LIVE! Cruising with 3k Ladies, Zumba Groovin’ on NOS

[Familygoboston]

Triple Play Excursion- Costa Maya

 

After wigging out about the idea of 4-5 hour RT bus ride to the ruins, one of my gf and I booked this excursion which included a bike ride, cenote swim and visit to a Beach Club with paddle boarding on the malecon.

 

 

The excursion started with a fun open air Jaguar bus ride driven by Jose, to a rancho where we boarded tandem bikes for 3 mile off road loop through the jungle. If you are comfortable on a beach cruiser, get along relatively well with your partner, this was easy and although there are some limestone rocks, it’s mostly flat. During the 20 minute ride to the Rancho, our very professional guides Alan and Diego gave us a thorough and entertaining history of the Malahual fishing village and the development of the Costa Maya cruise pier.

 

 

1/2 way through our bike ride we stopped to view a small Mayan temple ruin and learn about the religious tradition of the the Cenote. Next stop was the cenote where we dipped into a large hole and hand over hand on a rope, made our way through the underground cenote. It’s deep and dark but you can keep your head out of the water and it was short, so you never felt trapped. the excellent cultural explanation made it even more meaningful.

 

 

After the cenote dip, it was back in the bikes to finish the loop. At the end our guides laid out a full Mexican buffet of quesadilla and fajitas, chips and salsa for lunch.

 

 

After lunch we went to the village of Malahual where we spent about 90 minutes as guests of the beach club, where paddle boards and instruction was included as well as floaty mats. We also were invited to use a lounge chair and go fir a swim all inclued in our tour. Additional charge for full cash bar, food for purchase.

 

 

This excursion was one of our best RC excursions. And for what was included, affordable. The top notch professional guiding and happy go lucky Zumba ladies on the trip made it spectacular.

This is my second RC excursion in as many months that has provided a top notch experience. I’m prepared to back off my premise that RC tours are somehow inferior and acknowledge that some one has been working to improve the active excursion offerings, putting them on par with a private excursion. The experience we had today was similar and even better than some privately arranged tours we’ve experienced in the Caribbean/Mexico.

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

Costa Maya Port

Just a few photos from the port and the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

Day 3 Docking in Costa Maya

 

Docked next to the Breakaway

 

 

 

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SORRY FOLKS it’s the Getaway!

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

Day 3 Cruise Compasses

While we’ve got the LTE people! Lol!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

Day 4 Cayman Islands

 

Why are ships this big tendering? Just no, this port takes too much transportation time for the short time the ship is in port. It’s a complete waste of valuable vacation time. And it’s too bad too because it’s a place with so many fun things to do!

 

Last month we tried the “no excursion route” and didn’t arrive in port till almost 2 pm after an 11 AM arrival. Today we had tickets for the 12 noon ( meet at dining room at 11:15) Dolphin and stingray tour. Once we arrived at the dining room, there was a line backed up into the casino just enter the dining room. Then after a 30 min wait in that line, we had a 30+ minute wait sitting in a boring dining room waiting for our tender number to be called. Then 20+ minutes to load the tender, 20 minutes to tender, 10 minutes to unload, 15 minute wait to check into excursions and walk to the bus...if you do the math, it’s s huge time waster.

 

The actual excursion was excellent. I’ll try to post more pics tomorrow. (Its late) but the tone to get on shore, added to the HUGE 40!minute line to get back on the tender after the excursion is simply not worth the hassle.

But the view of the ship is pretty

 

 

 

 

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[perfect match]

Did you know that the bikes in Costa Maya were tandem bikes when you booked? My Dad had one many years ago. I could never get the hang of that thing. I guess I must have control issues when it comes to bike riding. I love my DH dearly, but one ride on a tandem bike might be enough to send us to divorce court!

 

That was a long time to wait to tender in Grand Cayman! We have been on the island a number of times, but only twice by cruise ship. Disney Fantasy and Caribbean Princess. We never had that long of a wait. Thank goodness! We will be back in Grand Cayman next month on a land trip, so no tendering to worry about, just driving on the wrong side of the road. :eek: Last time we were there I kept signaling my turns with my windshield wipers and trying to shift gears with the door handle. I did have it pretty well figured out by the end of our stay - just in time to go home.

 

How much zumba have you been doing? Are the classes fun?

[molsonschooner]

Did you know that the bikes in Costa Maya were tandem bikes when you booked? My Dad had one many years ago. I could never get the hang of that thing. I guess I must have control issues when it comes to bike riding. I love my DH dearly, but one ride on a tandem bike might be enough to send us to divorce court!

