Question about 4 day inspiration dining

[2011mom]

In Catalina I've never done a snorkel tour but I bet it would be fun. One year when I went with my 15-year-old daughter and her friend (can you tell I've done this cruise a lot?) we just rented snorkels and fins and went on our own and there were tons of fish, the really pretty ones are the bright orange garibaldi and there are so many of them. After we snorkeled we took the $$ that we saved and blew it on parasailing - we were able to go up all 3 at once and it was a blast! Another year I did an intro to scuba diving thing that I booked at one of the scuba shops right at the port. In this a guy takes you one-on-one for a dive if you have no scuba experience. He doesn't really teach you how to dive, because he controls all the mechanics, but it gives you a taste of it. Again, it was really great to see all the sealife.

 

Avalon in Catalina is also a VERY charming town and it's fun to just walk around. One year we walked up into the hills and did a good hike, and another time we just went to the Wrigley mansion and checked out the botanical gardens. A lot of people rent golf carts and see the island that way.

 

Any other questions - feel free to PM me or just add to this thread!

[danjessica]

In Catalina I've never done a snorkel tour but I bet it would be fun. One year when I went with my 15-year-old daughter and her friend (can you tell I've done this cruise a lot?) we just rented snorkels and fins and went on our own and there were tons of fish, the really pretty ones are the bright orange garibaldi and there are so many of them. After we snorkeled we took the $$ that we saved and blew it on parasailing - we were able to go up all 3 at once and it was a blast! Another year I did an intro to scuba diving thing that I booked at one of the scuba shops right at the port. In this a guy takes you one-on-one for a dive if you have no scuba experience. He doesn't really teach you how to dive, because he controls all the mechanics, but it gives you a taste of it. Again, it was really great to see all the sealife.

 

Avalon in Catalina is also a VERY charming town and it's fun to just walk around. One year we walked up into the hills and did a good hike, and another time we just went to the Wrigley mansion and checked out the botanical gardens. A lot of people rent golf carts and see the island that way.

 

Any other questions - feel free to PM me or just add to this thread!

 

Thanks for the update...

 

2nd night is formal night... How do we dress the other nights for dinner? Business casual? Just regular clothes? etc...

[Kobayashi]

Thanks... Great info... 2 more questions come to mind after reading your review...

 

 

1. I prepaid for the gratuities... Am I expected to still tip on the ship? How does that work?
   
2. My family wants to attend the comedy shows... How to I make my reservations? Do they book up quickly? Are there multiple shows?
   

Thanks,

 

 

I just saw this post. Sorry for the late response.

 

Tips - if you prepay you should be good for most of your tips. If you buy a drink at one of the bars, the drink receipt will have a line for extra gratuity. It's up to you but a tip is already included. If you order room service I generally tip. Other than that, nothing else is expected. Some tip their room steward extra or their main waiter if they have the same person throughout the cruise. Totally up to you.

 

No reservations required for the comedy shows. It's best to show up 15 minutes prior to showtime to grab a seat. On a longer cruise you may see this sign, but for this cruise I've never seen it. You'll be fine. Enjoy!

 

[danjessica]

I just saw this post. Sorry for the late response.

 

Tips - if you prepay you should be good for most of your tips. If you buy a drink at one of the bars, the drink receipt will have a line for extra gratuity. It's up to you but a tip is already included. If you order room service I generally tip. Other than that, nothing else is expected. Some tip their room steward extra or their main waiter if they have the same person throughout the cruise. Totally up to you.

 

No reservations required for the comedy shows. It's best to show up 15 minutes prior to showtime to grab a seat. On a longer cruise you may see this sign, but for this cruise I've never seen it. You'll be fine. Enjoy!

 

 

Sweet... Great advice... Thanks... This helps!

 

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for the update...

 

2nd night is formal night... How do we dress the other nights for dinner? Business casual? Just regular clothes? etc...

 

We always see a wide variety of dress on the maybe not so formal night as well as the other nights. We wore a more dressier version of the other nights dressier top/pants for me and a dress for DD. The other nights just regular dress is fine. There will be some in jeans no holes to pants, shirts and blouses, and a few dresses. Those with a preference for shorts etc. there is always the buffet for dinner time. A few families dressed up a little more for the picture taking on the 2nd night. The shorter cruises tend to be more casual in dress IMHO.