micmacmissy

@lovelife You'd be surprised at some of the good deals on the bigger RCCL ships over Christmas!

School principal here - I'm in the same boat!

We’ve sailed on Allure (during spring break, pre-covid) and really enjoyed it. That trip was 100% capacity with 2,500 kids on board - and still it didn’t feel crowded…but that was in 2015 or so. Looking at booking 12/22-12/29 and wondering what Christmas cruises are like. On Christmas Day, in port, are there things to do or is everything closed down? We’ll be in Roatan that day. Anything else we should know about a christmas cruise? Thanks in advance!

What are T’erds?

Taxi was cheap - maybe $20? And no, didn’t charge per person. It was me and my husband in a minivan, and we arranged for him to return for us. He didn’t even want to be paid when he dropped us off - we paid him on the way back

No safety concerns at all. No sketchy wandering people on the beach, either. I’d go as a solo female, no question.

Meh - I don’t think so…a lot of people don’t dig this deep into the shore excursion boards.

I totally got that wrong. I meant to say, served TO YOU, not self serve.

Newsflash: something is going to kill you someday. This is a guarantee. Live your life. Drink from the mystery glass in your cabin. Employ the five-second rule when you drop a cookie on your floor. And for the love of Pete, don’t clean your cabin/hotel room on vacation. Do you really want to improve your odds of good health and wellbeing? Wear your seatbelt, cut back on sugar, and exercise daily. The perseveration on how to keep everything in our lives sanitary is not good for your mental health.

Yes, the cruise is over, but I’m doing the review day by day. I’m on day 6. ;)

20,000 steps a day! Yikes! (Good for you.) Celebrity is definitely more laid back. I would say the high energy vibe you’re looking for might be found on NCL, or even one of the newer Carnival ships in a suite (check out Jim Zim on You Tube). Virgin cruise line also seems to have quite the party vibe!

Ignore. We took my kids on two Royal cruises (as young as ages 9 and 11) and all they wanted to do was read, hang by the pool with their parents, and visit the buffet. They wanted no part of the children’s clubs. People on the Celebrity boards are pretentious but onboard, everyone is super friendly!!!

The Oasis class ships have great entertainment, between the ice rink, aqua theatre, and main theatre shows. However, not much small group/acoustic/live music in the lounges. Celebrity does a great job with the live music, but the stage shows are definitely not as good as Royal. THAT SAID the stage shows on Apex were the best we’ve seen on Celebrity - their new theatre set up is pretty darn amazing.

Stopped when leaving the ship? Goodness we’re on day six…we haven’t left the ship yet…don’t rush the end of my vacation! No worries, husband is a former tax attorney so we are well aware of the laws, and everyone who makes a large purchase onboard will definitely be directed by the sales team on exactly how customs and taxes will play out.

We didn’t play any blackjack, but yes, they definitely have it (and a bunch of table games). In our experience on previous X ships, the dealers are very friendly and will add up your cards for you - very different than Vegas! :)