monctonguy

Great info and good to know. Hotels seem a little pricey but I guess that's the norm. So I will prob have to stay further away for a cheaper hotel but worth it if the cabs are so cheap I guess! Glad to hear boarding times are still the same....now to just find a good deal on a flight!!

Starting to do some research now for my upcoming April 2018 cruise out of San Juan. So the RCCL cruise port is not the San Juan Cruise port, but the Pan American? Any idea of costs from the airport to the port? Any hotels that include airport shuttle and cruise port shuttle perhaps? Jewel doesn't leave until 8:30pm but I am hoping that boarding would still start around noon?

Wondering if anyone has been on Jewel recently. I have her booked for next April, but tempted to switch to Adventure. But I really enjoy the feel of the smaller ship to be honest. And with all the glass for the views I am thinking I should stay with Jewel. But Adventure sounds and seems like it has so much more now than Adventure?! Thoughts from anyone who has done both recently or even not so recently?

Interesting......I have been both to the port in Falmouth with Royal as well as stayed at an AI in Ocho Rios. Both times were the most harassed experiences of my life for both land based vacations and cruising. For the AI, they actually had security standing in the ocean to keep people from coming on the beach to harass you. And a visit to Margaritaville in Ocho Rios for a evening excursion turned into a nightmare with locals trying to sell us drugs constantly as well as pounding on the bus windows and yelling for the police to arrest us saying we had drugs on us(which we didn't and they must have been pissed we refused to buy any from them) As for the cruise experience, we didn't go far and I have no issues saying NO and ignoring people, but it was constant. If you wanted to look around or stop and look at something and take a picture or two you were immediately harassed. Inside the gates was fine obviously. I wouldn't care to ever visit Jamaica based on my 2 experiences so far. Beauty country for sure but the locals harassing the tourists ruins it for me.

Yeah, its a long drive for sure. I live about 3 hrs from the Maine/Canada border. Hard to balance it out between the driving time and the flight costs.....but I am looking at options for driving. Most of my cruising is done during the winter mths though when driving is not enjoyable or desirable. Just waiting for some vacation confirmation and then I will be able to see if I am able to take the extra time it will require to drive of if flying it will have to be and deal with the high costs.....

If first time and looking for SERIOUS relaxing at Coco Cay...I would recommend none of what you have listed. Those are great things to do with a group of people or friends etc imho. There are LOTS of areas that will be very quiet and secluded for free all over Coco Cay. And as a first timer there I would recommend getting out and wandering around the island to see all what it offers and perhaps then decide what if anything you would book again if you come back. If you are set on choosing of the 3 you listed, I wouldn't chose the first one based on cost and location and no beach access. Prob option #2 as is only $25 more than option 3 and you get some lounge chairs and couches to enjoy.

I have thought about taking advantage of this offer, but for me having to do it the first night is the deal breaker. I like to have an open schedule that sail away day.......so much to do and see and don't want to feel rushed or like I am missing out on something to go to dinner. Other than that, its a good deal!

Not much you can do to keep the price down...cruising solo is an expensive experience. Best advice as someone who has cruised solo in the past is to check multiple booking sites and keep checking right up to final payment dates for better deals.

Love Majesty as she reminded me of my first cruise ever on her sister ship Monarch. I think I enjoy the smaller older ships just as much as the newer bigger ones to be honest. Its a different feel and vibe to her...

Defn take a cab is my advice. I wouldn't want to walk all the way there, then around town and then back in the heat and with kids in tow. That being said..Mega store is pretty cool to check out and compare prices and stuff. There are lots of places around there to grab a bite to eat as well within walking distance of that site.

I have never noticed it different that anywhere else. They seem to do a good job of keeping it regulated I find. As for the rooms, agreed there isn't much change in there you can do more than a degree or two.

It is basically to offset the flight cost from Canada....it ends up being somewhere between $750 to $1000 for flights and to stay the night before at a hotel. So at that cost I could only afford to do one long nice cruise with all the extras and perks....or I have to try and find 2-3 cheaper cruises a year and make that work. I prefer to cruise more often and do less when on the cruise. I still enjoy the ports and the casino when on board....I just don't usually spend $100's extra on each port stop for excursions.

