mac66

Yeah, I was being facetious. We usually dont spend much time in our cabin so we mostly get insides. The IV was offered for less than an interior on our cruise (which may say something about their popularity) so we decided to chance it 🤪 (being factitious again). On our last two cruises (both on Royal) we got oceanview cabins at the same price or cheaper than interior cabins. They were okay but I wouldn't spend more for one just to let light in.

Just off the Serenade last Saturday. Seemed to be in pretty good shape IMO. Beautiful ship and the food was pretty good.

Thanks for the review. We booked an IV on Beyond for next January. We usually just get an inside but the IV was heavily discounted so we thought we'd try it out. For people who like/book balconies its apparently not so good. For us insiders it'll probably be okay.

Amen...I didn't have one but the guide did. If I'd been separated I'd been screwed. Though we were only about 1/2 mile off shore at that point. Ordered one as soon as I got home. I did have pretty bright flashlight with a strobe function. It never occurred to me to try and flash it at the boat when I was on top of the waves and the guide was in the trough.

On the 3 X cruises we took in 2022 we bought booze during our port stops and openly walked aboard with it without being confiscated. In one case we bought booze on board the second or third day of a 12 night cruise and were allowed to take it back to our cabin. We asked one of the staff about it and they just shrugged and said "I really can't say" which tells me that while the policy hasn't changed the application of the policy has. In other words "don't ask, don't tell".

One thing we learned is that the earlier you show up the longer the wait. We usually request the latest boarding times and never fail to walk on with no wait.

FWIW...I was just in Mahahaul last week/Feb 8 and dived. As stated the taxi was $4/person. I would guess the ships dock is 2 or 3 miles from the beach/street where all the resorts and dive shops are. It looks closer than it is. However, i think it would be difficult to walk there from the port and the area in between doesn't seem very safe. And BTW, there are about a dozen dive shops along the beach/street where the resorts are. I would think that if you checked with them you could find a spot on a dive boat as a walk on if you didn't have a reservation.

I was on 3 X cruises last year where they allowed booze from shore excursions to be brought on board without confiscation. We had drink packages on 2. We openly carried it on board on all 3. Just saying.

I'm back from my western Caribbean cruise. Dived in Roatan and Mahahual/Costa maya. Cozumel dive was canceled because the ship was late getting into port. In Roatan I went with West End Divers because they did a discovery dive with my brothers and snorkel with my wife and SILs during my first dive. then took my brothers out with me for a second dive while the girls snorkeled off the same boat. My wife said it was the best snorkeling she's ever done. Dive sites were "Mandy's eel garden " and "Overheats ". Both good dives and it was a lot of fun diving with my brothers on their first dive. While there were a bunch of divers and snorkelers on the boat they split us up and it wasn't crowded. I dived with 2 others and a DM on my first dive and then just with my brothers and the DM on the second. In Mahahual I dived with Pepe's dive which is right at Jamie's Blue reef resort where the family was spending the day. The waves were so high and rough that no one was going out diving. There are at least a dozen dive shops along street next to the beach. I walked down the street and talked to a bunch of them and no one was going out. Finally the girl from Pepe's came and got me and said they would take me out. I was apprehensive but decided to chance it. I was the only diver and being a small shop they apparently didn't want to lose the business. So we braved the waves. As far as I could tell we were the only ones out there. I must say the boat crew did a great job handling the boat . The girl at the desk turned out to be the dive master and she also did a good job. We kind of drift dived and were picked down current. Though we treaded water for 15 minutes on the second dive excursion before the boat found us in the high seas. We got caught in a squall just as we got back to the dock. High winds and horizontal heavy rain. Otherwise it was a couple of good dives. But it blew by quickly. They charged $75 w/equipment for a two tank dive.

Just got back from our cruise today. We dived in Roatan on Tuesday with West End Divers. Very good experience. They will pick you up and drop you off at your ship. We used Sun Divers the last time we were in Roatan, they were okay but West End was better.

I personally think that smoking should be banned completely on board ships and that vaping should be encouraged/sold/promoted as a safer and much less offensive/obtrusive/obnoxious alternative to smoking cigarettes. I don't and never have smoked or vaped but I'm pretty sure (having looked into the science) vaping isn't nearly as dangerous as smoking. But then again, my opinion (like everyone else's) is worth exactly what you paid for it.😉

Actually no, they would simply hold it for you until the end of the cruise. However that was my attempt at humor, I wasn't being serious.

