whitsmom

As background, I eat a lot when I cruise and it's one of my favorite parts of cruising. So with that said, I love the food on CocoCay.
Not trying to convince you to have lunch there, just sharing an opinion. Besides the buffets at the 2 Grills I mentioned, the chicken sandwiches and funnel cake at the Snack Shacks are very good.

Here in the very south where I live, which relies on "sun and sand" tourism, yes, you are correct, things do start shutting down at that time of year. However, there's a lot more to southern Portugal than that. Lisbon itself is actually classed as being in southern Portugal and being a big city it never shuts down. And in between Lisbon and the Algarve, you have Évora, in the Alentejo region, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and, again, because it's not a beach resort it doesn't shut down either. That time of year can be very interesting in this region, especially if you're interested in wine, as wine tourism is big there and this is the time the grapes are harvested.

I want a fall break here! No such thing where my wife teaches.

The Lavazza pods they provide are a little strong for me since I drink my coffee black so I just run the machine twice and get a full cup rather than the espresso cup and it works out much better.  I also do not care for what they provide so I researched Lavazza pods and bring my own.
 

10/20 Jewel

10/20 Jewel

It really doesn't bother me with what everyone wears (such as PJ pants, shorts or similar) in the dining room, shows and such places.  Once they set down, you don't really see that anyway.  It doesn't change how much a enjoy my meal or the show. 

It really doesn't bother me with what everyone wears (such as PJ pants, shorts or similar) in the dining room, shows and such places.  Once they set down, you don't really see that anyway.  It doesn't change how much a enjoy my meal or the show. 

One of our favorite things to do!  Sometimes hubby will come off with a "I can't un-see that!" or maybe even "I need new eyeballs!"  (Our youngest granddaughter coined the "new eyeballs" saying 🤣

One of our favorite things to do!  Sometimes hubby will come off with a "I can't un-see that!" or maybe even "I need new eyeballs!"  (Our youngest granddaughter coined the "new eyeballs" saying 🤣

One of our favorite things to do!  Sometimes hubby will come off with a "I can't un-see that!" or maybe even "I need new eyeballs!"  (Our youngest granddaughter coined the "new eyeballs" saying 🤣

We have done the Key several times which makes it so nice that they put our bags in our room before we are allowed in there.
 

One of our favorite things to do!  Sometimes hubby will come off with a "I can't un-see that!" or maybe even "I need new eyeballs!"  (Our youngest granddaughter coined the "new eyeballs" saying 🤣

I think we are just in a different era of time. 50-60 years ago people got dressed up to go anywhere. Men wore suits outside of the home most of the time. 25 years ago most workplaces still had very strict dress codes. Now, a lot of successful entrepreneurs and/or CEO's under 40 wear only hoodies. Things change and that's just the way it is. 
I still dress up somewhat but not to stuffy. I care more about someone's attitude than what they are wearing. I'd rather be cruising with kind hearted, fun loving onsie pajama wearing folks than a bunch of suits treating staff and fellow cruisers like crap.

I don't even notice what people are wearing in the MDR 95% of the time.

It really doesn't bother me with what everyone wears (such as PJ pants, shorts or similar) in the dining room, shows and such places.  Once they set down, you don't really see that anyway.  It doesn't change how much a enjoy my meal or the show. 

It really doesn't bother me with what everyone wears (such as PJ pants, shorts or similar) in the dining room, shows and such places.  Once they set down, you don't really see that anyway.  It doesn't change how much a enjoy my meal or the show. 

It really doesn't bother me with what everyone wears (such as PJ pants, shorts or similar) in the dining room, shows and such places.  Once they set down, you don't really see that anyway.  It doesn't change how much a enjoy my meal or the show. 

It really doesn't bother me with what everyone wears (such as PJ pants, shorts or similar) in the dining room, shows and such places.  Once they set down, you don't really see that anyway.  It doesn't change how much a enjoy my meal or the show. 

We stayed here also.  My friend was on a knee scooter so walking was out so they hotel let his airport shuttle driver take us and drop us off for $25 cash.  That worked for us and he got to keep the cash himself.  Win-win for all involved 😉

If you're booked in a suite, drinks in the suite lounge don't count against vouchers.

We just booked a National Park (Out West) land tour for next September and it is way more expensive than a cruise.  However, we are trying to get bucket list ($$$) trips out of the way before we retire while we are still working.  We will be retiring in 2-3 years then we can travel more leisurely with our "big" trips already done.  We prioritize saving for our trips.  We also want to do our bucket list trips while we are in good health.  I have heard too many stories of people that waited to do their bucket list travel after they retired and health issues made it impossible to achieve.

Ours was cancelled because it was too windy.

Some of the worst cruise behavior I have ever experienced. For example, watching on the outdoor big screen from the Viikng Crown Lounge, no audio but still a great view and snacks too.  Others had the same great idea but they took the cushions off the chairs to make their chairs extra cushion-y.  So you had to watch , sitting in a chair that was designed to have cushions, but didnt, and just sit on the frame.  

I'm sure the OP will be back at any moment to clarify.............