 

That was a long time to wait to tender in Grand Cayman! We have been on the island a number of times, but only twice by cruise ship. Disney Fantasy and Caribbean Princess. We never had that long of a wait. Thank goodness! We will be back in Grand Cayman next month on a land trip, so no tendering to worry about, just driving on the wrong side of the road. :eek: Last time we were there I kept signaling my turns with my windshield wipers and trying to shift gears with the door handle. I did have it pretty well figured out by the end of our stay - just in time to go home.

 

How much zumba have you been doing? Are the classes fun?

My DW loved our one and only trip to Grand Cayman while on Navigator a few years back. She would love to do a land tour sometime. Where do you stay and is the beach area nice there?

[Familygoboston]

Day 4 Compasses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[perfect match]

My DW loved our one and only trip to Grand Cayman while on Navigator a few years back. She would love to do a land tour sometime. Where do you stay and is the beach area nice there?

 

We have stayed at the Grand Caymanian/Holiday Inn. It is a beautiful location, but on the North Sound, not Seven Mile Beach. If it is beach you are looking for, I'd say this is not the place for you. It is right on the water of North Sound and does have a small man made beach, but it is a far cry from the experience you would get from a resort located right on Seven Mile Beach. I guess we must like it there because we are going back, but I would like to stay on Seven Mile Beach at some point myself.

[molsonschooner]

We have stayed at the Grand Caymanian/Holiday Inn. It is a beautiful location, but on the North Sound, not Seven Mile Beach. If it is beach you are looking for, I'd say this is not the place for you. It is right on the water of North Sound and does have a small man made beach, but it is a far cry from the experience you would get from a resort located right on Seven Mile Beach. I guess we must like it there because we are going back, but I would like to stay on Seven Mile Beach at some point myself.

Ok, thanks

[Familygoboston]

Did you know that the bikes in Costa Maya were tandem bikes when you booked? My Dad had one many years ago. I could never get the hang of that thing. I guess I must have control issues when it comes to bike riding. I love my DH dearly, but one ride on a tandem bike might be enough to send us to divorce court!

 

 

 

That was a long time to wait to tender in Grand Cayman! We have been on the island a number of times, but only twice by cruise ship. Disney Fantasy and Caribbean Princess. We never had that long of a wait. Thank goodness! We will be back in Grand Cayman next month on a land trip, so no tendering to worry about, just driving on the wrong side of the road. :eek: Last time we were there I kept signaling my turns with my windshield wipers and trying to shift gears with the door handle. I did have it pretty well figured out by the end of our stay - just in time to go home.

 

 

 

How much zumba have you been doing? Are the classes fun?

 

 

 

The royal excursion clearly stated that the bikes were tandems. But we did see a tour with single bikes.

I think it would fun to stay in GC a little longer and do a lot of snorkeling.

Have fun!!

As for Zumba classes we had so many every day. And even if you didn’t do a class there was always a DJ at every pool and partying all night in either studio b or the pool. Everyone danced everywhere excursions, buffet line. [emoji23]

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

Day 4 Cayman Islands stingray and dolphin tours

 

We took a mini bus to Dolphin Cove and then boarded a boat for the 20 minute ride to stingray city.

 

Sting ray city in the Dolphin Discovery Boat

 

 

Again there was Zumba dancing on board- this time a group from the Netherlands and Belgium put on s performance the crew thoroughly enjoyed!!

 

In with the sting rays

 

 

After about 30 minutes with the sting rays we made the 20 minute ride back. The water is so gorgeous in GC

 

 

Back at Dolphin Cove, we locked all our valuables sunglasses and hats. People swimming have to take off any earrings and jewelry. Encounters on a shallow platform and in deep water took place all around the lagoon. They range from heavy petting and a kiss to “I need a cigarette” types of encounters.

 

No cameras are allowed so a photographer captures all the action. After the encounters nearly an hour is spent reviewing photos and purchasing and waiting for prints. If you aren’t interested in the pictures you can wait on the cozy picnic tables and enjoy the views and the trainers working with the dolphins.

 

 

 

This person isn’t hiding their reason for going to the Caymans

 

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

Day 4 Grand Cayman

 

All the pain of the tender, reversed. Going back at 5:30 with a 6:30 all aboard, ship the tender line stretched over 40 minutes long. A 20 minute tender ride was rewarded with these gorgeous view of NOS

 

 

 

And while we waited for the last of the tours to make the late tenders I enjoyed this view from the stern

 

 

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

Day 5 Sea Day

 

Cruise Compasses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

Day 5 Sea Day

 

I realize I missed a couple of pages.

 

 

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

Food

 

There was plenty. Ok, I know that’s not a glowing review, but I’m not a foodie, so I can’t review food very well. I tend to eat fresh and raw, and every dish I had was well prepared. But nothing that I felt I would rave about. I had a couple of my favorites from the new menus, coconut shrimp, Strawberry pavlova, seafood spaghetti.

