KathyC

In St. Martin, we either do Pinel Island, Mullet Bay, or water taxi to Phillipsburg. In St. Thomas, we take the water taxi to Water Island and go to Honeymoon Beach.

If you are going to Europe you WILL need Euros. You'll get a better exchange rate there than you will in the US. Bring a credit card that has no foreign transaction fee, and check with your bank to see if they have ATM agreements with any banks where you are going, this way you can withdraw as you need without incurring a fee each time. As for Caribbean cruises, US $ is accepted everywhere. The French side of St. Martin may grumble, but they take them. LOL Locals can get a lot more with American dollars than they can with their local currency. In Mexico, I'd be weary of going anywhere super local - not always safe.

If you are booking under a group rate, then usually it's refundable. MEI won't have group rates for every single cabin category, so if you requested a cabin they don't have a group rate for, you'll get the same rate as you see online.

Summit had them in the same boxes that you can get a towel from. I wish I had a picture. I remember them on the deck with the tv screen.

Celebrity does not do dynamic pricing like Royal does. The drink package is the same price no matter what sailing, which ship, on every date. That being said...I have experienced sales on said drink package. For our Summit sailing last October, we booked a resident rate which came with no perks. At the same time, the premium drink package was discounted to $34.50 a day. We couldn't afford it at the time, so we did not book it. Our status recpricoty (sp?) make us Elite, so we knew we had free drinks for a couple hours most evenings, could bring two bottles of wine, plus Celebrity gives out free drinks everywhere, so we weren't concerned about not having the drink package. About a week before our sailing, we got an offer for a BOGO premium drink package; so we got it for $34.50 each! By then we could afford it so we grabbed it right up. Definitely the right choice as we spent every afternoon camped out at the martini bar. ?

We experienced our first Celebrity sailing in October and will definitely be going back. We loved it. The towels is a HUGE plus...have you noticed the blankets yet?

I tape bubble wrap around it, then use that same bubble wrap to wrap up the alcohol I buy on the ship or in port for the trip home.

Problem with all the plastic bottles is that there isn't a great demand for the used plastic. Not enough companies are buying them, so they end up sitting. Some towns are stopping recycling programs as they can't get rid of what they collect. Plastic isn't biodegradable, I think it takes 1,000 years to decompose. If they aren't melted down and reused, then what happens to it? Landfills.

Agree. Not all of us can recognize the make and model of a car from the front, and the license plate is important. We have them in front and back here in NJ.

That was what we did on Oasis last month. We also brought on two bottles of wine which we had a hard time finishing them. The last sea day we forced ourselves to drink one of the two bottles over the course of the day.

How was your visit?

We don't do the resort thing in Cozumel. We taxi into town and wander and eat and drink. It's very safe, very walkable, and nothing like the port area at the International pier. We did do the Amazing Race excursion one trip, and it was so much fun. We did also do Nacchi Cocum one trip but that was with a large group. Wouldn't do just us. We're more into exploring. learning about and experiencing the places and cultures we visit over sitting on a beach all day. After 27 years of cruising, all beaches look the same to me, and quite honestly I can be at a beach within an hour at home. Granted they aren't as pretty with palapas & palm trees, but they are sand and water and waves and birds...so if you're a beach person, please ignore my recommendations. LOL

Be prepared with lots of seasickness meds for the ferry ride from Cozumel to the mainland. It's very choppy.

In Falmouth there just the port as walking distance. If you want to leave the port area, you will need a taxi. It's not really an area you want to meander on your own anyway. Cozumel is great. But you'll most likely be docking at the International pier, which is a short cab ride from town. The area around the pier has things to do, so you don't have to go all the way into town. But it's very safe compared to Falmouth. We haven't been to Grand Cayman in awhile, but you will tender into port there. Maybe if @LetsTryThisPlace happens by he can give a suggestion or three. He lives there!

If you are checking luggage, you can put your wine in your checked luggage. Another option to to stop at a local liquor store before you board. We have done both! LOL

When you get on the ship, go visit one of those two dining venues and let them know you'd like to make a reservation and when. Then let them know you have a complementary dining through Costco. They will look up your cruise reservation number up in the computer, check their list for Costco, and apply it to your dining reservation. We had one last month on Oasis from a different agency. It was super easy.

Woo hooo!!

If you buy an excursion through Royal, it will specify clearly if transportation is not included. Some will say drop off in town, where you find your own way back. But those are never in ports that you can't easily walk back to the ship, or a voucher is given for a taxi. I'm seeing fewer and fewer of those types of excursions. Part of having a Royal excursion is pick up and drop off at the ship. CocoCay can only dock two ships. The tender dock is inaccessible now that the dock is there. The sites where you go to see who is in port are not reliable at all. Rarely do they go back and update when itinerary changes are made. Do not count on them to be accurate.

We've only done the day pass option.

A lot of people have been trying out the flight simulator that is close to the port. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/01/17/spotted-flight-simulator-shore-excursion-option-nassau

Unfortunately we must be in the 1% using your method, as I did both of us through the app, one was Celebrity and one was Royal, at the same time, exactly the same way. One of us got it and one of us did not. Both times. LOL

We had it at Cape Liberty and in Miami. In Cape Liberty, we had a dedicated person to scan our passes, then we went through a dedicated security line. From there we walked right into the boarding area and onto the ship. We arrived around 10:30am. In Miami, similar process but when we got upstairs to the waiting area, we had a wait as they were not boarding yet. When they did call for boarding, they called suites/pinnacles first, then EA, D+, D all at the same time. So no time savings for us, as we are D.

Yes, both times. They said as long as one of us had it. Both passes were on my phone, so there was proof we were together.

@Matt or another admin please help @SpeedNoodles out and close commenting on this thread... ?

It's completely random. I really believe that. My husband and I sailed on Summit in October - I got it but he didn't. Both of us were checked in using the app and at the same time, both by me. No reason why one would have it and the other not. Flash forward to our Oasis sailing in December. Same thing. I used the app for check-in, I did them both, and once again I got it but he did not. I gotta say it was so easy having it - special line and walked through right away.