DunkelBierJay

Just stay together during the check-in process and everything is set. Carry your passports, phone with the app keyed up on your set sail passes and have a backup copy of your set sail pass handy when you enter the terminal, and it will flow incredibly smoothly. I had a lot of the same questions you have, and it was much easier than I thought it would be. Your bf will probably see his set sail pass appear on his phone as you get closer to your sailing. A big key to it going smoothly is to do your photos during online check-in at least three days prior to your sailing. It made a noticeable difference in the speed. When you arrive, just look for the signs or ask one of the terminal staff, and they will direct you to where you need to go. It only takes holding up your phone and saying "expedited." We were on board in ten minutes even when my family and I felt a little foreign going through the process because it is different than previous check-ins. Bon voyage!

This worked great for us on Empress...we received extra shots whenever our favorite barista was there.

In my experience, if you do a one-way rental at Port Canaveral, it is vastly more convenient than doing Port Miami despite the greater distance. This isn't to say that getting to Port Miami is difficult. It's not if you use a cab or rideshare from FLL. Port Canaveral -- quick, easy, convenient car rental drop off with shuttle to port -- less traffic -- less hectic at the port -- Enchantment is a wonderful ship with the coolest pool bar in the fleet, The Oasis. She is smaller, but feels like a big ship considering she is stretched from the other Vision class ships so that you have the longest pool deck I have seen on a RC ship. Port Miami -- not too bad, it's a little hectic in the port area compared to other ports I've sailed from, and it's WAY more scenic. Mariner -- recently refurbished...I sailed on her sister, Navigator and have to say that this is my sweet spot class of ships so far. The entertainment on both ships will be pretty much the same type pf shows. You need to book Oasis Class, Anthem of the Seas or Liberty of the Seas if you are stuck on seeing a Broadway show. With one exception, I flew in the day before my cruises and will continue to do this.

I used the app last month aboard Allure, and it connected well to My Calendar, and there were a couple of fun features to it in addition to what you can see before boarding, but there is no communication feature as of yet.

I think I was off a day...it looks like it's scheduled for 1/11...

Interesting...I am considering a Grandeur 9 night sailing with a Coco Cay stop on 1/10. In the dummy booking, it said there was an itinerary change, but Coco Cay still appeared.

Terrible...I can't believe the operator allowed people on it while it is "raining hard."

Did you transfer it to a travel agent? If so, you won't be able to see it any longer. If it is directly with Royal, stay tuned...it changes daily. You should have a pdf confirmation in your email somewhere with the most recent documentation.

Well, I missed Matt's post on the main page, and I am guessing that it will stay on an eastern itinerary...my bad... https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/07/07/royal-caribbean’s-oasis-of-the-seas-changes-itinerary-avoid-hurricane-beryl

Beryl is fizzling out and is forecast to be a low pressure system south of Puerto Rico by tomorrow. You may not even see a cloud from it, so I’m guessing you’ll be good for Labadee.

There's no way we could make our kids use walkie talkies on cruises at that age, so we put a magnetic dry erase board on our door and left each other messages, and left them alone. They didn't mind using it.

@Lovetocruise2002's advice to follow James Van Fleet is right on...meanwhile, Beryl is forecast to be over Hispaniola (Domincan/Haiti) as a tropical storm on 7/10, so I wouldn't be surprised if your Labadee stop on Day 3 on Oasis is changed or is rainy/windy. Other than that, you will be south of there. My unprofessional opinion is that you will feel some moderate waves if you do stop in Labadee and are in the vicinity, so take some measures for that with bonine, green apples, etc. The captain may just decide to go to the other side of Cuba and do another sea day going around the western side of Cuba to hit your Falmouth stop which will I bet will be out of the way of the storm by then. As far as Harmony...you will be in Charlotte Amalie by then, and well out of the way of the storm. My bet is you won't be affected.

