30scruiser

No, but the MDR lunch on sea days has a really awesome salad bar where they make and chop your salad to order.

I haven't tried DD, but just a tip I read that you may have missed. Grande is not formal the first night because you may not have your luggage yet and therefore be unable to dress up, so if you want the most variety out of the free venues, I would definitely try to book Grande for the first night.

OMG! I just got caught up. Those brunch pics are making me so hungry. Happy New Year!

It seems to me like you have a lot more pros for switching than for staying with the Navigator. I haven't been on either ship and I've only been to the Western ports, so I can't help much, but based on the info you've given us, you seem much more excited about the Freedom. I'm not sure if that's because its a new idea and the excitement will calm down, but it seems you're really passionate abut Jamaica, so I would make the decision based on that. I also think the savings and convenience of being closer to the port and having someone to drive you is a big factor.

Just a note about Promenade rooms: a friend of mine who had one said it was quite loud in the room when there were events in the Promenade and she wished she went with a regular inside. So I think whether or not you would appreciate the room depends on how early you like to sleep and whether you like to nap during the day in your cabin.

I haven't done it, but since you're allowed to order as many non-entree items as you want (desserts, apps, sides) I don't see why it wouldn't work. I guess the question is whether that would be worth the $35 upcharge to you.

The mushroom risotto. One of the best things I have ever eaten. Also the tiramissu. Yum!

If you're looking for something unique I would highly recommend the Kaokao chocolate factory in Cozumel. They have a great tour where you can make your own hot chocolate mix starting with cocoa beans. It was really cool and would be great for kids.

If you don't want a beach day in Cozumel, I would highly recommend the Kaokao chocolate factory. They have a great tour where you make your own hot chocolate mix starting with cocoa nibs. It was a lot of fun.

We just got back from our Brilliance cruise today and it was amazing. The ship looked much newer than I expected. Giovanni's Table was incredible. We'll worth the price. We did not go to Chops . I loved the Park Cafe as an alternative to the buffet.

2 tips:

2 for 1 Margaritas in Rita's cantina every evening. Yum.

Go to the MD for lunch on a sea day. They have amazing made to order chopped salads.

Have a great trip

24 inches has to be wrong. My nephew was 23 inches at birth

I totally get how upset you would be if there was an itinerary change, but I agree with others who have said that you probably will not be offered anything in compensation or any opportunity to change ships. Others have had experienices in the past where Bermuda cruises turned into Canada/New England cruises because of weather, and they were not offered anything.

If you let us know what kinds of things you enjoy, we can make suggestions. On our upcoming cruise we booked a chocolate factory tour for Cozumel. That might be fun to do with your family. Or you could go see Mayan Ruins, swim with dolphins. There are many non-beach options available for most ports.

Basically dynamic dining means there's no MDR. There are a few free dining rooms and then some extra cost ones. If you stick to the free ones, you will need to repeat restaurants because depending on the ship there are only a few free ones and one of the free ones is for suites only. The menus in these restaurants are the same every night and there is one formal restaurant and the rest are casual, so no shipwide formal night.

Also, because they want you to eat in different restaurants, you need to reserve specific times for each night or go without a reservation and wait, there's no way to have a regular early or late seating time (although you could try to book the same time each night) and no way to have the same waiters.

Right now its only on Quantum but there are rollout dates for some of the larger ships and rumors about others.

I think that Brilliance probably has enough features to keep teens happy for 3 sea days. There's a rock climbing wall, mini golf, basketball court, movies, self leveling pool table, etc. I guess it depends if you're kids are happy to hang out by the pool or in the teen club and have some downtime or if think they need to bells and whistles to enjoy themselves. If your planning on busy port days, they may actually appreciate relaxing sea days. And all the ships will have lots of kids because of the holidays so there should be plenty of other teens for them to hang out with if they want.

You may also want to try to find out if the 8 am is Cozumel time. Sometimes the ships don't change time zones for only one port so 8 am ship time may actually be 7 am in Cozumel so you may even have more wiggle room. Congrats!

I feel like we need more info re:what you enjoy in a cruise(ports, ship features, food, etc). I would go based on ports in which case I'd pick the southern or the eastern. I know you said you haven't been to Costa Maya but its one of my least favorite ports. There's a touristy compund at the ports with the usual shops and bars and its unsafe to go out of the compound on your own.

Cruising out of Tampa is very easy and its nice to sail under the skyway bridge, but I probably wouldn't choose a cruise for that reason unless Tampa is more convenient for you than Port Canaveral.

Also although I haven't tried Carnival, you must be happy with them to be so loyal and I would factor that in since it makes sense to build up perks on one line rather than being low level on many lines.

They have sliders in the MDR for dinner on the always available menu, i've never tried them but I heard they're good. Doesn't help you when returning to ship though, although I do think the fries in the windjammer are quite good even though the burgers look gross

I would guess that you could book any of the restaurants and they would bring yu your kosher food. If your traveling with others that eat non-kosher you could eat where they want. If everyone in your party is kosher you could either book the same restaurant each night or go with whichever had the more convenient times available (or by dress code). I would verify this with an email to the special needs dept because its just my guess.

Oh I should have said that... the cruise is out of Galveston and we're flying out of Houston (IAH) so I don't think a taxi is the best there...? So do you think around 9:30 would work?

Yes, but I would let the transportation company know what ship you're on so they can check for delays the same way they do when picking up people from the airport. They may also want you to call once you're docked that morning to confirm the time

I don't think that's enough time. Sometimes they don't let people off the ship until 30 min or so after the docking time, Also if there are other ships in port then, there may be a long line for the ferry. I would definitely have a plan B in mind.

OP, I agree with you that if RCI messes things up they have to make it right, but if there is a problem they will have a lot more options to make it right now then they would if you show up at the ship and they don't have your reservation.

Yes, if you get his reservation number, RCI (or a. TA if you used one) can link the reservations so you can reserve for him along with you for meals and shows

I liked both Enchantment and Jewel (sister ship to Serenade, but hasn't been refurbed yet) but I think that Radiance class was a step up from Enchantment, so if you were happy on Enchantment I think you will be very happy on Serenade. It has some cool features like self-leveling pool tables and elevators with glass walls so you can see the ocean while riding.

Is any kind of service needed to just take photos with your phone?

No. Just put it on airplane mode. You won't be able to upload or email the pics, but you can take them and save them on your phone until you get somewhere with internet

I'm sorry for your experience and I hope your husband's company is reasonable and allows him to go. Thank you for posting this so in the future people in the same situation will know not to ask and just to pretend that they missed the sailing. Its surprising that everyone was worried about the PVSA but there turns out to be a customs issue and a case of RCI deciding to not allow one person to sail rather than inconvenience all the US passengers on the sailing

Since the airline canceled your flight, they are responsible for offering you a reasonable substitution. I would ask for something later in the day. Otherwise if you miss the 9am you may be hit with fees to go later