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5 hours ago, jean87510 said:

if native choice in costa maya, they are excellent in return of deposit.  Have had 2 reimbursed without difficulty.  Cozumel there is no reason to pay up front.  You can reserve snorkeling tours on viator.com or TripAdvisor which can reserve the spots for you and give you up to 48 hrs beforehand to cancel.  Not all tours offer this but there are those who do.  After the pandemic, Im not in the habit of making donations to international businesses.  Deposit is one thing.  Full fare not reimbursed is stealing and dishonest.  If you need a good small snorkeling tour in Cozumel, I have a few names.  Some take cash on arrival.

Yes, I would love your snorkel tour recommendation for Cozumel. I think I have contacted four places so far. Two never replied, one replied "yes" and nothing more. The only one that has been communicating with me  wants full payment now. 

We'll be on Cozumel starting at 7am, but our tour doesn't start until 10:30.  

Of course we could sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast but I kind of want to start our day off early. 

What could we do before meeting our snorkel tour at 10:30? 

6 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

one thing ive learned is you need a good cancel policy with any tour. last year i missed 2 days in bermuda because of winds. the cruise line tours of course give your money back but i wonder about people who booked private tours?   regardless of tour, id really make sure the cancel policy is a good one and if you dont dock that you get money back.  

4 minutes ago, Coralc said:

Wait until things settle down. Don't pay in full up front for anything that you that you don't have to. Refunds are not always to obtain if things 

I definitely agree. It was unusual in the past for tour operators to ask for full payment in advance,  it seems even more iffy now. 

9 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

There's been no trouble with Mexican ports recently. 

 

I'd be very wary about paying a tour in full this early. I'd just as soon buy it through the ship. 

 

You didn't mention if your kids are vaccinated for covid. If not, you may have to do a tour through the ship, anyhow. 

Thank you for your thoughts and the information.  I say kids as I still see my niece and nephew as little ones, but both are 16. Almost all grown up and both of them are fully vaccinated.  

My family (me, husband,  mom, dad, sister, BIL, niece and nephew) is hopefully boarding the Oasis this spring. 

In Roatan,  we're all going on a private tour together.  The tour operator only asked for our booking information and nothing more.

In Costa Maya, my husband and I are taking the kids on a ruins/lagoon tour. They asked for a small down payment. 

In Cozumel, my husband and I want to go snorkeling and it sounds like the tour operator wants full payment now. 

Two questions:

Have cruises been successfully stopping at Mexican ports so far?

What are your thoughts about paying for a tour in full? I'm skeptical.  

Thanks for the advice! We're actually flying in on a Wednesday for a Saturday cruise. We're thinking about moving to Florida and are going to spend a few days checking out the area we are interested in. I'm still keeping an eye on prices but thanks again for the thoughts and information.  

I have two options for flights in April:

-Spirit big front seats with baggage included

-Delta comfort plus, bags added 

Both are pretty much the same price. I'd normally pick Delta, but my old lady hips (at age 35) are really begging for the big front seats on Spirit. First class on Delta really isn't an option financially. 

Any thoughts? 

My dream excursion in Cozumel is to go snorkeling with sea stars. Does anyone have a recommendation for an independent tour group?

On 8/1/2021 at 9:23 PM, LakeWobegon said:

The past two summers before last, we spent several weeks each summer in Cozumel. Paradise Beach was our favorite beach club because of the huge pool and large inflatables waterpark in the Ocean. But Cozumel really has the best snorkeling and diving in the Caribbean in my opinion. Look to book an excursion that goes to El Cielo if you do that.

Do you know if El Cielo is open or a good resource to check on that information? I would absolutely love to go but keep on reading conflicting articles.  I really just want to see some starfish while snorkeling.  

Short version - We're booked but before final payment. The cruise is now listed on Royal's website as significantly cheaper than what we paid. Can we get that price? How does Royal handle price drops?

Longer version cause I'm wordy - My family (husband, mom, dad, sister, BIL, niece and nephew) booked a cruise for March of 2021. Before Royal cancelled the cruise, we all rebooked in December of 2021 for basically the same cruise in April 2022. Today I checked out the website for prices, and our April 2022 cruise is a lot cheaper now. Basically, if I cancelled our current booking and booked again, my husband and I would save almost $900. My parents $1400, and my sister's family  would save almost $2000 each on two rooms. We're before the final payment. Will Royal give us this price drop? Will they make us cancel and rebook? Unfortunately, at my dad's insistence, we are all booked through a travel agency (never again) so I know we'll have to contact them. I just find them shady so I'd like an answer from the fine people on this board who know more than me and probably more than the travel agency. 

Thanks!  