It will go by quickly...so I guess the biggest thing is anything you want to see or do or experience on board, you have to do it and not procrastinate as those 4 nights go quickly! As for drink and specialty meals etc, I think that would be more of a preference than dictated by the length of cruise? For me it would be anyways.

I missed out on a cruise on Adventure a cpl years ago....and was disappointed as not sure when I would be able to find a deal to get to San Juan again. Now that she is going to be much closer, a good chance I will be able to make it on her. I really need to look into driving to port to save some $ and allow me to cruise more by avoiding high air fare costs. My friends who made the cruise on Adventure loved it and want to do another Royal cruise (after only doing NCL prior to this cruise) so it must have been a nice ship and experience!

Looks like nothing has changed for now which is good for the cruise industry.....as they can continue to charge overinflated prices for trips to Cuba for Americans! I would never ever pay what they are asking for Cuba cruises...its crazy and so not worth it imho unless you are simply going so you can tell all your friends you are one of the first to go to Cuba. I have been to Cuba many many times and only because its so cheap for us to go there as Canadians..I would NEVER pay what Americans have to pay to go there...its sooooo no worth it! I guess all the sayings like "we want what we cant have" and "the grass always looks greener on the other side" etc is true in this cause and the cruise companies are loving it!! If anything..Cuba should be the cheapest cruise you could take..its not even on par with what you get in Nassau...and a lot of experienced cruises have a disdain for Nassau. I don't get it.

I started at 36..single and no kids.....and did 10 cruises in the next 3 years......I did 7 in the first 2 years when I really caught the bug and could find some great deals..... But I am not the one Royal makes much money from...I refuse to pay extra on extras on top of taxes and fees and upgrades and perks and gratuities etc. I look for the cheapest/best deal.....buy the drink package(and they don't make any $ off me from that I can assure you) and I enjoy the ship for what it is and the ports but don't spend hundreds or thousands extra on top of the cruise fare like they want and expect!!

Don't plan on doing this for a meal...its not convenient at all. At the end of the night after a few drinks you may not care and the ship is not as busy and a cpl cold pieces of pizza is what it is. But trying to bring a breakfast tray of food back to the room would be a nightmare imho with the crowds and the waits at elevators etc...food cold, trying not to spill liquids.....good luck. I don't know what the "free" room service for breakfast is like now (as they decided to charge for all room service recently) but I would recommend that option.

This is what the news site I follow is stating...so looks like status quo for the cruise co for now.. Stopping short of a complete turnabout, U.S. President Donald Trump is expected Friday to announce a revised Cuba policy aimed at stopping the flow of U.S. cash to the country's military and security services while maintaining diplomatic relations and allowing U.S. airlines and cruise ships to continue service to the island.

Seems like Trump is going to enforce the "12" reasons or whatever it is to travel to Cuba...I wonder what the cruise companies are going to claim for that I mean really....3,000 on the ship aren't going for humanity or education reasons really.....we all know that....so will he turn a blind eye to it and allow Cuba to benefit economically from it......stayed tuned I guess.

I cant see Cuba giving in to what Trump will ask for.....so then the Obama changes are rolled back......so I wouldn't count on visiting Cuba in 2018 at this point in time. time will tell and I will be following this closely. Even though as a Canadian it doesn't affect me(except that Cuba has become much more expensive since Americans can visit) I am interested to see what happens!

I wouldn't pay the extra $5000 for one day...I could book a lot of other cruises for that savings! No brainer to me at all!

Johnny Rockets is usually dead that first day in my experience so a great time to go.....trying to remember but pretty sure they had a 20% off promo that first day too..

quick and easy....no longer than any other dock or port in my experience.

I haven't looked into the fine details and pricing as I haven't been looking to book anything as prices are so high right now for anything I want. However, I used to always have 2-3 cruises booked at a time for the first few years I started cruising but they have become fewer and far between now as the pricing and deals aren't they same as they were a few years ago. I will be curious to see if this makes me more likely to start booking multiple cruises again or not....

Robes and lapel and the top tier are the difference really. Balcony discount is nice, but I still cant afford it even with the discount. Next up for me is Emerald...getting close but don't think there is a big jump there either.....still striving for Diamond at this point!