WhereShouldWeGoNext

As we were looking, once again, at all the reader photos, we realize there is a reason the lounge chairs are often found on the wraparound portion of this large deck. While the main portion of the deck is under cover from the cabin above, the wrap around portion gets more sun. 

If the ship is traveling in a southerly direction 5190 would get afternoon sun on the deck while 5191 would get morning sun. If the ship is traveling a northerly route, the opposite is true. 

We want to thank all of the past travelers on this role call. 

We just booked a 51 day "bucket list" adventure on the Westerdam. The helpful person at HAL had suggested a specific signature suite. Then we noted that 5190 was also available - and for not all that much more money. So, thank you for your suggestions, we took the jump. This will be our first Neptune Suite eperience.

In warm humid climates, we spent significant time on our deck - so why not enjoy :the largest deck on the ship"? 

6 hours ago, Lois R said:

I think you will be fine in the dress shirt without a jacket.

3 hours ago, angela miller said:

You will love AMA. They were our first cruise also, Amsterdam to Budapest.  You will see every kind of dress for dinner. The only night I saw more dressy was Captains dinner but even then some came dressed directly from tours. No issues. 

Whew!  Thank you. 

On 5/21/2021 at 4:38 PM, hoosier2017 said:

When we ate at The Chefs Table specialty restaurant we dressed up (black dress pants and blouse) some men had jackets and ties, some did not.  The main dining room was casual, leggings, jeans, sweaters, etc.  Depending upon the time you return to the board, there is a Sip And Sail Happy hour and then straight into the dining room. Hope this helps.  Hope you have as wonderful of a trip as we did on AMA.   Scheduled for our second trip with them in the fall.

I prefer to travel without a sport coat or a suit coat; after all this is a vacation. There will be others at The Chef's Table witout jackets? I don't mind wearing a dress shirt, long pants and real shoes. 

We used Tours Plaza in May 2016 because we wanted to plan our own adventure. Because of things we read on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor, we asked for Aldo. We were VERY happy with our day at Cozumel. ToursPlaza even keeps track of which ships use local time and which use Ship’s Time, so the passenger does not have that worry.

Our cruise on NCL Dawn included the port of Cozumel. We arrived at the designated meeting place near the pier a bit early, so we headed for a nearby coffee shop. Another person heading toward the same coffee shop had a clipboard with our name on it. So meeting with Aldo was really easy. We used the coffee shop time to plan our day. We wanted to see historic sites, scenic byways, visit neighborhoods where locals and North American ex-pats co-exist together. We also wanted a little trip thru business regions.

We now understand why so many US and Canadian citizens are relocating to Mexico for retirement. Some professionals such as doctors are finding Mexico a great place to live and work.

We wanted no time for shopping. We didn’t need to visit the Mayan Ruins nor the eco-park. (We have done this on the Mexico mainland.) We were in the car ready to go minutes before the originally scheduled meeting time. He took out one map, showed us a route that met all of our requirements. Occasionally he would refer back to the map so we could keep track of our progress.

He also had maps for people who wanted to bird watch, maps for people who wanted extra time to play on a beach or visit the eco park or Mayan Ruins. Aldo’s family goes back for generations in Cozumel. He was happy to share the culture, the history and the beauty of his homeland – but adjusts the conversation to meet the needs of travelers. He also has trips that take people on the ferry to the mainland for the extensive beauty and history of mainland Quintana Roo.

When it was time for lunch, we found ourselves at a beautiful outdoor restaurant on the ocean beach. We never saw a menu. We asked Aldo to order lunch - which was served family style at our table. The owners shared samples of the best the chef had to offer that day. The only question to us was spicy or mild? If you want private time during lunch, tour guides have a little corner of the restaurant where they can visit with each other without ever losing sight of their guests.

By all means dine with your driver. This tells the owners and wait staff that you are there to learn about the culture and customs. Several stopped by to share a personal story with us. The little stories shared during lunch by restaurant staff may have been the highlight of our tour.

We returned to the cruise port at exactly the time we said when we first met in the coffee shop. Tours Plaza is a well-run business that communicates quickly by phone or email. Their drivers appear to all have a plan that is adjusted to meet the needs of the consumer.

We used ToursPlaza in May 2016 because we wanted to plan our own adventure. Because of things we read on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor, we asked for Aldo. We were VERY happy with our day at Cozumel. ToursPlaza even keeps track of which ships use local time and which use Ship’s Time, so the passenger does not have that worry.

We know our way around the Yucatan Peninsula (on the mainland) fairly well. But we had never gone to the island. Our May cruise on NCL Dawn included the port of Cozumel. We arrived at the designated meeting place near the pier a bit early, so we headed for a nearby coffee shop. Another person heading toward the same coffee shop had a clipboard with our name on it. So meeting with Aldo was really easy. We told him our time frame and that we wanted to see historic sites, scenic byways, visit neighborhoods where locals reside and where North American ex-pats gather – especially areas where both co-exist together. We also wanted a little trip thru business regions. We wanted no time for shopping and we didn’t need to visit the Mayan Ruins nor the eco-park. (We have done this elsewhere.) So when we got to his car, he took out one map, and designed a route that met all of our requirements. And off we went.

He also had maps for people who wanted to bird watch, maps for people who wanted extra time to play on the beach or visit Mayan Ruins. Aldo’s family history in Cozumel goes back for generations. And he really wanted to share the beauty and history of his homeland – but adjusts his plan to meet the needs of the traveler. He also has trips that take people on the ferry to the mainland for the extensive beauty and history of mainland Quintana Roo.

When it was time for lunch, we found ourselves at a beautiful outdoor restaurant on the ocean beach. Everyone knew Aldo. We had him order lunch which was served family style at our table so the owners could show off the best the chef had to offer that day. By all means dine with your driver. This tells the owners and wait staff that you are there to learn about the culture and customs.

We returned to the cruise port at exactly the time we said when we first met in the coffee shop. ToursPlaza is a well-run business that communicates quickly by phone or email. Their drivers appear to all have a plan that is adjusted to meet the needs of the consumer.

Do you know what shipyard is being used for drydock in late May and early June?

My understanding is that the balcony on Jewel's 10th deck IS two feet deeper [10' x 10'] than the aft facing balconies on decks 8 & 9 [8' x 10']. There is actually room for two lounge chairs, two deck chairs and a tiny table if you want all that stuff.

If you stand at the rail you would be visible to the people standing at the rail of the 11th deck. If you stand, sit or recline in the "usual' 8' X 10' " area you will have just as much privacy as the other people who are lucky enough to have aft facing cabins & suites on decks 8 & 9.

On our last trip I spent the last night on the lounge chair just so I could watch 9 cruise ships jockey for position, then line up single file as they arrived at Cruise Port Miami - all docking within an hour of each other. Our ship was the first in line.