losbun

I agree, thanks for the recommendation crewsweeper. I work the night shift at the hospital so I always try to bring back local coffee for myself and coworkers.

I was just on Tripadvisor looking at this excursion and it does not get very good reviews at all. It you go there it does show similar, other companies that get much better reviews.

I always really enjoy your reviews especially since it seems we share a very similar sensibility. It's funny because I could have met you this Spring Break because we we're booked for this exact cruise. However, I just kept not being sure if it was the right cruise for us and ended up bailing for a land vacation in Puerto Rico. We also were going to book a Blue Irie Hole trip with Marvyn and now if we ever make it to Jamaica willwe for sure will. Also after reading your Sunshine review I so very much want to go to Belize and take that same excursion you did, it looked incredible.

OT: Since you like frugality, while looking for a cruise for this upcoming spring break I kept coming across ads for MSCs new Seaside ship coming 2018 and for the price we normally pay for two regular cabins I was able to get a 2 bedroom grand suite with all the amenities. Furthest out I have ever made a reservation but for that price on a brand new incredible looking ship I figured why not.

I just booked us a grand suite for our family of 5 on March 31st. I was looking for our 2017 spring break trip and ran across the Seaside. I booked it now because I didn't think the suites were going to last long at the prices they were offering. She looks absolutely gorgeous, I'm curious about what their idea of a "marine reserve" island is and we got a suite with all the amenities for what we usually have to pay for two cramped cabins.

However I had to pay a $700 deposit and does anyone know why there appears to be a cubicle on the balcony. Oh and I was not offered a room selection there was one suite offered on Deck 10 and that was it.

I have not been on Getaway but have sailed Breakaway (sister ship) as well Carnival Glory just a few weeks ago. Glory was our first Carnival cruise; I loved the itinerary, thought the food and service was good, but there was no comparison to NCL entertainment. It was only my DH and I on the Glory and I kept thinking how bored our DD (she is 19) would have been if she were with us. Some evenings the only thing to do was spend time in the bars or casino - I like to spend a little time there but not a whole night several nights because there are no other choices.

 

As far as crowds, we were on the Breakaway during a peak time (July 4th) and it didn't seem more crowded to me than the other ships we have been on. The balconies are small - if you decide to keep your reservation maybe look into the large balcony cabins. We had a mini suite with large balcony on the 8th floor and loved it!

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping someone who had been on both would give their opinion. That was what I wondering about the Glory and why I didn't book it in the first place. Too bad because the itinerary is great but I just don't think DH and the boys will be happy.

My family cruises for the ports too. But, we also want a good family/activity friendly fun ship, especially as the kids become teens. We are booked on the Getaway this January, and was on the Carnival Sunshine earlier this year.

 

Honestly, my family really liked the Sunshine - more good free food options than we have ever seen on a cruise. It offered most of the amenities of the larger ships. (The main theater shows are not the best, but we always opted for the nightly family comedy or outdoor movie theater). I recommend you read my detailed picture review of our Sunshine cruise. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2169332 . We did Disney and a short Carnival cruise one year, and it really was the best of both worlds. We had a great time in Orlando, and then boarded a cruise ship to relax and have meals, ports, and entertainment taken care of.

 

Although when returning to the same port, you do not get that new port excitement, but there are always numerous excursions at each port so that the day does not have to be repeated.

 

So, my recommendation to you based on your pros and cons listed is to either 1) stick with the Getaway or s2) witch to the Sunshine/Orlando trip. All ship pools are overly crowded on sea days. I really don't think the Glory will be what your family will want (unless the ports are gotta-have-it-now ports).

Okay, I just read your sunshine review. What a great review! One can tell that you have a great sense of humor and I think we're very similar in what were looking for in a vacation and blending fun, adventure and value. And OMG your spreadsheet is genius - I am so stealing that.

