New Years Eve Cruise

Royal Caribbean is a quality cruise line that is well organized and has friendly, helpful employees.  The check in and check out process is quick and without incident.  The food in the Eat when you want program (Portofino restaurant) was consistently very good with super wait staff.  The performances were much better than anticipated so the shows should not be missed.  The New Years Eve party was an event!  They showed all of the key football games on the big screen by the outdoor pool so a fun a lively atmosphere.

The downside to this cruise is the excursions.  We did the jeep tour in Cozumel through Royal Caribbean which had a weak snorkeling component and a rather rushed drive around the island.

Grand Cayman is the nicest stop in my opinion but the process of a tender to land used up a good portion of the stop.  It took quite a while to get off and long lines to tender back to the ship.  We did the trip to see Stingray City which is definitely worth the trip and the snorkeling was the best of the stops.  But the net free  time on the island was rushed.

We did a personalized tour in Jamaica through Know Jamaica Tours.  Marva Shaw at Know Jamaica Tours is the owner and took great pride and personal care of the visit.  We were met by a friendly and knowledgeable member of her team easily and our driver for the day, Glenroy Johnson, was terrific-friendly, knowledgeable and eager to please.  The only issue with Jamaica at that time of year is it was so crowded and there are not a whole lot of options of what to do.  I suggest skipping the tour of the Rosehall Great House at a cost of $20 pp.  The beaches are not terrific there.  But again, I can't imagine a more professional and competent and friendly group to work with than Know Jamaica Tours.  And ask for Glenroy!

The weather is a bit tricky at that time of year also.  The last full day on board was inside all day due to bad weather and one day on departure was iffy, but once away from Galveston by a day it was gorgeous.

If you like cruises, you will like this cruise.  The convenience of driving to the port and leaving from TX is a huge plus if you can do it.  Easy parking in Galveston with a smooth and quick shuttle to the ship.