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The captain told us to get up early to see whales on our way into Juneau. We were not disappointed. We saw lots of fins and splashes as well as some seals and something that appeared to be an otter, although we couldn't be positive. I had us booked for the Guides Choice Hike to Mendenhall Glacier. We had a large group so they split us into 3 groups so they were small enough to enjoy as there were only 12 of us. We hiked the west side of the glacier. The moss covered forest was beautiful enough but as we climbed we got amazing views of the glacier. Our guide told us many stories and stopped to give us information on flora and the glacier. We were provided with packs that had ponchos, water and granola bars as well as walking sticks. No ponchos were needed. We had some sprinkles of rain but it wasn't a big deal. The weather actually felt perfect. There were restroom facilities at the trailhead. The hike was around 6 miles long and was a bit strenuous at parts. The guide offered to drop us off in town or at the ship. We all took advantage of checking out the shops downtown. There is a shuttle back to the ship but we decided to walk back. It really isn't too far and the weather and scenery were great. I accidentally walked right up to some caribou. They ended up frolicking along side us for a little while. I wasn't expecting that wildlife adventure. We took advantage of being on the ship a little early and grabbed some food at the Windjammer before going out to look for pier runners. It appears the only runner was the dock worker who drove in very quickly and got disapproving looks from ship staff as he got in his forklift to remove the gangways. We went to bed at nearly midnight with a sunset-like glow still in the sky.

Day 3 - Night It's easy to forget when you are on an Alaskan cruise that RCI still does the regular cruise stuff. Walking inside after taking pictures on deck 4 where it is still light outside after 10pm I decided to get a beer in the pub. Suddenly it's The 70's Dance Party Night and I'm out of place in my outdoor multi-layer outfit. Meanwhile this is what I just came from outside on deck 4: Welcome to Alaskan cruising.

The Voom has not been cooperating for posting photos for me so to save my sanity they will be few and far between unfortunately. May upload more when I return home.

Day 3 - Juneau, continued Part 2 - Mendenhall Glacier Part two of our tour brings us to a hike in the forest to the Mendenhall Glacier. You can drive closer but part of our Photo Safari included this 1 mile hike. Southeast Alaska has is home to some rain forests and is very lush. Our first peak at the glacier comes just before reaching the official visitors center. There is another hike you can take to the waterfall but that wasn't part of our plan today. Here is the visitors center. From here it is a short walk down to the lake. There are plenty of wildflowers in this area just to attest to how lush this part of Alaska is. There are small nature walks you can take. Part of this is an elevated boardwalk where you can sometimes catch a bear eating Salmon when they are running later in the summer. Here is the view of such a stream from the boardwalk. No bears today but our guide pointed out evidence of recent bear activity. Back to the port area here is Radiance of the Seas up close. Compared to the earlier photos you can see how it is cleared up a bit. It's hard to capture detail and sight of the mountains rising up above the ships. You have to see it. Here is Radiance pulling out just before we do. Finally our turn we pulled and started following Radiance to Skagway tomorrow. Here is the sunset at 10:30pm over Juneau as we sail South away.

Uh oh...here we go again.....?

We had a panoramic ocean view 2 weeks ago. It was amazing!

We don't have Netflix but will be signing up for a free trial when it comes out, as we may be in the movie! We were in three scenes, so we have three chances of making it in! LOL Actually, two are the same scene, but we had changed our clothes for filming of the next scene and were waiting so they stuck us in the background. So my husband and I can be in the same scene two times; once in our shorts and once in our evening wear! LOL There were others on the group cruise that filmed background scenes too; I can't wait to see who actually makes the final cut!!!

In Skagway our excursion did not leave for about 5 hours after the ship docked so we took a hike around Yukatania Point and Smugglers Cove. I definately recommend it. It is walkable from the pier and a really beautiful little hike. We still had plenty of time to check out the shops in town and stop by the ship.

I would never expect a good Maryland crab cake outside of Maryland or at least the east coast. I wouldn't say budget cuts because many places make bad Maryland crab cakes. I probably will never order the lobster roll at Hooked either. I just think certain regional foods are better had in that region. Personally, I hate the lobster. Its too rubbery. Do I expect them to keep fresh lobsters so I can have a good lobster tail? Of course not! I don't believe that is due to budget cuts. I just think there has to be a practical side of the business when serving thousands of people. Its not the same as your local high end restaurant but I think it is more like decent convention or wedding style food. I find that there is always something I like on the menu. If I don't like my choice, I can ask my waiter for something else, which isn't something that can happen at a land restaurant.

