DunkelBierJay

If you haven't already, you will probably get an email to bid up your room category under Royal Up. The likelihood of an upgrade falling in your lap or getting something just by asking is virtually nil whether you purchased the DP, excursions or other things or not. If you call Royal to ask this question, the CSR may be confused and will probably offer a revised cruise fare with a higher category cabin. If you haven't hit final payment date and the price lowered, you might be able to rebook at the lower rate. The costs for those extra items stand on their own.
If you decide to build status in the C&A society, perks are available on an increasing basis with more nights at sea building your points, but that's about it. Many regulars on this forum swear by using a travel agent which can garner a little more on board credit or allow you to book into a group rate if their agency has a block. While the marketing can be a bit confusing, the pricing and execution are pretty straightforward.
and no offense...I lol'd when I read that you will call and ask what they can offer. There are some businesses in Caribbean ports who will bargain, but RC won't.

No, they haven't, hence my original response and those that followed.
Everyone can bid on upgrades (many do) and that is how they fill more expensive cabins that are available.

Especially with ships sailing at max capacity.

Finally, I just reach Diamond. I know about the 4 drinks per day.  I know I can go to the diamond lounge for the coffee.  What other benefit do I get?
 
Beside that's list here?
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/crown-and-anchor-society-benefit-grid.pdf

Agree that it sucks about losing the ability to book a refundable JS but the amount of the deposit really doesn’t bother me.  More up front just means that I will owe less at final payment.

Stay away from the jewelry on board, too.

I wanted to share my experiences with a set of reviews on my back to back on Mariner recently
Getting There
I used GoPort's full service hotel and transfer package out of Orlando Airport. After booking a stay at the Holiday Inn at the airport, I contact them to change my pickup date to the end of the second cruise. This went very smoothly. When I arrived in Orlando, I followed GoPort's instructions and contacted the hotel for a shuttle pickup expecting a long delay. I was pleasantly surprised to see the hotel shuttle show up for me about seven minutes after the call. I was at the hotel in another five minutes. The hotel was fine. It has a nice pool area with good food options including a regular Cuban food truck nearby. The trip to the port could have been smoother. We were given an hour window for our motor coach to arrive and it did right at the end of the window after waiting outside for its arrival. We picked up other cruisers and were at our ship within fifty minutes.

Rating 8/10
 
Boarding went extremely smoothly as I had completed my check in process earlier. I was on board within ten minutes.

Rating 10/10
Our first stop was in Cozumel where I pre-booked a photo tour with a local photographer, Tati Biermas and German/Dutch ex-pat who has been living on the island the last 18 years.
She offers several types of photography services from wedding, real estate and photo tours and coaching. I enjoy various types of photography and wanted to get out of the manual slow down mode. Her advice helped me feel more comfortable with how and when to choose aperture and shutter priority rather than fully manual. I also refined some composition techniques through her coaching. Tati is pictured in the right most photo below. All images can be found on the IG @highseasnomad. All images below are snipped from that IG page.
A requirement of the full island tour is to rent a car. I did so through ISIS Car Rental in downtown San Miguel. I received a manual transmission Nissan Tiida which is similar to a Sentra. It had cold AC, and that was important. The full experience was quick, efficient and inexpensive despite the check engine light being on. It was fun driving on Mexican roads.
Our first stop was the food market where locals buy produce to seafood to clothing.

 
The Hacienda

 
Punta Sur and the Eco Park

We made a 12' long friend which I had fun editing later


Rating 10/10...highly recommend
Some images around the ship...

 
Costa Maya
I have become quite attached to the staff of Jaime's Blue Reef and the amenities in Mahahual, so this is my go to choice when I am there now. I have been twice with many more to come. My only wish is for early arrivers that they offer breakfast on their menu. Their tamarind margarita is quite frankly amazing with the tanjin rim salt.

Rating 10/10....they really take good care of you
 
On the second leg of the back 2 back, we stopped in Cozumel. After debating whether I wanted to go third party, I opted for a Royal Caribbean SCUBA excursion which was handled by Sand Dollar which is located next door to the Mexican Coast Guard building. The benefit was the pickup at the pier. the drawback was that there were too many people on the little dive boat. There were two divemasters. Mine was Reuben, and he was really good and very safety conscious. Our first dive was a gentle drift dive on the reef a little north of Mr Sanchos. We saw a large sea turtle, an eagle ray, a nurse shark and several very large lobsters along with teeming life on the reef. We went through a really cool coral swimthrough mid-way. There were also at least a half dozen dive operators with boats nearby. A lot of people were on the reef that day. The second dive started just north of the Mexican Coast Guard building, and ours was the only boat, which was nice. It was a drift dive as well, and there was a VERY rapid current. At first it was disconcerting, and we just went with it while we kept Reuben the dive master in our view the whole time. It may have been a five knot current, as we ended up surfacing about a mile north of where we put in. You just have to go with it and not fight it. We saw a large barracuda and a lot of life on the reef. I learned more about how to relax and handle myself on such a dive as it is easy to get exhausted. When we surfaced, the current diminished as we ascended and the boat met us with the dive master's marker. While things were ok with this dive operator, I will not use them again. I think booking scuba with Royal is hit or miss, and of the three I have booked with them, I only really liked one of them. I expect that I will go third party exclusively when I cruise.
Rating 5/10
The shows were really good, especially the Ice Under the Big Top skating show. I decided to practice some sports photography with my lens which was limited to good light environments. Still, I took some images that I really liked and am excited to share the raw files with some of the skaters who noticed the pics from Instagram.

