clackey

Grab a cab and go. If they don't take walk-ins, there are several clubs next door that will. Personally, we like Chankanaab but have been to 7 or 8 other clubs. For loafing, we like Nachi Cocom, but you need reservations for that one.

We just returned from Costa Maya last week. We booked the Chocchoben Ruins Tour through Native Choice. Small group (11 people) in an air-conditioned van with a guide and driver. 2 hour tour of ruins and 2 hours of travel. Very informative, not rushed. Even stopped at a roadside stand and bought fresh Mangos and the best Pineapple that i have had. Much better than the cattle herd cruise tours and half of the cost. Many of the beach clubs are having grass problems. It tends to get bad at CM.

I second Native Choice. We used them last week and it was pretty good. We are a family of 4 and had an air-conditioned van holding 13 counting the guide and driver. We were at Chocchoben for 2 hours. We had a couple of large tours come through and it was like herding cattle. Our tour was very informative, not rushed and even stopped at a roadside stand to buy Mangos and some of the best Pineapple that I have ever had. Plus, the tour was half price compared to the ship tours. Be sure and check your time in port. We were in Costa Maya in February and the ship arrived at 2;00 P.M. for 6 hours. Made it hard to book anything.

If you plan to snorkel from shore, Playa Palancar is pretty poor. They do have a good boat snorkel to the reef though.

FIVE! That's right, 5 looon-n-g days.

I would like to add, reef safe sunscreen. No need to kill more coral than we already have. As for what we don't want to forget is earplugs. Great for deadening the sound of people talking in the hall at midnight and for loud bands. One of the best bands that I have heard on a cruise was a Filipino band called Blood Power. Fantastic band, but they would make your ears bleed.

Check out Victor Bodden Tours or Roni's. They can customize a tour to suit your needs. I noticed that you are going to Costa Maya and Cozumel too. Most of the activity in CM is drinking and beach clubs. The weed situation has shut a lot of that down. Native Choice has some decent tours, especially Ruins tours. Costa Maya is mostly a tourist trap. Cozumel has a lot to do. A private tour can get you to Mayan Ruins, the east side, Chen Rio, the westside and any number of beach clubs. Book locally. Google is your friend.

We sailed her last February and had a great time. Noone was out of line, service was good, food decent and entertainment was fine. This was our third voyage on Valor and would not hesitate to book her again. BTW, we are in our 70's and this was cruise number 20.

Of the four lines that we have tried to date, I have to give the nod to Royal Caribbean. Least is Princess. We did a seven night on the Grand Princess and it was the deadest ship that we have been on. Norwegian had the best entertainment that we have had when we sailed the Jewel, but our second was an eastern sailing on the Sun and was not up to par. Carnival gets most of our business because we are cheap, but if I can get within $100 pp we go RC.

We did a Carnival cruise in February and noticed that service was slow in the MDR. It was really slow on two nights.

If you shop and are free to cruise whenever you want, the prices are not that bad. Sure, if you want a Balcony in mid-summer you are going to pay premium for it. On the other hand, an inside cabin in late fall or early winter can be had for $50 a night or less. It is the same for extras like dining. You can spend $100-$200 to dine in one of the fancy steak house or save your money and hit the MDR. Your choice.

One really needs to pay attention to the items for sale. Case in point, my wife found a cute dress in Belize that looked like something that would be made locally. It was bright print that screamed a Latin background. At closer examination the tag read, "Made in China". She didn't buy it. I am guessing that it originally came from Walmart.

Our first was a 5 night out Galveston to Cozumel and Calica. We booked an Ocean View, weren't impressed and have booked 20 cruises since. All inside.

The Stingray Bar is a cool stop and Rum Point is good for a bite and cold one or several. I could live at Rum Point. There are several places along 7 Mile Beach where you can veg. We went to Smith Cove once and Cemetary Beach once. Snorkeling wasn't great but we did see some fish and even kissed a ray.

I could live at CC. It is gorgeous and has some fantastic snorkeling, but I would recommend taking a ship tour. It has been many years since we went to CC. I had booked a snorkel trip with Star Tours. I don't know if they are still in business. They took us out to the reef in a boat with outboard motor trouble. We snorkeled the reef and then went to a sandbar, swam and fed some stingrays. It was a nice tour except for the motor trouble. Then we nearly missed the last water taxi back before last tender to the ship.

I will let you know in mid-May. We leave on the Voyager of the Seas the 9th and Chank is on the menu.😉

It is a toss up for me. Nassau or Falmouth Jamaica. Been to Nassau 3 times and will not get off of the ship when there again. Ocho Rios Jamaica is fine, but Falmouth is a long trip to anything except a beach. I didn't get off of the ship in Montego Bay for the same reason.

I couldn't find anything about dining packages from the Park website. We usually grab a cab and pay at the park. There is a $2 off coupon and we order a la carte. I believe that I got the coupons from Cozumelinsider. So easy to do on your own.

We have done 20 cruises and 19 were in inside cabins. If I want to see outside I go up to the lido. It is hard to believe that people pay $3000-$4000 for a cabin when I can get one for less than half. But, I am cheap, no frugal, no cheap.

Both/either parties can always say no.

We just did number 13 with Carnival last February, plus we have sailed NCL, RCI and PCL. Our first on Norwegian was by far the best entertainment that we have seen. The last one was pretty sedate and not impressive. If you enjoy RC then CC will probably be similar as it was 4 years ago. I say probably because we have not sailed RC since before Covid. I can elaborate on it after we sail next month. Voyager here we come.

We have been to Cozumel at least 13 times and have never felt threatened in any way. Today's news is sensationalism. They do their best to keep you frightened and worried. I feel safer in Caribbean ports than I would in El Paso.

Now I know what BYOB means. Bring Your Own Balls.

I know that the powers that be are cutting a lot of things at Carnival. I didn't mind cabin service cut to once a day. We usually nap in the afternoon and don't see any reason to nap on a made bed. The changes in the menu is nothing to us. I can always find something I like and plenty of it. Even the price hike on tips seems reasonable too. The help needs to make a living too, but why in the name of Julio, would they get rid of the golf balls and replace them with PLASTIC? We sailed the Valor this year and there was no way that you could play golf with the wind blowing that chape plastic golf ball all over the deck. Are the other Carnival ships using plastic? Someone at Carnival needs to fire some bean counters.

Thanks.