Good to know! Thank you! Guess I will be answering ALL of my calls for the next 70+ days! UGH.

FYI: Keep in mind that the call might come from a number you don't recognize in OREGON instead of Miami, Florida. So don't hit "ignore" on it! I've received calls about my reservations from their call center there.

Day 3 - Juneau We had a noon arrival scheduled so we spent the morning sailing up the channel towards Juneau enjoying rain wrapped mountains on both sides of the ship. The temperature in the mid-50s wasn't too bad but the light rain made it feel colder than it was. We joined a number of ships already in port including Radiance of the Seas and a Silverseas ship (Silver Spirit) at the main pier with a Seabourne ship at anchor (tendering). A Princess ship was in port. Our excursion would depart shortly after the ship's arrival in Juneau so we visited the Windjammer when they opened at 11am then got ready to depart as soon as we were given the all clear. Today we would be doing a two part excursion. The first part was whale watching by boat followed by a short hike in the rainforest to Mendenhall Glacier. We boarded a bus for a 20 minute ride to Auke Bay. Here we boarded the Navigator! No, not the Navigator of the Seas, but a small whale watching boat named Navigator. Before leaving the marina area we were treated to dozens or Bald Eagles sitting, flying, fishing and just hanging out all around us. Our guide tells us a lot of people get this next bird confused with something else but it is still a Bald Eagle, just a juvenile bird who will get it's white head after a few seasons. Captain Jen and our guide Jamie took us out away from land where we saw more Eagles. It didn't take long before Captain Jen spotted the first whale. This is apparently Sasha. Each whale has distinctive markings on their fluke and the boat carries a book with pictures of each fluke they use to identify them. Both our guide and Captain spend the winters in Hawaii and summer in Alaska following the whales. They breed and reproduce near Hawaii then migrate to Alaska each summer to feed. We zoomed off on a 20 minute boat ride to another area, listening to radio chatter from various other whale watching boats. In this next area the water is hundreds of feet deep and whales swim right next to the shore where it isn't shallow. The mountains rise hundreds of feet above us so you can imagine the steep, shear cliff walls plunging down underwater into the depths. There was a group of several whales swimming with each other, various spouts of water every time they came up for air. There must have been six or seven in close proximity. Possibly some juvenile whales and their family on their first trip to Alaska. There are many types of whale watching boats. This next one was similar to the size of boat I took last year. I spotted several Royal Caribbean jackets from the logo shop on board Explorer on this particular boat. It was likely another RC excursion. With only a dozen on our small boat it made for better viewing oportinities and being smaller and more agile Captain Jen was able to quickly maneuver us for the best photo angles.

After all of these years, I got the golden ticket! Well, not really but you should've seen the happy dance I did when I received the email from Royal asking if I wanted to be on the wait list for a Junior Suite!!!! There was a small fee for the upgrade ($250). So, I said clicked the "ADD TO WAIT LIST" button. The message said something like - You are now on the wait list. If this becomes available, we will call you. Now what? Will they call me 5 days before the cruise to tell me I've got the upgrade? Will I get an email? What if I miss the call? Please let me know your experience with this. I am curious. Thanks!!!

Found this just now...she looks great! @KLAconQueso and @AGSLC5...if you read through, OP said that cabins were not refreshed.....

We got an upgrade to an Owners Suite from a JS on indi the other week for £60!! And there are NO normal oceanview balconies on the hump which are charged as JS. it's either a JS or a balcony, a larger balcony doesn't make a room a JS

Heck no! I just made Platinum on my last cruise and I’ve been on two RCLB Group Cruises and never felt left out!

Great information! Thanks for the write up @DunkelBierJay

Let that be a lesson --- always carry a jar of Old Bay with you ..... if it doesn't have Old Bay, it's NOT Maryland anything.

