OCSC Mike

This and the amount of coffee I drink each morning is why a voucher isn't nearly as appealing to me as the machine.

That's exactly how we felt after seeing them last week.

Sure.

Agreed and since I have to go to a restaurant once onboard either way, I may try booking dinner for one pre-cruise since it won't cause much extra hassle. I just really don't like dealing with issues when I board... I want to jump right into cruise mode, grab a drink, and go to lunch.

That would be the best... but since that's a C&A perk meant to be used onboard like your vouchers, free laundry, free days of internet, etc., I doubt we'll see it.

Sadly this applies to many things. I will be D+ after my next cruise and I have been looking forward to my BOGO's but figuring out how to game the system is kind of giving me a headache. I know it would upset many who have had success booking pre-cruise or using them for lunch or for a night other than 1 or 2, but if RC chose to enforce the rules as written, no one would be allowed to book anything but dinner night 1 or 2 after boarding the ship.

The sign?

This poster recently mentioned in another thread they are on a one-off 7-nigher for NYE so who knows what that cruise will have? Otherwise, yes, I'd trust me. 😁

You're on a one-off 7-nighter for NYE then. Allure is doing short cruises besides yours (and any other unique holiday cruises) so it will be hard for anyone to help more than they have already.

I'm actually considering trying Paradise for this summer with the addition of a day bed. I'm normally frugal and don't buy extras (we spend nothing on CocoCay but drink tips for example) but the day bed seemed like it would serve multiple purposes, besides comfort. It looked like it would mitigate the crowds a bit, guarantee shade (the sun hates me), and put us in a good location very close to the food and drink (I enjoy eating quite a bit while cruising). We enjoyed the quietness of Nochi and a smaller beach club in Costa Maya before, but we also have no problem sitting by other people around the Oasis pool on CocoCay in ear shot of the DJ. We're also plenty used to sailing with tons of kids as my wife is a teacher so that's not a big deal. @c-leg5 Any thoughts on Paradise? Are there any less crowded places you can recommend?

Went to Nachi for the first time last week when we had a last minute itinerary change due to weather and had a fine time but was underwhelmed. I had read about how great it was for many years and it just didn't live up to the reviews. It was definitely nice looking, quiet, and had no complaints about out palapa closest to the ocean as requested. The service, however, was a bit lacking. We expected to have one attendant all day but we had 2 randomly stopping by for drink orders and occasionally a 3rd. Frozen drinks were very icy/watery so I quickly switched to margaritas. They were weak but tasted fine so I drank a few more than I normally would. Food was fine but not great. When we were ready to leave the server was saw most often promptly had a taxi for us within minutes. We didn't have a bad time but likely won't be going back. We're not partiers, which is why we chose Nachi (in addition to the reviews). Just did some research on Paradise Beach including watching some videos. I'm normally frugal and would not usually spend extra for a beach bed or cabana but the sun hates me and it looked like getting a day bed there would both make it feel less crowded (we'll be there in June and July so I assume there will be lots of families) as well as provide the desired shade. I also love to eat on vacation so being close to the food (and bar) also seems like a bit of a plus. Strongly considering trying Paradise this summer.

Went to Nachi for the first time last week when we had a last minute itinerary change due to weather and had a fine time but was underwhelmed. I had read about how great it was for many years and it just didn't live up to the reviews. It was definitely nice looking, quiet, and had no complaints about out palapa closest to the ocean as requested. The service, however, was a bit lacking. We expected to have one attendant all day but we had 2 randomly stopping by for drink orders and occasionally a 3rd. Frozen drinks were very icy/watery so I quickly switched to margaritas. They were weak but tasted fine so I drank a few more than I normally would. Food was fine but not great. When we were ready to leave the server was saw most often promptly had a taxi for us within minutes. We didn't have a bad time but likely won't be going back. We're not partiers, which is why we chose Nachi (in addition to the reviews), so I'm off to find somewhere else that's not crazy crowded like Mr. Sanchos for our next 2 trips to Cozumel this summer.

Went to Nachi for the first time last week when we had a last minute itinerary change due to weather and had a fine time but was underwhelmed. I had read about how great it was for many years and it just didn't live up to the reviews. It was definitely nice looking, quiet, and had no complaints about out palapa closest to the ocean as requested. The service, however, was a bit lacking. We expected to have one attendant all day but we had 2 randomly stopping by for drink orders and occasionally a 3rd. Frozen drinks were very icy/watery so I quickly switched to margaritas. They were weak but tasted fine so I drank a few more than I normally would. Food was fine but not great. When we were ready to leave the server was saw most often promptly had a taxi for us within minutes. We didn't have a bad time but likely won't be going back. We're not partiers, which is why we chose Nachi (in addition to the reviews), so I'm off to find somewhere else that's not crazy crowded like Mr. Sanchos for our next 2 trips to Cozumel this summer.

That's my go to... my wife lives on the strawberry kiwi (which I also like).

The coffee voucher is nice and all, but aside from it being more convenient for me (maybe not others) to use the CL machine, I know I'm not the only one who drinks significantly more than one specialty coffee per day so that's not really an equivalent replacement for access to the machine. #teammachine

Naturally! Because this will undoubtedly be in effect on Wonder by June when I'll take my first D+ cruise. Kinda like how the Crown Lounge thing started just in time for my last 2 cruises as Diamond, lol. At least I had access last week. Somehow I'll survive...

Seconded. We did 10 days on land before Radiance southbound in 2018 and did the Kenai Fjords Tour during our 1 of our last 2 days on land in Seward.

Off-topic... I saw that in your signature and originally thought it was for fans of the band, "Journey", lol. The 2 week part made me think that was probably wrong.

Definitely. We have sailed to the Bahamas and welcomed that it was slightly cooler there than at home. 😁

If you purchase ahead of time for the whole cruise, something like $20-21/day is a good ballpark number (it varies by ship, sailing, and if you book during a sale).

It definitely sounds that way from reading the last several posts. You guys are calling 7N "short" while 7N is what I consider standard. 3/4 is short (and yes, very popular here, though too short for me). We did do a 4N last October and just got off a 5N but both were because of good deals and being able to squeeze an extra short cruise into our schedule (we normally can only sail when school is out as my wife is a teacher, and those are always 7N). We consider those short ones bonus cruises, not expected holidays. Everyone has different schedules, budgets, preferences, etc. though. Lots of locals here in FL like going on lots of 3 or 4 nighters year round if it fits their situation (flexible work, retired, whatever).

Of course, maybe I delved too far into semantics. If so, my apologies. Saying "I don't get the appeal" isn't the same thing as saying "I personally don't care for it" to me but it seems that's all you meant, which is of course 100% OK as I'm the world's biggest proponent for people liking different things on cruises. That's why I gave the example of understanding the appeal of Broadway but not personally liking it. Let's chalk it up to semantics and move on.

No problem. It actually used to be easier. The last app update kind of buried the feature by making you click on “let’s add it now” since you’re not actually adding a booked cruise but that’s Royal IT for ya.

Repeatedly telling us how Princess works won’t help you learn how Royal works. Good info above.