 

I got shots if a couple of the menus, but didn’t have one from each night.

 

Day 2

 

Day 4

 

Day 5

 

Service was spotty. Everyone was working so hard. But one thing that was different was that this was all open seating (my time dining) with no set seatings, this means the staff had no way to plan for the when there would be lulls and surges. If a big event ended they would get slammed. If we were in port late, no one was in the dining room before 6. Drink services suffered, with “pre dinner “ drink orders coming after starters were finished. While the food was delivered hot and all together on time, the ladies with drink packages had a hard time getting 2 drinks served to them during the 90+ minute dinner.

 

The windjammer services was much better. Given how many people there were in multiple occupancy rooms and attending the same big events, it was never TOO crowded. We were always able to find a just cleaned table and there was always plenty of food! It probably helped that it was a theme cruise so singles and doubles were happy to sit with others at half open tables and meet and share.

 

Sorry I had no time for specialty dining, and other than my usual excellent Johnny Rockets chocolate malt shake, I can’t comment on the specialty restaurants.

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

Day 5 Sea Day (dance day?)

One last full day of fun in the sun! The hard part about a charter is do you relax, or do you stuff in every last activity that’s part of your theme?

 

Well according to the graphic in front of the windjammer, we were meant to do the later. Took 3 classes, 3 meals, packed my bags and headed out for one last party!!

 

 

Which brings me to, what’s the same, what’s different. I’ll start right from planning.

 

What’s different:

1 You deal with two entities, your chartering organization, and Royal Caribbean. Some things get “lost in translation” and occasionally you get the “ not our department”. In this case the Sumba Cruise Department has a few hiccups pre sailing, but the operation was smooth as silk on board, for such a massive undertaking.

 

2 Some typical things you’d do in the cruise planner might not be available. Fir instance while we could book drink packages and excursions and specialty dining, all MDR dining was MTD, meaning no early or late.

 

3 On a full ship charter you may have a lot of people with little cruising experience. This means those little secrets CC people know, like which are the best cabins, and hints and tricks to make the cruise more fun are known by a limited number of people. Ordinarily my cabin is one of the first snapped up, but both corners were open when I book several days into booking. The down side is that the constituents of the chattering organization often engage in rumor mongering or disinformation because they just don’t know! And the roll call can be very quiet. I’m sure these things are mitigated the more years the charter operates.

(A primo cabin, you betcha!)

 

4- it’s gonna cost you more. I like to pay between 100-200 per night per person (all in with my various deals and discounts) for a balcony cabin on a ship that’s been around a few years. This one was 5 days and ran me closer to 300 per night. More hands in the till, but also there were goodie bags, lots of paid staffers from Zumba, and lots of comped and paid entertainers. Just the logistical cost of transporting and renting sound equipment and lighting adds up in a hurry. I found it well worth it because I loved the theme!

 

5- The ship is decorated with organization specific decorations everywhere! This added to the party atmosphere!

 

6-the WJ and theaters are less crowded. Well there were as many folks in the WJ, but since everyone had a common interest and so many group and single travelers people gladly sat where there was a seat, not leaving 3 or 4 seats open because a couple was canoodling at the table.

 

 

7-Many venues you’ve come to enjoy, like a quiet solarium or the diamond lounge, might be commandeered for other events. On our embarkation day, elaborate light and sound systems were being installed on the pool decks and passengers were not allowed to traverse them, cabin hallways were still closed meaning that to get from the solarium to the WJ, one had to go down to deck 5 cross and go back up to 11! Most of the main pool was covered in staging all week. The sports court was a dance floor. Think about how this impacts non theme cruisers in your party.

 

(Solarium pool)

 

8 The entertainment can be altered significantly. On our cruise one farewell show 2-3 comedians, an Olympic athlete and one ice show was offered. None of the game show fun you might associate with RC. Take a look at the Compasses, I’ve never seen events look so spacious!

 

9 The officers and senior staff aren’t very visible. It’s a not my show, not my monkeys kind of situation. They operate the ship, the chartering org operates everything else! On the fun side there was a Zumba store full of specialty merchandise.

 

 

I’ll be back with some similarities.

 

 

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

Same old same old...

it’s a CRUISE! And that’s awesome, am I right?? For this cruise in particular dancing on wooden rubber covered decks was preferable to carpeted concrete at a hotel or convention hall!

Whatever the theme, backgammon, country music or Harley mammas, it’s all better afloat on my humble opinion.

 

1- sailaways and sail ins happen most days and they are no less spectacular on themed cruises. Take a break from the action to enjoy them!