I was burned by this policy for a cruise I did back in January...live and learn

I like to have magnetic hooks for hanging stuff like lanyards, hats, etc...as well as something water proof for passports...I love the towel clips in this link...https://shop.cruisehabit.com/collections/frontpage/products/beach-towel-chair-clips-pack-of-4

I used the coffee card on Empress and Brilliance. On Empress, you use it primarily at the Cuban coffee bar just inside the entrance to Boleros on Deck 6. On Brilliance, you use it primarily at Cafe Latitudes on Deck 5 in the Centrum. I really enjoyed the coffee card on Empress. Since the coffee bar on that ship is special, the drinks are special...especially the cafecitos. Also, the empanadas are quite tasty, but that is beside the point. On Brilliance, I thought it was a waste of time and money. I didn't want the drinks they made with it enough to use all the punches. I thought the crew were going through the motions, really. It was just ok, and they limited me to one shot of espresso per punch which was not what I recalled from Empress. On Empress, I recall one punch per drink, and the drinks the crew made were really yummy. As a result, personally, I would only consider that coffee card on Empress and not on any other ship. You can make a good coffee drink with the drip coffee and a dollop of soft serve from the pool or Windjammer to scratch that itch. I am pretty sure the cards are the same price on board as on the Cruise Planner. I have never seen them on sale in the CP or discounted on board.

We were there on Friday, June 22. I can't describe sufficiently how much of it there was, and it wasn't as bad as further north along the coast where the smell was really tough to bear. It was nowhere near as bad at Maya Chan itself though. The three men clearing it were really working hard in an almost impossible job. Dan, the owner seemed frustrated by it and was lamenting another storm that he said was on the way. Very cool guy, though. I think he needs a backhoe or some sort of tractor to clear it more quickly. Pitchforks and elbow grease weren't enough for a rapid clearing. I will say that the food is as fresh as it can be at Maya Chan...there's no good way to know at Nachi since it's prepared in the back kitchen.

I have stayed in a Royal Promenade view room on Navigator and a Central Park Balcony room on a recent Allure sailing. I wish I took a chance to look at the CP View rooms because I suspect they will have a lot of square footage since there is no balcony. I only have two complaints with the CP Balcony which would not prevent me from booking one again. 1. Storage was not that great compared to other ships I have been on. There were only three drawers and a few shelves. The shower size was awesome, and the bathroom was very nice. 2. The first night, with the balcony door closed, I could hear some partiers in Central Park making a lot of noise. I am guessing one deck down, someone in a Central Park View room could hear it as well. I think that is a one-off, and it didn't last long because I am certain someone else who was bothered complained as they were ushered out of there. I can't speak to noise below, but will say that when we were on Navigator, we were on Deck 6 directly above Cafe Promenade and could hear crew using the swinging door in the back of the cafe. So, It depends on what restaurant you are above. I would probably try not to be above Park Cafe. The other restaurants should not be an issue since yours appear to be above Chops on Oasis and Allure.

That happened to me as well when I used a file photo from a camera shot, so I just used the camera in my laptop and it loaded correctly.

One thing about booking excursions with Royal Caribbean is to get familiar with using the Cruise Planner section once you have created a username and password. There are frequently sales on the cruise planner that are announced on this site. You almost always save money over booking on board, so I recommend booking what you want now, and checking to see if the price dropped. If that happens, you can cancel and re-book to save a little money. Pretty much the same goes for drink and dining packages, spa, etc.

They said the road had been improved to Maya Chan, however there were lots of ruts which slowed us down quite a bit.

