Mum2Mercury

Do consider that if you're out snorkeling, the lifeguards will be some distance away from you. With a life jacket, you should be fine. But, yes, we've seen lifeguards on shore at Coco Cay -- and also lifeguards circling the island on jet skis.

Several thoughts: 1. I don't think $250 is reasonable. Not for a couple hours of shade. $399 isn't a great price -- I wonder if that's "decoy pricing"; that is, the cabanas in the thousands make the $399 look like a bargain. 2. I don't think it's supply and demand. In my limited experience, most of the cabanas are sitting empty -- admittedly, we only sail in the fall, which is low season. I don't get why they're building more when people aren't buying the ones that exist.

Thanks for the heads-up. I've been thinking about ordering one of their skirts -- they look great. I was just thinking, That oversized thing looks cute on the model, but on me it'd look like my Mamaw's old house dress from 1950.

I don't do Facebook, but this has scam written all over it. People are willing to write reviews for free, so who's benefiting here? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. If you're tempted to send in your $1, I suggest you get a $5 VISA gift card and pay with that. Don't use your real credit card.

I'm an introvert, though not an extreme introvert; and I love cruising! You won't find me in the center of things in a bar every evening, but I find plenty to enjoy. I'm comfortable going to the shows, the buffet, and more.

We're just off Grandeur and had particularly good salads: - The ingredients were nice and fresh -- good selection of ingredients too. - Saw small pre-made salads with goat cheese one day, chicken salad another day, Waldorf salad another day. - No, I didn't see shrimp or chicken to add to salads, but we particularly enjoyed the grilled chicken thighs (which they made differently every lunch). Probably varies by ship /by chef.

I don't know how to judge whether Indian food is healthy or not. It contains so many ingredients that aren't obvious to the eye. My buffet trick is to use a larger plate and fill it 50% with a really good salad. Then I add a piece of chicken or fish. No potatoes, fries, rice or other starches. That's what I have for lunch on a ship pretty much every day -- perfect for those of us who eat low-carb.

"Eating healthy" can mean different things. Do you mean lots of veg? Or low carb? Or low calorie? Defining your goals will help you meet them. Onboard you can eat as healthy -- or as unhealthy -- as you please. Plenty of vegetables and healthy foods are sitting right next to the doughnuts and cakes.

I don't know. This seems to be a place for younger people who want a loud party atmosphere. When I was the age to enjoy this, the price tag would've kept me away. Now that I can easily afford it, it doesn't appeal to me. However, with the popularity of Coco Cay, I welcome more beaches, more loungers and more space. I just looked up its location. It's bigger than I thought it would be! Hideaway's a synonym for "out of the way". These first two are positives, and I don't think the music will carry over to the quieter beaches.

As a Southerner, I don't live in a hotbed of Judaism, so I ask this without any prejudice or meanness -- just looking for information: What percentage of the Jewish community is that observant? I mean, observant enough literally to leave the lights on? No. I learned this when I sailed a holiday ONCE (as I said before, NEVER AGAIN). I learned this when I went into the MDR to search out our table on Day 1 and found we'd been assigned to a little side room ... kinda like being at the kids' table at Thanksgiving. I asked to be moved to "a real table", and I was told that couldn't happen because the ship was "over capacity". That sounded dangerous to me, so I asked for a clarification. Agree. All restaurants -- including Solarium Bistro -- are presented to passengers as a part of the cruise. It's dishonest to wait until you're onboard and take away that venue.

Like the Park Cafe just off the Solarium on Grandeur. That was really a highlight.

Yes, the food is Kosher. I was not being literal, and it was a poor word choice. I mean it's not "right" to take away an entire restaurant venue from the majority of the cruisers.

Certainly kids behave differently and a few bad apples can ruin the barrel, but I've never personally seen most of the behaviors people attribute to "large numbers" of kids on ships.

Doesn't say he's on the ship -- just that he's supervising the food /making sure it's Kosher. He's probably doing his part before the foods are loaded onboard. I read last year that this Kosher Fresh program (which costs so much!) is all sealed and pre-prepared meals; one rabbi could easily do the same thing for two ships. I have to think people in this specialty group are disappointed to board, having paid extra for their food, only to open up celophane packages at every meal. We sailed ONCE on a holiday. ONCE and never again. No, the problem wasn't children; that is, the problem wasn't that we had young people. No, the problem was an excessive number of people. The children caused the ship to sail over capacity; if the ship sails with two people in every room, it's "full", whereas if children join their parents in a cabin, they can put the ship at "over capacity". That meant more people in the hallways, in the pools, in the theaters, in the restaurants. The worst thing was that we didn't even get a seat in the Main Dining Room; rather, we were assigned to a little side room -- and we reserved that cruise more than a year in advance. Sheer numbers made the experience "lesser" -- and, to add insult to injury, it was one of the most expensive cruises we every took! No, you won't find my family on a holiday cruise again. We do like the first week of December, when the ship is decorated for Christmas -- but the prices tend to be low and the ship is under-capacity -- but that's kinda a week tucked in between holidays. Back to the main point: That's the same thing we've read about these Yeshiva Week cruises. They sail over-capacity, which affects space and service, and -- to make matters worse -- since this group is so large, they actually close down the Solarium Bistro. Taking away an entire venue from all the other cruisers (while allowing the specialty group to use all the restaurants) just isn't ... well, Kosher.

My husband is also an early riser. He gets up early and goes to Cafe Promenade for his coffee, then takes a walk around the empty ship. I believe Cafe Promenade's open 24 hours a day? Another option is to have room service deliver a pot to your room, though -- if you have family who doesn't like to get up early-- they might not thank you for the early wake-up.