Congratulations ! I'm sure it will NOT be your last ! Grand Cayman and Costa Maya are GREAT destinations - especially for your first cruise. Both locations are extremely friendly and safe and there is lots to do at both stops. I highly recommend that you do Stingray City in GC. It's a lot of fun and one of the top Caribbean "must-do's", IMO. Chances are there will be LOTS of boats with LOTS of people there but it's a truly unique opportunity to swim with friendly stingrays. I think you are very wise to consider doing a ship's excursion for this one. Once you are a little more comfortable with cruising schedules you will be more comfortable going out and doing things on your own. For Stingray City, I would recommend sticking with the ship's excursion. There are lots of options for doing any kind of swim and snorkel and unfortunately ( I say "unfortunately" b/c now you're going to have to choose !!), I think that GC is also a great place to do this. I always recommend going to Paradise to snorkel in GC. It is within walking distance of the ship, is very affordable and includes a comfortable place to spend the day and get some great chow (a bit pricey but everything in GC is expensive) ! The snorkeling right off the shore of Paradise is some of the best in GC and there are many excursions that you pay for that take you right THERE where you can go for free if you know about it. Just get off the ship, turn right out of the compound, follow the road along the beach, go past the Harley-Davidson store and Hard Rock and you will see a building with a blue roof. This is Paradise. It is a restaurant but there is also a dive shop attached. The dive shop is where you get your snorkel and fins. I believe it cost us $18 per person to rent the gear and to use the restrooms, showers, patio with tables and chairs for the day. It would be hard for me to choose between these 2 options (Stingray City or Paradise) but with it being your first time to GC, I would say go with the stingrays this time and do Paradise when you return, which you will, undoubtedly, do. Whichever you choose, make sure you bring your water shoes. As far as Costa Maya goes, many people enjoy Maya Chan, which is an all-inclusive beach day. I have never been there but it looks like it would be very nice. Apparently there is no swimming pool but the food and service seem to be great. We always just take the shuttle to Mahahual and spend the day at the Krazy Lobster. It's a SUPER cheap day b/c you pay nothing for the tables, chairs and hammock (if you're lucky enough to get one !), the food is great and cheap and you can get $1 Coronas by the bucket. If you are smart (do NOT let someone help "find" you a masseuse) you can get a 1 hour massage on the beach for $20. Negotiate this price yourself though....b/c if someone "helps" you, they will want a tip and it will likely double your price from $20 to $40. Just walk up to one of the massage tables and negotiate your best price. It is WELL worth it. There is ONE down side to going to Mahahual and spending the day and that is the roving trinket sellers. They never stop. They are NOT pushy and it's easy to get them to walk away but they just keep coming and coming and coming. If you are comfortable with just saying "no thank you" about 100 times during the day, then you will be fine. The compound at Costa Maya is very nice with a swim-up bar, restaurant, live band (usually) and lots of activity. Many people never ever leave the compound at Costa Maya which is a shame but you can have a great time and never go outside the compound !! Great choice for your fist cruise ! Welcome to our world.

Thanks all that replied. I'll most likely do Voom since I want to use my iPad for email and and Joy has a FB fix.

I don't hate you for that comment! Here's to hoping I get the call! ?

It truly is not worth it as you don`t get the double points. You do get the double points if you book a J.S. initially which we do so as to get points faster and move up the ladder. We have not gotten the notice to move up to a real suite. We will welcome the opportunity if it arises tho. Have a better chance at winning the lottery tho. The key is not to miss the phone call. Your caller i.d. won`t say RC and if you are like us and don`t answer an unknown number. God bye upgrade. We have had to change our habits because of these types of experiences.

That's so exciting! I'll be looking for you too! ?

Thank you for this post! We need more of these. I have been to Maya Chan and you nailed it. Loved it. Going on a cruise in Feb 2019 that goes just to Cozumel and since reading your post, we have booked Nachi Cocum.

I will be on the August 18 cruise. Let’s see what happens.....it’s all good ?

There is a big deck and an overflow lot. When we sailed in May, there was plenty of spots. There are three ships sailing out of there in the summer, two Royal and one Celebrity. You are basically taking the spots that the cruise before you vacated, so don't worry! We've sailed from Bayonne a few times, only once since they added the deck and there was always enough parking.

IIRC @Suzanne also got this email for her Adventure cruise...and nothing I think....

Nachi Cocum is not an RC excursion. Here is a link to their homepage: http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/. We were there this past April, well worth the money and VERY relaxing. If you book with them tell them if you want a "palapa" by the water, or pool or in the back area. They are very accommodating.

Please do not hate me for this?. I got the same email, also did the happy dance but never got the call. I truly hope you are luckier than we were.

