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Hi everyone, my son had multiple food allergies. I know that bringing pre-packaged food with us for excursions is okay. But it was told to me by a cruiser on another page that we would be permitted to bring food off the ship for him that was prepared by the RC crew for excursions as well, and that if questioned about it we would just need to show his sail card which would indicate his allergy in the special needs section. (The allergy is noted on the reservation and I've submitted the Special Needs form) Wondering if anyone had any experience with this...?

Hello we are going on the Anthem of the Seas for 30 years anniversary on the Canada & New England leaving N.Y 23/08 and would need some advises. Is it better to book offshore excursion with R.C or are some city easy to visit by my one? and a last question how is the sea end of August. Thank you for answers Linda

I'm taking a page from @KLAconQueso and splitting out my review of one of our major excursions to this board, rather than making it part of my live blog. Now, I've already posted the photos from that excursion on my recent live blog; you can view them here. This entry is more to talk about the excursion and the folks who run it, how to book it and what to expect when you go. The official name for the company that runs this tour is "Soualiga Destinations", and this is also the name of their web site. But everyone who's told me about it, and the owner himself, tends to refer to just as "Capt. Bob's". They're an independent outfit and don't do bookings through Royal; everything is done directly with the owner, Capt. Bob himself. They only offer this one tour, which runs daily from 10 AM (with 9:30 checkin) to 4 PM; they expect that if you book with them, your all-aboard time is no earlier than 4:30 PM so you have enough time to walk or get a cab back to the port. In all honesty, our trip with them was back at the marina at 3:45, and I've heard other accounts that indicate 4 PM is really a buffer, and they tend to get back a bit earlier so no one misses their ship. They currently have 9 boats (having lost 3 to Hurricane Irma in 2017); the larger ones hold about 16 people, while smaller ones hold groups of 8 or 12. While all of the boats have a canopy of some sort, none of them offer full-time shade and you will definitely need to bring a lot of sunscreen for this trip and/or things to cover up with! At the time we booked in April of 2017, the price was $119 per person plus 5% tax, with a 20% deposit. Payment of the deposit is done via PayPal, and the balance is due in cash when you check in at the port. I was able to pay in full up front, as I wanted to do this for budgeting purposes, and Capt. Bob was up-front that he holds on to your money until you've arrived and taken the trip; if your ship can't make or a disaster like Irma strikes, he issues a full refund of whatever you paid. You are welcome to charter a boat for just your group, but pricing will be affected depending on how large your group is. Booking with them is done through email. The site's Contact page also lists phone numbers in the US and St. Maarten, but it's clear that email is the preferred method. I actually had a lot of questions before I booked, due to my mobility limits and concerns I had about how much I could take part, and Capt. Bob took the time to answer every one of them before I booked. He's very low-key and has no problem if you end up saying no after first contacting him. When you arrive in St. Maarten, you'll go through the port market to the main road and make a left. You'll follow the road until you see a yellow building with a cheese shop, which is where the Dock Maarten marina you embark from is located. There's a little walk-through archway on the side of the building that gives you direct access to the marina, and this is where you'll find Capt. Bob and the other boat captains who will be taking care of you. It's a fairly easy 15-minute walk, even for a moderately mobility-limited person like myself. We took a taxi to get there only because we were running a bit late and didn't want to miss check-in, and walked back to the ship afterward. Our captain that day was Bob's son Brett, and our first mate was his fiancée Laura. We were going out on the only boat that had been docked in Dock Maarten during Irma and survived (albeit banged up and in need of some minor repairs); not just the only boat of theirs, the only boat in the entire marina. Capt. Bob's other surviving boats (two that he owned himself and 7 owned by the other captains who he works with) were docked elsewhere during Irma, so they definitely did well by not pulling all of their figurative eggs in one marina-shaped basket! I'm going to take a moment here to talk about Brett and Laura, as they were just amazing hosts for this tour and we couldn't have asked for a better pair to guide us around and help make the trip memorable. I was especially grateful to them since I ended up staying on the boat almost the entire time and it was good to have someone to chat with while everyone else was in the water snorkeling or swimming. They told me (and eventually the others on our trip) their back story, and it