mac66

We just got off an 11 night cruise. There were a lot of people on scooters. These ships are so big now they should have trolleys to get from one end to another.😁

I've dived in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao a few times always off a cruise through a dive vendor/shop. The Bonaire and Curacao dives have always been shore dives. Just got back from a cruise to the ABCs but decided to spend time with the wife touring the islands instead of diving. On Bonaire we rented a golf cart and went all the way around the island stopping at beaches and snorkeling along the way. Every beach we stopped there were divers coming and going. Some were dive shops many were just people with dive gear going out. I stopped and talked to a couple at the Salt Pier who said they rent a place every year and just drive around diving off the beach. On Cuarcao, I dived at tug boat beach and off the shore about a quarter of a mile from the ship port. Too far to walk because its' not a straight down the beach route. They send you on circuitous route to get out of the port. Probably a mile or so. But you could rent a car or taxi. So the question is this, could you just bring your own gear, and/or rent a tank and gear and go diving on your own? You can download diving locations. I'm still a relatively new diver so I wouldn't go out by myself and my wife doesn't dive. But if you found a dive buddy could you just go out and dive?

Just be aware that Anthony's Key is what the cruise ships use in Roatan so they may may sell out.

On our last cruise in early Feb, my wife put $100 of non refundable OBC in the slots just to try it. Spun the wheels once and cashed out. The next time we tried it we were blocked. So I used my card and put the remaining balance of OBC in and immediately cashed out.

We've done the NCL Pride of America Hawaii cruise twice, ten years apart. Our thinking was if you are going to take the time to go to Hawaii, it's better to spend in on Hawaii and not on a ship getting to Hawaii. First trip we flew over, spent a week, then got the POA and then flew home. Second time we flew over with friends, spend a week, got on the POA then spent another 5 days before flying home. I would do it again in a heart beat. The POA was kind of run down the second time but we didn't spend much time aboard her.

We are diamond on RCL which makes us elite on X. We've done 7 X cruises and the points we have combined would make us D+ on RC, so another free drink..WOO HOO! Don't think we'll ever get to Pinnicle but combining points would be a good thing.

I am assuming you did your confined dives/classes at home and are looking to do your open water certification dives on your cruise either through the ship or privately? Since you mention Coco Cay I assume you are going through the ship for that one. Most if not all diving on Nassau is done through the ship's dive opp which is Stewart's Cove. SC is on the other side of the island. Timing and traffic makes it difficult to get there and back within the confines of ship time in port. Therefore you pretty much have to go through the ship to dive there. When I dived through the ship there they had to hold the ship for us. I've never heard of any diving on Labadee either through the ship or privately so unless you can arrange something through the ship at Nassau and Coco Cay you may be SOL.

I've had good luck with Dive In on Bonaire. They are part of the Dive Friends network. I was the only diver with the DM both times. Cost was about $140. Also had good luck with Scubcao on Curacao. Dived with them 3 times so far. 5 divers each time. Cost was $140-150 I don't remember exactly.We're Dived with Happy divers on Aruba the first time, but he was full the second time I was there. I ended up booking through the ship with Red Sail sports. It was a cattle boat but was pretty cheap, something like $115 for a 2 tank dive. Pretty much the same dive happy divers did for $50 more. They take you to the Perdanales wreck as does everyone else unless you ask for another location. If you do go with Happy divers, book far in advance. Thanks to Harris, they book up fast 😄

We got an I V for the price of an inside on our last cruise. First time on an an icon class ship. We appreciated the openness and airy feeling it provides. Beats an inside every time but I don't think I'd pay extra for it.

I would guess that the more people who complain about the music the more likely it will be changed. We get on the beyond next Monday. We'll keep our ears open 😀

Seriously?

Just an FYI, some travel agents, including the one we use, include gratuities and other perks as part of the price. On our next cruise we got the X "free" wi-fi, basic drink package and OBC. From our TA we got "free" gratuities and another 10% in refundable OBC at less cost than the regular cruise fare from X.

We were last on X in August of 2022. It was an 9 day cruise on the Summit. While we had a good time, the food and service were mediocre. Leaving on an 11 day Beyond in a couple weeks because A...we wanted to try and Edge class ship and B....we got a pretty good deal since we booked it early last year. I don't think we would go at current prices and C...it's an itinerary we've not done before. We'll try the Beyond and see what happens but we have no further cruise plans. When we decide to cruise again we will consider our other options. Frankly our 8 day cruise on RCL in early December the previous year was a better cruise in terms of both service and food.

I would start any child out on a lesser than Oasis class ship. Otherwise what do they have to look forward to? Our kids first sailed on the Explorer in 2001 then later the Freedom. We also did a few Carnival cruises back in the day. Always had a good time. It wasn't until they were grown up did they do an Oasis class. They still talk about the Explorer and Freedom.

I was under the impression that 2 bottles per cabin was allowed. I've heard that in order to get around that some people in the same cabin each bring 2 bottles and board in different lines or times. Probably just a rumor though.

Good looking crew. Makes me miss cruising when my kids were young. Great memories. They're all grown up now. Always had a great time.

Nevemind, I just looked at the date.

I'm kind of a new diver but I dived in both Aruba and Curacao 2 times. Curacao has the better diving IMO. Going back to the ABCs again next January and diving again in just Curacao with Scubacao. Although if you never done the Antllla (a WWII German freighter which was scuttled at the start of the war) is a good dive in Aruba and they usually include the site of the Perdinales another wreck as the second tank dive. Both are about a mile off shore so it is boat dive. I did it twice, once with Happy Divers and the other time (3 years later) through the ship (Red Sail Sports). I enjoyed it both times.

my first open water dive was at Tugboat. My family snorkeled there as well. It was great. Diving the pier was awesome. Not to mention there was a guy on the beach making the best chicken wings I ever had.

For what that would cost, book a 2 tank dive. Dive while he's doing his discovery stuff (it's pretty boring if you're already certified) and he doesn't need dad nearby watching. Then do your second dive with him.

The last time (last Dec) we were in Aruba I booked a dive, my wife booked a snorkle both to the Antilles wreck. My dive was pretty good though not as good as 3 years ago. My wife's snorkel wasn't very good. The boat was crowded, the people rude, one guy got sick on board. I dived in Curacao with my wife snorkeling last Feb. Both were off the shore. Definitely a better dive/snorkel than Aruba.

I did my discovery dive on Grand Cayman at Eden Rock. Easy, peasy shore dive and some coral to swim through. It was a lot of fun. I got hooked and later got certified. Later I took my adult kids on a cruise and they did a discovery dive on Curacao with Scubaco and on another cruise did one in Roatan with Sun Divers. Last Feb, my brother and their wives did a cruise with us and I talked my brothers into a discovery dive in Roatan. Went with West End Divers this time but only because Sun Divers were booked. In every case, they did the discovery dive while I dived and then we dived together on our second dive. All were good experiences.

The whole reef friendly sunscreen thing pretty much relies on the honor system. There are no sunscreen police going to check and see what you are wearing. We wear sun blocking clothing when out in the tropical sun, snorkeling etc. Don't use sunscreen at all except my wife uses some on her face. I wear a wide brim hat.

Been on Explorer 3 times. With the kids when it first came out bac in the day and then 2 8 night southern Caribbean cruises, most recently last December. One of our favorite ships.

I went to coz, Roatan, Costa Maya and Belize in February. Didn't dive in Coz or Belize. Dived in Roatan with West End Divers and Pepe Dive in Costa Maya. Pepe Dive is located at Jamie's Blue Reef Beach resort where my family was.