I got the same email (except mine said estimated upcharge will be $500 ? ). The fine print at the bottom said they will call once and if you don't answer you are marked off the list and they go to the next person. I clicked add to list because it's not set in stone. If they call and offer me the upgrade (even at a cheaper than stated price) I can still decline if its not in a location I am happy with. We are already in a midship, but slightly closer to front, oceanview balcony stateroom that we got for $1633 total for my wife and I on a 7 night Oasis cruise on Sept. 9, 2018 that we are very pleased with. I did read on cruise critic that when the junior suite upgrade is presented and you accept it you do NOT get double crown and anchor points. Which would be my only reason to consider paying more for the upgrade. The list of perks is pretty small for junior suites. Pretty much a slightly larger balcony room. We once had an oceanview balcony on independence of the seas that was on the hump so it had a larger balcony. They now sell that same room as a junior suite. I would not have paid extra for it.

What a great write up! thank you for that! Hoping to do both this January.

My vote is Nachi, I've been to both on the same trip, but I'm biased, when we went to Maya last year the road was washed out and almost impassable, I never get car sick and almost did on this ride. My understanding is that the road has been fixed so it is supposed to be much better. Nachi is the main highway the whole way, much better paved roads. Food would go to Maya though, Nachi is very good, but Maya was excellent.

Excellent write up/comparison! We went to Nachi in January (thankfully, they didn't make us take a picture upon arrival) and enjoyed it. It was relatively cool and a bit overcast, but there was hardly anyone there! It wasn't nearly as crowded as it is in your pics; I'm assuming this seldom happens. If we go back to Coz, I'm not sure if we'll do Nachi or just explore town. If we do another inclusive, I'll absolutely do Nachi again.

@twangster @JLMoran @CGTLH ? For periscope help @CruisingKat(Kathy) And have you joined the RC Periscopers FB group? That is run by @CruisingKat(Kathy) and you can also post your periscope questions there. Or PM Kathy. She's great with helping! Also get yourself added to the July Periscopers list so people will know you are scoping ?

Day 2 - Sea Day I awoke to my son making some noise in the cabin. His Eastern based internal clock was ticking. He, having crashed early the night before was ready to go earlier than I was. It was before 6am PT. Today is a sea day so lots of time to do sea day type things. Breakfast in the Windjammer opened at 6:30am so we headed up there just after opening time. After breakfast we explored the ship. I wanted to get some more helipad pictures away from port and at sea: I walked around various outside decks in search of wildlife. In the distance a couple of times I saw some whales but they were too far away to try to take pictures. Afternoon brought us back up to the Viking Crown Lounge (Dizzy's) for a Royal Caribbean Blog event with free drinks! At this event we got to have our cake and eat it too! This led directly into the pub crawl, which began at the... Pub. The pub on this ship is different from other pubs in the fleet. The bar area sits very near the entrance and it consumes a lot of floor space. Remarkably the beer is just as cold and it drinks the same so we went with it. There may be slightly more bar seating in this layout but less room in the rest of the pub to listen to entertainers and such. Matt scoping: After complimentary drinks at Dizzy's, I was close to seeing exactly how this next picture of Matt and Annette captured: Yet off we went to the Schooner Bar. Next up, R Bar. Rut Roh. Shooters in play. Shooter round two... Fireball! Time to head up to the Skybar. Elevator for 80 please... maybe two (or three). How many blog readers can you squeeze into an elevator? Okay I've gotta come clean here. Mrs Cookingyo: I didn't actually see Cookingyo eat pickles on the Adventure of the Seas. (You had to be there). Before we knew it it was 4:37pm when Matt realized it was Diamond happy hour. Enough said. #nodrinkpackage Formal night approaching the pub crawl was unofficially over.

Actually both Matt and I are very careful to be inclusive. My son isn't Diamond. I haven't even stepped foot in the Diamond lounge yet. Most people on this GC aren't diamond.

I need to go on a GC ? It looks like so much fun!! Love the elevator pic that was just posted on the RCPeriscopers page too!