kind of blew my mind. If you'd rather skip this part, just pass over the quote block. Now for the actual tour! Every boat that is going out leaves the marina separately, and I think each one also changes up the overall timing of the itinerary a bit to avoid overlap. Even though there are a total of nine boats, and from what I saw at least five of them were going out the day we were there, the only places we saw any other boats from Capt. Bob were at lunch and when we arrived at Maho beach towards the end of our trip. At our snorkeling and beach destinations, ours was the only boat anchored there at that time. After leaving the marina, you make your way along the coast and quickly move into another inlet. This leads to the most expensive marina on the island, where the truly wealthy dock their multi-million dollar yachts in the winter months. You get to see a lot of amazing vessels here, although when we went through there were several that were damaged (and one sunk) thanks to Irma. Your captain will tell you about the ships that are there at the time; one of them on our trip belonged to a Russian oligarch, and cost a cool $500,000,000! That is some seriously insane (and from what I've heard separately, most likely illegal / laundered) wealth on display! From the marina, you make your way through a channel and continue along the Dutch side of the island. The channel is wide enough that you speed along, seeing all the buildings built on the shoreline as well as the natural beauty of the island. Even with the devastation still visible everywhere, it was amazing. The color of the water alone will blow your mind. You'll also pass by the mansion of the French side's governor, prominently on display by itself at the top of a modest hill. At this point, you'll pass under a small drawbridge and cross to the French side of the island. You are warned that on this side the beaches are clothing-optional, but we never saw anything at any point that made us stare (or want to look away quickly). The channel opens back onto the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean not long after, and you'll continue along the coast for a bit before cross over to your first snorkeling stop, Tintemarre Island. This is a small little island with no inhabitants, and is part of a nature preserve that surrounds a lot of St. Maarten and encompasses the surrounding little islands. (islets?) The island is home to sea turtles and sting rays, both of which often keep to the sea grass under the surface of the water. For those who didn't bring their own snorkeling gear, your captain will hand out fins and also a mask with snorkel. You're instructed to hold onto these for the duration of the trip, until the last snorkeling stop is done. The mask is sprayed with some anti-fog solution so you can see clearly at all times. Those who are unfamiliar with snorkeling get about 10 minutes of instruction here, and both the captain and first mate will check that your mask is on your face correctly before you dive in to the water. Everyone is free to jump in from either the sides of the boat or from the back. You get about 45 minutes at this stop before everyone has to board again. Boarding is done through a short rail-less ladder that gets attached to the back of the ship after everyone has gone into the water. Based on my experience using this ladder at our lunch stop, it's not really something for a mobility-challenged person like myself with a lot of foot problems. The steps of the ladder tended to be a little slippery, and since it's rail-less you need to hang on to the side of the ship, or the engines, or the thick fuel hoses, or anything else that offers a grip while you're pulling yourself back up into the boat. After everyone is back on board, you go straight to your next stop – Pinel Island. This is also part of the wildlife refuge, but has a small strip of beach with umbrellas and loungers, plus a little bar / restaurant and a small gift shop selling hand-made and -painted bird feeders, wind chimes, and carved trinkets. There is a "bathroom" here, but it's really more of an outhouse; there was no running water to flush with that I could see, and there is also a warning sign outside the little cabin telling you in French and English to not put any toilet paper into the toilet! This is the only spot where you'll have access to any kind of bathroom, though, so if this just doesn't work for you then you'll need to either hold it until 4 PM, or do like the fish do. I suppose I should mention at this point that from the moment you set out from the marina, there is plenty of water and also beer to be had. Brett told us that the beer was actually cheaper to buy than the water! For our boat, we had Coors Light and a very nice French lager that I'd never had before. There were only a few bottles of that, and I only scored one of them, so the rest of the time it was Coors beer-like tap water for me! But this does make it difficult to avoid needing a restroom the entire trip! While at Pinel Island, everyone is free to swim, relax on the beach, visit the gift shop, and also enjoy lunch. While they used to do lunch in a different spot that had its own restaurant, that place was destroyed by Irma