Mrs. RoyalMoyal

My vote is for dinner, or two specialty lunches...oohh, the galley tour with lunch and sushi making! Watch out for the hot Saki. Laundry - I bring a 2 gallon ziploc bag and laundry soap leaves to hand wash high performance stuff, and I sent all cotton socks, underwear, t-shirts, off in the bag of "wash and fold laundry", it comes back 2 days later all done. Hand washing teenager's socks is not my idea of a good time, but I will hand wash a few high performance tank tops, shorts, etc. For nice clothes, I send men's dress shirts & slacks off for wash and press, and have even had a suit dry cleaned on the ship. We have not had any items damaged. Dry cleaning is $1.00 less than at home, and I don't have to wrestle clean suit into a wet, snowy car at the dry cleaner's. But don't tell RCCL they are $1.00 less! shhhhhhh.

I texted him in January.

I was really happy to be connected with Sharla when I used the link to MEI from this site, our agent retired a few years ago, and while booking on my own is fine, it leaves everything up to me, and with other family booking the same week as us, I don't have to work out their details for them. Priceless! But switching agents is like switching hairdressers, it can feel awkward!

It's too bad it's a non-passenger repo, because I could drive to Bayonne, leave my car at the EWR Embassy Suites, then fly one way back, fetch my car, drive home. Or rent a car, drive to Bayonne, return the car, then fly back to a little airport near home. If only it was a Cococay only trip!

The photos are amazing! Thank you for sharing your journey.

Cats = 3 hours of free time for something else! Anything.

You need your own skates for advanced skate, you will be required to wear their helmet. Its rather (very) warm in the rink, too. Go down and find a skater on day 1, to plan around the advanced open skate time, or pay for "the key"

Or fit in the St. Lawrence Seaway Locks in Massena, NY? Quebec City to New Orleans. That would be cool.

Last Easter, a fellow flowrider joined our cruise in Nassau. It began end ended in Bayonne, NJ. He set this up ahead of time, he was in a double occupancy room with family - she boarded in Bayonne NJ. It is possible to pre-arrange to join a cruise mid-cruise at a port of call. It will cost the same as cruising for the entire trip. Look into it, look up flight options, and decide whether to have your partner join you mid-trip or go SOLO, and book another trip! from: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/partial-cruise-request Partial cruises allow you to enjoy part of your cruise vacation in the event that you are unable to meet the ship in the scheduled boarding port, or would like to end your cruise earlier than the scheduled departure date.Requests for security clearance concerning late boarding or early departure must be submitted in writing to the Guest Flight Operations office for consideration at least one week prior to sail date. Guests must have a confirmed reservation in order to receive clearance. If the reservation was made by a travel agency, the agency must submit the request on travel agency letterhead. Guests with reservations made directly through Royal Caribbean International or royalcaribbean.com can submit their own request. Please include a return fax number or e-mail address. If guests are pre-approved for boarding/departure in an alternate port of call, the ship's security staff is notified to expect the guests at the designated port. The approved guests are responsible for making all travel arrangements and will incur any additional expenses (for flights, hotels, transfers to the pier, etc.). Prepaid gratuities will be added to all approved reservations for the length of cruise. Restrictions: Certain countries, such as the U.S., Italy and Norway, have cabotage laws affecting passenger movements. These laws restrict foreign flag passenger vessels (such as those operated by Royal Caribbean) from transporting guests from one port to another port in the same country. In the U.S., the cabotage law applicable to the cruise industry is commonly called the Jones Act but is legally titled the Passengers Services Act. A brief summary of this U.S. law follows: If a passenger (as listed on a vessel passenger manifest) embarks in a U.S. port and the vessel calls in a nearby foreign port (such as Ensenada, Grand Cayman and Nassau) and then returns to the U.S., the person must disembark in the same U.S. port. A passenger who embarks and disembarks in two different U.S. ports (such as Los Angeles and San Diego) would result in the carrier (not the violator) being fined. The vessel must call in a distant foreign port before the U.S. embarkation and disembarkation ports can differ. The nearest distant foreign ports are in or off the coast of South America. If either the passenger's embarkation port or disembarkation port is in a foreign country, then the provisions of this cabotage law do not apply. Nor do they apply in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Similar passenger movement restrictions exist for cruise vessels calling in Italy and Norway.Please direct any requests and/or questions to the following e-mail address or fax number: Fax Number: (305) 373-6695 E-mail: [email protected]

Congrats and enjoy your trips. Being packed is a BIG DEAL!

Did you go? I am looking for a review of this, I'm travelling solo, and want to do something other than sit in a chair on the beach. I've been to Labadee, way back when there were tenders, and with my children 2 years ago.

Will your item you create glassblowing be shipped to you? I did this at the Corning Museum of Glass, it was fun and HOT. I went back the next day to pick up my 'snowman' made of glass, as it has to sit in an annealing oven to let the temperature drop slowly.. to anneal the glass. Have you done a fishing trip, if you have, did you have your catch shipped home? Yum.

