bandtaxi
April 10th, 2004, 07:00 AM
This was our 3rd cruise and we had a great time!
We arrived at port around 11:30 and there were already alot of people there ahead of us. We were 12 people. (5 staterooms) Embarkation was fine. The lines kept moving and pretty soon we were on the ship!
If you are taking this ship out of Jacksonville do NOT miss being on deck in the front or back when you go under the bridge. WOW!
The food was always plentiful. Some things we liked better than others, but that's to be expected. Ferdinand and Benito in the dining room were absolutely fantastic!
One thing I did not care for was walking out of the dining room right into a bar where they sell cigars. But that's a little gripe when you're on vacation!
Ticket to Ride is a show not to miss. The juggler and comedian were so-so.
We had a couple renew their wedding vows in the chapel. (don't care for the art in the chapel and some of them elsewhere on the ship)
Our daughter is a trumpet player and we asked to meet the trumpet player from the orchestra. Todd (the cruise director) arranged for the trumpet player and a saxophone player to be available after their big band set on Thursday evening. I expected "hi, my name is _______, I'm from _______, I'll see you later." These guys spent 30 minutes with the 2 high school students we had with us. (I think it was the highlight of the kids week!)
The Miracle books placed in our rooms were free. Decks of cards that had been used in the casino were $1.
We did the Royal Swim with the Dolphins in Cozumel (booked ahead of time at cozumelinsider.com) It was a great program. The pictures are $16 and the video is $49. (available as soon as you finish of course!) These people get in no hurry for any reason! If you are doing this make sure you get to the park with plenty of time to spare. We stood in line at the the reservation desk, then were sent to the ticket desk then told we had to go back to stand in line at the reservation desk again! But the swim was worth it.
We also left school supplies here with mini-golf Sally.
Costa Maya we did the dune buggy excursion. We had a great time here! Be prepared to get VERY DUSTY on this excursion. The buggys travel in a line down a dirt road along the beach. More about this excursion in the ports of call board. We also left things for the orphanage in this port.
At the port was a shopping area. As you enter the shopping 'mall', the stores to right have their prices pretty much set (you can deal some but not alot), but to the left is the tent area. Don't pay what they ask, especially if you are willing to walk out the door to the next shop. (The next shop will probably have the same thing!) One item we looked at was originally $145. We had him down to $25 and he was still following us out the door to take less.
In Freeport we took a taxi to shopping and the beach. Our van driver was Dudley and he gave us a short tour and showed us some interesting things on the island. $5 per person each way, and when we got to town he would not take our money, just made arrangements to come back and get us.
This was a great vacation!
We arrived at port around 11:30 and there were already alot of people there ahead of us. We were 12 people. (5 staterooms) Embarkation was fine. The lines kept moving and pretty soon we were on the ship!
If you are taking this ship out of Jacksonville do NOT miss being on deck in the front or back when you go under the bridge. WOW!
The food was always plentiful. Some things we liked better than others, but that's to be expected. Ferdinand and Benito in the dining room were absolutely fantastic!
One thing I did not care for was walking out of the dining room right into a bar where they sell cigars. But that's a little gripe when you're on vacation!
Ticket to Ride is a show not to miss. The juggler and comedian were so-so.
We had a couple renew their wedding vows in the chapel. (don't care for the art in the chapel and some of them elsewhere on the ship)
Our daughter is a trumpet player and we asked to meet the trumpet player from the orchestra. Todd (the cruise director) arranged for the trumpet player and a saxophone player to be available after their big band set on Thursday evening. I expected "hi, my name is _______, I'm from _______, I'll see you later." These guys spent 30 minutes with the 2 high school students we had with us. (I think it was the highlight of the kids week!)
The Miracle books placed in our rooms were free. Decks of cards that had been used in the casino were $1.
We did the Royal Swim with the Dolphins in Cozumel (booked ahead of time at cozumelinsider.com) It was a great program. The pictures are $16 and the video is $49. (available as soon as you finish of course!) These people get in no hurry for any reason! If you are doing this make sure you get to the park with plenty of time to spare. We stood in line at the the reservation desk, then were sent to the ticket desk then told we had to go back to stand in line at the reservation desk again! But the swim was worth it.
We also left school supplies here with mini-golf Sally.
Costa Maya we did the dune buggy excursion. We had a great time here! Be prepared to get VERY DUSTY on this excursion. The buggys travel in a line down a dirt road along the beach. More about this excursion in the ports of call board. We also left things for the orphanage in this port.
At the port was a shopping area. As you enter the shopping 'mall', the stores to right have their prices pretty much set (you can deal some but not alot), but to the left is the tent area. Don't pay what they ask, especially if you are willing to walk out the door to the next shop. (The next shop will probably have the same thing!) One item we looked at was originally $145. We had him down to $25 and he was still following us out the door to take less.
In Freeport we took a taxi to shopping and the beach. Our van driver was Dudley and he gave us a short tour and showed us some interesting things on the island. $5 per person each way, and when we got to town he would not take our money, just made arrangements to come back and get us.
This was a great vacation!