MississippiMom

Thank you so much for explaining this. It makes lots of sense to me. My husband is the CPAP user, but I feel confident that I will be the one carrying it onboard, since he will INSIST that it can just go in his checked in baggage. I’m not about to risk him not having that machine at bedtime.

I so much appreciate CC. It really would never have occurred to me to possibly use the European socket. (Talk about a self-centered American over here.) I can see our three daughters fighting over the limited outlets in the cabin they will be sharing. Time to go read about adaptors & converters.

We have often used the guest laundry, and being an early bird helps a whole lot with machine availabilty. The other option I would recommend is IMMEDIATELY when you return from a port day. IMMEDIATELY is the key. No stopping for a snack or to shower. Head straight to your cabin, grab your basket of laundry (that you put together BEFORE disembarking the ship) and RUN to that laundry area.

We like to get Frappuccinos in the afternoon to get that needed caffeine boost. Most definitely grab some of the (included with Cheers) bottled drinks from the cafe to take to your cabin. Not sure what’s available now, but there used to be bottled teas, energy drinks and, of course, bottled waters

The chilled strawberry soup and the chilled mango soup are two of my favorites. Most definitely the chocolate melting cake and the crème brûlée. I seem to recall that the lasagna is pretty yummy, but can’t think of any other savory items that are “can’t misses” for me.

JUST last night, our 20 year old said, "Make sure I get to the dining room for breakfast, because I WANT that chia seed pudding!" I didn't even know she liked it, but now I've got to tell her it won't be there in July. 😟

When our daughters were younger, the very first thing we would tell them was “where” to go, if they, accidentally, got separated. Most of the time, that location might be where “the helpers” can be found. Examples - guest services on a cruise ship, front desk at a hotel, police/security booth at the public rail station. Pick what makes sense to your family.

Yes! I, literally, had this discussion with my brother this week. He and, at least, one of his children will wind up snorkeling when we are in port in Cozumel. Do a quick internet search on the recommended brands. We live nowhere near an ocean, but our local Target carries both Blue Lizard and Sun Bum that are reef-friendly, per state of Hawaii guidelines.

Yes to the sunscreen, but also whatever after-sun/sunburn product you prefer.

It’s been 21 years, but I got a note from my OB plus copies of anything important in my medical records. I never had to hand them over to anyone, but kept them all together in the event of an emergency. With my previous pregnancy, I had wound up on bed rest due to pre-term labor, so the OB wanted to make sure any possible medical providers had sufficient medical history to treat me.

We tried RC last summer, and I would still sail them, again. However, we did find their activities lacking a bit, or, maybe, just poorly scheduled. Smaller venues used, when larger ones were available. Then, some venues NEVER had an activity scheduled in them at all. The daily calendar might have three things at once or complete emptiness at times. I can only assume that the never-in-the-crowd cruise director was still working his way back from the many covid protocols. (This was a sailing where negative covid tests pre-cruise were still required.)

My brother is the one who has handled our family cruise bookings in the past. - First time, smallest group. No problems. - Second time, largest group. The shut down of 2020 was an issue and he heard from EVERYONE about the delay in getting refunds. - Third time, only one cabin more than the first time, so what could happen? A positive covid test, that's what. My brother had to get the cabin canceled and submit his niece's test results. Somehow, her credit card, which wasn't supposed to be linked to my cabin, was, and my charging privileges got shut down on the ship. (Guest services fixed that, thank goodness.) But this made it his "never again" group cruise coordinator effort. - Fourth cruise, larger group. My brother did find an online TA that specializes in groups and gave everyone that TA's contact information. The TA has collected all of the payments, has handled the cabin changes, etc. My brother is the group "conductor", but it is really hands off for him, except to remind people of final payment dates, as a courtesy. Yes, there is "conductor" type additional discount, but he had the option to spread it across everyone's balance due. Why set up as a "group"? In our cases, it was in hopes of cabin discounts, of course. But also to get all of our cabins linked up in the main dining room. I think that the first time and the third time we might have received some kind of cabin credit, too. (It varied by cabin, though.)

After our July 2023 cruise, I will definitely report back on our experience. Our family group of 14 decided on hiring Black Hat Tours to take us (in two vans) to Punta Sur Eco Park and then return to the port via the East Coast "wild side", since none of us have seen that part of Cozumel before. Our middle-daughter said it best, "I like it! It's a good mix of nerd stuff for the nerds and beach time for the sun lovers." We even have a rainy day back-up plan with Black Hat Tours that will entertain both adults and children. A big thanks to the CCers who have answered my MANY questions.