I agree with you that I think at this point it's between Getaway and Sunshine. Personally I think the Sunshine makes more sense but I'll let the family decide what they want to do. Although after reading your review I'm going to go one last time and look for the same itinerary you did because I'm dying to go to Belize.

Not sure where you are getting that there are "no pools". There's two.yes, some don't think they are big enough, but there's no reason at various times of the day you wouldn't use them....

My understanding is the main pool is adults only leaving a quite small, fairly shallow pool near the slides for anyone under 18. Can someone who's been on the getaway confirm or correct me?

I actually looked into that but the cost was just too prohibitive

I understand. We used to live in St Thomas and we go back in March for our birthdays. Air is 200-400 more than it was last year.

An alternative: keep the getaway booking but build in a little extra budget for vibe and/or some specialties. This will keep the crowds down for a minimal increase in costs.

And now you live in Mexico? Rough life:p

If you are already having concerns and are far enough away from final payment, I would personally cancel. The one thing you don't want, is to be worrying for months, as a vacation's anticapation should be exciting without worry.

That was kind of my inclination also but living in Michigan by the end of winter I need to leave to someplace warm. The question becomes if not a cruise - where? I had even pretty much decided to just do the keys and see what cruises were offered for next year but the kids revolted on me. And really, at the end of the day yes I want the best cruise, time and value for my money but come on it's still a cruise going to tropical islands. How bad can that be?:)

I am sailing her in 10 days and then taking our family of 8 (kids ages 8,10,12,12,15,19) at sailing.

And here I thought that three was too many;)

Conquest is actually one of their oldest ships--the second of the "next generation" CCL ships (behind Sunshine--nee Destiny).

It also gets very poor reviews both on CC and in the forums

Personal opinion here. If you don't mind flying, you might consider a Southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan. It's more travel but you get great ports (usually 5 of them) since you are in the Caribbean when the cruise leaves.

I actually looked into that but the cost was just too prohibitive

We went on our first cruise last year on the Caribbean Princess and the family liked it so much they wanted to do another one this year. Having a high-schooler we are stuck going spring break week which for Michigan is always the first week of April. Unfortunately there just didn't seem to be a combination of ship and itinerary that I was really excited about so I kind of settled on the Getaway. And while after reading reviews I'm sure we'll have a good time I'm still just not 100% sure this is the right ship/itinerary for us so below I listed what I'm excited about and what are my concerns. I know it's my decision but it's our big yearly vacation and a good chunk of change so I'd love to get people's two cents:).

What I like about the Getaway:

*Newer ship will appeal to DH

*Kids (OK and adults) excited about the slides and rope course

*Entertainment quality and options

*Food options and variety

*Free UBP for me (We're 5 so have to get 2 cabins, inside = no UBP)

*Great sideways IC for the kids directly across hall

*2 new ports: Jamaica and GSC

*4 port days (Ports are our biggest priority)

*Mojito Bar (that one's for me:D)

*Wanted to try NCL

Concerns I have:

*The size of the ship and crowds. Not a big fan of crowds and oh did I mention it's spring break.

*Lack of swimming pool. Last year on sea days we spent the entire day at the pool with the kids. And please don't tell me that the large kids bathtub is a pool, it's not.

*Poor seating. Since there's no pool I'm assuming the kids will spend the entire day at the slides - where do we sit and supervise??

*We did 2 of the ports last year

*Crowds: getting seats, getting drinks, getting food, seeing shows

*Small balcony - we were out on it a lot last year and there are five of us.

*Port of Miami - we're driving so that's an extra hour to over two hours past the other ports.

Like I said I don't see anything on my negatives that would stop us from having a good time...I think my biggest hesitation is the itinerary since we just did the western last year and I'm really worried about the crowds.

The Carnival Glory has a better itinerary at a slightly lower price but the ship, food and entertainment options aren't as good.

Another option I'm thinking of is a shorter Bahamas cruise on the Sunshine coupled with some land days (Harry Potter here I come?). It has more dining options and the slides/rope course although a lot of people complain about the ship. In an ideal world I think a 4 port Eastern itinerary on the Pearl, Jewel or Jade would have been perfect for us.