Rating 10/10
 
See @highseasnomad on IG for better resolution of these images.

This is a fan site, no affiliation to Royal Caribbean 
 
This is an EXCELLENT place for new cruisers, such as yourself to learn all manner of things, and to get excellent advice. 
 
Writing a post about taking your business elsewhere really needs to be sent to the corporate entity, not the fan club.
 
EVERY mainstream cruise line out there cancels pre booked ships if the offer from the charter is strong enough (and YES, they ALL handle it EXACTLY the same way)

"About
Royal Caribbean Blog is an unofficial fan blog written for other fans of Royal Caribbean International. The Royal Caribbean Blog is not affiliated with Royal Caribbean International"
From: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/

As tjcruisers said. 
It's also my understanding that sometime between the 30 day mark and the week leading up to departure the cruise line must submit a manifest to customs here and abroad. So then they do whatever checks they feel are necessary. In Canada a DUI is a no go. Which is extreme IMHO. But the sex offender stuff might be the cruise line themselves. They clearly don't worry about folks drinking a lot. But with so many women and children on board it's wise for them to be cautious. Even if the ports don't take issue. It's the time on board that would be a concern for some previous criminal convictions.

I follow the early on early off sentiment in this thread. With no services except MDR and Windjammer on disembarkation going on, I would just feel ancy and want to get off the ship. My only wish is that there was a decent lounge in the Orlando or Jacksonville terminal that is pre-TSA, because I typically sit around for a few hours with my luggage to take advantage of lower fares.

It sounds good in theory, but I like to get off ASAP because the trip home is already going to be long enough. 

@cactusgirlI reactivated my certification in October of 2021 through a local dive shop. The open water check out was in a quarry and it was nice to have that taken care of when I dove on Coco Cay on my Indy cruise (that dive was not all that great, btw)...see my signature for descriptions of a couple of dives with Royal on Roatan and with a shop in Costa Maya -- I have dives booked with Royal and with independent shops in Coz and Costa Maya on my up coming back to back....while I haven't done the pool training on a ship, I think that it takes a huge amount of time and energy while in vacation, and unless you really want to do it that way, I recommend getting your C-card at a shop that is local to you, and arrange your check out dives with them or with a shop at a port that they may be affiliated with. I don't know of a shop that doesn't do trips to the Caribbean and has good contacts in Cozumel and Grand Cayman...that's just my $0.02. I say all this because I've experienced poor response times from Royal's scuba team myself.

I wanted to share my experiences with a set of reviews on my back to back on Mariner recently
Getting There
I used GoPort's full service hotel and transfer package out of Orlando Airport. After booking a stay at the Holiday Inn at the airport, I contact them to change my pickup date to the end of the second cruise. This went very smoothly. When I arrived in Orlando, I followed GoPort's instructions and contacted the hotel for a shuttle pickup expecting a long delay. I was pleasantly surprised to see the hotel shuttle show up for me about seven minutes after the call. I was at the hotel in another five minutes. The hotel was fine. It has a nice pool area with good food options including a regular Cuban food truck nearby. The trip to the port could have been smoother. We were given an hour window for our motor coach to arrive and it did right at the end of the window after waiting outside for its arrival. We picked up other cruisers and were at our ship within fifty minutes.

Rating 8/10
 
Boarding went extremely smoothly as I had completed my check in process earlier. I was on board within ten minutes.

Rating 10/10
Our first stop was in Cozumel where I pre-booked a photo tour with a local photographer, Tati Biermas and German/Dutch ex-pat who has been living on the island the last 18 years.
She offers several types of photography services from wedding, real estate and photo tours and coaching. I enjoy various types of photography and wanted to get out of the manual slow down mode. Her advice helped me feel more comfortable with how and when to choose aperture and shutter priority rather than fully manual. I also refined some composition techniques through her coaching. Tati is pictured in the right most photo below. All images can be found on the IG @highseasnomad. All images below are snipped from that IG page.
A requirement of the full island tour is to rent a car. I did so through ISIS Car Rental in downtown San Miguel. I received a manual transmission Nissan Tiida which is similar to a Sentra. It had cold AC, and that was important. The full experience was quick, efficient and inexpensive despite the check engine light being on. It was fun driving on Mexican roads.
Our first stop was the food market where locals buy produce to seafood to clothing.

 
The Hacienda

 
Punta Sur and the Eco Park

We made a 12' long friend which I had fun editing later


Rating 10/10...highly recommend
Some images around the ship...

 
Costa Maya
I have become quite attached to the staff of Jaime's Blue Reef and the amenities in Mahahual, so this is my go to choice when I am there now. I have been twice with many more to come. My only wish is for early arrivers that they offer breakfast on their menu. Their tamarind margarita is quite frankly amazing with the tanjin rim salt.

