LetsTryThisPlace

We had a similar reason to go with MSC for our Mediterranean cruise next year. My wife picked it out and with a birthday celebration and my mother-in-law being over 55. Our room and my parents' room were upgraded to a balcony (according to current deck plan [ship isn't finished yet]), and my wife's families room was discounted. It also had a better itinerary so we had to. I love Royal but it seems like they are, as their name states, a Caribbean company. MSC based out of Europe seems more suited to the Mediterranean but I will do a full review after May 2019 lol.

Ya, you would think they wouldn't make something "live" until its ready. Doesn't seem very professional to me.

I'm not sure who Royal uses off the top of my head but if I remember correctly one of the dolphin places (its been awhile since I've been to either of the dolphin places) at least on of them has a boat for stingray city so may be that. Let me know your experience so I know to recommend it or not :).

its crazy close

ya think that's what I scored it for over the sale hoping my plan works out. :)

Thanks, @twangster for a great live blog. Gets me so excited about our cruise coming soon. I got some practising to do but looking forward to sharing my cruise.

1) Only whoever wants it needs it. 2) There was a discount on the last sale but back to regular price (still cheaper than onboard) 3) I am pretty sure it does (will confirm on my March 3rd cruising. 4) Will confirm on my March 3rd cruising.

Not 100% positive since I haven't been on RCL for a few years but NCL let us do it. Normally it is just like credit on your account so when you use your card it is just deducted.

You would be surprised, gifts at the stores, duty-free on board, many other things that you might have forgotten about. I am sure there is something. I also think they refund it if you do not use it but I may be wrong on that part (others can confirm). But I am sure you will find something that would normally be extra that you can use it towards.

If you want more Honduran style food (Roatan is more Caribbean) I suggest On The Spot restaurant, we also did a little local shopping (store didn't have a name so not sure what it was called but it was close to the restaurant. An awesome bar was Crusty Crab the main bartender (might be the owner) was outstanding, he told us everything we needed and tried to keep the bar lively and it was decent prices. Cozumel's main stretch has a lot of shopping and restaurants all up and down it. We did Tulum, I wasn't a huge fan but it was kind of nice and don't need to be too active but it is a ferry and bus ride so in that aspect it wasn't super worth it to my wife and I. I have some photos on my blog if you wanted to see http://letstrythis.place/honeymoon-cruise/ (if not allowed to post that I can remove @Matt). Belize didn't have much at the main port and we didn't spend much time there as we were on a Cave tubing excursion (highly recommend that) and time was pretty much line up and go and then get back and go.

Hopefully the others catch on. I honestly think it would be a lot cheaper and better publicity to have someone there at all times then have to clean the whole ship because there was a huge outbreak. I know it still wouldn't stop it but would greatly reduce it.

Do you know who the stingray tour is with (some companies are much better than others.) I have been on a busy day (my favourite company had every boat out and full) and still have had a great time. The only time it is a problem is if its full with rough water as normally they need to park a little further away and walk in when its busy and this can be a pain when its rough. No matter how busy it is a good company will guarantee a kiss and to hold one as that's typically their main selling point. If you want to drink on board they normally don't mind (they do appreciate if you give them one too as a tip lol) but might be hard if on a tour bus. I actually think the stingray will be much better than dolphins on a busy day as we only have so many dolphins (I think 3 or 4 at one and 3 at the other last time I was there and we have plenty of stingrays.) They will push up on you and you might get "hugged" by a few at a time on a slower day. Great experience. I'm always around to answer anything you'd like. If I can get off might be able to meet up for a lunch and say hi (always enjoy meeting new people :))

I have never understood this, it takes you so little time and will keep you and others from nasty things. People are just nasty it seems. The worst I saw was one guy did his business came to the sinks and fixed his hair and walked out and I just stood there in shock. You spent the same amount of time it would have taken to wash your hands to make your hair look good and then just walked out. It makes no sense. It seems like at this point the best defence cruise lines could do is to no longer allow passengers to get the items on their own but rather have a staff member dish out the food. Its a lot easier to control that in my opinion.

Sound like these will be common "guaranteed rooms" as from what I hear they tend to give horrible rooms and save the good ones for people who pay the difference to pick.

Ya Travelocity was a better deal than Royal direct as Royal wasn't giving obc but they were so right there was better. Add the cash back from ebates, it ends up being a no-brainer. I use them for everything anyways and their customer service is the best. I have had to deal with RCL by phone and they are terrible where are Travelocity will even call on your behalf and is a much better experience in my opinion. So I rather use one of the major online agents then go direct. I have never received a better price direct (with the exceptions of companies that don't appear in these searches like southwest or a members-only discount). Places like these find incentives for you to book through them and in many cases have extras like OBC or better deposit rates or other benefits like working with ebates to get you money back.

September is prime hurricane season. We had hurricane Ivan in 2004 and last year hurricanes were around the same time frame. These cruises will be pretty cheap but are highly risky in my opinion. I would highly recommend avoiding it as someone who lives in the Caribbean.

So it's a good thing these are my preference lol. I will have to try and do this. Thank you.

I am still honestly super confused on this part. Have read a few posts but still don't quite understand. We don't have any casinos here (supposedly because we are a religious island) so I'm a little off with how they work. I do like to play a little poker here and there but its normally only on the ships that I ever get to play lol. (I have yet to go to Vegas).

Shipmates has ship tracking if that helps at all?

I totally agree. Or at a minimum send an email with the most common things that people tend to know. Not everyone thinks to do research or don't do the right research. It doesn't help asking a friend because they were just on a cruise. (If you didn't know chances are they didn't either.) I remember there was one little class when I was on about 6 years ago on shopping but my parents had been on a couple by then (I was off to college so they travelled often) and were able to explain things to me but ya so confusing. Then knowing what I knew introduced my wife 2 years ago to cruise for our honeymoon on Norwegian and they don't do the same things so she was pretty disappointed and if I knew that upfront may have gone somewhere else. They need to be more upfront with things for all lines.

Will do and I'm sure extra tipping might make things easier lol. If you find a good bartender who doesn't have an issue putting you're paid shot in the blender with the free virgin drink better keep them coming to you ;). I have always been a believer that if someone helped me save a little or have to go out of the way they deserve some extra and sometimes I even give what I saved back to them (well depending on how much I actually saved lol.) Living in a tourist destination you learn a lot.

My Parents did the ruins on Cozumel and loved it. My wife and I went to Tulum on the mainland and hated it. I wish we had done the ones there instead myself.

From what I was told (not sure if rum and coke applies since normally your paying the same for the rum and coke as just the rum) but say a fancy drink like a mudslide. If you get a virgin and then pay for the alcohol they charge only for the alcohol.

Do you always cruise around the same time? If so, maybe consider picking a different time of year to get the best experience. I do not get motion sick myself but my parents and friends do and have recommended the pill (even if not feeling effects yet best to beat it before it happens) or the patch behind the ear. These are just what I have been told by others who suffer from motion sickness.

It also could depend on how their system processes the connections. I have seen similar before. Miami airport was one in particular where I had a similar experience. Whatsapp worked on my android but needed to log in to actually use the net. Maybe the hardware/software they are using on this ship is something different (probably cheaper as they always want to lower costs) and may not even know this was happening.