wordell1

I'm actually trying Nachi for the first time in January. We have been going to Paradise beach forever, but they have basically eliminated the pay as you go option and we were disappointed with the changes to the food menu (much smaller portions) the last time we were there. We tried Mr Sancho's but did not like the food or service. I wonder if the popularity of the beach clubs is causing all of them to cut way back on costs since people are coming anyway.

I'm not sure that any ships still have internet lounges

The reason frequent cruisers typically use a full service TA is that there are many things that can go wrong with your bookings - the most notable being cancellations. Having a TA makes that experience much less of a hassle. I used to book my own cruises until the Covid cancellations forced me to spend a huge amount of time on the phone dealing with cancellations and FCC's. Dealing with a cancelled 2024 Panama Canal cruise required a simple email to my TA. I use MEI. TA's cost nothing and you can still book on your own and then transfer the booking if you prefer.

I take a taxi to OB and ask the driver to meet us at a pre appointed time. This has always worked out.

Capri is a long excursion. If you are looking for something shorter you can walk (or taxi) from the ship and just walk around downtown Naples. The pizza is the best in the world and kids love pizza.

If you are talking about Roatan, you can use Ronys Tours and book a private excursion. You will pay around $100 for the car or van/driver and then pay individually for anything you want to do. We do this in Roatan and my wife does not zip line and does not pay for it. HOME - Roatan Tours, Cruiseship Activities, Excursions, Zipline Canopy Tours with Ronys Independent Tours, Roatan (ronystours.com)

For the record, my wife and I have shopped many times in the secured port in Costa Maya - It's actually one of the nicer ports. I'm not sure if OP is referring to this area, or the downtown area of Mahahual. The secured area is one of the largest of any port and has lots of shopping. The vendors in my experience are active (standing in the door asking you to come into thier shop), but not aggressive. In town can be more aggressive and there are vendors on the beach itself. In either case, a simple "no thank you" is enough. While there are deals to be had in some ports, generally you are probably not getting a deal on most items. If you want to buy something, use google to check prices - it doesn't take a minute.

It was on Cruisehive. It's more the principle to me. Why tell us that the name change to Crown Lounge doesn't mean any changes to the lounge and then make changes a few weeks later? Obviously they had to change the name if they planned to restrict Diamond members from the Diamond lounge. Why lie about the reason? It shows a lack of respect for some of their long term customers. Wonder has the worst Diamond Lounge in the fleet anyway so I'd be shocked if it were actually full.

I would still keep trying, but the bottom line is that they are not going to displace someone else to move him back to deck 14. You are after final payment so I doubt there will be any cancelations at this point. On the scale of things that can go wrong, I wouldn't worry about you being on different decks. I don't think it will affect very much.

Also to be noted is that Europe actually uses less cash than the US. You can use a CC almost anywhere.

There is a very small Mayan ruin on the Island of Cozumel. You can definitely do that one and shop/explore downtown. There are also tours that will take you to Tulum which is on the Mexican mainland and requires a ferry to get to. The ruins are much larger there. Those are all day tours.

Galveston is not really a party destination. Spring Break in Texas would be the 2nd week in March so you would miss it anyway.

I don't see the issue unless this was something they had for free prior. Royal Caribbean charges for cupcakes.

The bottom line is that you will need to be at the transfer bus at the correct time. The reason they are asking for your flight to arrive before 11am is that anything after that will be cutting it close. It sounds like you are OK on paper with the arrival time, but I would be stressed out given the unpredictable nature of air travel. If your flight is significantly delayed and you miss the transfer, you may need to have a backup plan to get to the port by sail away. You are asking for advice from experienced cruisers and if it were me, I would make an effort to rebook the flights to arrive earlier if possible. In my opinion you are cutting it too close.

I have usually paid the driver at the end for the "private tour" itself but I pay the driver for the activities as we do them since they typically make arrangements and pay for the activity. I have used Rony's tours 5 times in the past 4 years without any issues. My first thought is that there may have been some issues where people did not pay at the end or ran short of cash. I love Roatan, but cash is definitely preferred there so make sure you bring extra for lunch etc.

I don't think it's walkable from the port. Use Uber/Lyft to get to the aquarium. I would walk from there over to Fanuel Hall Marketplace - It is definitely worth doing and is relatively close to the aquarium.

I did the same, I wish I had bought 1000 shares.

First advice is to ALWAYS fly in the day before for a cruise. If you must do transfers, stay near the airport and take a taxi/uber back to the airport to meet the bus. If it were me, I would fly in the day before and stay in the Webster area and use Uber/Lyft for my ride to the ship. Buy transfers for the return trip.

Wow, that certainly puts some of the complaints we see on here in perspective.

11am at the earliest and assuming you can do self-baggage debarkation at 7am. Noon if you do normal debarkation.

The best time to book is when the cruise is released for sale. After that, it will depend on supply/demand for pricing. August is still peak season and demand has been high in 2023 so I am not surprised that it would be higher. If you book, you can always reprice the cruise as long as you do not pay in full. You will need to make final payment at 90 days out and it cannot be repriced after that.

It sounds like you need one.

Check in the app when you board and there will be additional times. I signed up for a slot at 1pm on boarding day and it wasn't very busy.

Good info, thanks for posting. This forum is a great way to learn and also to stay caught up and exchange opinions. Welcome!

You will get instructions on board. Typically, all BTB cruisers will meet in a lounge. You will be escorted off the ship, check in for the new cruise, and then be escorted back onto the ship. It's a quick process.