Matt&Carolyn

What about bringing Santa hats and just having someone take a few pictures in Roatan? You could upload to Shutterfly or whatever and put a fun caption on there related to your cruise.

Yeah that was my base idea, although I was thinking I wouldn't be able to find Santa hats in October? Maybe I can, though :)

Was really nice to be addressing my holiday cards on the flight home and able to just pop them in the mail when we arrived (I had brought address labels and stamps with me, knowing we would be trying to get holiday cards done on board).

 

Good luck with your decision-

Oh that does have very high points!! Smart thinking. :) Thanks for your help!

We didn't find the beach area to be grassy at all. It was all sand and very clear.

Thanks so much for answering all of my questions! Maybe the grass depends on the season? Not a deal breaker, though, and it does look like Maya Key would have the most options to offer. :) It looks like it's not too hard to find a snorkel vest online (they even might have them at our local Dick's?) so I'll have to figure out how much I think we might use them versus just renting (especially because I'm not sure my kids would like the whole snorkel stuff or just using their regular swimming goggles). But I definitely think Maya Key will be great regardless!

Those are both possibilities worth looking into, thanks!

Why is this? Are you talking about the beach or the snorkeling area? We didn't use water shoes for either so I'm confused and just wondering. :confused:

I was thinking this was referring to the grassiness of the beach? I thought I read that somewhere, but I'd love if that was incorrect. ;) I do wear water shoes in beaches off the East Coast near us (the brown icky water) because you can't see the bottom.

OP, I have been to both of these places...well, to Maya Key and to West Bay (which is where Tabyana is located). I have full reviews on both places with TONS of pictures if you are interested. My daughter has snorkeled at both places when she was 3 at West Bay and when she was 4 at Maya Key. :) We loved Maya Key and thought the snorkeling was awesome. We didn't have any problems with crowding. It's not a "tour" to snorkel, so you can go whenever you want. If you see too many people there at the same time, my thoughts would be to wait a little while. We never had any issues though.

We're leaning towards Maya Key. And I do love your reviews on your signature - my kids have gone through them with me in an effort to say "if this little girl can do it at 3 & 4, you guys can at 5 & 7" ;) Mine looked through goggles when we were in the Bahamas this summer and loved that, but we were mostly standing for that so they haven't been swimming over coral and such.

Do you happen to know if Maya Key has life vests (snorkeling vests? like the inflatable kind?) to borrow/rent? My kids are pretty good swimmers so we don't have the pre-swimming kind anymore and our boat-style life vests would take too much space in our luggage but they definitely need something for comfort (and safety!) to try snorkeling. Or maybe I can buy them somewhere? I guess I can google it. :)

Do you remember how much space there is between the top of the water and the coral/underwater life when you get off the dock at Maya Key?

Thank you so much, these are awesome!!

Hi! We'll be on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas the first week of November. I figure it's around when I normally take (or get) a family photo for Christmas cards, so it should be a fun time to do so! I'm trying to think of ideas for a photo, though. Ideally, I don't really want the onboard photography that may be more formal or with a fake background. I would LOVE to set up a tripod and take a bunch of self-timer photos, maybe on a beach somewhere or maybe just near the port? The logistics of bringing along a tripod (and any other clothing?) to a beach excursion is daunting, so that's why the near-the-port idea stands out in my mind. :) We're stopping at Roatan, Belize, & Cozumel - any great ideas for those? Or maybe just a nice spot somewhere on the ship?

I would love any ideas. Thank you!!

Hi! I've searched the boards and found the MDR menu and various reviews with some pictures of food, but I was wondering if there's a specific thread with just pics of food from Royal Caribbean ships. :)

Oh that is awesome to hear, thank you so much!!

Any thoughts? :)

Oh I appreciate knowing that, thank you!

Oh that's good to know, thanks!! I'll definitely check that out :)

Maybe 5 - 10 minutes to Maya Key. The island can be seen from Coxen Hole and the water taxi now comes directly into the port from what I have heard. You used to walk to a pier just outside the port gates.

Hmmm... still a tough decision, but very helpful information. :) Thank you!!

Oh that's excellent information, too, thank you! Do you happen to know how far it is from the port (Coxen Hole I think for RCCL?) to Maya Key? It says it's 20 minutes to Bananarama on their website.

Thank you so much for that info! I didn't really look at all at the private tours, so I'll have to check them out.

Hello! We just can't make up our minds! We'll be on our cruise to Roatan with 2 adults and 2 kids (7 & 5). We'd love to go to the beach, maybe snorkel some (adults have gear and love it although we may rent if there's not suitcase space ;), kids love swimming but are iffy about snorkeling especially swimming OVER the stuff and not standing :) but we want to encourage them to try it), and maybe do something else fun (like visiting animals).

Our choices for Roatan are our hardest - all of these sound very fun! We're looking at Maya Key Private Island Retreat or Tabyana Beach Break (both through RCCL) or Victor Bodden's Fun-n-Sun Tour or Island Marketing's West Bay Beach Break.

Does anyone have opinions on what would be best? Or what to stay away from? We haven't booked a non-cruiseline excursion before, but obviously the costs are nicer and I feel like they'd be okay as long as they're "big" or "popular." I would love advice. Thank you!!

Oh that is all great to know, thank you!

Hi! Looking through our Cozumel excursion options, my family is convinced Playa Mia would be the most fun. The cost is my only issue. ;) Booking it on their own website (versus booking through RCCL) would obviously save us quite a lot and I searched and found a taxi would be $16 each way for us (we have 2 adults, 2 kids - 7 & 5). My husband is a little concerned about taking a Taxi in Mexico... any thoughts on the safety of it? How long is the trip? His biggest concern is just making sure we get to the ship on time. I'd love any opinions!

Hi! Our family is considering this excursion for our upcoming cruise. We have 2 adults and our 7 and 5 year olds with us. Do you think this would be a fun experience? Our kids love the beach & ocean and I was thinking this would be a fun way to see some of the ocean without going as far snorkeling (we will probably try more snorkeling on our other excursions but they may not go far out).

Any opinions are appreciated. :)

Correct, no more chocolate buffet.

Boo. I mean, I appreciate your clarification, but that's a bummer. :(

WHAT?!?! This chocolate breakfast sounds AWESOME!! I'll definitely be paying attention for that. :)

Speaking of chocolate, they no longer do the chocolate buffet I'm assuming, right? I remember that buffet. I was very newly pregnant and it was AMAZING. But I think I heard that they're gone...? :(

We did the British Colonial Hilton 2 years ago - our kids, then about 3 and 5, LOVED it. We did pay some to go, but part of that fee went to our lunch and I think the kids were pretty cheap or free? We still use the water bottles they received when we got in. :) It was REALLY nice to just walk there, and we were able to shop a bit on our way back.

Oh boo! I was hoping I had just missed seeing that they were there. It'll make it far less likely that we'll need the Soda plan, though ;)