We usually go ashore, but sometimes we don't, and it is OK! The ports vary quite a bit, so it is up to you. Do some research before you go. Set a budget! If you want to get away from a port, be ready to hand over some cash. Some of the best days have cost our entire family 50 bucks (Megan's Bay in St. Thomas by taxi, on our own), some $400.00 (small group snorkeling 6 hour tour with lunch in Bonaire). Generally, if we leave the port again via boat, we book through the cruise line (like going to St John from St Thomas). And sometimes the excursions with the cruise line are simpler and the same cost as going on my own, I took my older son to Kennedy Space center, it was transportation and entry only, and it was about the same cost as renting a car without the car shuttle hassle. When we stay on a ship, it's because there are things on the ship we want to do without a crowd.. even just take my son to the "circle pool", go to the gym, or just read. Or it's a port we have seen before, or the port stop is just too short, or we just need a lazy day off. If there are 6 ships in Nassau, I might get off, take a photo of the ships, and get back on board - without leaving the pier! I agree with melski94 :Mix it up, have a walking day, a beach day, and a snorkeling day.

Egads, it interferes with High School Football... so it will have to happen again in a few years. I like this itinerary! Lots and lots of beaches.

We hired Leo Brown on "Easter Saturday", he is fabulous. When we met him, there was another group of 4, the "mom/wife" was Marion. I am Mary Ann..... well, I booked with Leo via text, Marion booked with Leo's wife via text... so the Canadians and the New Yorkers spent the day on Leo's entire island tour, I think we saw everything. It worked out just fine with the double booking, we all had a good laugh, then he tried to charge me less for the day. It was a lot of fun, our family will hire him again. He is a safe, friendly and knowledgeable driver. But if he gives you beverages before noon, and you need to ... tinkle, just let him know! LOL

Food in Old San Juan with children. #1. Pizza. Yes, I know, you are in Puerto Rico. But this pizza is good, really, AND they have Belgian style craft beer(s) on tap, both items are just not on your ship. Pizza Rustica, corner of Calle Forteleza and Calle Tanca. Ask for a table upstairs, it's less "barzy" #2. La Bombadera Cafe, Calle San Francisco, has great Mallorca breakfast sandwiches. Oh, and GREAT coffee, what coffee used to be before Starbucks. It's cheap, too. #3 The Parrot Club, this is pricey, though, and will take up too much of your day. The Mofongo and the ribs are both good, and unlike anything I can get here in Ithaca. 2:00 PM is WAY to early for this port. P.S. The gift shop in the fort has cold bottled water and gator-aide for sale, and there are restrooms too. Have fun!

Rain forest: There is enough time, just plan a late dinner. I would stick with the cruise ship excursion on this one, but you will be with a busload of people. It's going to take some time to all gather, then ride all the way there (45 minutes or more) and all the way back. It's gorgeous, and you can actually see quite a bit from the short trails that you will take. I did it years ago as an excursion with airport drop off, at the end of the trip. You may want to try Private Journeys, through Royal Caribbean, if you want a strenuous hike and a small group, then you will be guaranteed a way back to the ship - and you may be able to combine a small piece of the old town, perhaps a restaurant, into your evening. When you get off the ship, turn left, keep walking with the water on your left. You will pass through a plaza with lots of street food, keep going until you see the path below the fort wall, you can keep going, but it does dead end around the point in front of El Morro. It is cooler in the evening to walk here, and the sunset is fantastic. Then on your way back, when you see the city gate, go through it then wander back to the ship, going downhill all the way. This can take 45 minutes or 2 hours, depending on how many times you stop for photos, food, rest, .....

Champagne Fun cruise and snorkel.BO56, 99.00 each. We met in studio B at 8:30, put on a bus that held all 20 of us, 5 minutes later walked through a resort to a marina, then boarded Captain Dave's boat. It was a nice trip overall, we stopped twice to snorkel, I saw a big tarpon. Plentiful fish, knowledgeable crew. It was nice to be in a smallish group.the boat was comfortable, well maintained, clean, and the motor was quiet. If I return, I will look up the captain and hire him to go fishing.

Thanks, Twangster, I'll look into both, I have a work perk with codes for both Enterprise and Hertz.

I just booked a solo cruise on Oasis! For this trip, flying into MIA is less than FLL. I want to rent a car after the cruise because my flight does not leave until 3:30. Is there a rental company that will pick me up at the port? I've looked at Enterprise Airport location and Budget - with Budget the car pickup is Miami Downtown, then drop off at the airport.

aggh, nice recommendations but for the night I need the Mariott Biscayne Bay is 550.00.... egads! I think I'll stay in a Hilton Garden Inn near the airport! Great recommendations, all around.

Thanks Lovetocruise2002 I was getting off of Freedom when the recent posting was made, so I missed it! Your link is helpful, thanks.

I'm looking for Miami hotel recommendations.... MIA airport / port of Miami. Something big must be going on because the downtown hotels are higher than normal.. I don't need a "free shuttle" service because I find it a frustrating test in patience when I use a "free shuttle", and I like to board early. I will likely use Uber to get around. I may stay in the airport lagoon area, or head to south beach...

Eat. Seriously, there are a ton of options, from shaved ice on the street (snow cone) to super expensive restaurants. Or go have a drink. Have a Mallorca sandwich, it's a breakfast sandwich. It's great, if you like bread, ham, eggs, and swiss cheese. I like Cafe Bombadera on Calle San Francisco. Cafe Mallorca is good too. Order coffee, too. It's a nice port to walk, but you need to be able to walk uphill and on cobbled surfaces, as most streets are made of old ship ballast, and the sidewalks are narrow and there are curbs. Both Forts are nice to see, you can enter both for $7.00, look for the golf cart that is currently operating on the trolley route to fetch a ride up to the fort, or get a taxi. The rain forest is nice, but it takes time to get there and back on a bus.. We went for pizza at Pizza Rustica, and I proceeded to fold my slice in half before biting into my pizza, and I got a few chuckles.

If I miss lunch on boarding day, can I use that lunch for Day 2?