wordell1

I actually started with Celebrity but moved to Royal because it was a better fit for families with kids. I like Royal, but definitely want to try Celebrity again. The Loyalty program is tough to beat once you get to Diamond level as you get the equivalent of $100 a day in free drinks for a couple.

My Day 1 changes: 1. Enforce the chair hog rules. 2. Change the recommended tips to a mandatory service charge. 3. Replace Cats with anything else. 4. No smoking in the casino. 5. Add about 25 tap beers to the Pub selection.

No problem booking for 9:30 in Cozumel

As a rule, the areas that are good for snorkeling in Cozumel do not have nice sand beaches, and the beaches are not good snorkeling. I would recommend doing a snorkel excursion in the morning and then meet your Husband and Daughter at the beach. With kids, I would recommend Paradise Beach The best all inclusive beach club in Cozumel | Paradise Beach Cozumel for the beach part.

All excursions can be cancelled. Sometimes it is an issue with the tour operator. More likely, it is because the tour did not meet the minimum number required. This same issue could easily happen on any cruise line. If you are still on the ship, just take a cab to times square and you will see a lot on the way. Spend a little time there and then just catch a cab to the airport. If you have time, the subway is right there and can take you anywhere in Manhattan. As for the tea, If I felt that strongly that it was the only type of tea that I could drink, I would ensure that I brought it along. Tea bags do not take up much room in your luggage. I'm not discounting that there were issues, but it sounds to me like you allowed them to ruin your vacation.

Sorry, but this is just a bad idea. Right or wrong, this is how crew are compensated - they are not the ones who are making the cutbacks. If you feel like service levels at Royal have dropped, your recourse would be to sail another line or take a different vacation. I'm not necessarily happy with the recent cut backs, but I do see it as a way to attempt to keep the cost of cruises down in an environment where costs are skyrocketing. Think about food costs alone in 2023 vs 2020 and imagine how that is affecting the profit line.

You do not need a passport. You can bring your driver's license and original birth certificate (with the raised seal). This is allowed for closed loop cruises and land border crossings into/from Mexico/Canada. I would recommend a passport because you could not fly home from any of the ports in the event of an emergency.

Thanks, I just figured out what we will be doing in Victoria in a few weeks!

In my experience, the corkage fee is very rarely applied. I have been charged only once, about 5 years ago. Even then, I think that it was because the charge was fairly new and the head waiter was nearby.

I am not a fan of Broadway musicals but I really enjoyed Mama Mia.

As you said, you paid the tip when you ordered the package, so I don't think there is a strong expectation that you tip again. Having said that, consider carrying some ones to tip individual servers as a way of getting better service.

Roatan will have the sloths. Check out Rony's Tours. Email him and ask about the car seats. HOME - Roatan Tours, Cruiseship Activities, Excursions, Zipline Canopy Tours with Ronys Independent Tours, Roatan (ronystours.com) In Cozumel, I like Paradise Beach for young kids - there are some really cool water infatables as well as a nice pool. I'm not sure about the car seats though as I have always used taxis that are unlikely to have them. You may be able to pre book private transportation. Keep in mind that many countries have a different culture when it comes to car seats so that may create problems.

Royal should be able to tell you what the boarding requirements are for your cruise. If it were me, I would want to have it in advance anyway but Royal will know the answer.

I would discourage you from choosing a TA that way. I use a full-service TA, but I would actually rather book it myself directly with Royal before using a "bargain" TA. If you use a TA, you cannot call Royal directly about issues - you must use your TA. If you have a bad (or mass market) TA this can be a big problem. As @SweetPea stated above, many people found out with all of the cancellations what the value of a good TA was. I now use MEI which sponsors this site. I highly recommend them. These are your basic choices - 1 - Use a full-service TA - Get the rates published by RCI and occasionally a discount because of group rates or special offers. Your TA does all the work and you just let them know what you want - costs nothing extra. A good TA can also watch for reprices - I have actually saved much more through this service than I ever would have gotten in discounts from other TA's. 2 - Book directly with Royal - no problem but you may need to spend some time on the phone dealing with issues if they come up. It can be a lot of time if you need to cancel/rebook as an example and FCC's as a result of a cancellation are especially troublesome. You can reprice this way, but you must find the lower price yourself and call Royal to get it. 3- Use a "Bargain" or Mass Market TA - Can sometimes get onboard credits, cheaper prices, or other perks as part of the booking. These can provide great value if there are no issues. If you have problems or cancellations, you will have a nightmare getting the TA to spend the time required to get it fixed. The TA's at the mass market travel websites are not experienced and do not always understand the ins and outs of cruising. Repricing is often not allowed on these sites.

Its a mistake that is easy to make if you are a busy adult. Get a TA that has your CC on file and you will have much better peace of mind.

I appreciate when a waiter starts to recognize and anticipate your preferences.

Imagine the legal liability if they knowingly allowed someone with a sex offender status onboard and that person committed another crime onboard.

We did the Cinque Terre hike last year and I highly recommend it (although it is strenuous). Great video showing just some of the things this itinerary has to offer!

The card will work but you really should get a full passport. One of the keys to successful travel is to prepare for unexpected situations. Your card does not allow you to fly back into the US in any situation where you are stranded in one of the ports. It's not a likely scenario, but it does happen - it happened recently to an entire NCL ship that ran aground. I'm sure that the passport card and license/birth certificate passengers got home, but not without a lot of hassle.

I booked Air to Sea from Austin. There is a Copa direct flight on Thursday so we are taking advantage of that and staying at the Residence Inn. My MEI TA said that they may do a group hotel so I may change it if that comes together.

Yes, Make sure they go to the meet and greet on the 1st night in the teen lounge.

My TA did it for me. They may get it early. I booked at the Residence Inn also - It looked good for the price.

I ended up booking Air to Sea. I'm flying direct from Austin on Thursday (flight is on Copa and isn't offered Friday) so that will give us a full day to explore Panama City. Flight back is United/Copa through Houston. It's just over $1000 each for basic economy so I'm hoping for a reprice. I'm not sure on Hotel yet.

You have to be a special kind of stupid to try to bring illegal drugs across a border.

You could easily do all of that from one of the hop on/hop off busses. Use Viator if you want to spend a little more for a guided tour which would better maximize your time. Also I do not think that the Ultimate Dining Package was ever available pre cruise for us last year. I seem to remember that the 3 day package was available but I am not sure as we had decided to stick to the MDR for that cruise.