c-leg5

Glad you enjoyed your day. I am a little confused- I have never heard of Krazy Lobster charging for a day pass it has always been PAYG and it is a long way from the north end. Sounds like the taxi was trying to get you to go somewhere else? Although I am not aware of the north end being busy either (by the lighthouse?) - are you sure you weren’t dropped in the middle? I have never seen Pez Quardro that quiet! You were lucky! It isn’t somewhere I would generally consider quiet with less noise and traffic unless things have changed considerably since Covid. Are you saying $20pp was just for access and loungers with no food and drink credit? It has always been a more expensive location for cruisers. It offers incentives to the cruise staff so is usually lively. Food and drink have been good but we have only used the restaurant as it is generally too loud and busy on the beach and I thought they only sold packages. Good to know you can buy food and drink separately there too. They appear to have new lounge beds from the usual photos. Since this is fundamentally a Krazy Lobster thread you probably should have started a new thread or found an appropriate Pez Quadro thread to update.

They may well have permission to search per the contract I signed but do they have permission to remove without me being present and presenting me with a receipt AT THE TIME. I would have expected it to be in their own interest and it would seem prudent for the guest to be notified and present otherwise it is subject to all kinds of abuse and allegations. I would not expect my luggage to be tampered with and delivered missing objects. If additional objects are removed or damaged in excess of those listed on a receipt it becomes a “he said, she said” scenario. I haven’t read the contract that closely as I am not in the habit of knowingly flaunting the rules but I do think it leaves them open to allegations unnecessarily which they generally try to avoid.

That would be annoying.

Are you saying they accessed your bag without permission, removed an item without you being present AND without issuing a receipt? I thought normal practice was to be called downstairs for you to open your bag and hand over an item.

Surely that would be their choice? I can’t imagine that is the only way to secure a reservation or arrange a time to eat.

That’s fine. I prefer to preempt situations that have the potential to annoy. If you good with taking a phone call each time that’s your choice. You sounded like you would like to take care of it in advance. Since you are contacted in advance in a suite that sounds like the way to do just that.

I thought you could do mock bookings for the days and time you require to gauge that? I think Uber would be more expensive than a shared shuttle but again it depends on day of the week, time of day. My only experience of trying to Uber from IAH at rush hour was a 60+ minute wait.

I agree. I also think if I desired set dining, having random people entering and exiting around me and disrupting the sequence that my waiter was supposed to be following would be detrimental to my experience. It us different when everyone is in a different schedule and that is what you have chosen. I think when 1 or 2 tables out of 8 are different it disrupts the flow.

I think the lack of demand has been self created. When cruising resumed there were a lot of things that “weren’t the same” for various reasons but they have had time to adjust and move on IMO. They had a perfectly good system pre-Covid that had evolved and they had a model that worked. Moving to three dining times addresses some of the problems but not the issue of flexibility. In this day and age doing away with that option is a retrograde step IMO.

I realize that but I am surprised about Blue Reef I thought it was a new build?

Thanks that looks nice! I am surprised no one has mentioned this before.

I see you also went to Sanchos in Cozumel. It would have been a very different experience but it is good to have days at a different pace.

Thanks I didn’t realize there had been that much progress. I had asked about it recently but didn’t get the impression it was that far along. There were big plans originally.

Glad set dining works for you now. It is fine if you are happy with eating at 5/5.30pm and the same time every night. For us that cuts into our afternoon too much and is too much of a rush. If we had to opt for a set dining it would probably be the later time although that wouldn’t be our preference either. We are “middle of the road” folks so MTD still works reasonably well for us I think main problems are those people that want “early” but not as early as set dining. Those are the people that have to wait. Also many of them try to circumvent the system which just compounds the problem. I have no idea why Royal have messed up so badly a system that used to work fine. I have no idea why they can’t have an allocated area for MTD with dedicated staff. I think the idea of doubling up MDR and MTD is disruptive to both types of diners and the waitstaff and leads to problems like you encountered. I understand initially it was a staffing and experience problem. I think they have had time to rectify those issues.

Sorry you didn’t get to try-out and update us on Malecon21. It used to be our go-to place.

Where is there a swim up bar near Coxen hole? Is this new? I haven’t seen any reviews to suggest they had progressed with the port developments that were planned pre-Covid or did you take transport from the port?

I would have thought a word with your concierge/ genie prior to, or at the beginning of, sailing could have easily taken care of this. I presume they only call you once? Is this one particular ship that you sail regularly or does it happen on different ships? It really doesn’t make sense and something I would communicate early on if it happens regularly. In a suite I would have thought you would have had plenty of lines of communication open to avoid this if you find it happens regularly.

Why if you don’t have a reservation? We have done MTD from almost the beginning. If we have made a reservation and then decide to do WJ, or specialty, we have always let the MTD desk know previously out of courtesy to release the table until 2022 on Adventure when it seemed to cause more problems than it was worth. We gave up telling them on several cruises as they seemed unable to handle the information. If you don’t have a reservation I don’t understand why they would be checking.

I have been visiting Roatan for 15+ years by cruise ship before Coxen Hole port was developed the first time let alone several refurbishments. I have never had the warm fuzzy feeling that many people on this board have repeatedly expressed. However we have taken multiple private tours over the years west, east, north and have never felt unsafe as such, and have had some enjoyable days. The warning that you post is primarily for mainland Honduras which is a whole other issue, although I see Roatan is included in the shaded area. Crime and violence on Roatan is not fundamentally against tourists it is between local entities, primarily politicians and between business owners. Follow some of the local news reports over the years and you will understand. There is a deep underlying problem but again with normal precautions chances are high, as a tourist you will be fine during daylight hours. That is not to say there haven’t been incidents over the years where tourists have been targeted (including cruise ship visitors) but I haven’t read any recent events (although I don’t follow as closely as I used to). For first time visitors there are several reputable tour operators which you reserve for the day. These offer convenient and good value tours. My main complaint with Roatan regarding transport is they don’t have a regulated taxi service. Point to point service is expensive and unreliable once you have done tours and now merely need transport from A to B and back.

No

A day pass and hotel room for the day are two different types of passes. I am not sure if Cozumel hotels have day rooms. If having to book a hotel for the night this is difficult on a cruise ship as check-in and check-out times are not generally favorable. Higher end hotels like Cozumel Palace and Intercontinental may. i would check several brokers for day pass prices and when you have narrowed it down contact hotel directly for a price. I find the prices and included amenities, or times, change from vendor to vendor. Resort-for-a-day tends to be higher usually and adds a surcharge.

We saw big crowds of people waiting for the Royal shuttle when we had booked Galveston express and there didn’t seem to be much seating. At least we had a timed departure. I think they ran every hour.

Not easy or convenient from Tremont or Harbor House like the old terminals is probably what you have read.

If you aren’t looking to sightsee or restaurants in Galveston I would definitely stay by the airport for less hassle and multiple transport transfers. Marriott is simplest but more pricy but other off-site hotels have shuttles to and from or you can Uber direct from hotel next day. We generally drive day of but have stayed occasionally the night before in Galveston. I am not a big fan of Galveston so unless there is something particular you want to do I personally would go for the cheapest most convenient option.