Rating 10/10....they really take good care of you
 
On the second leg of the back 2 back, we stopped in Cozumel. After debating whether I wanted to go third party, I opted for a Royal Caribbean SCUBA excursion which was handled by Sand Dollar which is located next door to the Mexican Coast Guard building. The benefit was the pickup at the pier. the drawback was that there were too many people on the little dive boat. There were two divemasters. Mine was Reuben, and he was really good and very safety conscious. Our first dive was a gentle drift dive on the reef a little north of Mr Sanchos. We saw a large sea turtle, an eagle ray, a nurse shark and several very large lobsters along with teeming life on the reef. We went through a really cool coral swimthrough mid-way. There were also at least a half dozen dive operators with boats nearby. A lot of people were on the reef that day. The second dive started just north of the Mexican Coast Guard building, and ours was the only boat, which was nice. It was a drift dive as well, and there was a VERY rapid current. At first it was disconcerting, and we just went with it while we kept Reuben the dive master in our view the whole time. It may have been a five knot current, as we ended up surfacing about a mile north of where we put in. You just have to go with it and not fight it. We saw a large barracuda and a lot of life on the reef. I learned more about how to relax and handle myself on such a dive as it is easy to get exhausted. When we surfaced, the current diminished as we ascended and the boat met us with the dive master's marker. While things were ok with this dive operator, I will not use them again. I think booking scuba with Royal is hit or miss, and of the three I have booked with them, I only really liked one of them. I expect that I will go third party exclusively when I cruise.
Rating 5/10
The shows were really good, especially the Ice Under the Big Top skating show. I decided to practice some sports photography with my lens which was limited to good light environments. Still, I took some images that I really liked and am excited to share the raw files with some of the skaters who noticed the pics from Instagram.

Rating 10/10
 
See @highseasnomad on IG for better resolution of these images.

I wanted to share my experiences with a set of reviews on my back to back on Mariner recently
Getting There
I used GoPort's full service hotel and transfer package out of Orlando Airport. After booking a stay at the Holiday Inn at the airport, I contact them to change my pickup date to the end of the second cruise. This went very smoothly. When I arrived in Orlando, I followed GoPort's instructions and contacted the hotel for a shuttle pickup expecting a long delay. I was pleasantly surprised to see the hotel shuttle show up for me about seven minutes after the call. I was at the hotel in another five minutes. The hotel was fine. It has a nice pool area with good food options including a regular Cuban food truck nearby. The trip to the port could have been smoother. We were given an hour window for our motor coach to arrive and it did right at the end of the window after waiting outside for its arrival. We picked up other cruisers and were at our ship within fifty minutes.

Rating 8/10
 
Boarding went extremely smoothly as I had completed my check in process earlier. I was on board within ten minutes.

Rating 10/10
Our first stop was in Cozumel where I pre-booked a photo tour with a local photographer, Tati Biermas and German/Dutch ex-pat who has been living on the island the last 18 years.
She offers several types of photography services from wedding, real estate and photo tours and coaching. I enjoy various types of photography and wanted to get out of the manual slow down mode. Her advice helped me feel more comfortable with how and when to choose aperture and shutter priority rather than fully manual. I also refined some composition techniques through her coaching. Tati is pictured in the right most photo below. All images can be found on the IG @highseasnomad. All images below are snipped from that IG page.
A requirement of the full island tour is to rent a car. I did so through ISIS Car Rental in downtown San Miguel. I received a manual transmission Nissan Tiida which is similar to a Sentra. It had cold AC, and that was important. The full experience was quick, efficient and inexpensive despite the check engine light being on. It was fun driving on Mexican roads.
Our first stop was the food market where locals buy produce to seafood to clothing.

 
The Hacienda

 
Punta Sur and the Eco Park

We made a 12' long friend which I had fun editing later


Rating 10/10...highly recommend
Some images around the ship...

 
Costa Maya
I have become quite attached to the staff of Jaime's Blue Reef and the amenities in Mahahual, so this is my go to choice when I am there now. I have been twice with many more to come. My only wish is for early arrivers that they offer breakfast on their menu. Their tamarind margarita is quite frankly amazing with the tanjin rim salt.

Rating 10/10....they really take good care of you
 
On the second leg of the back 2 back, we stopped in Cozumel. After debating whether I wanted to go third party, I opted for a Royal Caribbean SCUBA excursion which was handled by Sand Dollar which is located next door to the Mexican Coast Guard building. The benefit was the pickup at the pier. the drawback was that there were too many people on the little dive boat. There were two divemasters. Mine was Reuben, and he was really good and very safety conscious. Our first dive was a gentle drift dive on the reef a little north of Mr Sanchos. We saw a large sea turtle, an eagle ray, a nurse shark and several very large lobsters along with teeming life on the reef. We went through a really cool coral swimthrough mid-way. There were also at least a half dozen dive operators with boats nearby. A lot of people were on the reef that day. The second dive started just north of the Mexican Coast Guard building, and ours was the only boat, which was nice. It was a drift dive as well, and there was a VERY rapid current. At first it was disconcerting, and we just went with it while we kept Reuben the dive master in our view the whole time. It may have been a five knot current, as we ended up surfacing about a mile north of where we put in. You just have to go with it and not fight it. We saw a large barracuda and a lot of life on the reef. I learned more about how to relax and handle myself on such a dive as it is easy to get exhausted. When we surfaced, the current diminished as we ascended and the boat met us with the dive master's marker. While things were ok with this dive operator, I will not use them again. I think booking scuba with Royal is hit or miss, and of the three I have booked with them, I only really liked one of them. I expect that I will go third party exclusively when I cruise.
Rating 5/10
The shows were really good, especially the Ice Under the Big Top skating show. I decided to practice some sports photography with my lens which was limited to good light environments. Still, I took some images that I really liked and am excited to share the raw files with some of the skaters who noticed the pics from Instagram.

