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Margaretaville Is next door to it, and their beach pass is also right at $100 and included slides and lazy river.  The Colonial looked open in April but didn't look busy.  We checked in December and the Colonial wasn't open then.

I saved a PDF of my log in to Royal showing Diamond status. Filled out the online form and uploaded the PDF, I got a response in an hour saying it was done. Logged into account and I'm Gold status on MSC.

I've done the ship's excursion Key Lime Bike Tour. The island is flat, and the whole tour is 3 or 4 miles, with a tour guide and stops along the way. If you've never been to Key West you might think about the tour.  End of the tour is a slice of Key Lime pie at a nearby shop. The shop that does the tour also rents bikes, with a basket, helmet, lock and a bottle of water. Can't help you with prices, but I'm sure a google search would pop up.

We're booked in February through the Canal.  Looking forward to it.  I went through in 94 on a Submarine, and yes we did grill burgers topside on the trip through.

1. Disney has 4 ships, they fill up, so there is no deep discounts. Sometimes the Tuesday emails will have a deal, but it's from a travel agent the week or two before a cruise..

4. Traditional early/late seating. The rotational is unique from other lines, your dining team goes with you between the three dining rooms, they remember what you like to drink, allergies etc. We've done cruises where we were matched with other couple with no kids and had a blast. Never had a bad dining mate on Disney.

5. I use the internet for work, and ship board is slow. I have AT&T and try to do most work import where I can use cell phone data to run my laptop. AT&T has an international package that is $10 per day and you use you home data/text/cell rates.

We've done 6 Disney cruises and love it!

If it was a food issue, it is usually over in 24 hours. Did you report that you were sick while you were on the ship? Thats usually the first step in identifying NORO. Hope you are a feeling better!

$299 for the small Cabanas, booked it about 3 weeks before sailing.

I've been there 5 times, and got a Cabana on Serenity Bay twice. They are snatched up, and Disney doesn't charge you until the cruise, so a lot of people will book one and cancel it. Watch your cruise daily, or twice a day, and they will pop up. We are Gold, and they were booked when I first tried, but I'm pretty confident one will pop up. The last time we were there Spring Break, only two of the Serenity Bay ones were booked, two were actually empty.

You might check in the Mexican port call area for more info. We did the Tulum excursion last year was pretty neat, going next week and have booked Chichen Itza this time.

From Cozumel it's a 45 minute ferry ride to the mainland, then a bus ride to the ruins and back. Last year the tour made it back from the buses on time, but the ferry from the mainland to Cozumel was late. We got off the ferry, walked through the security check point, and walked on board through the only gangplank, and the ship was underway within minutes. We booked these through RCCL for that reason, they waited for us.

The machine in the Promenade is next to the pizza place. There is a chip in the cup that tells the machine you are valid and will turn the machine on.

Your sail pass card will have a coca-cola label printed on it, you can show it to any bar or wait staff and they will bring you soda. The staff in the MDR will ask to see your card first night and then bring you soda at dinner each night if you wish.

The soda package is for fountain drinks only, not cans, and especially not from the mini bar. We were on a cruise with someone who drank everything in the mini bar because she had the soda package, was an ugly wake up for her.

The patches as Transcopamine (SP?) and have to get them from a Dr visit. We used them in the Navy in the North Atlantic in winter if we were shallow. The patches may give you dry mouth, and may cause some people to have a funny taste in their mouths.

Most cruise from Florida have a little motion on the way out the first night because you are cutting across the gulf stream at an angle, so there is a little motion usually around first dinner, last about two hours, then I almost never feel the ship move.

As someone above mentioned, the newer ships are HUGE compared to older ships, and have stabilizers to smooth out the ride.

Cruise more, worry less!

Off Enchantment last Friday, wait area was the theatre, they stated a 7:20 to 8:30 self depart window. We walked towards the theatre and saw a line going to brow with a crew member, asked him it was self-disembark, he looked at my set sail and said to join him. I don't know if they separated by class in the theatre or not. We were off the ship at 7:20 and in the car headed home at 7:45.

About the same on Enchantment and Liberty, always in the car by 8:00AM driving.

They sell cards on board in the store that sells logo stuff.

We have insulated glasses with lids and straws that we use around to pool to refill with ice and water from Park Cafe.

We've bought Christmas ornaments from several ships but typical don't use them, since we try to sail around Christmas each year.

I voted yes, I take a CubieTime alarm clock model BPECT. It is a hotel clock on the end of a heavy duty extension cord. Besides the night lite function and alarm clock, it has 2 US type electrical outlets and two 2.0 amp USB ports, so using one outlet you can charge 4 items at once.

I've been questioned about it, but never stopped. I carry it in my backpack on board.

AT&T gives you voice and texting free in Mexico, not sure about DATA , I added the Mexico package online. You can text onboard underway using wifi of messenger (FaceBook messenger). Standard international is $1 a minute if you go somewhere else.

