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We're in the same boat, literally. We were hoping they would do 2 or 3 stops at Castaway Cay instead but the snorkeling in Grand Cayman was fantastic the last time we were there. On to researching western port activities. Here's hoping for good weather for the rest of the season and a rapid recovering for the eastern Caribbean.

On one of our sailings we were at sea the day the latest Thor movie opened in theaters, they held a screening at 12:01 AM that Friday so we got to see it the same time the late night screenings started on land. We thought that was kid of cool. The other interesting experience we had was watching an action movie in 3D while at sea, it was a different experience having the sense of motion in 3D from the film combined with the slight movement we felt from the ship, not enough to create any motion sickness but it did feel "different"

I can only speak to Halloween on Disney Fantasy, sailed a couple of years ago, lots of decorations in common area, the core characters (Mickey, etc but not the princesses as I recall) have Halloween versions of their costumes. There was a big party that was Halloween themed in the main atrium one evening. Lots of kids and a fair number of adults did costumes. Trick or treating was kind of limited and my daughter (9 at the time) thought that part was a let down. Overall we thought it was fun but would not go out of our way to book the Halloween sailing just for the Halloween component.

Thank you for the advice, we will consider Brewers. Only additional question on Brewers is how to get transport back to the boat. I figure taxis at the port will be easy to find but if Brewers is remote I would guess that there are not taxis just waiting there.

How much for a taxi to Brewers each way for 4 and how long is the ride?

If we decide to skip the snorkeling then is Jost Van Dyke worth the travel expense vs Cane Garden? From what I have read I wonder if Brewer's might be a little too rustic/isolated for my wife's comfort.

Arriving in Tortola for the day in October on the DCL Fantasy. 2 adults and 2 kids (12 and 11), looking for a good beach day with some snorkeling. After reviewing the boards for a while it seems to me to be narrowed down to Cane Garden Bay, Jost Van Dyke or a snorkel sail with stop at Pirates Bight excursion. Kids are strong swimmers. Is JVD mainly a bar scene and kind of spring break-ish? Have watched the Soggy Dollar Web Cam and sometimes it looks like a family beach and other times a bit more of a party atmosphere. :confused:

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

I agree with the idea of increasing profit margin, I think that there is some level beyond which price increases do become gouging, not saying they don't have a right to do it but at some level I think it makes the customer feel unappreciated or abused by the business. Of course the customer can just choose to go elsewhere but I think that at some price point for every item or service you can exceed the point where a customer feels good about what they are getting and it diminishes the experience or purchase. Of course everyone has to decide for themselves when Royal (or any other business) has crossed that line for their patronage.

Maybe we should start a non-profit cruising co-op ;)

One way to look at it would depend on what Royal's operating margin is. No one can blame a business for trying to make a profit, the question is whether or not it seems like they are price gouging the customer. If they already have a healthy margin without this change then it seems like gouging and hopefully will cost them some business. If the margin is relatively small and this is one way to improve that without raising cruise fares as much then this makes more sense.

Seems the choices come down to the following

1) vote with your $ and take your business to another line

2) vote with your $ and skip the package and drink a little less on the cruise and go ala carte

3) decide that you would rather cruise less often with more drinks and use your cruise budget that way

4) decide that you want to increase your cruise budget and cruise with the same frequency but pay more for alcohol

5) I don't like the rules so I will find a way to go around them

In the end Royal will look at the percentage of individuals who make each of these choices and then decide how to proceed from there.

The one choice I wish people would not make is #5, it is that attitude that seems so pervasive nowadays that I think ends up making us a lot less civilized towards each other. Not saying I'm a saint :halo: but I try to avoid #5 as best I can and try to teach my kids the same.

Why do I suspect that having the moving walkway would end up something like this

http://ed.ted.com/on/roKd6xUC

:D

I'd go with the Disney Imagination and Disney Inspiration

Our last sailing with DCL our son was old enough to sign out on his own from the Oceaneer's Club/Lab but we were not comfortable with that. DCL gave us the option when we registered him as to whether he had that option or not. We told them that he was required to be signed in or out by us and they registered him that way and there were no issues (other than our son protesting our decision initially but that ended quickly when I advised him it was that way or no kids club at all, debate ended 0.004 seconds after that). I would check with the cruise line in advance and see if they give the parents the final say on this or is their rule a one size fits all based on age.

By the way, anyone know the rule on this for 11-12 yo on RCL, considering Oasis class in the near future.

You're welcome. Your kids will love it and this is a great age to take them, we took ours for the 1st time around that age and they were thrilled. I would just pack costumes, treat it like a bonus but not build up the Halloween part as the main part of the cruise.

Can't speak to the Wonder specifically but we have done Halloween on the High Seas on the Fantasy as well as a non-holiday cruise on the Fantasy and are overall big fans of the cruise line. There are a lot of nice decorations up (jack o' lantern paintings in some of he windows in common areas, etc and the Mickey and some of the other characters (not the princesses) have Halloween variants of their costumes that are fun. The trick or treating part that they do was not really all that impressive but there was more candy than my kids could reasonably eat. It was fun to be able to do costumes but make sure that you review prohibited item policies 1st, I believe that face masks are now banned and any toy weapons as well. Overall I would say it was ok, did not feel it added that much to the cruise and our daughter who is a real fan of Halloween thought that part of the cruise was so-so but loved he trip overall. We may be sailing again during a Halloween event this fall but are not doing it just because of the Halloween part, just happens to be when we can go. If there is a big upcharge for it compared with another sailing I would say that it would not be worth the difference and I would not go out of my way to pick it over any other itinerary. If it is about the same price then I would view it as a small bonus in terms of theming/decor.

Hope that helps:)