Brian Ethridge said:

---

fadskier said:

---

Mr Tulip said:

---

fadskier said:

---

My family is going on our first cruise this summer. I have to admit, I am not adventurous and therefore, not too excited. I don't want to take "nice clothes" to dress up for dinner. Do I have to? Can I not eat somewhere in shorts? We are only stopping at Cozumel and it looks like shopping is a big deal. Meh.

Help me to be more positive...

---

Royal Caribbean had plenty of dining options. You didn't have to ever darken the door of the main dining hall if you didn't want to. I did most nights because (a) it was a good change of pace from the swimwear/bumwear I'd been in all day and (b) they served the top end stuff there that I'd usually never actually order (I'm a picky eater and don't tend towards adventure when I'm out).

Otherwise, I was eating in the "Windjammer" - a buffet style restaurant. They had all the standard "Golden Corral" stuff. As relaxed as it gets.

I went snorkeling in Cozumel sort of as the obligatory family thing to do. I can give you the name of a great operation that's treated us right two years' running. The upshot is that they're really fond of tequila and salsa! Cozumel is essentially a beach tourist paradise with sun, the ocean, shopping, drinking and partying. You can mix and match depending on your needs/wants, or stay on the boat and hit the gym or casino again as your tastes desire.

---

I've never had a massage and it's 20% off on port day so maybe...

and I'll get off the boat and walk around. We're just not big shoppers.

---

The area in Cozumel has changed a ton as the new port is away from town a bit and just a mass of touristy trinkets. I love that island, but I don't go there to shop. Find the excursion to Punta Sur, which is an Eco Park, but there is a great beach bar inside by a cove that is calm, shallow, perfect sand, and nobody else will be there. If not an excursion, get a taxi there and then tell them to pick you up later. They will.

Skip San Francisco Beach and Mr. Sancho's as 1/4 of the boat will go there.

Last time there we rented a car and took the entire family and grandparents to Punta Sur and had a blast with buckets of beer, fresh ceviche, carne asada, and more with about 20 other people there for 6-8 hours. Then we loaded back up, dropped the car, and got on the boat.

There are cocodrillo in the swamp behind as it is an eco park, but skip that unless you want to just look at them for a distance or not get great beach time.

---

Thanks, I'll look into it.

Have been on several a few thoughts.

If you can depart out of San Juan or Miami rather than Galveston. You spend too much time at sea from Galveston.

Wife generally does not like them. She thinks too little time in a port. Island hopping in the Caribbean we often had to be back on board by 5 PM which made excisions tight time wise. We prefer just to pick a place and stay.

Took a real budget cruise when young and single - if was fun with plenty of single girls on same ship but would have hated this with Ms Soze.

Had the opportunity to go on a top of the line Cruise one time (paid for by FIL) - went on Cunard's Sea Goddess. About 90 passengers with a crew of 120. All the campaign and caviar you want (I don't do caviar BTW) - would never pay for such a trip myself but it was incredible.

Keyser Soze said:

---

Have been on several a few thoughts.

If you can depart out of San Juan or Miami rather than Galveston. You spend too much time at sea from Galveston.

Wife generally does not like them. She thinks too little time in a port. Island hopping in the Caribbean we often had to be back on board by 5 PM which made excisions tight time wise. We prefer just to pick a place and stay.

Took a real budget cruise when young and single - if was fun with plenty of single girls on same ship but would have hated this with Ms Soze.

Had the opportunity to go on a top of the line Cruise one time (paid for by FIL) - went on Cunard's Sea Goddess. About 90 passengers with a crew of 120. All the campaign and caviar you want (I don't do caviar BTW) - would never pay for such a trip myself but it was incredible.

---

wow, Cunard has not operated the 2 Sea Goddess ships in a very long time...

My wife and I went a a Viking Cruise. It was excellent.

I spent 7 years on board the ships working for Carnival and Admiral/RCCL as Chief Purser/Hotel Manager.

My recommendation? Dont do it for the ships, do it for the ports. Decide where you want to go first, then find a ship that stays in the ports for longer than a few hours, figure out what kind of tours you want, do you want to see Tulum, go SCUBA diving, swim with sharks, drop the kids off and do your own thing, throw the little lady ov... you get the drift. Then you will have a better idea of which line to go with.

You can fine tune it once you make your itinerary.

There are also specialty ships, like the ones that go up the Danube, cruise the Mediterranean or even the tall master. Also dive boats and so forth.

My recommendation, make it about the where, not the how you got there.

The tall master might be one example of taking the ship over the destination. We were on the Sea Cloud for ten days. Incredible trip.