea. Lots of activities onboard the ship. Many people spent the day at the pool. There was a huge cookout poolside too.


There was even a shuffleboard tournament on deck 6.
We had one last dinner in Cagney’s Steakhouse.

After dinner we had to take one last lap of the promenade deck. A cold front was approaching and there were thunderstorms all over. We had quite a light show with the lightning.
Back in our cabin we found our towel Sculpture of the day.
As we approached the Mississippi River a pilot got on the ship to help navigate. We were lucky enough to catch the pilot’s boat pulling along the ship.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. We had kind of a restless night as the ship travelled upriver to New Orleans. Overnight the skies cleared and we were greeted by clear, but cool skies in New Orleans.

That’s the highlights for our week. We had a great time on the Norwegian Dawn and are already looking forward to our next cruise.
Captain Dan’s tips:
If you have never been on a cruise, take one. We took our kids on several cruises. They make for great family vacations. The ships today are way more kid friendly too.
Looking for a deal? Shop around and then see what incentives the cruise lines themselves are offering when you book directly. The lowest fare is not always the best price overall for a cruise. Consider what extras you will want and see what the total cost will be considering every likely expense.
If you have a flexible schedule check out some of the repositioning cruises. They offer some interesting itineraries and great prices.