 

 

2- friendly crew. Boy did they have fun on our cruise, a group of happy, energetic fit (and quite a few muy caliente) what’s not to love from the crews point of view! Cabins decorated, people dancing with the bartenders, one gorgeous young woman had her steward photograph her doing an upside down hand stand and he said it was the best thing that ever happened in his hallway! People treated crew better on this cruise and the crew was delighted by the energy. Now maybe it’s different at the tax accountant closing convention but that’s how our charter was!

 

3- food glorious food. If you cruise for food quantity and selection, a charter is no different. Same heaps of potatoes, French fried, mashed, sliced, and potatoes cakes as any other cruise. My friends on bev packages said there was no Gatorade to be found on the last day though, and I wish they had provided healthier options for so many fit people!

 

4- fun destinations and excursions. You go to Vegas for a conference, you see Vegas. But on a cruise your theme party or convention goes to all the same fun poets as any cruise! With our pre cruise touring and parties in Miami, it was like having 3 ports of call!

(A pre cruise party in Wynwood allowed us to visit the Wynwood walls as well as attend a private precruise party.)

 

 

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

 

This is me! I rocked my first theme cruise full ship charter! (And apparently, this paddle board in MX!)

 

I hope sharing “live” what I could and my thoughts post cruise help any loyal to royal cruisers considering a theme cruise some things to think about. Going in with an open mind and an expectation that things would feel different helped a lot!

 

What are your experiences with full boat charters or large group cruises? Have you done any? Good experiences, Bad? ( we did a cruise with a 300 hundred Girl Quince cruise group, I loved the energy but hated how they buzzed through the buffet line like termites,leaving nothing but sawdust in their wake) I’ve had cruises canceled for nude lifestyle cruises and cancer fundraisers (good for you Buckeyes!)

 

 

What’s your story? I’d love to hear it!

 

 

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[xpcdoojk]

As a husband to a former Zumba instructor, I enjoyed your posts. While an outsider, I definitely see it with an insider’s eye. Great job. Glad you had a fun trip. We only did a couple of the Zumba things in Orlando 7 or 8 years ago.

 

JC

[Familygoboston]

As a husband to a former Zumba instructor, I enjoyed your posts. While an outsider, I definitely see it with an insider’s eye. Great job. Glad you had a fun trip. We only did a couple of the Zumba things in Orlando 7 or 8 years ago.

 

JC

A huszumba! Lol! Thank you, It was a great cruise, I’m sure you were a witness to the kind of energy that is embodied in a Zumba cruise! They’ve already announced next years dates, March 24-29 Nassau and coco Cay on a refurbished NOS.

[xpcdoojk]

A huszumba! Lol! Thank you, It was a great cruise, I’m sure you were a witness to the kind of energy that is embodied in a Zumba cruise! They’ve already announced next years dates, March 24-29 Nassau and coco Cay on a refurbished NOS.

 

My wife was talking about tonight about a cruise in France, and how from 7 or 8 years ago, other than Beto there was only one or two people she remembers either from the videos or the Zumba conventions in Orlando.

 

One of my husband duties was to walk with her and hang out in a fitness club in Bruges Belgium, as we were there a few days before going to England and eventually a cruise back home. I remember it was like a 70s disco the leader of the evening dance was an instructor from Morocco who looked like Lewis Hamilton, but this was before he was famous and I told the instructor that he looked like LH and he looked at me like who? Of course he spoke French and I not so much. She had a blast at that fitness club and always longed for that kind of passion in any club she taught at or participated with.

 

It has seemed that Zumba is a bit on the decline, but it is a great fun thing when people embrace it. I hope you keep the passion.

 

JC

[Familygoboston]

. I remember it was like a 70s disco the leader of the evening dance was an instructor from Morocco who looked like Lewis Hamilton, but this was before he was famous and I told the instructor that he looked like LH and he looked at me like who?

 

JC

Lewis Hamilton the race car driver? Lol, I had to look him up and I speak English ! We met some instructors from Rotterdam on our excursion.

 

I think today Zumba has a lot of “celebrities”. It’s a whole thing with social media, being on insta and you tube. They make a lot of money just with followers on line. Then apperences. It’s big biz today, although many instructors still run small businesses.

 

I like it because it’s a fun way to get a good workout, and it’s standardized. I travel for a living. Zumba is like the Catholic Church; I can go to a Zumba class anywhere on the globe and more or less know when to sit stand and kneel even if I don’t speak The language! :')

[Slainte!]

Just want you to know that I have followed along and enjoyed all your posts. You have given a great perspective on a charter cruise. I’m going on the upcoming Back to the 80s on Nav straight after the TA and really looking forward to both.

Thanks for sharing your energy and enthusiasm, you did a great job.

Cheers!

Joan

Dublin Ireland

[JamesEM]

Enjoyed your reports.