jnwrn11

Enjoying your review so far! We'll be on this same cruise in December, first time on a vista class ship, and we can't wait to see if we love her! 🙂 

28 minutes ago, Erik101 said:

My pleasure! 😊 

 

If I may ask, are there specific MDR menus you’re not wanting to miss?  That way, I can get a further understanding on your preferences and what to look out for. I completely understand what you’re trying to accomplish.  We’re booked for the steakhouse twice, a night at the Chef’s Table and a night at Teppanyaki.  👍

😊 My DH definitely wants to know if they have filet and/or lobster on one of the formal nights, and if so, which formal night. I believe from looking at some funtimes that I downloaded that the formal nights are Day 2 (Monday/First Sea Day) and Day 4 (Grand Cayman Day). We also like it when they do "international" night (which, tbh I am not sure they still do, it's been about 5 years since we sailed Carnival). I love trying foods that I wouldn't normally get to try at local restaurants, and international night used to be great for this 🙂 This ship has so many places to try that we haven't had before and I am a bit OCD with pre-planning! Thanks again!

Just now, Erik101 said:

I’ll be on the Horizon in 2 weeks.  I’ll send you some pics. 

Erik101, you ROCK! I just want to make sure I don't schedule a specialty restaurant on a night that the DH would like to eat in the MDR 😉 Trying to make sure we all get what we want! lol! Thanks so much!

4 minutes ago, Bases5 said:

I would love to say I just did it out of the goodness of my heart.  Fact's be known  We are sailing on the Horizon  6 day Sept 1st. 

We're sailing Dec 8th... maybe if you get a chance on your cruise you can send me some pics 😉 Have a great time!

2 minutes ago, Bases5 said:

Sorry I can't help you.  I have looked also.

But I did find that formal nights are Tues & Thursday nights.

Thanks for looking also Bases5!! I appreciate you! I can find a lot on the 8 day cruise but not much on the 6 day, it's frustrating! lol! Thanks again!!

Getting into planning our dinner reservations for our 6 day Western Horizon cruise!! Anyone have pics of the MDR menus for this itinerary? or links to threads that do? I have searched but just can't seem to find anything 😞 

Thanks in advance!!

39 minutes ago, sidari said:

Sylvie Goupil I upgraded from the drink on us to the all inclusive classic at the old price of 18$ per person,  $18 pp/day to Classic, $26 pp/day for Deluxe.  That was posted about 2 minutes ago on a facebook page.

Thank you SO much! With the changes they are making it is so hard to find accurate and up to date information! Appreciate you!

Does anyone know if you have to pay the full price to upgrade or is it discounted? I saw a previous thread from a few months ago that had conflicting answers. 

My DH and I were on the Epic last year, and I too was worried after reading negative review after negative review, but we had a GREAT time on the Epic... probably one of our favorite cruises ever! Don't let the naysayers drag you down.. this is your cruise and it's whatever you make of it. We found the service at the bars, especially the lobby bar, to be quite fast even during the busy times in the evenings. With a capacity as large as that of the Epic there are bound to be times you have to wait but we never waited 30 minutes for anything, at most I would say maybe 10 minutes at peak times. Have a fantastic time on your upcoming cruise! 

11 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

If heading to West Bay, there's Celeste's for baleadas, Honduran empandas. Up toward West End but still in West Bay, I hear Bite on the Beach has reopened. And in West End itself, try either Creole Rotisserie Chicken or Calelus.

 

 

 

Thank you so much!! I will put these on my list to research 🙂 The empanadas sound yummy!

11 hours ago, lifes-a-beach said:

Temporary Cal’s.  

 

https://calscantina.business.site/

 

 

Thanks! I looked the up on TA and wow does their food look amazing!!!

Husband and I will be in Roatan in December.... looking for a great place to have a reasonably priced meal. We love great food and trying new things... Would like to try some conch, wahoo, or lionfish. We're not locked into any specific location on the island. Any suggestions?? 

Did a search and came up with this thread from last year. Who knew? LOL https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2444245

 

Thanks jnwrn11! Enjoy yours in December!

:):):)

They had some clamshells you have to rent in advance, we didn't do that so I don't know how or where, but I thought it was through the excursions? They also have umbrellas. The beach and pool areas were both very crowded when we were there last week. There is no wi fi anywhere except in the $699 or I think the $349 cabanas which really stinks. There were zip lines but I didn't see anything else to do. Some shopping. I was not impressed with Harvest Caye. Many people including us just went for a short time. I think if you go right off the ship, you can get a good spot. We didn't go right away, then it was raining, so we didn't actually get there until 12:30 but by the time we got there, people had left so we were able to get a place on the beach with an umbrella but friends of us said they tried to get a place by the pool and it was very hard to find a place with umbrellas.

Thank you for your response! I have been wondering about the other things to do there... Maybe I need to consider an off island excursion. Thanks again!

From what I've seen I don't think they have clamshells? I'm sure someone can say for sure. They do have some umbrellas though. They have the pool cabanas and the beach villas to rent though. For our cruise in March the beach villas are $699 and the pool cabana is $349.

Thanks for your response! I recently saw a review that showed pictures and they do have clamshells also!:)

Assuming you do not want to do an AI, then I'd agree with C-Legs on Blue Kay. go outside the cruise port and take a taxi. There's a direct entrance. If you take the tram from inside the cruise port, get off at the first stop and walk along the beach toward the lighthouse (and toward the ships).

