KroozNut

Now that is a dangerous combination. Have you witnessed how bad some of those scooter drivers are? Add alcohol to the equation and you're asking for a disaster at sea!

Some would say that nursing homes and HAL cruise ships are synonymous, but I tend to disagree..🙂

What?

I haven't noticed anyone talking about 'mediocrity' here. Did I miss something?

Aren't the 'Lido pool' and 'main pool' one and the same? Do you mean the Lido/main pool and the Sea View pool?

Makes sense, and thank you for the additional insight. 👍

We're also booked for the Riu in March '23, right after you guys. Yes, please do report back with your experience in February, which we would be very much interested in. We're also curious about the resort's recommendation to depart the property a full 2 hours prior to your ship's departure, which seems a little excessive to us, especially since everything we're reading says that it's only about a 15 min cab ride to/from the resort. Please let us know what your experience was when you get back from your cruise. Have a great trip!

Well, not really a fridge.. but better than keeping it in the closet I suppose.🙂

No

I understand that.. My question was pertaining to the typical duration of lunch in the PG, can we reasonably expect to be in and out of there in an hour, or should we expect to be there longer? I'm trying to determine when I can safely book a spa treatment for DW that afternoon.

Most times yes.

What is a typical time frame for lunch in the PG? Would it be safe to book DW a spa treatment at 2pm on the same afternoon, or would that be cutting it too close?

Oh.. not us. Room service is the last thing we're thinking about on embarkation. We want to get out and about as soon as possible on embarkation day!

We're curious as to others experiences returning to the cruise ship pier from the resort, and the time required for that. Resort for a day's website says the resort is only about a 15 minute taxi ride from the cruise pier, but they recommend departing the resort a full 2 hours before your ship is scheduled to sail. This seems like a lot of time before ship's departure for a ~15 minute taxi ride. We want to maximize our time at the resort, and our ship leaves at 5pm. What have others done in this regard... is the 2 hours really necessary, or would we be okay leaving the resort say around 3:30 or 4pm for a 5pm ship departure? Thanks!

So drive! 😜

An 'upgrade' is not necessarily and 'upgrade'. Depends on the details of the so-called 'upgrade'. Experienced cruisers will review the offer and decide if it is really worth it.

Being from Canada, you've probably never experienced real Mexican food. That being said, the use of lard in tortillas is (unfortunately) banned in countries other than Mexico, but you can really tell the difference in the taste. Mexican tortillas are 100% better than anything north of the border.

"interview questions"? I've never experienced that, and if something even remotely related to that ever happened, it would be over in the first 10 minutes. The rest of the multiple day, month cruise would be spent enjoying and conversing with new found friends!

I think you're missing out, and unnecessarily isolating yourself from wonderful dining experiences onboard. We've met and still correspond with so many people that way. Your 'first date' questions reference happens in all the other scenarios you mention (meeting new people out around the ship, at bars and excursions). IMHO, people that demand a dining table just for themselves are losing valuable cruising experiences that they will never get back.

Someone has already and correctly mentioned how 'effective' signage is in general (not very)..

Not at all necessary, especially in today's digital world. Your Navigator app has everything you need. Paper copies of documents have gone the way of the dinosaur.. 😉

Agree with the Tamarind comments. Definitely check that out if you can. And the 'pizza parlor' is called New York Pizza; a separate venue and very good IMHO..

Nope.. Even pre-pandemic, the staff served you in the lido. If true, this is something entirely different..

Depends on how one defines 'just in time' for dinner. IMHO, if you're not at least 5 minutes early for your set time, you're late. 😉

IMHO, it would taste better!