JennyB

thanks for the fast response @tiny260!

Did you read these? There is another blog in-bedded in my response in the attached.

Yes I wouldn't be too concerned. Keep in mind your excursion won't be the first time RC has run this excursion, so it's probably fine. The likelihood of your tour running behind is pretty low. The fact it gets back with 45 mins to spare is a good reason to go with RC.

That is Royal's policy, yes. The policy is actually that if you are on an excursion booked through Royal, the ship doesn't leave until you get back. As opposed to the excursion gets back before the ship leaves.

Regarding the cost, if you break down the cost per person, per hour, a cabana is an excellent value compared to other shore excursions.

He's a local driver that I found one time and use everytime since. He is very inexpensive and offers personalized tours.  Great guy!
Here's a write up on him from a visit to St Maarten: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/07/30/freedom-of-the-seas-live-blog-day-five-st-martin

Hello all!  I just noticed on our shore excursion (that we booked through the cruiseline) that the time is from 3-6, yet the ship leaves at 6?  
Has anyone ever seen that before?
 

Book a room at Comfort Inn and Suites (across the road from Atlantis) - the room comes with full Atlantis day passes. Catch a taxi to hotel - check in and out at the same time and they will give you a pass which you take to Atlantis and swap for Aqua Adventure wrist bands. Stay there as long as you like for about half the price. Catch a taxi back to ship when you are done.

If anyone is visiting Grand Cayman and wants to know, where to eat, what to do, the better beaches. I am here for you as I #livewhereyouvisit lol. I can recommend some places for the best bang for your buck. So if you're not sure what to do yet or just plan to try something local I should be able to recommend a few things :).

We've used Jo Junie tours. They have a tour that visits both sides of the island along with spending some time at Maho Beach to watch the airplanes land and take off. They were an excellent tour operator. We are using them again in April.

I can't answer your question because I haven't been to the newer Perfect Day", it's really not supposed to open until May 2019, so I lot of people just have not been yet.
Be patient waiting for an answer.

A lot has to do for me with how long you're in your destination where the shore excursion is.  If you're only in port for that day, I recommend going with the RC excursions unless you're absolutely 100% confident that you can get back to the ship on time in case of someone on your 3rd party excursion is late back to the excursion, if your tour vehicle breaks down in the middle of nowhere, etc.  If you're confident (ie excursion leaves in the morning and returns 2-3 hours before back on ship time) then go for the third party (as long as it has good reviews on trip advisor, yelp, etc.  If you're in port overnight, then you're a little more flexible on your first day.  Feel free then to take advantage of those well rated third party excursions!  
Just the biggest thing is, if your back on ship time is 5pm, and your excursion has you back at 4.... that's a pretty narrow window considering how many people on excursions do the "just 5 more minutes!" If the tour vehicle breaks down, is delayed by traffic, ferries, bridges, etc then you either become a pier runner, or worse, miss the ship altogether!  But if your set sail time is 5pm and your excursion has you back at noon, that's a pretty decent window for even the absolute worst case scenario to hail a cab or for the tour company to obtain alternate transportation to get you back on time.  
An option is to see who RC has contracted for the shore excursion and book the same excursion through the third party directly rather than RC.  That way you know the ship will wait since your fellow passengers are on that shore excursion and the ship will wait for them!  

Most of the time we do not carry a change of clothing with us.  If we go to the beach, we wear our bathing suits there and my wife and kids do have a cover up or pair of shorts/shirt to put on.  Ultimately we go this route to reduce the amount of stuff we need to transport.

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS @twangster!  I've been searching for this information.  I watched @Matt a couple weeks ago LIVE on FB and could NOT for the life of me remember what it was called, he (along with several others) recommended the British Colonial and I spaced it when it came time to look for it. We're taking our 16yo DS and his best friend, also 16, and have a Nassau stop.

Welcome to the message boards!
One option to consider is a day pass to a resort that meets some of your needs.  It is walkable from the port but a private resort so not subject to the disadvantages of the public beach.  There is a cost but since you are willing to pay for an excursion or transportation that doesn't appear to be an issue.  Have a look:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/04/03/excursion-focus-british-colonial-hilton-nassau-bahamas
 

Yes, two ships is a positive sign! Do whatever your heart tells you, it's your vacation, and it is OK to stay on the ship.  

That's an EXCELLENT recommendation! 

My husband and daughter did the blue lagoon beach break and dolphin swim back in March. Pics and details are in my Anthem blog (link in signature below). They loved it and hubby did mention how beautiful it was there. He said that was his favourite beach in comparison to Labadee and Coco cay. And he also mentioned that the water level is quite shallow before it gets deep so great for kids. I feel like it is a pricey excursion though.

That makes two of us!

I didn't realize that Celebrity EVER went to Labadee and Coco Cay...

If I could split cost with another family, I'd give it a try.

Thanks so much for this review @SpeedNoodles.  I'd read a lot of other reviews including @twangster.  We're sailing on Navigator in July with our 16yo DS and his best friend...I've looked at it thinking it might be good/fun for the best friend (and me) to be able to share stuff with his parents.  Appreciate the review.
 

all the heart eyes!  LOL  i mean, i don't need it EVERY day, but it will be a nice "vacation" treat.  ?

If I, as a newbie here, have learned anything funny...it's that apparently @twangster is a bot?  LOL

Who’s Going?
The usual crew:  Hubby, our 2 girls, D10, D12, and myself.
 
Flight
Our plan is to fly from DTW to FLL the day before.  I knew I was taking this cruise long before flight prices were released.  I tracked air from the start.  Regretfully, I did not pull the trigger 11 months out.  The price of air did not follow the traditional up/down until the 90-day mark on this one.  At around 90 days, when I did purchase, it was still about $20pp higher than at 11 months out.  Lesson here?  If we are sure of the cruise, I will purchase it at release for Spring Break.
 
Pre-Cruise Stay
By now you likely know that we are creatures of habit.  Not much new to report here.  Valuetrips blacked out Hyatt Place for March 9th (and I was not about to pay $325/night for that property), so we are back at the Holiday Inn Express on 17th Street.  This time their suites are ready, and we got a good deal on one over Black Friday.  Pre-cruise dinner?  You already know it!
 
Itinerary
This 7-night sailing brings us to Labadee, Falmouth, and Cozumel.  No set plans for Falmouth and Cozumel.  May very well stay on the ship again.  The exciting thing is that we are renting a cabana for the first time in Labadee!
 
Cabin
Star Loft suite!!!  That’s all!
 
Pre-Cruise thoughts

-    This cruise marks the first time our girls are sailing OA class.  I am so thrilled to introduce them to my favourite class of ship!

-    It’s Star Class…No pre-cruise purchases, no reservations, no planning!  It was odd not having to check my cruise planner on this one.  I barely looked at it.

-    It’s mainly specialty dining for us this time.  Although it pains me to leave CK, we figured we must do specialty to make it worth our while.  In addition, although @Matt cannot wrap his head around this, we (Hubby) are frugal and we cannot usually bring ourselves to spend the extra money when there are so many complimentary options available.  In the past, we have only ever tried Jamie’s, Wonderland, and Giovanni’s.

-    The suite snob is at peace on this one.

-    Once again, in the spirit of a live blog, please do not hesitate to ask any questions.  I will do my best to find out whatever I can for you.

-    When responding to a post with a series of pictures, please do not include the pictures in your reply.  It just makes for easier scrolling.

-    Lastly, I will do my best to bring the cruise to you LIVE through Periscope – you can follow me @LoveToCruise2002.