After having been to Nachi Cocom in Cozumel twice and Maya Chan in Costa Maya once, I wanted to list the differences and similarities based on my experiences at both. These are only my impressions from my visits and are not definitive at all Entry and Getting There Entry Fees Nachi Cocom — $55 Maya Chan — $59 Transportation Nachi Cocom — from the International Pier, the cost is $17 each way for a taxi trip. Once the shops are navigated to the taxi stand, the trip takes about 20 minutes. Let them know when you want to return to the ship, and a taxi will be waiting. Costa Maya — once you exit the controlled shops and terminal area, the meeting spot is about two blocks away. The trip cost is included in the price and organized by the staff and takes 25-30 minutes on rough dirt roads south from Mahahual paralleling the coast. Return trips to the ship came in thirty minute increments starting at 1:30 for a 4:30 all on board time. The last taxi was scheduled at 3:30 and drops you off inside the controlled port area, which I liked better than the original pick up area. Clear Edge to Maya Chan when combining entry and transportation for the right number of people. It doesn’t favor Nachi Cocom cost-wise unless you have a large number of people and a bus. Total Cost for Two Adults Nachi Cocom — $144 Maya Chan — $118 Clear Edge to Maya Chan Greeting and Orientation Nachi Cocom — upon arrival, you are greeted by a staff member who takes pictures of you with a sombrero and then directs you to the cashier who takes your payment receipt. After a brief wait, you are introduced to your waiter who takes you to your palapa Maya Chan — when arriving at the meet up point outside of the port area which is fairly easy to find on the right next to a small convenience store, you are advised of the conditions and given the opportunity to cancel if there is a lot of seaweed in the beach. They have your name and number in your party on a list, check you off and match you with other guests for the trip which is usually in a 12 passenger van. A rep, for us, it was one of the American ex-pat owners gives a brief orientation. Edge to Maya Chan What’s Included (The Basics) Nachi Cocom — all food and beverages as well as access to all facilities. Your waiter brings anything you like to your palapa, or you can use the swim up bar in the pool or the restaurant area. Food is ordered off a fairly extensive menu. Beach toys are extra. Maya Chan — an attendant will bring an introductory rum punch and any other beverages you like. Other than chips, guac and salsa, food is buffet style in the small All beach toys are included. They range from water shoes, snorkeling gear, floating chairs and stand up paddle boards. Edge to Nachi Cocom (I don’t mind paying a little extra for a kayak or floating mat) The Facilities Nachi Cocom — there are two sets of bathrooms, a large outdoor seating area in the restaurant/bar, palapas that run two deep the full width of the property, which I am guessing is about 250 feet of water frontage. Each palapa has two chairs and a small table. There is a nice second bar on the beach. There is a small dock. The pool is great, and has a swim up bar which I love. There is also a hot tub. The beach is wide and clean. It’s easy to wade in with your floating device and a cold beverage. The restaurant is very nice and under shade, so even on the hottest days, is a great place to be. There are about 20 tables in the space. Maya Chan — palapas include 1-5 chairs and a beach bed which provided one of the best naps I’ve ever had. They are larger than what is available at Nachi Cocom. There was an unattended second bar behind the line of palapas. I am guessing there is about 150 feet of water frontage. There is no pool. The day I was there was not ideal, sadly, because a storm washed an unbelievable amount of seaweed ashore. It was quite staggering, actually. Three dedicated staff members were putting in huge efforts to clear paths to the water. Even then, when wading out, the seaweed was so thick, it wrapped around your legs for 10-15 feet until you reached clearer water. The bottom was rocky, though not as rocky as Adrenalin Beach at Labadee. Water shoes are a good idea. The restaurant/bar area is somewhat small and pleasant with about 8 tables. The cooking occurs right there, so you can enjoy the skilled cooking. Edge to Nachi Cocom Staff Nachi Cocom — absolutely fantastic. I had the same waiter both times, he remembered me. The bar tenders are quick and generous with the mixed drinks and the beers are cold. Maya Chan — absolutely fantastic. They are extra attentive to your needs yet they don’t pester you. I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Dan, one of the owners. Slight Edge to Maya Chan — Nachi is wonderful however Food and Beverage Nachi Cocom — I like the option to be served at a table or at your palapa. All tropical drinks I had were very good, and the beer was cold. The menu has numerous Mexican and some American selections. Maya Chan — The tropical drinks were very tasty and the beer was cold. Food was served buffet style and limited to assembling tacos using shredded skirt steak, chicken, sea bass (dripping in garlic butter — omg), and pork. All had Mexican seasoning and were fresh, plentiful and wonderful with all the fixings including really, really good guacamole. Edge to Nachi Cocom because of the style of servïce and variety. Quality at both were good. Edges to Nachi Cocom — 3 Maya Chan — 4 Conclusion Because I am happy with a cold beer on the beach to keep me happy, and the lower overall cost, I would give an edge to Maya Chan especially on a good beach day when the seaweed is gone. If I’m in the mood for a pool day and a swim up bar, I’ll pick Nachi Cocom and conclude the total extra cost is worth it knowing that I could have stayed at the port at Costa Maya and had swim up bar action all day if I wanted. Despite how the edges came out above, I think Nachi Cocom would win over in my book because of more variety. My daughter picks Nachi Cocom because she remembers that the drink portions are larger and the large menu. So I would say that for us, the more developed facilities and the food variety are weighed more heavily than some of the other categories. I would be curious to know what others who have been to both think. Maya Chan — hammock in the back of our palapa Maya Chan — raised observation tower great place to charge your phone Maya Chan — our palapa Maya Chan — our palapa Maya Chan — view from our palapa Maya Chan — buffet area in the left foreground, and the bar in the back this was taken upon entering for the first time Maya Chan — this is an example of an area of seaweed that was cleared the most. The thicker areas were unreal I waded through it several times, and it’s not bad if your mind is focused on the goal of getting to the other side. If you dwell on it, I will tell no lie, it’s pretty gross. If you don’t intend to go in the water on days when this happens, it won’t be an issue. Maya Chan — bar/restaurant from the beach Maya Chan — beach toys — note the mounds of seaweed Nachi Cocom — very nice beach Nachi Cocom — palapas on the beach Nachi Cocom Menu Nachi Cocom Bathroom Nachi Cocom pool and hot tub Nachi Cocom massage palapa Nachi Cocom secondary bathrooms and shower Nachi Cocom — secondary beach bar Nachi Cocom — pool with restaurant bar on the other side Nachi Cocom — swim up bar on the other side fro. The restaurant side bar. Nachi Cocom resultant seating