I've never used the cruise line package because of cost, but when we went to Europe I did the 30 day international package for $30 that gives you texting and cheaper voice with a small data allowance.

We've done Disney and Liberty/Allure. The shows on Liberty+ are "Broadway" type, vs Disney cast shows. Food is about the same, Disney get the edge in customer service, we don't gamble so the casino is a waste. Don't drink, so free soda on Disney is a good deal for us. I cruise as a work trip so cost isn't a factor so it really boils down to dates and itinerary.

I'd pick Allure+, Dream/Fantasy, Liberty+, Wonder/Magic, the older RCCL ships.

We've recently done a few older RCCL ships and had a great time, only major complaint it the shower curtains.

Liberty and Allure had two ATM's FWD and AFT of the customer service areas. One gave dollars, one Euros. I didn't think it was a bad rate, better than the money changers at the airport. We used an ATM at a bank in Barcelona at the airport, but also used the ATM on the ship for Euros too. You can exchange money with customer service, it may not be a good rate. It's ALL a better rate than 24 months ago.

We did the Talum/beach break Christmas of 2014. The ferry ride is about 45 minutes, I didn't think it was rough, it depends on the weather.

Then there was almost an hour on the bus to Talum, with a stop at a souvenir shop for bathroom break. The guide at the ruins did a good job, very informative, and had 20 or so minutes after the tour to wander at will.

Next a bus ride to the beach break. Mexican food, a buffets decent, the upstairs was a bathroom changing room for the beach part. The beach was ok, there were plenty of loungers and shade, and we waded in the ocean a bit. About an hour of beach after the meal.

About 30 minute bus ride back to the ferry, where we waited another 30 minutes because one of the other tours wasn't back yet. They held the ferry for that tour to arrive, and then headed back. We arrived at the pier about 10 minutes before all hands on board time.

I thought the tour was pretty good, glad we did it, but not ready to do again.

Yeah, if you've never seen ruins, do it.

Disney still does the mailed documents, in a small spiral bound book. There are usually 4 bag tag stickers similar to airline tags, preprinted with name and cabin number.

We were on 6, aft STBD, about 6 rooms forward of the back of the ship. We liked 6 because it was just above dining and not far to shopping and the promenade. I don't remember the view fwd being blocked by the hump, or any sort of privacy issue.

We tend to use the stairs vice elevators and 6 is a good compromise.

Oasis will have a Broadway show and a few cast type shows plus a comedian. Disney has a three or so different shows, sometimes better sometimes not. Disney has current run movies in 3D if that is your thing, and of course Star Wars.

I've been on Allure and loved it, but Dream and Fantasy are great boats too.

Adult areas are better on the Disney boats, but the huge cantilever hot tubs on Oasis class are better than the two glass bottom ones on Disney.

I've started looking into long term cruising. Think eastern/western B2B2B2B then repositioning to Barcelona, then switch ships and reposition back to the US into a B2B2B2B gets you 90ish days on board. There are also global or around the world cruises.

I don't drink, and don't gamble so that cuts a lot of the cost out. I like to lay by the pool in the solarium and read books on my kindle, that I download free from the public library.

I talked to Super Mario on Liberty last year and it planted the idea. Booking in advance, and inside gets the cost down, the goal would be <3k per person per month. Mario said he had 200 to 300 cruise reserved, most of which he will move, just as a hold on several different sailings.

If you did it full time it's after the pets pass, and have the kids/grandkids join you onboard a few times a year, or just take a break for a few weeks then back on board.

We also discusses B2B2B2B from Tampa, then rent a car and drive to Port Can, couple nights in Hotel to stock up and do laundry, the B2B2B2B then rent car and drive to Ft Lauderdale etc etc etc.

It's after retirement and after the pets are gone. Being able to turn down your car insurance helps too.

Bottom line, it's 3k a month to live in an assisted living here, I'd rather be on a cruise ship.

I was eating dinner near the port, the night before a western caribbean cruise when I got an email from Disney that it was now an Eastern cruise due to tropical storms. All excursions were cancelled, and we had to book new things once on board.

Was still a great trip!

The cruise line has your safety in mind, and has a good idea if they will be able to tender or dock as needed. We were in Titusville the night before a Western Carib cruise when I got an email that our Western is now an Eastern because of weather.

We've also had the opposite, when a sea day disappeared and we had 2 trips to CC on one cruise where only one was scheduled.

They have contingent plans for an "extra" sea day and do a great job of coming up with shipboard activities to keep everyone happy.

You'll be on vacation, enjoy it!

On our five DCL cruises, four times our luggage was either there when we got to the room or prior to lifeboat drill, such that we unpacked and stowed things prior to the drill. One cruise on Dream it was there when we came back from the drill. Again, stowed and ready for first seating dinner.