Thanks so much! Now I can find something else to stress about 😆 😉

My group is compromised of eight people and our cruise embarks on Easter Sunday from Miami. We'll be in hotels by the airport and in Coral Gables. Are Ubers going to be plentiful on a holiday or will we risk being stranded? 

Thanks for the suggestions! There's a few hotels in Coral Gables I am interested in staying at, but the distance is definitely the issue as everyone in my group will be flying in from Detroit and not renting a car. We'll need two XL Ubers, which will be about $45 per Uber each way. I will look into private transportation services. Thanks again!

A diverse family group is going on a cruise out of Miami during the week of Easter 2022.  I'd prefer to stay away from the beach or wild crowds and I'd really like to get away from the airport. I like a few of the boutique hotels I've seen in Coral Gables. Is that too far away? Will it be a party atmosphere there as well? 

Thanks for the advice. The cruise is in mid 2022 so I hope hope hope that it will happen. It will be our second family cruise and it's such a perfect way to travel as a group without being tempted to kill each other. 

I also am crossing my fingers that excursions won't be limited to the ship sponsored ones. I really dislike their large groups on mega busses and live for independent exploration or local guides. For now I'll hope for the best and enjoy the planning. 

I'm planning an excursion for not only me and my husband, but also for my extended family (parents, sister, BIL, niece, cousin). We're going to spend the morning going to a few spots, followed by lunch and the rest of the afternoon on the beach. I'm trying to decide between Rony and Bodden tours. 

My initial choice was Rony, but I decided to email them both to check availability. Bodden's email was much clearer and more professional than the message from Rony. Rony asked for a deposit, but full payment if we could. Then he asked if we could paypal him the money through friends and family instead of the goods and services option. It just felt a little sketchy.  Although my gut initially said to go with Rony, I am now having reservations. 

'

Any thoughts or advice? 

7 minutes ago, mammajamma2013 said:

Mexican Riviera on Princess. I loved the entire experience and decided this was something I wanted to continue. We went in November and the Dawn was decorated for Christmas. Beautiful!

 

I think it was remarkable because it was my first (and a surprise anniversary gift from my husband), but it definitely planted the cruise bug in me. I had wanted to cruise for several years prior so that played into it as well.

 

Love your pictures!

Ooo you just reminded me that our first cruise was in December, so it was also decorated for Christmas. Definitely added to the magic! 

Our one and only Mexican cruise was to Cabo, but the Mexican Riviera is on my list. 

Was it just a truly remarkable cruise? Or was it because it was our first? I don’t know if I care what the answer is. We’ll be chasing that cruising high for a long time. I can’t wait to get back to it.

Thanks for letting me relive my first time. What was your first cruise? 

Our last stop was in Jamaica, where we decided to get a day pass to an all-inclusive resort and spend the day at the beach.

In Costa Rica, we went to a banana planation, rode a riverboat looking for wildlife, stopped at a beach for lunch, and went to the Jaguar Rescue Center where I met several animals in the middle of rehabilitation. Definitely a highlight!

Panama was a long, amazing day. We of course went through the Canal, up until Gatun Lake. We boarded a bus that took us to canoes which were ready to take us down the river until we reached the Embera village. We met the people of the village, shared lunch, and heard about their lives. I met a five-year-old girl and talked in Spanish about ourselves. Before we left the village for our long canoe and bus ride back to the ship, I learned a traditional dance with the women of the village. It was truly a life changing experience.

Our next stop was Cartagena, Colombia. It was our first time in Southern America. We visited the fort, then headed over to the walled city where we went into churches and museums all day.

We embarked and the ship pulled away from land in the late afternoon. We spent the first two and a half days at sea, doing anything and everything from lounging at the pool to those champagne art auctions. We finally made it to our first stop, Aruba. What a gorgeous island! We hired a private guide, Bully, and drove all over. My favorite part was the donkey sanctuary, where I was able to meet dozens of my favorite animal, the donkey.

So maybe not ruined, but did anyone else get completely spoiled by their first cruise? Now don’t get me wrong, my husband and I have been on some amazing cruises since that initial voyage. We’ve sailed to Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico and all over the Caribbean. Embarking in Puerto Rico was a fantastic experience. But that first one…

I think most people start out on a short cruise to the Bahamas or a slightly longer cruise to a few Caribbean islands. We started our addiction on a ten-day Panama Canal voyage aboard the Island Princess.  We flew into Miami and spent the night so we would have time to take an airboat ride through the everglades. We also visited Everglades National Park.

On 11/17/2020 at 1:52 PM, Host Carolyn said:

When is your cruise? My son lives there, not expecting cruise ships any time soon, even if a few ships sail in January. Maybe by next summer....

The cruise was in March, but every booked adult in our party voted to cancel. Hope your son is doing well.