DanaW

We just finished our week ago and I want to schedule another. We were traveling with my two sons, ages 15 and 12. The embarkation went extremely quickly and I was pleasantly surprised how fast we were on the ship. The first day was a ship day and we spent it mostly by the pool. Don't miss the belly flop contest, it was hysterical. That night was the first of the formal nights. My husband took a tuxedo and I briefly thought that he might be overdressed. Boy was I wrong, 90% of the gentlemen on the ship were in tuxedos. The women were very elegantly dressed. I loved it and so did the rest of my family. LABADEE: I loved this place. We chose to keep it a relaxing day and rent some snorkeling equipment and mats. We had a great time.OCHO RIOS: We did not do any excursions from the ship and I would highly recommend that you do them on your own unless you like to be herded like cattle to the destinations. My husband figured that we saved a total of $256 by booking off the ship for the entire week. That's a lot of money to do the same thing. We got off the ship in Jamaica and at the end of the pier are taxis that go to all of the excursions. We chose to go to Dunn's River Falls and it cost us $11.00 RT for a family of four. It then cost $6 pp to climb the falls. Keep in mind you DO NOT have to climb the falls holding everyone's hands. We went right up the middle by ourselves. One guide asked if we were in a tour and we told him they were up ahead. He wanted us in his tour to get a tip. We loved doing the falls, but make sure you are physically fit and have water shoes. After the falls we caught another cab to go tubing down the St. Ana river. They take you to the top of the mountain and you white water tube down the mountain for two miles. It was SOOOO relaxing and the Jamaican guides were wonderful, singing songs to us. It cost us $15 pp to go down the river. Worth the price!!GRAND CAYMAN: We had a great day in Grand Cayman. We decided to do the Stingray City and snorkeling excursion. DON'T BOOK OFF THE SHIP. We decided once again to go on our own and saved a lot of money. We booked with NATIVE WAY WATERSPORTS and they picked us up at the pier. Either call and book them at (345) 947-7170 or e-mail them at nativeway@candw.ky. We had 25 people on our tour and that was perfect. My kids thought the stingray excursion was the best part. I was a little leary but, I did it. They then took us to Coral Gardens to snorkel and it was fantastic. If you book this excursion off of the ship, you go with 100 or more people only to stingray city. You do not get to go snorkeling. The ship cost was $39pp and our cost for both snorkeling and stingrays was $25pp. COZUMEL: We decided not to do any excursions and decided to shop. Surprisingly, my kids even enjoyed it. They liked the idea of trying to get them to lower the price. My 12-year-old became a great bargainer. I found a beautiful Tanzanite ring.MISCELLANEOUS: We had the early seating for dinner and it was a little too early for us. I would make the late seating next time. Although, our waiter made arrangements with us if we wanted to come closer to 6:30 or so he would accomodate us. He didn't want us to go to Johnny Rockets. Which if you like hamburgers, make sure you try it. You only get charged for the shakes. You can't get near it at lunch but, we walked straight it at dinner time. My kids loved that place. We never ate at Portofino's but I heard it was great. The food was very good and I had no complaints.I would recommend this ship to anyone. There were honeymooners, families, older couples, etc. We had a GREAT TIME!!!