Rating 10/10
 
See @highseasnomad on IG for better resolution of these images.

I wanted to share my experiences with a set of reviews on my back to back on Mariner recently
Getting There
I used GoPort's full service hotel and transfer package out of Orlando Airport. After booking a stay at the Holiday Inn at the airport, I contact them to change my pickup date to the end of the second cruise. This went very smoothly. When I arrived in Orlando, I followed GoPort's instructions and contacted the hotel for a shuttle pickup expecting a long delay. I was pleasantly surprised to see the hotel shuttle show up for me about seven minutes after the call. I was at the hotel in another five minutes. The hotel was fine. It has a nice pool area with good food options including a regular Cuban food truck nearby. The trip to the port could have been smoother. We were given an hour window for our motor coach to arrive and it did right at the end of the window after waiting outside for its arrival. We picked up other cruisers and were at our ship within fifty minutes.

Rating 8/10
 
Boarding went extremely smoothly as I had completed my check in process earlier. I was on board within ten minutes.

Rating 10/10
Our first stop was in Cozumel where I pre-booked a photo tour with a local photographer, Tati Biermas and German/Dutch ex-pat who has been living on the island the last 18 years.
She offers several types of photography services from wedding, real estate and photo tours and coaching. I enjoy various types of photography and wanted to get out of the manual slow down mode. Her advice helped me feel more comfortable with how and when to choose aperture and shutter priority rather than fully manual. I also refined some composition techniques through her coaching. Tati is pictured in the right most photo below. All images can be found on the IG @highseasnomad. All images below are snipped from that IG page.
A requirement of the full island tour is to rent a car. I did so through ISIS Car Rental in downtown San Miguel. I received a manual transmission Nissan Tiida which is similar to a Sentra. It had cold AC, and that was important. The full experience was quick, efficient and inexpensive despite the check engine light being on. It was fun driving on Mexican roads.
Our first stop was the food market where locals buy produce to seafood to clothing.

 
The Hacienda

 
Punta Sur and the Eco Park

We made a 12' long friend which I had fun editing later


Rating 10/10...highly recommend
Some images around the ship...

 
Costa Maya
I have become quite attached to the staff of Jaime's Blue Reef and the amenities in Mahahual, so this is my go to choice when I am there now. I have been twice with many more to come. My only wish is for early arrivers that they offer breakfast on their menu. Their tamarind margarita is quite frankly amazing with the tanjin rim salt.

Rating 10/10....they really take good care of you
 
On the second leg of the back 2 back, we stopped in Cozumel. After debating whether I wanted to go third party, I opted for a Royal Caribbean SCUBA excursion which was handled by Sand Dollar which is located next door to the Mexican Coast Guard building. The benefit was the pickup at the pier. the drawback was that there were too many people on the little dive boat. There were two divemasters. Mine was Reuben, and he was really good and very safety conscious. Our first dive was a gentle drift dive on the reef a little north of Mr Sanchos. We saw a large sea turtle, an eagle ray, a nurse shark and several very large lobsters along with teeming life on the reef. We went through a really cool coral swimthrough mid-way. There were also at least a half dozen dive operators with boats nearby. A lot of people were on the reef that day. The second dive started just north of the Mexican Coast Guard building, and ours was the only boat, which was nice. It was a drift dive as well, and there was a VERY rapid current. At first it was disconcerting, and we just went with it while we kept Reuben the dive master in our view the whole time. It may have been a five knot current, as we ended up surfacing about a mile north of where we put in. You just have to go with it and not fight it. We saw a large barracuda and a lot of life on the reef. I learned more about how to relax and handle myself on such a dive as it is easy to get exhausted. When we surfaced, the current diminished as we ascended and the boat met us with the dive master's marker. While things were ok with this dive operator, I will not use them again. I think booking scuba with Royal is hit or miss, and of the three I have booked with them, I only really liked one of them. I expect that I will go third party exclusively when I cruise.
Rating 5/10
The shows were really good, especially the Ice Under the Big Top skating show. I decided to practice some sports photography with my lens which was limited to good light environments. Still, I took some images that I really liked and am excited to share the raw files with some of the skaters who noticed the pics from Instagram.

Rating 10/10
 
See @highseasnomad on IG for better resolution of these images.

I wanted to share my experiences with a set of reviews on my back to back on Mariner recently
Getting There
I used GoPort's full service hotel and transfer package out of Orlando Airport. After booking a stay at the Holiday Inn at the airport, I contact them to change my pickup date to the end of the second cruise. This went very smoothly. When I arrived in Orlando, I followed GoPort's instructions and contacted the hotel for a shuttle pickup expecting a long delay. I was pleasantly surprised to see the hotel shuttle show up for me about seven minutes after the call. I was at the hotel in another five minutes. The hotel was fine. It has a nice pool area with good food options including a regular Cuban food truck nearby. The trip to the port could have been smoother. We were given an hour window for our motor coach to arrive and it did right at the end of the window after waiting outside for its arrival. We picked up other cruisers and were at our ship within fifty minutes.

