btate

Okay. . . After reading a few of the messages left in this topic, I am a bit surprised that some of the people here leave as many messages as they do and say that cruising is already becoming a thing of the past for them? I guess I am just not that picky? I admit that I have only been on one cruise, but I have a goal to always have one planned. . . I suppose I can't afford the fancy balconys and all that. . . but the food?! The chance to be where your cell phone doesn't ring! So many things that are nice. What a nice way to get away. For me, I would give up cruising when I no longer was able to have my mind excited about getting away and being spoiled. When I go to look at a trip with my wife and we both just sort of think that this isn't really that much fun. . I kind of think that when that happens, we will just move the cruise to the Greek Isles or some place not so familiar. . .

The only thing I can say is . . . If you have kids or a pet, don't forget to have someone watch them before you go. On a more serious note, I like to bring at least 100 one dollar bills and about a hundred in fives, and another in 10s. When you are dealing vendors, many of them don't have change for larger anounts of money on purpose. They either want you to buy more, or just take what you have. . . - it makes me feel so rich when I have a wad of ones!

I am looking forward to my second RCCL cruise. The first one everything looked fine on line. When I got docs, only one name out of 8 was spelled correctly, and many of the last names were now interchanged. . . I got it all sorted out, but I was surprised that logistics at this company did not populate the rest of the docs from what I saw in the internet. . . The second one, they spelled both my name and my wife's name wrong. I called again and had them fix it. No docs yet, but we will see. Paying attention to detail on booking and documentation does not appear to be a high priority for these guys. The rest of the trip was amazing! I guess I would rather have them pay attention to the food, shows, and entertainment if I had to pick one. That part they have down baby! You will love your cruise with these guys. . . Very nice people and boats.

I think the whole idea of some towel person in my bed is kind of creepy. . .

I am also new to this forum. The knowlege of the people and the courtesy is very welcome. I don't feel like I need to go anywhere else to look for the information I seek. I have felt very welcome here. Thank you!!!

Okay. . .I looked at the picture to see why it was strange. . . Looked again . . . (eyes got really big!) (blushed) Decided to post another pic. . . Hope this one is better. . . . Now I really don't like them. . . One bit me, then it made me blush? How does that happen?

I haven't liked them since I got bit by one of the dogs. . . Hey. . .I came back and he was wearing my sunglasses! What was I suppose to do?

Does this mean I am gonna have to shower more than once a week?

Call me crazy. . . Water. . .

Sunsets are beautiful. I have to say my fav is at night being aft of the ship looking at the trail of the props then looking up at the stars and wondering where in the world I am . . . Remembering all that geography I studied in school and thinking that I may go to one of these places one day. Broadening my ability to say within myself 'I've been there' and sharing that experience with my son or daughter. Taking a picture of that moment to freeze it in time and look back with that person I was with and being able to share that moment with them again. . . and again. That is my favorite place.

This was an inexpensive 7 day cruise. . . Just wondering if anyone here is going?

I was on Splendour of the Seas in April. I am pretty sure that the sign on the door said 16. I think if a person were responsible, nobody would say anything.

JohnG, Again, you have come through for me. I am thankful to have good sound advise for this newcomer in the forum. I am taking notes and now going to look more into this attraction and will very likely go see what you recommend to me. Very kind regards, Byron

Thank you all for being so kind to me so far. I have found all the information I have been looking for and more talking with you. This is a very worthwhile service to me. It will definitely make my cruising experience more enjoyable. I hope to be able to help others as I can. I am not the most experienced, but like to do my part and my homework. Very kind regards to all of you.

I was in Cozumel last April. I went to Paradise beach. The next day I was in Costa Maya. Comparing the two beaches, Costa Maya is what I think of when I hear Caribbean. Paradise beach got hit pretty hard by the hurricane last year and it shows. The palm trees were pretty much in tact, but I wouldn't bother snorkeling. There is just nothing to see yet. (or wasnt' in April) Someone can correct me if I am wrong. I love to snorkel, but was very disapponted in snorkeling at Paradise beach. The beach itself looked nice and the accomodations were nice and reasonable. There were places to play in the water, but comparing it to the water at Costa Maya, was like night and day. Coata Maya was the pretty clear blue water I hoped would be in Cozumel. My next cruise stops in Cozumel and I am considering taking a ferry to the mainland to Cancun or somewhere else. . . If anyone else has been there recently and can tell me it is different, please do. I do know that I won't be going to the beach unless someone can tell me they had a different experience recently. As for the food, Cozumel has a McDonalds for your kid. That is where I took my kids. They could get a hamburger and it tastes the same as any McDonalds I have ever been to. It is in town on the main street.

