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I know I'd like that one. Tell your wife it was my fault you were posting.

Very nice! Have a great time!!!

I got a magnet for you. Send me a DM

Day 3: Roatan, Honduras (CONT.) Wow, falling behind… it’s the morning of Day 6 as I continue on with Day 3! After we returned from the Roatan excursion, we stopped by the 1400 Bar to try the famous 1400 cocktail since it was so highly recommended by @Lovetocruise2002! Very good! Tastes like lemonade! Gotta go! Christine is hounding me to head out if the cabin for breakfast! To be continued!

We were supposed to take it in 2019 but Harmony couldn't dock there due to high winds so we've never actually gotten off in Roatan. For our first time somewhere, we try to see as much as well can. After that on future trips we might just sit on a beach, not get off at all, etc. The company we're using (Rony's Tours) also offers to take you to a local school to drop off donations and since my wife is a K teacher, she wants to do that. Nice to see how locals actually live too. So the current plan is to see the animals at Manawakie, go to a school where Rony lives, go to wherever the driver recommends for views/pictures, stop for a quick bite of something local (not a long lunch, I keep reading about "baleadas" which are kind of like tacos), then seeing the West Bay area where there are beaches, shopping, etc. It's our one long excursion for this cruise. Besides that and CocoCay, we'll mostly just stay on the ship.

I like the sound of your tour better!

Explorer of the Seas - Day 6, Kotor, MNE EXP_cruisecompass_day6.pdf

Sorry if I was unclear, I was only interested in your thoughts on Manawakie itself. We have a private tour guide taking us all over the island. He'll go wherever we tell him.

No negatives… the tour guide on the bus (Ana) would point out places of interest as we passed by and chatted with us about day-to-day life in Roatan, etc. Very friendly. The bus we were on was air conditioned and I would estimate our group to be about 20-25. The tour was organized and we only stopped at the 3 places (no detours). Regarding pictures, they do not offer or push any photo services. The employees at the park were great and told us to take our time with pictures (never felt rushed to get that pic) and even offered to take pics with our phones so we could both be in the shot.

Oh wow, you really have been lucky with the weather. I wish we had had such a gorgeous day. What fabulous pics.

Day 5 - Greinanger Another perfect weather day. Too many pictures hard to de ide what to upload. Again I was up around 4 am with stunning view of the the fjord while the ship was doing its way to Greinanger. Took some pictures and tried to go back to sleep. Around 7:15 the captain was doing 360 around the seven sisters waterfalls so we went up to deck 15 foe close view. Many people done the same so it was crowded. The waterfall looks amazing . The gangway was opened at 9 am and we rushed to take our E car. Lines were on the non organized side but we got the car and some explanations how to drive it. They only served people with reservations although some people tried anyway which made the lines even less organized. Was so happy for reading/hearing @Matt blog ehich he recommended to book the car ahead of time.

OBC just acts as a credit to your onboard account. Anything you charge to your SeaPass during the cruise will be offset by OBC. You can charge to your SeaPass at the slots (charge to room feature) or at the table you give them your SeaPass card and they'll run it and give you chips. If you don't have at least Prime status in the casino they charge 5% at the table. No charge for the slots so I'd just get on a machine and do the charge there and cash in the ticket and take the cash to the table. There is no Casino Royale card..it's tied to your Crown & Anchor number (Royal loyalty program) and you just use your SeaPass (cabin keycard) to register at the table or slot machine.

"Husband is a bit of an adrenalin junkie" This is good to know. Even though we always buy insurance when we cruise, reading the fine print later, there were some things we did that were not covered.

Unless you have issues with mobility you really don't need an excursion in Malaga. It's the perfect DIY cruise port. The city centre is about a 20 minute walk from the port and there should be shuttle buses available if you prefer. Simply type something like "Malaga in a day" into Google and you'll get loads and loads of suggestions. It's a lovely city just to wander around and maybe enjoy some of the local cuisine. If you like that sort of thing, the cathedral is definitely worth a visit. https://malagacatedral.com/cultural-visit/

Thanks. The more opinions the better. We were likely sticking with it unless given a strong reason not to. I just didn’t realize Royal took people there b/c it’s not mentioned by name in the description of the excursion John took.

Wow.

