Vacationdreamer<><

I do wish I could. it was a 40 min boat ride along those yellow dots from cruise docking to the resort.

Historically, I have done this often. However, the boat ride to Isla Pasion was at least 45 minutes. I’m really afraid to be that far from the ship without them being the providers. 😬

we are doing May 2023 we like to literally play in the sand. Sit right in it and make castles, etc. Bury mom…. for the fun of it, I just googled “Cozumel sand coarse” and many CC threads come up with similar questions. It’s nice to know my quirks aren’t completely out there!

you have been so helpful both on this page and on my questions for Costa Maya on the port pages. Cozumel is a "me problem." Our first time there we went to Playa Mia and we found the sand to be very disappointing. It was sharper and coarser than any other sand we'd ever experienced, and it made our beach time less pleasant than any other time. We like to bury each other, hunker in for castles, etc. My second time in Coz I went to Nachi Cocum and again was miserable about the sand. I swore I'd never go to Coz again.... and the next year a great rate for a cruise had me back there! This time I did a lot of research and ended up taking a more costly excursion to the north end of the island to Isla Pasion and had a marvelous experience with that beach. It was not the coarse sand as the west side. I was 100% aiming for a trip to Coz this time around to revisit the beach club AND then it turns out RCCL doesn't partner with them. It is much too far from the port for me to just go on our own. I still haven't figured out Costa Maya, but may end up at Krazy Lobster based on what is being suggested on that post.

Late to this discussion, and certainly no cruising pro - but I can speak to having tried many lines. I first did DCL in 2001 and foolishly believed the Disney lie that once you'd done DCL, nothing else would do. It took 13 years (and a MUCH bigger family) to finally get back onboard our second DCL cruise. After we disembarked, my husband commented on how much he enjoyed cruising and suggested that other lines couldn't really be "all that bad." In 2016, I coupled a week long WDW trip with a 7-night NCL on Getaway. Our fare (for 8 of us in two connecting verandahs) cost 45% of what the same trip would have been on DCL in connecting interiors! Since then, I have done 2 child-less Princess trips with my friend(s), and another family cruise on Carnival Valor out of NOLA pre-pandemic It was the cheapest cruise leaving from a port we could drive to (we then lived in NY) for the dates we had available. It was the least "fancy" ship I'd ever been on, and we had a blast. I had a lot of people suggest I was scraping the bottom of the barrel, but we had a wonderful time and I wouldn't hesitate to book them again. Our family has a 5-night Royal cruise out of Galveston coming soon in May, and DH and I are doing our first kid-less cruise on Elation in March. It was dirt cheap, and I am counting on enjoying Blue Iguana til I burst. Unlike many others, we do enjoy dressing for dinner. I like that it is always an option, but not required. I also prefer set dining and assigned waitstaff. I do think DCL offers the best of both worlds with rotational dining, but not at the 3x price tag. Their ships also don't have as much to do as most other family-oriented lines. NCL Getaway was a thrill - ropes course was the best thing we've enjoyed on a cruise. I pick our cruises book on dates, cost, and if I can find connecting staterooms. I would have preferred Vista for this May out of Galveston, but I couldn't find connecting rooms. I am not loyal to any lines, but there are none I wouldn't do again!

Yes!

Haha. I did love Love Boat as a teen. Princess called it the Lido Deck, too. DCL called it a PAT (port arrival time). My lingo is a blur.

Not much of a ranter LOL. I’m super sad that ports of call, while open, aren’t back to their 2019 glory. I wonder if these poorer communities will ever bounce back. It is sad for them and discouraging as a traveler. Still - the ship should be fun if I can get it figured out. 👍

Awesome. Thank you. this is intel that makes me smile. appreciate it.

Do they have hours with waitstaff for lattes and macchiatos, etc? Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you. I have it. But maybe it’s too early? There is almost nothing on the app but things for me to prepurchase.

Would be great to know. I have no qualms about buffet but I really like a sit down lunch after traveling to port. ❤

Thank you. This is the “better coffee”? if I wanted coffee earlier would that be self serve at buffet?

I apologize. Port Arrival Time. I thought that was the right abbreviation. 🤦‍♀️ so embarkation lunch is buffet or something on lido deck? Or is Parks Cafe part of the atrium area? Thank you for your help!

We've never done RCCL, and haven't cruised since pre-lockdowns. I have a smattering of questions. We are a family of 7 in connecting ocean views. DH and I, and five "kids" ages 10-20. It is a 5-n with Costa Maya and Cozumel. I am visiting those boards hoping for some help with excursions. Questions for here - •We have prepurchased drink packages - the Refreshment Package for DH and I, and the Classic Soda Package for the five kids. Will we be able to use that package upon embarkation? Will we need to pay taxes on our drinks prior to sailing? •Will I be assigned a Port Arrival Time, or will I need to set one up when I pre-register? •Does RCCL in general, or VOTS in particular if you know, have a dining room available for embarkation lunch? •Does anyone know if there is a mocktail menu anywhere on line? •Does anyone know what hours the coffee bar(s) are open for "premium coffee." Frankly, I'll take any and all information. I feel very out of practice and I am not even excited about this cruise any longer for a few reasons. Anything y'all think it might help me to know, I would love to feel more prepared. Thank you.

Thank you for the suggestion! Happy to pay for food and just chill a bit. Is this in a cab? Thank you. I’ll look for thread re:Maramo.

Thank you all for your responses. what do you mean by space being tight @jbrinkm @c-leg5 ? Like just packed people to people? We aren’t super active. We like to splash in the water and build sandcastles and bury one another. Mostly we just appreciate warm ocean days. We could just stay on VOTS I suppose. I really didn’t do my homework. I picked this cruise bc we were excited to revisit some places we’d liked and to try a new ship and departure port. We’d wanted to go to Isla Pasion on the north end of Coz, again, any apparently Royal is one of the few lines they don’t partner with. 🤦‍♀️ I'm 0 for 2 here. 😜

Ok - my photos tell me we visited Blue Kay.

Our family will have a day in Costa Maya on Voyager of the Seas in May. In 2016 we stopped there and IIRC we took a tram to the Malecon and walked our way to a beach where we could see our NCL ship. We paid $5pp for access and a drink. We also bought some food items to support the location, but did not dine fully. When we were ready to return to the ship, we asked and they called us a cab. I was hoping to do something similar this time. However - the poking around I've done here on CC suggest that that aforementioned tram no longer operates, and some(many?) of the establishments haven't really all gotten their footing after the lockdowns. My kids are 20, 18, 16, 12, 10, and DH and I are in our early 50"s. We would just like a somewhat local beach and are open to cabs. I am open to all suggestions with safety being my #1 priority. 😄

that’s so awesome. I am glad you noticed the girls behind the cakes. ❤

Yum!

I think newbies may stick with ship excursions and very frequent visitors have their favorites??? Those of us in between need to work at finding info and maybe don’t come back to share??

Thank you! I will look into these.

they seem so poorly visited. Maybe bc Bahamas is so routine? Thank you for your info. I’m interested in the British Colonial you mention. Did you need to contact them prior to travel? I’m looking forward to trying Elation. It will be the smallest and oldest ship I sail on, and I think I may like that.