My son was exhausted from his early flight and coming from the East coast the 3 hour difference caught up to him so he went to bed. I saw the makings of a sunset through the overcast and found the deck 4 outer decks the only place to catch it. It was very cool and we had a strong wind so they closed the upper decks and helipad access. I grabbed this photo of the pool deck as I sought places to capture the sunset. Since I have the drink package my route between photo locations somehow included a bar along the path. Here is the Promenade as I made my way back down to deck 4. I am trying a new camera this cruise and decided to push the limits a bit to see what I could away with. This is a 1/3 second shutter speed trying to create some motion blur in the waves while hoping for a clear and steady picture of the ship. I think it turned out pretty good. Same trick looking aft. As the sun continued to set there were some lovely pastel colors presented in the mountains surrounding us on both sides of this passage between Canada to our North and America to our South. Combined with varying levels of cloud coverage it was very pretty. This was shortly after 9pm. Back inside I happened across "The Tavern" in the Boleros area on other ships. This is kind of a sports bar at times but also used for things like Karaoke. To the pub for a beer and some pub music. I ventured back outside and again did some experimenting with my camera. By this point the moon was out and combined with gaps in the cloud coverage it created some dramatic scenes. I ran into the @cookingyo s at the Schooner Bar and sat with them for a while. It was getting late and time for bed so I hopped in an elevator and made my way back to my cabin. Saturday already. Day one complete.

We docked on time, and within thirty minutes were making the long trek on the pier tthrough the controlled shopping area to the street. It is set up very similar to Cozumel with a pool in the center area surrounded by restaurants, bars and shops. You exit by the taxi and bus area and walk a couple blocks to the security gate to the street. A block later, we found the rep from Maya Chan who greeted us and had us sign a release and offered us a chance to cancel our reservation. There had been a storm recently that brought up seaweed, and their staff were working on it. We declined the offer to cancel, because I didn’t want to book another excursion at the last minute or hang out at the port or on the ship. Within ten minutes our taxi van arrived, and we shared transportation to Maya Chan with a couple other families. Maya Chan is not too far from the port and the town of Mahahual, but transportation in this part of Mexico is much different than others. Once you go south from Mahahual, the paved roads end and dirt roads begin. The roads are rustic and rutted and a whole lot of fun if you’re into that kind of thing. It parallels the beach, and there are lots of interesting things to look at until... *the smell* *flashback to the Indian sulphur salt at 150 CentralPark* *this smells like that tastes...only ten times worse!* *gag reflex* *is thiswhat they meant by seaweed?* As you pass the huts and various other things along the way, you notice the beach...there was a LOTof seaweed along the beaches! *is thiswhat Maya Chan smells like? Is thiswhat they gave a chance to escape through the refund?* We arrived at the small resort about 25 minutes later and were warmly greeted by Jane, one of the owners who is an expat for San Diego. She gave us a brief orientation and handed us off to one of the staff who took us ten feet to our palapa which was just right of the seating area for the bar/restaurant which had about 7-8 tables, a cooking area and a bar with a restroom in the back corner. Fantastic. *that smell? ...only a minuscule fraction of what it was, and we were used to it by then, so all is good!** From the bar, you could see they weren’t kidding about their staff clearing the beach of seaweed. They had huge piles of it with pathways to the water created. Three men were doing it with pitchforks and were re-defining the Spanish word, trabajo. I made sure and thanked them profusely for the hard work they were doing, and for their sake (and ours) wished Maya Chan had a back hoe or Bobcat until the first time I waded into the water. *there was more seaweed in the immediate ten feet from the beach than I could ever imagine* It’s not too think to walk through (insert gag reflex as it wraps around your legs up to your knees), and when you get to the other side, the water was pretty nice, but it wasn’t the clear blue-green of the Caribbean. It was clear, but the color of the bottom and surrounding seaweed made it brown. Water shoes are a good idea too, because it is a little rocky on the bottom. Thankfully, Maya Chan supplies those. After using the floating chairs for a while with my daughter, it was time for lunch. They prepared fresh flour and corn tortillas for tacos with several protein options including skirt steak, chicken, pork and sea bass with garlic butter. They had grilled and fresh cut onions, chives, tomatoes as well as pico de gallo, guacamole, frijoles and chips as well. It was plentifully served buffet style and you could go back as much as you cared to. The drinks were all really good. I had a rum punch upon entering, a margarita and a couple of beers. All of it is complimentary. Our palapa was palatial with five chairs, a couple of tables, a beach bed and a direct path to the water with beach toys on either side. They included water chairs, kayaks, stand up kayaks and snorkeling gear was available. After lunch, I felt the food coma coming, so I crashed on the huge beach bed. I woke up briefly at some point to find my daughter crashed on it as well. I had probably the best beach nap ever that early afternoon, and could have done another hour (I think I did two hours) if I didn’t mind leaving just in time to make all on board. We chose to leave at 2:30 to make sure we had plenty of time to get back instead. Maya Chan offers transportation as part of your package to/from the resort. I can’t emphasize how much I appreciated this because they have preferred taxi drivers who run the air conditioning and are trustworthy, as those can be issues with the taxi drivers there. I will do a comparison post to Nachi Cocom in a wrap up entry. We returned to the ship with plenty of time to spare and went to the Solarium for sail away. We had a late My Time Dining reservation that allowed us to get to the Amber Theater with plenty of time to use our ore-booked reservation for great seats at Blue Planet. They experienced some technical difficulties with the show which were quickly resolved, but it did not take away from the mesmerizing visuals and professional performances that show offers. It was an incredible show despite the glitch. After the show, we chose to skip the Quest and retire for the night.

