PRC

Out at the far end of the pier though is a few shops, and a few watering holes. :)

Did it with Rhapsody once and then again with Voyager. Both from Galveston of course. The continental shelf is insanely shallow for a looooong ways so the pier complex is literally 2 miles long I believe. Big buses provided.

Awesome lineup! IMO, Progreso will be the weak spot. If you've never been, its basically A) hit the beach bar, B) tour some ruins, or C) bus into Merida. Labadee is great but Bermuda will be a bit more "rare" and is usually an expensive sailing from NYC or Baltimore. BTW... just moved here to the Cape Canaveral area last year from Baytown. ;)

Yes, 2 weeks ago it was $17.99USD onboard Navi.

No pros or cons from me, just never have because its not my thing.

I would guess no. They likely would not know how to price or bill that.

Giovannis tends to not use a printed menu, bringing a cart to the table to display the selections available. I've noticed it's not always the same but I don't know if the variation is ship to ship or if its season to season, week to week, region to region, I don't know.

Just returned from that 9 nighter last week. It was a blast, and Navi is still in great shape! However... knowing the group now onboard (Steve you know some of them!)... no telling what may happen!

Diamond Plus is: 20% off any service any day and Book a signature service while in port and receive a add on for free. so I would assume Diamond has some variation of this. No drink package discount that i'm aware of.

There will also be a cross section provided on the back of the "Cruise Compass Boarding Day Edition".

There was a crude "pavilion" that was about 12x12, and the two "guides" that stayed with us brought a pop-up 12x12 canopy (mostly to protect the folding bar table and coolers!) There was a very crude restroom facility (my Y chromosome allows me to improvise as conditions warrant!) There also is the remains of a fire pit / grill but is is crumbling. No further development us allowed on the island as it is an uninhabited and protected environment. The day trip excursions must be self sufficient. I loved it but we did have PC skies and the November temps were low 80's. July or so would be different!

IMO the best beaches in Bonaire for good sandy surface along with incredible snorkeling within 25 yds from shore are over on Klein (little) Bonaire. Quick water taxi away. very primitive but makes for a wonderful day!

Ok, with this math change now for my upcoming 10 night Serenade in November. (I've not purchased Voom yet) Full price ($17.99/day) is $179.90 Buy online at the new $14.39/day is $143.90 Waiting to buy onboard at full price and getting the D+ discount (2 days equivalent cost, or $35.98) is $143.92 I save 2 cents by pre-buying. Not much cash incentive but I've noticed that when pre-buying its already activated and when buying onboard they sometimes don't even open the system up for purchase till early afternoon.

Pre purchased Voom 2 days ago for my August Empress sailing...got the $11.99 price. Looks like I just made it for that one!

Just returned from the 9 night sailing this past Sunday. great time, you won't regret it!

A lot of lines do this, mostly in Europe. It allows them to source from two markets with out airlift costs for locals as well as doubling the chance of fitting in to non-Euro passengers land based plans.

I believe the PR's have 2 US outlets at the desk.

A long standing tradition in Cozumel is watching the "runners" coming in late. The best of them are those that have had "just a little" too much Senor Frogs. I've seen them carried by their friends, walking anything but a straight line, saw one in a wheelchair once, and (no kidding) a wheel barrow! Saw a guy stop, unload breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything he drank in between right there on the pier, take a deep breath, then start walking again! The ships officers refused to allow him back onboard until the doctor came out and looked at him. They put him in a ships wheelchair and wheeled him up the ramp. A tiny little girl wearing a sombrero bigger than she was, carrying two "yard" glasses and taking 20 minutes to walk half the ship length. Cozumel... you never know what you'll see ;)

Serenade was painfully slow last November. Was refunded 5 of the 11 nights package.

You're right...Serenade was the last R-class I was on. Let the "old and senile" jokes begin... :D

Serenade does this in Alaska between Seward and Vancouver. Southbound one week, northbound the next.

In addition to docking visibility, there is also a beam which can be extended with an electric winch that they can deploy from there. I've watched them take on equipment directly to the mooring deck.

I have for the last few years. Its a bit awkward at times, but never been a moment when I would ever consider not cruising! I don't do the MDR any more, but after the first time I've never felt uncomfortable in specialty restaurants. The shows are not an issue, nor has anything else been. My biggest struggle has always been in the Windjammer... I will want to go get another plate or get desert and my table will be gone! I now try to ask a crewmember to "watch" my dirty dishes until i return! ;) No reason to be afraid! Go for it!

The "year" for cruising runs from April to April. April '18 to April '19 contains the summer '18 sailings in Alaska.

Actually that was a typo... it was 39.9 :P but others here have brought up a valid point: I too don't expect things to stay the same...everything will increase eventually. All cruiselines do things a little differently than the others in order to differentiate themselves. But, they are also not stupid, as they see others charging for something and start to wonder if they are leaving money on the table? They likely looked at their operational costs for R/S as a whole, and figured that if they charge, its a bit of income to offset that cost. if the utilization declines, then thats a cost reduction. Win-win if they can manage the initial customer reaction.