Rating 8/10
 
Boarding went extremely smoothly as I had completed my check in process earlier. I was on board within ten minutes.

Rating 10/10
Our first stop was in Cozumel where I pre-booked a photo tour with a local photographer, Tati Biermas and German/Dutch ex-pat who has been living on the island the last 18 years.
She offers several types of photography services from wedding, real estate and photo tours and coaching. I enjoy various types of photography and wanted to get out of the manual slow down mode. Her advice helped me feel more comfortable with how and when to choose aperture and shutter priority rather than fully manual. I also refined some composition techniques through her coaching. Tati is pictured in the right most photo below. All images can be found on the IG @highseasnomad. All images below are snipped from that IG page.
A requirement of the full island tour is to rent a car. I did so through ISIS Car Rental in downtown San Miguel. I received a manual transmission Nissan Tiida which is similar to a Sentra. It had cold AC, and that was important. The full experience was quick, efficient and inexpensive despite the check engine light being on. It was fun driving on Mexican roads.
Our first stop was the food market where locals buy produce to seafood to clothing.

 
The Hacienda

 
Punta Sur and the Eco Park

We made a 12' long friend which I had fun editing later


Rating 10/10...highly recommend
Some images around the ship...

 
Costa Maya
I have become quite attached to the staff of Jaime's Blue Reef and the amenities in Mahahual, so this is my go to choice when I am there now. I have been twice with many more to come. My only wish is for early arrivers that they offer breakfast on their menu. Their tamarind margarita is quite frankly amazing with the tanjin rim salt.

Rating 10/10....they really take good care of you
 
On the second leg of the back 2 back, we stopped in Cozumel. After debating whether I wanted to go third party, I opted for a Royal Caribbean SCUBA excursion which was handled by Sand Dollar which is located next door to the Mexican Coast Guard building. The benefit was the pickup at the pier. the drawback was that there were too many people on the little dive boat. There were two divemasters. Mine was Reuben, and he was really good and very safety conscious. Our first dive was a gentle drift dive on the reef a little north of Mr Sanchos. We saw a large sea turtle, an eagle ray, a nurse shark and several very large lobsters along with teeming life on the reef. We went through a really cool coral swimthrough mid-way. There were also at least a half dozen dive operators with boats nearby. A lot of people were on the reef that day. The second dive started just north of the Mexican Coast Guard building, and ours was the only boat, which was nice. It was a drift dive as well, and there was a VERY rapid current. At first it was disconcerting, and we just went with it while we kept Reuben the dive master in our view the whole time. It may have been a five knot current, as we ended up surfacing about a mile north of where we put in. You just have to go with it and not fight it. We saw a large barracuda and a lot of life on the reef. I learned more about how to relax and handle myself on such a dive as it is easy to get exhausted. When we surfaced, the current diminished as we ascended and the boat met us with the dive master's marker. While things were ok with this dive operator, I will not use them again. I think booking scuba with Royal is hit or miss, and of the three I have booked with them, I only really liked one of them. I expect that I will go third party exclusively when I cruise.
Rating 5/10
The shows were really good, especially the Ice Under the Big Top skating show. I decided to practice some sports photography with my lens which was limited to good light environments. Still, I took some images that I really liked and am excited to share the raw files with some of the skaters who noticed the pics from Instagram.

Rating 10/10
 
See @highseasnomad on IG for better resolution of these images.

I wanted to share my experiences with a set of reviews on my back to back on Mariner recently
Getting There
I used GoPort's full service hotel and transfer package out of Orlando Airport. After booking a stay at the Holiday Inn at the airport, I contact them to change my pickup date to the end of the second cruise. This went very smoothly. When I arrived in Orlando, I followed GoPort's instructions and contacted the hotel for a shuttle pickup expecting a long delay. I was pleasantly surprised to see the hotel shuttle show up for me about seven minutes after the call. I was at the hotel in another five minutes. The hotel was fine. It has a nice pool area with good food options including a regular Cuban food truck nearby. The trip to the port could have been smoother. We were given an hour window for our motor coach to arrive and it did right at the end of the window after waiting outside for its arrival. We picked up other cruisers and were at our ship within fifty minutes.

Rating 8/10
 
Boarding went extremely smoothly as I had completed my check in process earlier. I was on board within ten minutes.

Rating 10/10
Our first stop was in Cozumel where I pre-booked a photo tour with a local photographer, Tati Biermas and German/Dutch ex-pat who has been living on the island the last 18 years.
She offers several types of photography services from wedding, real estate and photo tours and coaching. I enjoy various types of photography and wanted to get out of the manual slow down mode. Her advice helped me feel more comfortable with how and when to choose aperture and shutter priority rather than fully manual. I also refined some composition techniques through her coaching. Tati is pictured in the right most photo below. All images can be found on the IG @highseasnomad. All images below are snipped from that IG page.
A requirement of the full island tour is to rent a car. I did so through ISIS Car Rental in downtown San Miguel. I received a manual transmission Nissan Tiida which is similar to a Sentra. It had cold AC, and that was important. The full experience was quick, efficient and inexpensive despite the check engine light being on. It was fun driving on Mexican roads.
Our first stop was the food market where locals buy produce to seafood to clothing.