Anyway sorry for the long post but even if no one replies it helped organizing the thoughts swirling in my head. As I said I know it's my choice and personal and blah, blah, blah but I would value a second opinion and to hear what other's thoughts are. Thanks for the help, Laura.

Just my two cents :)

 

El Cid has decent snorkeling right off their 'beach' We have always been satisfied snorkeling right from shore. There are plenty of fish & enough coral to keep our interest, plus, further out there is a huge anchor, as well as the remains of a sunken airplane.

 

Pool, restaurant, beach volleyball, music...

 

We will be returning first of September w/ a group of 5, & I hope everyone is satisfied!

Thanks Cerabella, I think they're good two cents. My concern is that with 20000 cruisers that day and El Cid so close to the port is it going to be a madhouse?

I would ask the snorkel boat if they can just drop you off elsewhere. Even if there is no dock, you can always wade in.

 

I wouldn't plan on a secrets drop off. When we stayed there they only let guests on the dock. People not staying there or at sabor couldn't access the property without paying for a day pass. Possibly they wouldn't even let you walk through.

Good to know, thanks for the advice. Off topic, you're right scuba for my daughter is a no go. I have to admit that I'm starting to regret booking another cruise and kinda wish I would have just done a land based vacation.

Well, yesterday I was all frustrated because I couldn't find any good options and now I have an overabundance of choices:D. Thanks for the suggestions c-leg, I had not heard of Buccanos at all.

After scouring trip advisor and outfitter websites I think I have found a good choice with Chala-Michal Snorkeling Adventures. They have very good reviews on trip advisor and are quite reasonable. They are one of the only outfitters that don't charge full price for young kids. The excursion last about 3 hours and then I thought we'd go to a PAYG beach club. I see you like El Cid for that and that looks like the perfects spot for us however, the only drawback is the outfitter only picks-up/drops-off at a few docks - The Money Bar being their primary dock. We could take cabs back and forth but I feel as if we would just be burning money on all these cabs because we'd still have to take one to Punta Langosta. Alternatively, they could drop us off at Secret's Aura and we could walk to Paradise Beach - it only seems to be a 1/2 mile, although PB is not really my first choice to chillax and have some good food and drinks.

A much less complicated and cheaper plan is to take a cab to one of the places you recommended and just be beach bums for the day. Is there any appreciable difference in the places between the quality of their amenities, food, crowds and snorkeling?

Thanks for all your help, Laura.

Our family of 5 will be in Cozumel in April with 6 other ships. We did Chankanaab last year and while we really enjoyed that I'm looking for other options this time. My husband and daughter are big time snorkelers and would not be happy at a beach club like Mr Sanchos/Nachi but the younger boys would not be happy at a place that only had snorkeling like the Money Bar. I'm thinking maybe a hotel resort with a pool and possible small beach might be a good compromise. The Cozumel Palace looked promising but not at over 500 for the day.

Alternatively I had originally wanted to do a sail/snorkel but oddly enough could not find many providers. If anyone has a recommendation on this I would be interested. Finally, I also ideally would like something calm and kicked backed that would remind me of the divers island we came to 15 years ago ;).

Thanks for posting this review. I thought about this excursion as it seemed a lot of fun and different but for the cost and the how much time would get eaten up with transportation I decided against it. But I would expect we'll go to Playa Del Carmen again and this sounds like a great excursion.

We took our 13 year old on her first cruise last year. She is part fish, part competitive swimmer and absolutely loved snorkeling. She is thinking for her birthday this September that she would like to get dive certified. So here is my question:

Being in Michigan we can get her dive trained but due to the weather would not be able to get her open water certification before our cruise in April. Is there a reputable dive shop in Cozumel that would provide the open water aspect of her training? I believe the dive shop here in town is SSI. We did this ourselves for our honeymoon many, many years ago but we went on a sponsored trip through our dive shop so they did the certification.