We docked on time, and within thirty minutes were making the long trek on the pier tthrough the controlled shopping area to the street. It is set up very similar to Cozumel with a pool in the center area surrounded by restaurants, bars and shops. You exit by the taxi and bus area and walk a couple blocks to the security gate to the street. A block later, we found the rep from Maya Chan who greeted us and had us sign a release and offered us a chance to cancel our reservation. There had been a storm recently that brought up seaweed, and their staff were working on it. We declined the offer to cancel, because I didn’t want to book another excursion at the last minute or hang out at the port or on the ship. Within ten minutes our taxi van arrived, and we shared transportation to Maya Chan with a couple other families. Maya Chan is not too far from the port and the town of Mahahual, but transportation in this part of Mexico is much different than others. Once you go south from Mahahual, the paved roads end and dirt roads begin. The roads are rustic and rutted and a whole lot of fun if you’re into that kind of thing. It parallels the beach, and there are lots of interesting things to look at until... *the smell* *flashback to the Indian sulphur salt at 150 CentralPark* *this smells like that tastes...only ten times worse!* *gag reflex* *is thiswhat they meant by seaweed?* As you pass the huts and various other things along the way, you notice the beach...there was a LOTof seaweed along the beaches! *is thiswhat Maya Chan smells like? Is thiswhat they gave a chance to escape through the refund?* We arrived at the small resort about 25 minutes later and were warmly greeted by Jane, one of the owners who is an expat for San Diego. She gave us a brief orientation and handed us off to one of the staff who took us ten feet to our palapa which was just right of the seating area for the bar/restaurant which had about 7-8 tables, a cooking area and a bar with a restroom in the back corner. Fantastic. *that smell? ...only a minuscule fraction of what it was, and we were used to it by then, so all is good!** From the bar, you could see they weren’t kidding about their staff clearing the beach of seaweed. They had huge piles of it with pathways to the water created. Three men were doing it with pitchforks and were re-defining the Spanish word, trabajo. I made sure and thanked them profusely for the hard work they were doing, and for their sake (and ours) wished Maya Chan had a back hoe or Bobcat until the first time I waded into the water. *there was more seaweed in the immediate ten feet from the beach than I could ever imagine* It’s not too think to walk through (insert gag reflex as it wraps around your legs up to your knees), and when you get to the other side, the water was pretty nice, but it wasn’t the clear blue-green of the Caribbean. It was clear, but the color of the bottom and surrounding seaweed made it brown. Water shoes are a good idea too, because it is a little rocky on the bottom. Thankfully, Maya Chan supplies those. After using the floating chairs for a while with my daughter, it was time for lunch. They prepared fresh flour and corn tortillas for tacos with several protein options including skirt steak, chicken, pork and sea bass with garlic butter. They had grilled and fresh cut onions, chives, tomatoes as well as pico de gallo, guacamole, frijoles and chips as well. It was plentifully served buffet style and you could go back as much as you cared to. The drinks were all really good. I had a rum punch upon entering, a margarita and a couple of beers. All of it is complimentary. Our palapa was palatial with five chairs, a couple of tables, a beach bed and a direct path to the water with beach toys on either side. They included water chairs, kayaks, stand up kayaks and snorkeling gear was available. After lunch, I felt the food coma coming, so I crashed on the huge beach bed. I woke up briefly at some point to find my daughter crashed on it as well. I had probably the best beach nap ever that early afternoon, and could have done another hour (I think I did two hours) if I didn’t mind leaving just in time to make all on board. We chose to leave at 2:30 to make sure we had plenty of time to get back instead. Maya Chan offers transportation as part of your package to/from the resort. I can’t emphasize how much I appreciated this because they have preferred taxi drivers who run the air conditioning and are trustworthy, as those can be issues with the taxi drivers there. I will do a comparison post to Nachi Cocom in a wrap up entry. We returned to the ship with plenty of time to spare and went to the Solarium for sail away. We had a late My Time Dining reservation that allowed us to get to the Amber Theater with plenty of time to use our ore-booked reservation for great seats at Blue Planet. They experienced some technical difficulties with the show which were quickly resolved, but it did not take away from the mesmerizing visuals and professional performances that show offers. It was an incredible show despite the glitch. After the show, we chose to skip the Quest and retire for the night.