 

Alternatively, Tropicante has great service and good food and drink. However, being in the middle of the malecon, Tropicante will get vendors and could feel "crowded" as it's bordered by other beach clubs. But unfortunately all the beach clubs are dealing with the seagrass issue and it's all along the Mexican coast from what I hear. Once cleared from the beach they pile it up in empty lots and eventually some of it get carried away.

 

For an AI along the malecon that will be a bit more separated from other clubs and will not have vendors, Jaimes' Blue Reef would be a good choice.

Great info! We appreciate it! :)

Like you it had been a number of years since I was last in Costa Maya until this year when I was there January and February. In January there was no problem, three weeks later the problem was just beginning and has continued to get worse according to reports. Some days are worse than others. We went to Maya Chan in February and you could see on the road out there it was quite bad even then.

 

At Maya Chan they were continually raking up the seaweed but it is a never ending task. The owner is very up front and has been offering full refunds after emailing photos, on the day, if you decide to cAncel before going out there. They are still raking but apparently not all their neighbors are. It is a very sad situation for them and the economy of the area.

 

It did not spoil our day in February but 2011 (the year of the first big sargassum problem) we went to Rasta’s (one of our favorite beach bars in Cozumel) and were unable to stay long due to the smell. If it was that bad in Costa Maya i would be disappointed to have paid for AI.

 

As I said there is always seagrass growing from the sand in the sea there which some find annoying but you just have to deal with it. It doesn’t smell and spoil the beach like the decaying seaweed.

 

If you don’t pre-book and leave it until day of arrival you can tell sailing in if the situation is bad. The beach bars are all lined up one after another along the malecon. I would probably start at Blue Kay (first beach club and quieter with regards vendors. I have not read any reports about how they are dealing with the seaweed but there have been reports of annoying up front charge so do your homework and be prepared). Basically PAYG so no big deal if you have to get an early taxi back.

Thanks for the extra info! I think we are just going to play it by ear that day and see where it takes us! If I can trust the ports calendar then we should be the only ship in port that day so it shouldn't be too packed either way. :) Thanks again!!

They had some clamshells you have to rent in advance, we didn't do that so I don't know how or where, but I thought it was through the excursions? They also have umbrellas. The beach and pool areas were both very crowded when we were there last week. There is no wi fi anywhere except in the $699 or I think the $349 cabanas which really stinks. There were zip lines but I didn't see anything else to do. Some shopping. I was not impressed with Harvest Caye. Many people including us just went for a short time. I think if you go right off the ship, you can get a good spot. We didn't go right away, then it was raining, so we didn't actually get there until 12:30 but by the time we got there, people had left so we were able to get a place on the beach with an umbrella but friends of us said they tried to get a place by the pool and it was very hard to find a place with umbrellas.

This is great info! Thank you so much!!!

From what I've seen I don't think they have clamshells? I'm sure someone can say for sure. They do have some umbrellas though. They have the pool cabanas and the beach villas to rent though. For our cruise in March the beach villas are $699 and the pool cabana is $349.

Thank you so much for your response! Enjoy your March cruise!!

First of all you have to realize that seagrass is a regular occurrence in Costa Maya and the problem at the moment is an abnormal amount of seaWEED.

 

Most beaches along the malecon will have vendors to one degree or another. I am by no means an expert but both ends of the malecon are quieter in that regard and some owners in the middle mayhave better control than others.

 

For total lack of vendors you would need to go out of town to Maya Chan or Almaplena, but then you are looking at AI.

Thanks for your reply!

I was born and raised in Cocoa Beach FL, so I know all about seaWEED ;)... Although, never as much as I have seen in some of the pics of Costa Maya, which we have been to before btw (albeit 10 years ago), and they did not have such a problem then and most of the bars were just getting started. So I am wondering which bar "beach break" has the best ambiance (since there are so many since the last time we were there) AND which ones seem to be trying to keep the beach as clean as possible... since we all know that seaweed/seagrass can have a pretty foul odor :-)

Checking out the available beach breaks in Costa Maya and noticing in the pictures some seem to have A LOT of sea grass piled up on the beaches and some seem to have a lot of local vendors as well. Which beach breaks do the best at keeping the beaches clean, no vendors, and basically have the most relaxing ambiance? :confused:Appreciate any and all responses!

I can’t answer your question specific to clamshells, but I will say I noticed that many things you can rent in Harvest Caye go quick... and then they don’t appear as excursion opti9ns for your sailing on the website anymore. Tons of things we have seen in YouTube videos that aren’t available on the site.... I guess we booked our cruise too late and missed out on these things.... but we will still have a great time.

Thanks so much for your reply! Just trying to decide if we want to schedule another beach break at one of our other ports and the main deciding factor is if we will end up with a huge crowd, no shade, and nothing much to do if we choose to do our main beach day at Harvest Caye! I know no matter what we will have fun... because, afterall... its a cruise! ;p

Hello everyone!!

We will be headed out in December on the Getaway and one of our ports is Harvest Caye.. We're wondering about the availability of clam shell rentals... do they have them? Can you reserve them online at some point before the cruise? Previous cruises we've been on you could book the clam shells in the excursion section online, but that's not currently an option on our sailing. We are also concerned about how crowded it is and will it be difficult to get a good spot? Any tips, tricks, or suggestions welcome!! :D :D

Good for you!! We are hoping to get an upgrade to the Haven on the same cruise! We are currently in a spa balcony, which will be fine... but it is my 40th birthday and our anniversary so we would enjoy a little more pampering :-)

Thank you everyone! Looks like the top 2 are Cagney's and Le Bistro! We will definitely be trying these!