Thanks for any help. Also, we have another stop in GC if that would be a better option. Laura.

We went to Chankanaab last year and loved it. The snorkeling is wonderful, it truly is like being able to snorkel in aquarium. However, with three small kids, I agree with John that it may be worth it to look into an all inclusive beach package with a kids pool and here's why.

Chankanaab sits on a coral reef (it why the snorkeling is so good) so that means the vast majority of the "beach area" sits on an iron shore (read rocky) so that you have to take stairs into the water. This would not be something that the little ones would do on their own without life vests and an adults assistance as the water will be over the head and the water pushing into a rocky shore. The other option then is that they do have a "kiddie beach" with the more typical zero entry which is a quite small cove area between the snorkeling area and the docks. There is a small beach area to hang/play/lounge and a palapa bar also right there.

In regard to your photo organizing and trip reports I can only say...GOOD...LORD. Bless you for doing it because the last thing I would want to do after all the bills and laundry and kids crap and the actual j-o-b to deal with after vacation is to do all the work you just described. I think I'm good with my measly hundred or so photos and faulty memory:p.

 

Coming out to take a bow at the end and she spots us.

 

 

Hey Kim, enjoying your review as always. I've read all your reviews and they've helped so much especially at the ports but this is the first one I've read in real time and been able to comment on.

1) I can't believe how grown Sakari looks. Love her dress, do they have it my size?

2) I would love to know how you organize your photos. I am no photographer (although I did get an Olympus Tough based on yours and other recommendation, love it) and I even will limit or delete a lot of photos because I just get overwhelmed with what I'm supposed to do with them all :(

We're going to try inside cabins this year also. I know the kids will be fine because they did it last year and my husband's a cave animal, however, I'm a little apprehensive because I can get claustrophobic. But I figure, hey if I start feeling that way I'll just go sit up on deck! :D

Last year we sailed spring break on the Caribbean Princess with a balcony and our three kids (13-8) in an inside room across the hall. It worked out perfectly. I have to say I was surprised by how much I did enjoy the balcony and it was definitely a nice perk. With that being said, the upgrade only cost us a couple hundred dollars and it was completely worth it.

This year we again can only do Michigan's spring break week which is always the first week of April and don't wish to repeat the Western route. That limits our options. My boys want Navigator for the bells and whistles and my daughter and I want Navigator for the itinerary. This time a balcony upgrade would cost $1200 and I'm just not willing to pay that:(. I'm sure we'll be fine. While a nice balcony room would be great, like I said for us it's the amenities and ports (and date).

I don't see any mention in the flyer of 50% for 3rd and 4th passengers this time.

There isn't. A 3rd and 4th passenger are usually about 2/3 of the full fare.

It will be interesting to see if this is as good as the just completed 30 for 30 sale.

First, thank you to the OP for posting this because I was just about to book NOS. We are a family of 5 looking at 2 interior staterooms.

So with the 30/30 sale a room for 2 adults normally runs $900/pp with the 10% off for the 30/30 it would be 1600. The kids would be 1600 plus 2/3 rate for the third for at total of 2180. (numbers are rounded/estimated for ease). For a grand total of 3780 before taxes and whatnot.

Using the same $900 nominal rate the adult room should become 1350 and the kids 1350 bogo plus an extra one at 2/3 for 630 (carry the 1, subtract the 2, multiply by 5 :D) gives us 1980 for a grand total of 3330. Making the BOGO a better deal.

However the real question is will they jack up the nominal room rate?;)

Just returned from our cruise that took us to Roatan again and opted for Tabyana Beach and brought my own gear. $39.99 through the ship and pay as you go for food and drink for some really amazing snorkeling. Not a guided tour though. there were a couple of locals in kayaks that would help you into the right direction for the best areas. It was everything i hoped it would be. Calm waters and beautiful reefs and sealife. :)

Can you tell me how many ships were in port and how crowded was the beach and snorkeling?