 
The Hacienda

 
Punta Sur and the Eco Park

We made a 12' long friend which I had fun editing later


Rating 10/10...highly recommend
Some images around the ship...

 
Costa Maya
I have become quite attached to the staff of Jaime's Blue Reef and the amenities in Mahahual, so this is my go to choice when I am there now. I have been twice with many more to come. My only wish is for early arrivers that they offer breakfast on their menu. Their tamarind margarita is quite frankly amazing with the tanjin rim salt.

Rating 10/10....they really take good care of you
 
On the second leg of the back 2 back, we stopped in Cozumel. After debating whether I wanted to go third party, I opted for a Royal Caribbean SCUBA excursion which was handled by Sand Dollar which is located next door to the Mexican Coast Guard building. The benefit was the pickup at the pier. the drawback was that there were too many people on the little dive boat. There were two divemasters. Mine was Reuben, and he was really good and very safety conscious. Our first dive was a gentle drift dive on the reef a little north of Mr Sanchos. We saw a large sea turtle, an eagle ray, a nurse shark and several very large lobsters along with teeming life on the reef. We went through a really cool coral swimthrough mid-way. There were also at least a half dozen dive operators with boats nearby. A lot of people were on the reef that day. The second dive started just north of the Mexican Coast Guard building, and ours was the only boat, which was nice. It was a drift dive as well, and there was a VERY rapid current. At first it was disconcerting, and we just went with it while we kept Reuben the dive master in our view the whole time. It may have been a five knot current, as we ended up surfacing about a mile north of where we put in. You just have to go with it and not fight it. We saw a large barracuda and a lot of life on the reef. I learned more about how to relax and handle myself on such a dive as it is easy to get exhausted. When we surfaced, the current diminished as we ascended and the boat met us with the dive master's marker. While things were ok with this dive operator, I will not use them again. I think booking scuba with Royal is hit or miss, and of the three I have booked with them, I only really liked one of them. I expect that I will go third party exclusively when I cruise.
Rating 5/10
The shows were really good, especially the Ice Under the Big Top skating show. I decided to practice some sports photography with my lens which was limited to good light environments. Still, I took some images that I really liked and am excited to share the raw files with some of the skaters who noticed the pics from Instagram.

Rating 10/10
 
See @highseasnomad on IG for better resolution of these images.

I wanted to share my experiences with a set of reviews on my back to back on Mariner recently
Getting There
I used GoPort's full service hotel and transfer package out of Orlando Airport. After booking a stay at the Holiday Inn at the airport, I contact them to change my pickup date to the end of the second cruise. This went very smoothly. When I arrived in Orlando, I followed GoPort's instructions and contacted the hotel for a shuttle pickup expecting a long delay. I was pleasantly surprised to see the hotel shuttle show up for me about seven minutes after the call. I was at the hotel in another five minutes. The hotel was fine. It has a nice pool area with good food options including a regular Cuban food truck nearby. The trip to the port could have been smoother. We were given an hour window for our motor coach to arrive and it did right at the end of the window after waiting outside for its arrival. We picked up other cruisers and were at our ship within fifty minutes.

Rating 8/10
 
Boarding went extremely smoothly as I had completed my check in process earlier. I was on board within ten minutes.

Rating 10/10
Our first stop was in Cozumel where I pre-booked a photo tour with a local photographer, Tati Biermas and German/Dutch ex-pat who has been living on the island the last 18 years.
She offers several types of photography services from wedding, real estate and photo tours and coaching. I enjoy various types of photography and wanted to get out of the manual slow down mode. Her advice helped me feel more comfortable with how and when to choose aperture and shutter priority rather than fully manual. I also refined some composition techniques through her coaching. Tati is pictured in the right most photo below. All images can be found on the IG @highseasnomad. All images below are snipped from that IG page.
A requirement of the full island tour is to rent a car. I did so through ISIS Car Rental in downtown San Miguel. I received a manual transmission Nissan Tiida which is similar to a Sentra. It had cold AC, and that was important. The full experience was quick, efficient and inexpensive despite the check engine light being on. It was fun driving on Mexican roads.
Our first stop was the food market where locals buy produce to seafood to clothing.

 
The Hacienda

 
Punta Sur and the Eco Park

We made a 12' long friend which I had fun editing later


Rating 10/10...highly recommend
Some images around the ship...

 
Costa Maya
I have become quite attached to the staff of Jaime's Blue Reef and the amenities in Mahahual, so this is my go to choice when I am there now. I have been twice with many more to come. My only wish is for early arrivers that they offer breakfast on their menu. Their tamarind margarita is quite frankly amazing with the tanjin rim salt.