Definitely Blackjack dealer. . . I love to deal . . . I do it at home with my family regularly. . . It is better that way because we always end up losing it all in the end and it doesn't cost us anything. . . Fun post.

I don't want to sound rude in that every person who is described in each of these articles made the concious decision to do what they did. Each of them individually made the decision to drink whatever they did and did it without being forced in any way. I don't know the details of each incident and was not there. I DO know what happens on a cruise and can say that I never felt uncomfortable and myself made concious decisions to be a responsible parent for each of my 4 children who went with me. Hopefully my children can learn from the fatal mistakes of others and don't need first hand experience in tragety. I do have friends who have chosen to drink irresponsibily and have either killed someone behind the wheel of a car or been killed themselves. I don't see the parents of these people going after the bars or the automakers in a law suit? . . . In the end, many of these people who are not responsibile for their own actions may have been tragically killed in another way at a later date. They just happened to be on a cruise when they chose to make a poor decision. Am I wrong in my opinions here?

Hello, I am also new to cruising. I went once and know that it is a way of life that I intend on getting use to. I went to Costa Maya and visited the ruins at chacchoben. It is about 50 miles away from the port and was one of the highlights of my trip. I did a lot of reading on the internet and found a couple of guys who seem to know what they are doing and for about 1/2 the price of the cruise lines. David and Ivan who have a sincere love and appreciation for the ruins and the culture of their families. Ivan grew up right next to the ruins and played there as a child before they were excavated. I had a feeling of reverence for the people who lived there and was so greatful that I went with these guys on that tour. The cost as I remember was about $45 US per person. That is about half the cost of what the cruise lines offer and the tour guides are better. They provided transportation in a very comfortable van and even had bottled water and soda for the ride. They are very humble people and seem to have an appreciation for the things of life that matter most. I imagine that most of the money they make goes to transportation as they still have to rent the vans they use for this tour. The van I rode in was a Mercedes with reclining seats and air conditioning. To contact David or Ivan, you can email them at: dvillagomez@chacchobenruins.com They may take a couple of days to get back to you, but they will. They were very organized and knew that we would be there on the correct day and happy to assist us with any questions. When you get off the port at Costa Maya, you have to take a taxi to the town. The taxis are regulated by the government and have a flat rate of about $6 each way. The town is very small, but has an amazing beach. They will meet you at a place called 'The Cats Meow' which is where the taxi will drop you off if you are going to the town. For anyone going to Costa Maya and is a history lover, this is a great way to see the ruins. I have some amazing pictures and even better memories.

JohnG Thank you so much for your post. I took the advice of everyone here and was able to get a flight into Hobby and will look into the many transportation options given by JohnG to get to Galveston. This type of information has helped me so much in my planning. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. You guys are GREAT!

Keith and Rita, Thanks for your input. It is appreciated. Anyone else have any ideas, please let me know. Joey and David My wife and I will be going to the Caribbean and look forward to some time away from work and phones. I think it is important to have something to look forward to that gets us away. Kind regards to you both.

I have only taken once cruise to date. I plan on taking several more. I did keep a journal for the cruise and also made a slide show with pictures from everything we did. I put it to music and it is LONG. . . It is a fun way to remember all the little details of what we liked and didn't like. I believe that if you don't document something, good or bad, then you may forget to have fun or repeat a mistake. Good posts here. . .

Forgive me for being new here, but I am looking for some of you more experienced cruisers who have a good way to get from Houston to Galveston for a cruise. We went out of Galveston a few months ago in a large group and it seemed pretty expensive using the bus transport from the Airport. Thank you for your comments.