and hadn't yet been rebuilt. While I clearly smelled food cooking at the bar here, we were more or less told that we couldn't get anything to eat there; if I had to guess why, it was because on the French side they only accept Euros, not dollars, and this place didn't take credit cards. In any event, the new arrangement is for plenty of fresh-made sandwiches that are packed on the boat before you head out. These are really good and come in a nice variety – we had ham, tuna, chorizo, crab, and veggie as our options; and all were on fresh-baked mini-baguettes from one of the local bakeries on the French side. The sandwiches are served with chips and apples, and there are enough sandwiches for everyone on board to have two or even three if they want. After about an hour and a half, you head out to your second and final snorkeling stop, a large rock that juts out of the water and is named Creole Rock. This is where you will snorkel to see a wide variety of fish, octopi, and sea urchins. The latter tend to make their home on the sides of the rock, so you get a pretty strong warning to stay clear of the rock and stick to the areas marked by little buoys that let you know where the fish tend to congregate. You also have to keep to the side facing the Caribbean Sea, which is much calmer; the other side faces the Atlantic, which has much more wave action, and you'll be warned that going to that side could lead to getting smashed against the rock and the sea urchins. This stop is shorter, about 25 minutes, and then the really fast part of the trip begins. After everyone's snorkeling gear is gathered up and stowed, the captain opens up the engines and you go flying back to St. Maarten and the Dutch side of the island. It's a literal "hold onto your hat" ride, as the wind is strong enough to rip baseball caps or loose sunglasses off heads and send any loose towels or garments flying off the boat, never to be seen again. You quickly make your way to Plum Bay, where you will see the Dutch governor's home, as well as a large mansion currently owned by the 43rd President of the US. After a quick look and bit of background on that mansion, you fly off again and quickly make your way to Long Bay, site of the white villas with red tile roofs that show up in so many photos from St. Maarten. This is your final beach stop for the day, and you get another half hour or so to just relax and swim. The water is a bit deeper here and the current into the beach a lot stronger than on Pinel Island, so if you want to go to the beach you'll need to prepare for a bit of a fight back into the deeper water where the boat anchors. When this round of beach time is done, the captain opens up the engines again and you speed along the coast to Maho Beach. You don't get that close to the actual beach area, this is more about hoping to catch a plane flying close overhead. It's kind of luck of the draw here; on our outing, we had a plane pass overhead just as we arrived, with no chance to pull out a camera and get it lined up for a picture. You only spend a couple of minutes before making one last speed dash back to the marina. I'm not sure if this part is common, but there were three other boats from Capt. Bob's at Maho when we arrived, and all four of us left and once and turned that final run into a race to the finish line. It was actually really fun to see which boat would end up "winning", and everyone was hooting and hollering for their captain to the be the one to come in first. After returning to the marina, your captain will winch the boat back up part-way in its lift before you disembark. You'll be asked for a very well-deserved tip, and you'll also be advised to stop in the cheese shop that you passed on your way to the marina; here you can get a free treat by just mentioning that you were with Capt. Bob. It's normally ice cream, but in our case they had sold out and were instead giving away small caramel waffle cookies. You'll also have a chance here to buy some cheese (no Monty Python jokes, please!), made following authentic Dutch recipes and guaranteed by the owner to travel just fine for the rest of your cruise and your flight home. When we were there, they were giving samples of a really tasty Gouda that I'd have loved to buy, but I wasn't certain it would hold up to the time out of a fridge between getting off the ship and finally getting home. You'll definitely be pushing the boundaries of your all-aboard time with this trip, but it is incredibly worth it in my opinion. This was far more than any excursion we saw offered by Royal, the group size was very small and made for great snorkeling without a lot of people crowding you, and your captain and first mate are excellent tour guides. I also think they're far less expensive relative to the duration of this trip vs. anything you can book in the Cruise Planner. $119 per person for a six-hour outing is, I want to say, half the price I saw for an equivalent duration excursion on the Cruise Planner. And judging by the feedback from my wife and daughters, the snorkeling was really good and offered a lot to see. Throw in the included beverages and food, and you've got one heck of a value for this trip, even after including a good tip!

