Stmar

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

Hmmm, we lost the ability to bring bottled water and bottled soda onboard because of smuggling so I wouldn't say no harm done.

Why did we lose the ability to bring booze on board? 25 years ago you could bring anything you wanted. Corporate greed, same reason for bottled products, not smuggling.

Again I am a good tipper, tipping is not the issue. I am a Libertarian, I want to control what I do and I don't trust corporate to do the right thing. Ask your wait staff or cabin stewart what he thinks of the current practice. Guest services is always crowded, understaffed and not where I want to spend my time.

2 hours ago, thinfool said:

Please explain how tips are "dictated".

The cruise line puts a dictated/set amount on your account. It looks like you guys are validating my point. They make it difficult to do anything but follow. Have you ever had to ho to "guest services" for anything? Talk about oxymoron. 

Do you hate mandatory tipping as much as me? I am a good tipper but I don't like the cruise line dictating how much and to whom I tip. The corporate line about the unseen personnel does not sound right, what happened to those unseen before the mandatory policy? I think that corporate is using this policy so they don't have to pay the unseen a competitive wage. Service has definitely gone downhill since the implementation of this policy.

Bought a sample pack of tequila tried to check it and the guy said to just take it, no need to check. Don't know why, size maybe?

3 for 3 passengers successful, 2 rum runners per suitcase. Vodka, Tequila and Crown. Not cheap, just like to have drinks on the balcony without having to go to a bar and carry back to the cabin.

We did kayak and others did tubing, about the same time. More van riding and walking than water time. Don't do tandem, do single kayak, shallow areas and doubles drag. Best thing was the $6 coconut with rum at the end, deadlock guy across the parking lot.

Not the same as Maya Chan at any level.

Took the exit where the excursions were gathering. Security lady tried to direct us the "official way" but I told her we were meeting someone, which was true since we met a cab.

We went on Jolly Roger, Carnival exclusive excursion, in 2016 and are going again next week. It is an all inclusive excursion: food, drinks, snorkel equipment, on a catamaran type boat. Good crew and they cater to all levels, segregate them into experienced and beginner. Snorkeling off a boat is a neat experience, we do it at least once per cruise and Roatan is the best in my opinion, Cozumel second.

2 hours ago, catsngoats said:

TThank you so much for this great port info website.  I’m just starting research for a Jan 2020 cruise (Oceania Marina). We will be one of three in Costa Maya, our first time there, but one of 5 the next day in Cozumel!  Will have to plan carefully.

Costa Maya check out Jamies Blue Reef and Maya Chan, all inclusive beach breaks. I have been to Maya Chan and it was great, going to Jamies next week. Both have very good reviews. Make reservations as far ahead as possible, Maya Chan was completely booked 4 months ahead and that is why we are trying Jamies this trip.

Thanks, looks like there is only Cozumel with more than 2 ships and we have excursions already booked at all our stops.

Where can you find how many ships in port at the same time?

Plan ahead and bring a pocket full of 1, 5, and 10 dollar bills. We are doing several excursions and will make sure we have plenty of small denominations so that we don't have to worry about getting change.

We booked Jolly Roger, through Carnival, for less than $100. Did same in 2016 and had a great time. Good equipment, good food and good plentiful drinks. Crew was very attentive.

We chose Jamies Blue Reef after reading reviews here and on Trip Advisor. He got right back to us and seemed like a nice guy that appreciates the business. 

You will walk enough just getting out of the port, lol.

Same here, Maya Chan booked 6 months ahead, so we read some reviews and Proggieus' review sold us on Jamies. They responded to our email quickly and seemed glad we chose their AI. 

I don't know about all ports at disembarkation but at Port Canaveral they stack your luggage in an area and you can pick it up and stand in a long line or you can get a porter to load all your bags on a cart and escort you through customs. Much faster and he also takes your bags to your pick up point, in our case we had parked our vehicle and we drove it to a pick up point to get our luggage and other passengers. It was worth a tip to me, don't know if $10 was enough, like I said I thought the other guy was going to add to it.

This is kind of related. When we booked the only balcony cabins available were on deck 2, we booked 3 together. Then later we get an email offering an upgrade to a higher deck for an additional fee. All 3 of us got the email so how did other decks have multiple cabins open up?

How about when you are disembarking, how much do you tip? The porter loads  the bags, takes your party through customs and to your transport. We had 5 people and 5 or 6 bags. I gave him $10, thought the other guy was going to pony up but he did not, and the porter looked like somebody kicked his puppy. 

In '16 we had the same time in port and had plenty of time at Maya Chan. Each party has their own area, great service, food, drinks and many water activities included. We are going to be in Costa Maya in Feb but Maya Chan was sold out, it is that popular. This time we opted for Jaimies Blue Reef based on a first hand review on this board. I am sure it will not be as isolated and private as Maya Chan since it is closer to the port, Maya Chan is quite a ways down the coast.

Our ship gets in at noon, we will have 8 hours in port so should have plenty of time to enjoy the beach break. Post your experiences like Bubblegummermom is going to do. You can't have too much info.

We have 3 couples going on Jolly Roger booked through Carnival. Chronologically first reservation had a confirmation number ending in 001, second reservation had a 002 number, third reservation had 001 confirmation. Do these ending numbers have anything to do with which boat we are on? Our last Jolly Roger excursion there was only one boat. Just want to make sure we all get on the same boat, have plenty of time to rectify if it is not the case but would also like to know how to go about making sure.

Just to ask....we r visiting blue reef in january wanted to find out tipping policy? What is the norm?

 

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Sorry I thought I was on the roll call for my cruise so we won't be sharing a cab, lol. We will be there in February.

Tipping? Of course depends on the experience but figure 15 or 20 percent which would be 10 bucks at Blue Reef. I carried around a pocket full of $1's for tipping in the past but now those are replaced with $5's, a sign of the times.

Make sure you post your experience. Since you will be there just before us it would be interesting/helpful.

You have to pay for the excursion when you book it. So if you do online you can book and pay all at once if you have everyones booking numbers. They wont charge their account... you use gift card or credit card precruise.

So what you are saying is that if we book pre cruise I would have to put the entire amount on my credit card if we want to make sure we are together on the excursion?