Rating 10/10....they really take good care of you
 
On the second leg of the back 2 back, we stopped in Cozumel. After debating whether I wanted to go third party, I opted for a Royal Caribbean SCUBA excursion which was handled by Sand Dollar which is located next door to the Mexican Coast Guard building. The benefit was the pickup at the pier. the drawback was that there were too many people on the little dive boat. There were two divemasters. Mine was Reuben, and he was really good and very safety conscious. Our first dive was a gentle drift dive on the reef a little north of Mr Sanchos. We saw a large sea turtle, an eagle ray, a nurse shark and several very large lobsters along with teeming life on the reef. We went through a really cool coral swimthrough mid-way. There were also at least a half dozen dive operators with boats nearby. A lot of people were on the reef that day. The second dive started just north of the Mexican Coast Guard building, and ours was the only boat, which was nice. It was a drift dive as well, and there was a VERY rapid current. At first it was disconcerting, and we just went with it while we kept Reuben the dive master in our view the whole time. It may have been a five knot current, as we ended up surfacing about a mile north of where we put in. You just have to go with it and not fight it. We saw a large barracuda and a lot of life on the reef. I learned more about how to relax and handle myself on such a dive as it is easy to get exhausted. When we surfaced, the current diminished as we ascended and the boat met us with the dive master's marker. While things were ok with this dive operator, I will not use them again. I think booking scuba with Royal is hit or miss, and of the three I have booked with them, I only really liked one of them. I expect that I will go third party exclusively when I cruise.
Rating 5/10
The shows were really good, especially the Ice Under the Big Top skating show. I decided to practice some sports photography with my lens which was limited to good light environments. Still, I took some images that I really liked and am excited to share the raw files with some of the skaters who noticed the pics from Instagram.

Rating 10/10
 
See @highseasnomad on IG for better resolution of these images.

I wanted to share my experiences with a set of reviews on my back to back on Mariner recently
Getting There
I used GoPort's full service hotel and transfer package out of Orlando Airport. After booking a stay at the Holiday Inn at the airport, I contact them to change my pickup date to the end of the second cruise. This went very smoothly. When I arrived in Orlando, I followed GoPort's instructions and contacted the hotel for a shuttle pickup expecting a long delay. I was pleasantly surprised to see the hotel shuttle show up for me about seven minutes after the call. I was at the hotel in another five minutes. The hotel was fine. It has a nice pool area with good food options including a regular Cuban food truck nearby. The trip to the port could have been smoother. We were given an hour window for our motor coach to arrive and it did right at the end of the window after waiting outside for its arrival. We picked up other cruisers and were at our ship within fifty minutes.

Rating 8/10
 
Boarding went extremely smoothly as I had completed my check in process earlier. I was on board within ten minutes.

Rating 10/10
Our first stop was in Cozumel where I pre-booked a photo tour with a local photographer, Tati Biermas and German/Dutch ex-pat who has been living on the island the last 18 years.
She offers several types of photography services from wedding, real estate and photo tours and coaching. I enjoy various types of photography and wanted to get out of the manual slow down mode. Her advice helped me feel more comfortable with how and when to choose aperture and shutter priority rather than fully manual. I also refined some composition techniques through her coaching. Tati is pictured in the right most photo below. All images can be found on the IG @highseasnomad. All images below are snipped from that IG page.
A requirement of the full island tour is to rent a car. I did so through ISIS Car Rental in downtown San Miguel. I received a manual transmission Nissan Tiida which is similar to a Sentra. It had cold AC, and that was important. The full experience was quick, efficient and inexpensive despite the check engine light being on. It was fun driving on Mexican roads.
Our first stop was the food market where locals buy produce to seafood to clothing.

 
The Hacienda

 
Punta Sur and the Eco Park

We made a 12' long friend which I had fun editing later


Rating 10/10...highly recommend
Some images around the ship...

 
Costa Maya
I have become quite attached to the staff of Jaime's Blue Reef and the amenities in Mahahual, so this is my go to choice when I am there now. I have been twice with many more to come. My only wish is for early arrivers that they offer breakfast on their menu. Their tamarind margarita is quite frankly amazing with the tanjin rim salt.

Rating 10/10....they really take good care of you
 
On the second leg of the back 2 back, we stopped in Cozumel. After debating whether I wanted to go third party, I opted for a Royal Caribbean SCUBA excursion which was handled by Sand Dollar which is located next door to the Mexican Coast Guard building. The benefit was the pickup at the pier. the drawback was that there were too many people on the little dive boat. There were two divemasters. Mine was Reuben, and he was really good and very safety conscious. Our first dive was a gentle drift dive on the reef a little north of Mr Sanchos. We saw a large sea turtle, an eagle ray, a nurse shark and several very large lobsters along with teeming life on the reef. We went through a really cool coral swimthrough mid-way. There were also at least a half dozen dive operators with boats nearby. A lot of people were on the reef that day. The second dive started just north of the Mexican Coast Guard building, and ours was the only boat, which was nice. It was a drift dive as well, and there was a VERY rapid current. At first it was disconcerting, and we just went with it while we kept Reuben the dive master in our view the whole time. It may have been a five knot current, as we ended up surfacing about a mile north of where we put in. You just have to go with it and not fight it. We saw a large barracuda and a lot of life on the reef. I learned more about how to relax and handle myself on such a dive as it is easy to get exhausted. When we surfaced, the current diminished as we ascended and the boat met us with the dive master's marker. While things were ok with this dive operator, I will not use them again. I think booking scuba with Royal is hit or miss, and of the three I have booked with them, I only really liked one of them. I expect that I will go third party exclusively when I cruise.
Rating 5/10
The shows were really good, especially the Ice Under the Big Top skating show. I decided to practice some sports photography with my lens which was limited to good light environments. Still, I took some images that I really liked and am excited to share the raw files with some of the skaters who noticed the pics from Instagram.