Hello! My mom and I are going on a cruise to the Southern Caribbean in a few weeks and we are looking for some recommendations on fun excursions for Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados. We want to stay with RCCL excursions, we don’t drink, and we want to find something other than just visiting beaches. What are your favorite excursions you have done at any of these islands? Here are some excursions that may be of interest to us: Antigua - “Stingray Swim and Snorkel” This is at Stingray City. St. Lucia - “Volcanic Mud Experience” This is at the Pitons, visiting the mud baths and the natural heated pools. Barbados - “Harrison’s Cave and Island Tour” Have any of you done these excursions? Do you have different recommendations for these ports? Or would you skip an excursion at any of these ports, because the port is enjoyable just walking around? (We have been to ports in the past where we just enjoy the port by walking around, but others, such as the time we visited Falmouth, Jamaica, we found an excursion was necessary as there was not much to do at the port!) Thanks in advance for all of your suggestions!

Looking at excursions for our upcoming cruise in December on Adventure of the Seas. I am thinking that Nachi Cocum (sp?) in Cozumel would work that day. Any other recommendations for any of the ports. I know that some of the extended family wants to see some Mayan ruins. December 2 - Leave Fort Lauderdale December 3 - Sea Day December 4 - Grand Cayman December 5 - Costa Maya December 6 - Cozumel December 7 - Sea Day December 8 - Disembark Fort Lauderdale

We are going on Anthem in September for our 5 year anniversary, up the northern coast. We are starting to plan out the trip and need suggestions on what to do at the port stops. Some of them we have plans for: Boston we are going to catch a Red Sox game (probably won't get to see the whole thing, but have to mark that park off our MLB list), Halifax we've booked an RC beer tour, and I've found a Beer Bus in Portland that I think we're going to sign up for. However, the last two ports, Bar Harbor and Saint John New Brunswick, what are the must dos there? Bar Harbor I know is known for lobster, so gimme all the food recs. Saint John I know absolutely nothing about! Also, if anyone has been up that coast or lives there, what is the weather in early September? Trying to figure out the clothing situation, assuming light layers?

Has anyone done the El Yunque Rainforest Tour in Puerto Rico? Wondering if it is worth it. Also, it does not say anything about eating lunch? Do they stop for lunch or..?

So I don't know if I've seen it on here or some where else, but I swear I've seen a specific website that you can book shore excursions through that guarantee to get you back to your ship in time. I know this has probably been asked a million times, and I apologize ahead of time for being repetitive. But am I imagining this site, or is it Trip Advisor? Any help would be appreciated.

This will be our first cruise with our kids (ages 12 & 16). My husband and I went on our first and only cruise 18 years ago for our honeymoon. We're doing the bungalow beach day at Coco Cay, but wanted to do something different in Nassau as my hubby isn't a lay on the beach all day kind of guy. There are so many excursions to choose from and I really don't want to spend more than $250. So I want to make it count. Any suggestions? Or should we just stay on the ship this day and do spa treatments :) FYI - We're on Majesty in August...

I booked 2/3 excursions through RCCL but was thinking in St. Maarten doing something outside of RCCL and stumbled upon shore excursioneers. Their prices are affordable, guaranteed to be back before ship leaves port, money back if there is a detour...almost too good to be true. Anyone use them in the past and if so, was your experience was positive or terrible? Thanks.

My wife and I are going on a cruise in April on Liberty to Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel and we are looking for one or two affordable beach days at any port. If other things are included too, that's great, but we are really just looking to relax on a quality beach and enjoy some good food and cocktails. The excursion we have our eye on right now is the Parrot Tree Beach Resort in Roatan. It is currently priced at $44 and does not include food or drinks although they are offered at an extra charge (It doesn't say how much). Does anyone have any other suggestions for any of these ports? I'm open to anything, even if it is more expensive, as long as the value is there. After all, how often are we on a tropical island?

Hi all We dock in Nassau at 7am is 815am too early to organise an excursion? Many thanks.

Here's a topic I haven't seen after searching around on this board: As we're planning our excursions for each island, is there a limit on how many we should try and fit in to a given island? Obviously, we're limited by the hours the ship is there (9 hours on St. Kitts, 10 on St. Maarten, only 6 late in the day in San Juan, and 8 or 9 in Labadee). We're also limited by how the excursions may overlap with departure times and all. And we have to remember to eat lunch or dinner at some point. 😉 But let's say even after that we still find 2 excursions that we could fit into the day and just barely get us back to the ship on time. Should we try and fit them all in (assuming budget isn't an issue), or should we pare it down to just one, and leave the rest of the day for casual strolling, shopping for those who want that, and maybe beach time? Most of the excursions we're considering so far have a listed time of 3 or 4 hours, and involve sailing or a train ride or snorkeling or riding a zip line. I don't know if those times include transportation to/from the port or if I need to factor that in as well. I'm just trying to get my expectations into realistic territory before we start booking and paying. As Matt said on his "Top 10 Mistakes New Cruisers Make" podcast, I have to remember that we can't possibly do it all. (as much as I want to!) Thanks!