I just discovered last week that the flavored paper straws were going to be our option on Carnival. Nope, not gonna do that. Although we do own reusable silicone straws, we will be taking some individually wrapped plastic straws with us on the ship.

Things I do that most others don't . . . - Stay away from the buffets - Use the guest self-service laundry (typically a couple of loads) - Sneak out of the cabin early in the morning to enjoy the quiet - Only sit around the pool at night (if there's a good movie on the big screen) - Never learn the cruise director's name (or face)

I think a lot depends on what area and activities of the ship you prefer. Also, your definition of "relaxing" versus "rowdy." If you book a balcony cabin, you can always enjoy quiet time in your own space. If you wake up early, on any cruise, wandering the ship is amazingly peaceful (it's one of my favorite things to do). Wander around that same ship at midnight and it's not at all the same. I have rowdy (in the evening) twenty-something year old children, but they love to relax and quietly read books in the sun mid-day. If the 5-day cruise works with your NOLA schedule, it's the one that works. Enjoy!

Great idea!

MANY years ago, back when you only booked cruises through travel agents, ours told us to fly to San Juan for a Southern Caribbean itinerary, because it was beautiful and less crowded with kids. Not sure if that is still the case or not, but the theory is that most larger families aren't flying to that port for a cruise.

We have gone on two multi-generational cruises, with a third one in a couple of months. Our BIG rule is everyone has sit-down dining room dinner together. (If you wind up seasick, you are excused.) Although not a rule, we have taken our ship excursions together, but aren't, necessarily, right next to each other the entire time. One time, we did take a private excursion in Progreso to see ruins with two family members choosing to stay on the ship. What we have discovered is that it is really easy to communicate via the cruiseline's chat feature, and we like to tell each other where we are headed in case anyone is interested. Typically, at dinner, we will ask the children (ages vary, with some being young adults) what interests them in the evening activities, but no one is expected to stick together. Most mornings there is a subset of us eating breakfast together, and it's a fun time to hear about everyone's previous evening shenanigans. Oh . . . make sure that everyone knows the other family members' cruise cabin locations. We slapped a magnetic old black&white photo of my parents on the doors as identification. For this summer's cruise, one of my cousins has already requested that I use photos of the cousins from about 30 years ago. (And thanks for the reminder that I need to hunt those old down and have Walgreens make some magnets for me.)

I have read this board, other websites and used the search engines, but I can't seem to find an answer that I'm confident about. Is Playa Azul Beach Club the same thing as Playa Azul Hotel? Or two completely different locations? I did see that Buccanos has more of a rocky beach which isn't ideal for us, however, the idea of it being more on the quiet side is appealing. Doubtful anyone in the family will be getting massaged, but people on the CC boards sure love that as an option. I can see all of the 18 - 29 year olds, happily, lining up for tequila tasting. 😅 Yes, we did notice that there isn't a pool at Punta Sur, but the kids might enjoy checking out the lighthouse and the alligators (is that right?), plus just wandering around.

"Different strokes for different folks" is the perfect response. We would never rent a car for one day at port. If it were a land vacation, maybe. But even in the U.S. we often just Uber or Taxi when traveling. In Cozumel, I would be worried that we wouldn't have enough non-drinkers in the mix to drive safely (and legally).

“Talk” to me about Playa Azul versus Buccanos. My family (siblings, cousins & respective children) are all hoping to lock down (as much as you can with a cruise) where to beach in Cozumel. There will be approximately 15 of us; I could see that number dropping down to 12 or increasing up to 20. Some of us would be happy to pay AI, others have zero interest in that. We have all ages, and the kids prefer a pool. But the slower older folks just want to be able to walk slowly on the edge of a beach. Currently hiring private drivers to get us to Punta Sur is “winning,” with those with kids and the not-interested-in-a-crowd spouses, but . . . That’s PRICEY for those on a budget.

Send them an email with an idea of your group size, interests, and timing, and you should get back an estimate. I have been going back & forth for the past couple of weeks trying to narrow down what might work for our group. Since they want to book us, I have already been sent a request to submit a PayPal deposit, however, we aren’t ready to commit, yet. We are being quoted $35 per person per hour, which does NOT include the price of admission to any attraction at all.

Thank you for sharing your photos. Did you reserve in advance or just walk up? I am overly stressed about our ship’s 1 pm arrival time and everything being crowded with no seats available.

I’m so glad I read this. RCCL gives you distilled water and loans you an extension cord. We have to remember that neither is the case on CCL. My husband will use bottled water for a night or two, but prefers the distilled for his CPAP, because it’s better for his machine.