We did a private tour through Roatan fun tours and this is the park they took us, as well. We loved it- not huge, but saw some lizards on the walk in. They never hounded us to buy anything, they take pics that you can buy at the end but again, nothing was pushed on us, and we were still able to take our own pics with no issues. We actually enjoyed the little history lesson they give between the sloths and the monkeys, show you some stuff they grow and make on the island, then walked us over to the monkeys, then the birds. Not speaking for @JohnK6404, but we thought it was a great little spot

I might be the only one interested in non-Icon specific stuff, lol, but I keep finding random coincidences. We have a private tour scheduled for Roatan in exactly 3 weeks. I could have chosen any of the half dozen or so places that has sloths & monkeys but we settled on Manawakie b/c it was smaller & recommended. I had no idea RC had excursions that went there. Any significant positives or negatives? I could easily switch since it’s a private tour. Thanks.

When I first go on many cruise websites and see prices displayed, they do NOT usually show taxes and fees from the beginning. I quite often have to make a pretend booking to get that information. I appreciate this requirement, although it may make cruises look more expensive at first. However, I think they already do this in other countries, so we are just catching up with the world.

Yes, I agree the bargains are still there--if only my work calendar would cooperate!!

Well, we still work, so we have great insurance within the USA. When we travel I book the insurance right before I make my final payment. That way I am sure that: we are still going on the trip, the cruise/tour is still going, and I do not lose the insurance cost if I cancel the cruise/tour. I try to buy the insurance offered through my cruise travel agent, and if I am buying the air, I might also purchase a second policy from the airline when I pay for my air tickets. One time a cruise I had was cancelled by the cruise line, and the travel agency just moved my insurance to the next cruise that I booked. Husband is a bit of an adrenalin junkie, so we buy separate insurance as needed in different places (e.g. Switzerland ski resorts sell insurance at the lift ticket/ski rental places for potential serious medical needs while out on the mountains). Insurance can be pricey sometimes, and I know some cruise lines like Viking charge very high rates, so shopping around to cost compare is always a recommendation!

I feel bad for your situation, but please know that cancer survival rates have increased tremendously. Your SIL's doctors have decided that chemotherapy is the appropriate treatment, and while undergoing this process, it is highly unlikely your SIL will want to travel anyway. You will probably not be directly involved with her treatments, either, unless you are personally driving her back and forth to the chemotherapy appointments. Also, it is not clear how long she will be in treatment, or when she will feel healthy enough to travel, so how would you know when to reschedule the cruise? The cruise line cannot just give all of you an open date. Yes, you are perhaps a bit in shock, but you cannot really fault RC, nor should you make your SIL feel bad that the entire trip has to be cancelled. My advice is that the family should still go on the cruise, as it is only one week or so in travel, just because you may need the break from stress and anxiety. I am not sure who was sharing the room with SIL, but hopefully that person can still go without a rate increase. And while you are away, thanks to technology, you can give her trip reports, check in on her, buy her some souvenirs, discuss the cruise experience, etc. I know several people who have had chemotherapy and actually worked the entire time--they were not lying in hospital beds day after day. Please try to be a bit more positive for your SIL's sake, so that she can have confidence while undergoing her treatments. A cruise is not a once-in-a-lifetime experience anymore, so when SIL feels better, plan ANOTHER cruise. Best wishes.

I just visited last week and the Dj has been removed from oasis….the atmosphere was very different from when we visited in the past. I hope they bring the Dj back, as it was nice to hear music from a Dj other than the live bands on the ship. When the Dj was in oasis the music was loud in the area of the bar and when you walked over the bridge, but if you were in other area in the pool it wasn’t crazy loud. I have kids so will not be able to go to hide away beach.

Day 3: Roatan, Honduras (CONT.) We had breakfast in the Windjammer and then disembarked for our RC excursion (“Semi-Sub Glass Bottom Boat and Monkey & Sloth Park”). The excursion first stopped at the Roatan Chocolate Factory which is part of Macaw Market… Gotta love the cat! Next we went to Manawakie Park to see the parrots, sloths, and monkeys… Our final stop was the semi-sub glass bottom boat. The tour guide explained that Roatan has the world’s second largest reef system outside of the Great Barrier Reef. … then back to the ship…

The Sympathy? Am I on the wrong ship? lol