I had some questions about two of the excursion options on St. Kitts. I'm hoping some here have done one or both of these and can offer their feedback. First, my wife is really looking forward to is the Dolphin Experience on St. Kitts. We saw after looking at the list of available excursions that there are actually four different options for this: A bare-bones, ride the boat and look at the dolphins without getting in the water trip, for fairly cheap A get-in-the-water option, where you'll be at standing depth and the dolphins come to you, for about double the cost of the first one A swim option, where you're in the water but also get to grab a dolphin's dorsal fin and "ride" on it out into the water and back, for considerably more An "I wanna be the SeaWorld performer" option, where you get all of the above and have two highly trained dolphins push you through the water by your feet until you're hydrofoiling and inevitably lose your balance and face-plant into the salty brine, for those with more money than sense (or concern for the dolphins' welfare) If anyone has done one of these, please help confirm my suspicion that all four are really the same excursion that everyone gets on at once, and you just get a band indicating what level you paid for. Reason being that while we'd all like to go and see dolphins as a family, my wife and maybe one of my girls would like to do the second option, while I (mobility limited) and my other daughter would just as soon ride out on the boat and stay there, me possibly sipping a spiked fruity beverage. If everyone has to choose the same level at time of purchase, we'll either skip it entirely or I'll let my wife and one daughter do that while the other one and I find something else in the same time slot. I guess a related question around this is: Is it worth it? St. Maarten also offers a dolphin experience (although the window for that shore day is from 7 AM to 5 PM, vs. 9 to 6 in St. Kitts, and may not work as well). We've also heard that these excursions involve animals that may not have been treated very well, and we'd rather not participate in something that directly or indirectly promotes animal cruelty. The second excursion, which I am really interested in, is the "Rail and Sail", where you start off riding the historic train through the sugar fields and forests of St. Kitts, followed by a trip on a catamaran around the far side of the island. But the description notes that people doing that trip have to be able to walk into the water and climb a ladder onto the catamaran. For context, I've had about six major and minor surgeries on my right foot, which among other things have fused the ankle, heel, and shin on that, along with making my right leg nearly an inch shorter than my left. I have to wear a modified shoe to level out my walk, and going barefoot is possible, but only for about the length to cross a room or walk down a short hallway (like bed to bathroom). Climbing something like a pool ladder is basically impossible for me now from the pain that would cause due to strain on my achilles tendon in a foot that doesn't flex or bend and trying to lift myself on those narrow metal rungs. But I've seen some videos of people doing snorkeling trips on catamarans, and it seems like the "ladder" they use to get into and out of the water is really more of a stairway, with wider rungs you climb diagonally instead of straight up. If that was the case, and I can carry my sneakers with me to put on as soon as I'm on the ship, I think I could manage. If not, I can at least do the train by itself and maybe follow that up with some other activity in town before boarding the ship again. And St. Maarten has two different schooner sailings that I'm also keen on, so I don't feel like I'd be missing out if I couldn't do the catamaran part on St. Kitts. If anyone has been on this particular excursion and can let me know how easy or hard it was to get on the catamaran, that would be a huge help. It kind of goes without saying, but beaches are no longer my friend due to the unstable footing, and trying to walk onto one and cross half of it in search of a lounger or cabana to sit in isn't really high on my list of preferred things to do. I know the rest of my family wants some beach time, but I figure when they do that I'll find something else. Unless there is a nice chair and umbrella with tropical drinks just off the sidewalk. Then maybe. ;)

Hi there I am a complete newbie to RC and I have booked a cruise - 9th April Allure, East Caribbean Itinerary, for myself partner and Mum and her partner for their 70th birthdays and I really want it to be amazing and feeling the pressure!!! Can you please help me with these q's? - what excursion is a must - what is the one thing we must do on the ship - what time can we board and then please do offer me any other info that will help me!!! or point me to other threads, I've read loads and got some great tips so far thanks Laura :-)

