Our 7 Night Western Carribean Experience

We recently returned from our cruise from Galveston to Roatan, Belize City, and Cozumel. The ship was great and most of the experiences were good. Our only negative experience on the ship had to do with dining. For some reason, one area of our nightly dining restaurant (Chic) was excessively slow. After two nights of mind numbing waiting for basic essentials (water, appetizers, etc.), we made our way back to the other side of the restaurant where we had previously had stellar service; we stayed on that side for the rest of the cruise. June and his crew were the consummate professionals, and brought the enjoyment back to our dining experience! We paid him complements to his superiors, and hope that recognition is/was ultimately received by him. A few comments about shopping; don't buy everything at the first stop because deals will probably exist at each stop. If you buy more than a few items, don't hesitate to ask for a "volume discount". Everything is negotiable. Some items are not really duty free, based on what we experienced well after purchasing. If buying on the ship, wait until later in the cruise, including the last sea day, to get the best deals. Don't get too emotionally charged about any one thing because buyers remorse is harder to get over than others would have you think. Last, but not least on the shopping side, do as much research as conditions allow before purchasing the "iffy" items (like that "must have" spa treatment, or the "last ring/watch of its type in stock", or the "book your next cruise NOW for the best deal!"). On that last item, we actually found that the deal we got with was better than what they offered on the ship ($50 deposit on ship versus no deposit with CO)! We chose to NOT take advantage of their "best offer", but instead will probably book our next cruise through . We are not representatives of , we're just happy with the booking and service we received on this cruise. As a famous sportscaster once said; "dance with the one that brung ya", so with that in mind, we like and will most likely use them again. Carnival is a great cruise line, and we plan on sailing them again. One last thing; for boarding, we highly recommend choosing the earlier times relative to summer heat, and for disembarking, we highly recommend you DO NOT plan a specific timeframe to be off the ship. Too many things can go wrong, so save yourself some stress and allow plenty of time to make your next travel venue upon leaving the ship. Happy Sailings!!