Very strict....more than two they make you drink the rest while standing in line. Drink it down and pass it 'round, make new friends.

Interesting...we just booked an 11 day cruise for next January '24 and the virtual balcony cabin with all included was $100 cheaper than an inside with nothing included when you deduct all the OBC we get (X sale & OBC and TA OBC). Some refundable, some Non but it is all refundable if you know how. Plus we got a cabin category upgrade for being Elite.

If i want fresh goat's milk can I bring my goat as a service animal? Asking for a friend.

Best wings we ever had were at the Tugboat beach. A local guy with a grill and some picnic tables. Pretty good diving and snorkeling as well. We booked our dive through Scubacao.

We did 3 X cruises last year and were disappointed with the food and service on all three. We did one RCI cruise in early Dec and were very happy with the food and service. I get that people need to complain about the food and/or service on a cruise ship but ultimately you have a choice whether to cruise with X or not. Vote with your feet.

In that case I would take on in my carry on and just walk it through. Not much different than a steel thermos bottle or a steel insulated mug.

That's interesting. I like the idea of a tank. We got a sodastream for Christmas as my wife drinks La Croix by the case. La Croix is not sweetened. I don't drink it and never understood what the big deal with sparkling water was but I'm starting to like the plain sparkling water. She doesn't use the syrups but does add a couple drops of non sweetened lemon juice just to add some flavor.

Since the OP is sailing this month, we would be interested in knowing what happened. FYI-the xrays of checked luggage are looking primarily for weapons and banned electrical appliances not small gas cylinders so I would guess they wouldn't even get noticed.

Like gemerick I was an experienced snorkeler and liked to free dive but could only spend a few minutes under water. I had seen divers while snorkeling and started looking into getting down there. On a cruise to Grand Cayman I walked down to Eden Rock, a short walk from the pier, and did a discovery dive. First time down I thought to myself..."what have you been waiting for?". I was 65 at the time. Went home and did the pool portion of the training in late 2018 and then on another cruise did the open water part in early 2019. Did a couple more cruises that year and dived 5 more times, the last one in December '19. Was scheduled to cruise/dive in 2020 but then Covid hit. Ended up not diving again until a cruise in Dec 2021. Started cruising again in 2022. I now have just over 20 dives in and while I really like it, it has not become a lifestyle for me. I have no desire to buy all the equipment (I did buy a full length wet suit because I tend to get cold) and dive on my own or go beyond OW certification. I'm strictly a warm water cruise diver. Did an 8 night ABC cruise in Dec and dived on Aruba, Bonaire and Curcao. Going on a 7 night western Caribbean cruise in early Feb and diving in Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan. BTW, I took my 30 something year old kids on a discovery dive in Roatan when we were there in Dec 2021 and I talked my 2 60 something y/o younger brothers to do a discovery dive in Roatan in Feb. I doubt any of them will take up diving but it's an experience they will always remember.

The CO2 build up in a full face mask is largely a myth but I no longer argue the point. The Tribord Easy Breath is the best full face mask from a leak, fit standpoint.

We did three make up/carryover cruises from the covid years on Celebrity last year. A 7 nighter and two 12 nighters. Frankly, the food and service wasn't very good on any of them. To be fair however, a couple of those cruises were affected by outbreaks of covid (not us). I think supply issues, personnel issues, inflation all affect the outcome. Each ship, time of year, departure point, crew is different. We then booked a cheap late Nov/early Dec 7 night cruise on RCI Explorer. The food and service were very good. No issues... Had a great time. Based on that we booked another RCI 7 night cruise in early Feb. If the food/service are good on that one we are back to RCI for the foreseeable future. At some point however increased costs and lower service/food quality will have to be taken into consideration to determine if we will continue to cruise.

Or you can bring your own bottled water as well. We usually take a water bottle and fill as needed as the on board water is pretty good. We also take an insulated mug for use to carry around coffee/tea or cold drinks i.e iced tea, lemonade, juice etc.

I was on the Summit two times last year, a 7 night charter cruise in Feb and a 12 night transatlantic in August. Frankly the food and service were bad on both cruises. If they hadn't been carryovers /re booked from the 2020 & 2021 I wouldn't have chosen the Summit the second time. We also did a rebooked cruise on the Equinox last year as well, food and service were bad as well. Three strikes and you're out. We are done with X for the foreseeable future. Having said that all cruises are different based on the ship, time of year, itinerary, departure point, crew, etc, etc. so YMMV.