Drink packages were a bit reduced on a couple of our cruises and I noticed a couple of excursion that look like they've been reduced (I don't write these things down so I cannot swear to it). Nothing extraordinary that I noticed, anyway.

And I can confirm that Twangster is not a robot. He is a nice human.

After walking back to the hotel I had just under an hour to prepare for the first Royal Caribbean Blog Alaska Group Cruise event - a 5pm meet up that included pizza. Here I met several familiar online names and avatars but was able to put real names and faces to them.

I grabbed some lunch and headed back for my turn at the Space Needle. It was about an hour in line snaking slowly up towards the elevator for the rise top the top. There is a security checkpoint you have to walk through but I had no issues with anything I had with me. This is the area near the elevators where I finally made it to after crawling along, inch by inch waiting for the one elevator to carry guests up and down to the top. Just prior to this point is a photo station. The photo is free to download. They take your picture against a gray background and later, in the gift shop you can choose one of six backdrops and have a link emailed to you to access your photo. This is included at no additional charge. Built in 1961 the building and elevator appear to be set in this era. It took just 400 days to building the Space Needle. They are renovating the upper observation deck, replacing wire 'cage' with glass panels for a better view. It's under construction now but mostly complete. Here is the elevator ride up and down. They have set up a display to compare the old caged feel versus the new glass panels they are installing. There used to be a knee wall where now the glass extends down to the floor for a much more open feeling with great views. The inside is being renovated as well. This is the line waiting to go back down. Not nearly as long a wait as it was going up. I'm very glad I did both Chihuly Glass and the Space Needle but I would choose an earlier reservation next time. The crowds seemed to be growing bigger as the afternoon progressed.

Sorry to hear the wedding was cancelled @NJB London, but I'll see you on board May 25th!

WOW I love it when they toss around these monster amounts of money guess johnny rockets will go to 25.00 cover charge by the end of the year LOL?

I think any Suite level above JS should enjoy exclusive perks that are separate from what the Pinnacle folks receive. One is based on Ststus and the other is based on spending more money to have a more exclusive experience. It’s great that you have achieved Pinnacle but if you didn’t book a suite for a particular cruise then you shouldn’t have business in the Suite Lounge. Just my opinion.

We've never used anything other than USD. Just take enough on an excursion that you think you need and leave the rest in the safe. I wouldn't be too keen on using a credit card unless I reallllly had to. From a point of view of 'issue avoidance' leave it in the safe...helps prevent a $10,000 cash advance transaction that's not yours from giving you a migraine. Also, many credit cards also have a service fee tacked onto a foreign exchange transaction. Just have an awareness of what the general exchange rate is so that you know you're not getting ripped off. Going beyond that and it turns into more worry than a vacation.

Yes, you are overthinking this. :D If you don't want to take dollars, then just use a credit card that does not charge you a currency exchange fee. Every one of these ports will gleefully accept your dollars. The only time I would ever consider local currency is if I were doing some kind of deep dive purchase....something like a pharmacy purchase in Cozumel or something (something completely legit....I know what you're thinking....). If you are only considering "touristy" kinds of purchases, just take dollars and be done with it. By all means, definitely do the stingray city excursion in Cayman. It is a must-do at least once. Back when I first visited GC (way back in the 80's when all there was to do there was SCUBA dive) this was just a local thing and there was NOBODY there the day we went except for us. The last time we went (maybe 3 years ago) there were literally hundreds of people standing on the sandbar feeding greedy stingrays. It was still fun though. I'm sure you are, but I will warn you to be a cautious consumer when it comes to jewelry in the Caribbean and/or Mexico. NEVER start the negotiations at more than 25% of their asking price. For diamonds, it's even lower... Be careful buying a hammock. Make sure they don't sell you one that has been outside. ...and as you suggest, Grand Cayman is VERY expensive. I always limit my local purchases there. Cozumel, on the other hand - no holds barred !!