Cruise ships do not excel at shore excursions. Remember you have the option to go with private tours. Totally agree. I have no interest in "city tours" or driving past interesting things. On our first cruise we didn't think about the distance between the pier and our excursion site, so we were surprised by a 45 minute ride. We didn't know what we didn't know. Yes, now I always use Google to check how far the drive is ... it's part of my "Is this worthwhile?" thought process. This isn't my idea of fun at all ... but that's why it's essential to know what's going to happen on your excursion! Check out your potential excursions on this board or other online websites.

Chips have gone up in price lately -- well, all food prices in the USA have skyrocketed in price since the pandemic. I really feel for those who were already "living on the edge". I buy chips at Aldi's, where a medium-sized bag is just under $2, but name brand at the regular grocery stores are $4-5. Yikes, I wouldn't pay that much. Yeah, I think normal price here is about $1.99, so we're in the same ballpark. Even though my husband loves them, I usually buy them only for vacations (those cans travel well), so I"m not 100% sure.

I strongly suspect ShipGeeks is right. And small bags of chips are a poor value -- more bag than chips. I'm surprised they don't buy the big boxes and serve them a handful at a time. Chips are also space-hogs, which isn't particularly welcome on a ship. Sometimes we bring a can of Pringles for the car, and half of that ends up left over for the ship.

For the immediate future. The most concerning thing I heard was that the ferry staff didn't provide any leadership /instruction about what to do. Regardless, consider how many of these ferries run every day and how few accidents have occurred. This one was terrible, of course, especially for the woman who died; but -- overall -- these things make a lot of safe runs.

I've never sailed out of Fort Lauderdale. We've several times stayed in a Fort Lauderdale hotel, then driven on to Miami for boarding; this is less expensive, and the drive is only about 30 minutes. We sailed out of Tampa very recently. Notes: - Note that only smaller ships can sail out of Tampa -- we were on Grandeur. It's because you must pass under a bridge to exit the bay. The bridge is about two hours out of port, and it's worthwhile to be out on deck when you go under; it's even cooler to be out on deck when you return, as the bridge is lit up during the night. - Getting in the night before, Tampa traffic was awful -- so crowded! Admittedly, we arrived during evening rush hour on a Friday. But going into the port (fairly early in the morning) was easy. - Tampa's port parking website is excellent /graphics show exactly how you're going to drive in and enter the parking deck. - Parking was easy and a little less expensive than Port Canaveral -- no winner between the two in terms of parking. Parking is very close to the port, but you must pass over a set of trolley rails in the street, and you need to be careful of your wheeled suitcases. - Port staff was very friendly and accommodating. We arrive too early (always do -- just excited), and they directed us to a small park area (next to the Aquarium) to wait. When it was time for us to enter, the lady who'd directed us to the park walked over and invited us to enter the terminal. - Getting through security was easy and fast. No lines. - The lady who "dismissed us" from the terminal to the ship was very organized -- pretty sure she was a high school teacher in a past life. Instead of allowing a free-for-all, she dismissed the first 5-6 rows, then the next 5-6 rows. Made for a much calmer, more civilized entrance to the ship. - Returning was very easy. We used self-disembarkation and walked off about 7:00. We literally never stopped walking -- it was that un-crowded. Tampa does not have facial recognition software, so a real human looked at our passports, but we experienced literally no line. Maybe because we were among the first to disembark? - A negative: Hotel rooms near the port in Tampa are expensive. We stayed in Ybor City (only a 15 minute drive from the port), and we won't do it again -- ratty area of town, worried a little about leaving our car in the parking lot. I think we'd stay a little further out next time.

No. The cabin stewards are hard at work "turning the cabins over". Stay out of their work area.

I suspect taking the walk every day is why she's able to take the walk every day. That was oddly worded, but you know where I'm saying.

I'll take the other side of that coin. On a typical day at home I have 2 slices of bacon + 1 egg ... or a 1-egg omelet ... some days just yogurt for breakfast; whereas, on the ship I have that + grits or potatoes + a doughnut. Shamefully, sometimes two ... or a yogurt parfait. Said differently, my meals are larger. And I definitely find the snacks ... as I'm "out and about", they're easily available. My own rules: I'm allowed to eat whatever I want on the ship ... as long as I do two miles each day (in addition to whatever walking I do just to get here and there) ... AND I take the stairs as often as possible ... AND I drink mostly water. I don't gain onboard, and I'm happy enough with that. Oh, yes. I remember when my children were small they'd ignore whole fruit ... but if I cut it up and put it on the table for dinner, a large bowl'd be gone in three days. Common sense. Depends upon the individual. My mother is 80, and she's in fantastic shape. She can still hike half a day, works in her large garden, needs zero help in her home ... she just needs a few more sit-downs than she did when she was younger. Her mother was the same: She was in great shape until she had a stroke at 94 ... and she died at 99 and 7 months. So much of it has to do with excercise every single day. In contrast, my stepfather (same age) is out of breath after walking to the bathroom.

What I see here doesn't line up with what I see offered for my upcoming cruises; thus, I'm forced to believe they're not offering the same deals for every sailing. This would make sense, given that they charge different prices for, say, the drink package -- newer, larger ships tend to cost more. My family and I found several things we wanted to purchase during the Black Friday sales. This hasn't been true for the past few years, so I was pleasantly surprised. Oh, and one of the items I purchased INCREASED IN PRICE, so if you see something you want, buy it now! You can always cancel and/or rebook.

Never occurred to me.