Rating 10/10
 
See @highseasnomad on IG for better resolution of these images.

Cruise because you love to cruise, not because of a loyalty program.  That is first and foremost.
Like most loyalty programs the perks get better as you increase in rank.  
You are not wrong.  The perks for the lower levels of most travel loyalty programs don't tend to be great.  That's largely because these levels in the program have the most members.  If it doesn't work for you there is nothing wrong with that.   It's a free program.  

Having some SCUBA experience I'll add my $0.02.
First, I am Advanced Open Water, Dry Suit, NITROX and Rescue Diver certified. I learned to dive as a SCUBA, Swift Water Rescue Team. I have  over a thousand logged dives. A lot of my diving has been body, vehicles (including one military helicopter) and evidence recovery in conditions and waters most people wold never consider wading in, much less diving in.
I have done a fair amount of diving in the Caribbean, deep dives, drift dives and cave dives.
PADI instructors are among the best. Learning to SCUBA is very rewarding. The beauty of the oceans is like nothing you will every see on land.
Learning the skills and being comfortable in the water is paramount. It is nothing to rush through and end up being uncertain about. Keep in mind that not everyone is suited for SCUBA. It can feel claustrophobic and scary. Everyone learns differently. Some take more time and patience. Keep in mind that 'quickie' resort and cruise training may not be sufficient for some people. I have seen bad situations where bad instructors just leave people to flounder because they can not keep up with the rest of the class. There are classes where time and money can take precedence over safety.
I will say the experience I have had with RC dive shops on board has been good but diving excursions can and are often run by independent dive shops and the quality of instructors, boats and equipment can vary.
If SCUBA is all new to you, my advice is get the best training you can. Get your own well fitted mask, snorkel and fins.
You might consider a wet suit. These come in full length ankle to wrist and 'shorties' that are thigh to elbow. For Caribbean diving, something thin and light weight alike 0.5 or 1mm thickness. It will act as your cover up, help with any slight chill and offer some protection if you bump into something that might hurt.
If you go on a dive boat, be prepared to contend with other divers and motion sickness. Find your rental gear, inspect it and keep it close. If you can, test fit you BC and assemble your tank and regulator, and have your weight in place. If you have questions about how much wight, or anything else, ask your dive master for advice. Test your regulator for a good fit in your mouth, that your tank is full and nothing is leaking air. As a novice, it is easy to the have the tank turned the wrong way, the regulator on the wrong side or what ever. The basic idea here is to plan ahead for that drop into water and be ready so you are not scattered, lost and over anxious when the time comes. I have never had a dive master complain about me double checking and getting everything ready in advance. If anything, it gives them some confidence that you know what you are doing.
It takes practice to get good control of buoyancy. Don't over compensate and yo yo. Its easy to be excited and burn up your air in a hurry. Stay calm and enjoy. Ascend slowly and decompress.
The last thing you want to do and probably will do is panic at 60 feet or more.
Anyway, enough scary stuff. The point of all this is take your training seriously and if you really feel uncomfortable in the water or with the equipment, maybe stick to the swimming pool. Be cautious of accelerated courses that promise certification in a day or two. SCUBA is a serious endeavor that is fun with great rewards and learning to do it properly and safely can not be over emphasized.
 

Sort of an agenda change...I am booking a 5 hour photo tour with Tati Biermas of Cozumel Photo Tours http://www.cozumelphototours.com/ instead of scuba on that port stop on Tuesday April 17. If anyone is on the March 15 sailing and is interested in the photo tour, let me know, and I can give more detail. Tati also offers tag along pricing if people aren't interested in the photography aspect.
I am renting a car and if there are any people interested in the photo tour, I would be interested in sharing the cost of the car rental. The tour will include the eco park Punta Sur (for lighthouse, crocodile lagoon and a small Mayan ruin), the mercado and some street areas around San Miguel.
I will dive in Mahahual and on the second stop in Cozumel.

I would never book Air2Sea directly. I would use a travel agent, and my MEI travel agent has been flawless when I used this option.

You need to make sure the pool work happens on board during your cruise. PADI is the agency that is on RC ships, and you will need to complete your online coursework beforehand. Some dive shops may still offer in person class room training and pool work.
Here are the ships that offer it:
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-ships-offer-padi-scuba-certification
Here is a list of FAQs:
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/topics/padi-scuba-courses-and-excursions
Personally, if I was interested in it, I would get certified through a dive shop that is local to you and get to your cruise with your C-card in hand so you don't have to worry about it while on vacation. That way, you can book scuba through an excursion or through a shop directly at a port visit. I've done both and prefer to book dives through a third party if getting to their dock is easy like it is in Cozumel. It's also a good experience to do it through Royal...slightly more expensive in my experience, but they get you there and back with no issues.