We arrived at the port at Coxen Hole on time and disembarked to singing and dancing in the pier that was damaged by the MSC Armonia a few weeks go. I’m amazed that ship didn’t suffer huge damage like the Part of the dock where it struck did...lots and lots of rocks around there. We worked our way through the small, controlled port area to the street where our excursion reps were waiting for us. We waited a few minutes until our driver, Mark arrived and took us to the SUV the company we booked with uses. My oldest has had a life goal to hang out with sloths. So, you google “sloths.” Daniel Johnson Monkey and Sloth Hangout will come up. It’s in Roatan! So, I booked it using Messenger to their Facebook page. There are several options that include island tours, snorkeling, shopping, sampling food and others. We chose the island tour and a stop at a popular local restaurant for some great food. Durin the island tour that included some history and stories about the island, we stopped for some street Food that included the local delicacy of fresh cut mango with salt, lime and vinegar. Woah....it was awesome! From there, we headed over to the monkey and sloth hangout, and waited a few minutes to be matched with a guide to take us to the animals. They are all there near a really nice snorkeling spot on the other side of the entrance where there were a male and female sloth entertaining people amidst several large cages containing spider monkeys and a couple of a couple species of parrots including the island bird the macaw parrot. The staff would pick up one of the sloths and place them on your shoulders. They immediately hug you and wrap their legs (with very long, sharp claws) around your waist. Be ready for a poking feeling...yes, they stop when they feel secure. I can only describe holding a sloth as being like holding a very sweet little baby with soft fur and a calm disposition. Sloths eat the leaves of the crecopia, a tropical tree. It has low nutritional value which cause the sloth like low metabolism. As a result of eating the leaves, sloths will consume some insects as a secondary part of their diet. Following our time at the Hangout, Mark took us to a shore side restaurant called Conch Fritters that tourists don’t frequent. I suppose it’s like going to a restaurant in the US called Hamburgers... It’s a beautiful setting with several menu options including the local beer, SalvaVida. The food is fresh and range from conch fritters to chicken fingers. I chose the coconut shrimp and had a fantastic meal. Soon, it was time to return to the ship where we boarded about 1:30 in the afternoon, local time which was 2 hours behind ship time. All on board was 4:30 pm, so we returned with time to spare. The excursion lasted about four and a half hours. After naps and dinner, we donned our flapper wear or fedora and headed to Deck 4 with our secret passes to the Prohibition Party hosted by the assistant activity manager who did a great job role playing the “proprietor” of the “tea” establishment. We had fun drinking our “tea,” eating snacks, dancing and listening to jazz. Overall, the day was one of the best I’ve had on a cruise. More pics and attempts at drunken time lapse coolness at @dunkelbier_jay...