One of our group in the blog group cruise on the Allure is organizing an excursion to the big blue hole near Ocho Rios. It looks absolutely amazing...beautiful, but it also seems remote. Has anyone ever gone there ? Any insights ? It looks like a big blue hole in the water...sure 'nuff....but we have 1 cruiser who does not swim and is very hesitant to take this excursion b/c she doesn't want to just float around on a small boat all day. Are there any hotels, restaurants, beach areas around it where she could spend the day if the others want to go out on the water ? It just looks like some kind of atoll or reef around a big sink hole in the water. I didn't see any structures in the area. Thanks for the help !

My husband & I are hoping to go snorkeling in Belize on our cruise in a few weeks but I can't decide which snorkeling option is the best & the website/reviews very vague & not any help. I've called but no one can tell me anything more either & I'm not getting a response from my e-mail they suggested I sent to the Shore Excursions department. Have any of you been on the "Barrier reef snorkel & island getaway" or the "Barrier reef snorkeling wonders" excursions? They sound pretty similar other than one has a "complementary" drink. Are they both to the same place, & if not, which would offer a better experience? Since this is literally a once in a lifetime trip, I'd like to go to the best place, but it seems like these are the only options through RCCL & from what I've read, it's best to go with their excursions from Belize because of the tendering schedule. Any recommendations are much appreciated. Thank you! :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ0zW-f91n8 In this video you'll see the entertainment offered on board, a look around the cruise ship, a peak that each island has to offer, and some excursions. Let me know if you have any questions about the Majesty of the Seas! I'm happy to help and would give it a 10/10.

I am looking at a tour out of Falmouth with Chukka. It's called the Good Hope Ultimate Thrill Seeker's Pass. Has anyone done this tour before or done business with Chukka before ? It looks like a pretty good deal but I wanted to get some feedback if I can.

Booking excursions for next month. I think I may have missed out on one already, it won't let me enter info. I booked the Red Stripe Beach shuttle for Falmouth. Looking at the Playa Mia Reef & Buffet deal in Cozumel. Has anyone done this excursion ?

Why are there only a few of the many excursions from the RC brochure listed when I log in to reserve for the 5-31-15 sailing? Will more be added?

Question # 1: I have read that their is a time limit between soda refills ( assuming you purchased the beverage package ) on Freedom of the Seas. Does anyone know what the time limit between refills is, or if this is even true? Question # 2: What has been your best ideas for younger kids to keep up with their sea pass cards. ( my boys are 8 and 10 years old )?

Hello friends of RCCL, just four more weeks for us until embarkation and time has come to think about the cruise details and the things we want do do and see in the different port of calls. I was wondering what the favorite form of shore excursion would be among the community. Do you prefer organized tours or do you go on your own? For ourselves we prefer the individual approach. Yes, it takes more time to plan and prepare the excursion but I always have the good feeling that the I really can do and see things I really want to see. And I can take my time if a special place is of more interest than expected, nobody forces us tu hurry up and we are not depending on a group. Sometimes we do something together with other people we have met on board that share the same interests. I just have the feeling that one have a deeper experience when you are traveling around buy feet, with public transportation or a rented car than driving around with a tour bus. In some places organized tour are making perfectly sense, for example in Ephesus/Turkey (too far away from the port or St. Petersburg/Russia (without a purchased tour ticket you won't cross the russian boarder (if you don't have a valid visa), but most places can be explored individually, just give it a try! What do you think about it? Greetings from Germany Dirk

What is your favorite excursion you ever took? Was it through Royal Caribbean or a third party?

We are 61 and this is going to be our first real cruise ... Can't wait ... We haven't been to Noumea or Venuatu as yet and would like some pointers on which are great shore excursions to do Noumea, Champagne Bay, etc. We love to snorkel, but also like to check out the cultural side of places we visit. Also we are getting the Premium Drinks package ... I'm guessing Soda is soft drink ? Also can we get the package juice at breakfast? We like to do Ceroc dancing ... Any comments on if people dance .... Bands or just canned DJ Too many questions and too much excitement :-)