mac66

It's for the hors d'oeuvres, you still have to use your vouchers. We eat late, will sometimes go to the DL for a snack and a drink, and to talk/meet with others around 5 pm.

I was aware of that it is offered in legs. Still...62 or even 20 days is a long time to be on board a ship. The longest we've gone is 12 days and we were tired of the food and drink after 9 or 10 days. But...I could suffer through (being factitious) a much longer cruise if I had too.😁 Sounds like a once in a lifetime trip. Enjoy!

Yeah. We kind of liked the ambiance on the Serenade. Lots of wood throughout. Not much variety in the windjammer but the food was decent. Didn't have to wait in line or search for a table like on the bigger ships. Didn't like having to walk through the very smokey casino to get to the pub and theater We were on the explorer in early December when they still had a full menu in the MDR and as many lodsters as you wanted. The Serenade had the new limited MDR menu. The limited menu wasn't an issue with us. The food was good but would get old on a longer cruise. Can't imagine spending months or even more than a couple weeks on a cruise ship.

Yeah, go figure....The serenade is being used for the world cruise later in the year. Will be refurbished sometime before leaving. Talked to some world cruisers who were on board when we were on her and they seemed to like her and were looking forward to their trip.

I bought Carnival @ 7.33 last summer which I dont sail on but I've been on one Princess cruise and may try them again. My parents were loyal HAL cruisers and I may try them at some point when I get old(er).

I take cheap EMT shears with me as well. Buy 'em cheap by the pack on Amazon. Use them for every thing including diving. Dived on a cruise in Curacao, bonaire and Aruba in December and just got back from a cruise diving in Roatan and Mexico . We did run across a tangle of fishing line strung across a reef in Bonaire but the guide just pulled it loose and wrapped it up.

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.