Cozumel pics...

Today, I followed my routine of waking up to catch the sunrise after grabbing coffee and croissant at Cafe Promenade. We turned south by Cancun, so good views were aft and to port. I went to the chairs next to the running track on deck five with my coffee. Whether the sunrise is spectacular or not, it’s my favorite time on board. I wrote that before, I think. We had no plans for Cozumel since previous trips always included a day at Nachi Cocom. *branch out* We shared the dock with Celebrity Equinox, and as we came alongside, I got an epic time lapse on my Instagram @dunkelbier_jay. We waited an hour or so and navigated the controlled area at the International Pier to the taxi area. About a third of Allure and half of Equinox were in line, so I turned left to the exit to the street. A taxi was sitting there ready across the street, and without setting the price before getting in, I know I was taken for a few bucks. The ride to our destination was $18 (for the five of us—> yeah, right —> I know it’s $8 to go to San Miguel from the taxi line)...Taking into account a tip and getting going in front of 6,328 others in line across the street, another few bucks was worth it. Our destination was La Cozumeleña, a breakfast spot about six blocks from the Forum shops that the cruise lines promote. It is a bakery/restaurant that I found on Trip Advisor. Upon walking in, we got the feeling you have when you walk into a biker bar in preppy clothes. It was fine and we were welcomed warmly by the staff with fresh sugary rolls and amazing cinnamon coffee to start. We each ordered items from the breakfast menu as well as the signature torta. Everyone really enjoyed their meals. After breakfast, we walked a couple blocks to the main coastal street in town and turned right dodging the aggressive store front employees as we weaved one block in and one block out searching for interesting things. We stopped at Cariloha...yes, we were suckered in, but the underwear is just that comfortable. We resisted the bed sheets. The socks are good too. One free when you buy three! SUCH a good deal. (No sarcasm) We ended up at Panchos Backyard where.... See my Instagram @dunkelbier_jay for random tequila flavored xylophone excitement. Many dollars later, we shopped our way out of the place...after all, it’s set up that way... ...found a taxi, and were navigating back to the International Pier in a taxi properly procured at 2/3 the cost of the previous. Good judgment was tequila’d out the door, so we missed out My Time Dining reservation ...they’ll seat you anyway... and skipped the headliner. There’s something about tequila... We retired around 9:30to rest up for the next port of Call, Roatan.