Good point! One of our early cruises, we booked island tours at most stops. You can only see so many rum factories and sugar mills. We learned after that to do a variety (tour, beach day, walk around the port, do an activity).
Winging it in Nassau while everyone else went to the casinos was the best thing! We ended up on a horse drawn carriage tour, had an amazing lunch at a local restaurant, and found a cool pirate museum!
FOR REAL!!! Totally true about the ferry from Cozumel to the mainland. I did it last March. I don't suffer from motion sickness and I felt totally fine, even though it was a very choppy ride. However, I was surrounded by 100 other people who were either tossing their cookies or on the verge. People lining up to get into the one or two bathrooms, standing by me while they got sick. I was horrified. One person was told to sit down because there was no room in the bathroom line, so the sat next to me while they covered their mouth trying to hold it in. I spent the 45 minute ride in a chair in a semi fetal position trying my best to stay out of the line of fire from someone's projectile vomiting. I managed to get off that ferry without being puked on, but I'm not sure how. It was such an awful experience. And then you have to ride it back at the end of the day and go through it all again. Not worth it!!! 🤢🤮
OMG! I am laughing with you...not at you! Sounds horrible! I feel sorry for everyone! Those who were getting ready to projectile vomit...and those, like you, who felt as though you were seated next to a ticking time bomb! OMG! LOL! Perhaps this is fodder for a new reality TV show...On the Ferry and Afraid! LOL!
We recently went on our first RC cruise. While it was enjoyable there were several things that went wrong. One was the excursion we booked w/the cruise. They changed the time and we missed it. Meanwhile, we booked 2 other excursions on our own and they were great. No issues. In fact, it was my first time booking outside of the cruise line so I accidentally scheduled one for the wrong day & I had no way of rescheduling while on the cruise. But when we got off we saw the tour guide. He made a call & we were good to go. We were so happy and the tour was amazing. Shout out to Roaton Fun Tours!!
There are advantage to excursions through Royal Caribbean. Our Whale watching excursion in Alaska was more than an hour late on our return and the cruise ship waited for us
Port talk used to be very authentic decades ago. They spoke of the port's history, museums and other things to see. I was very disappointed when I was on several RC ships that the person in charge (forgot his title but was an RC officer?) seems to be hired by Effy and all he talked about was Effy diamonds and where to buy! And some other stores that you've seen in all the Caribbean ports.
The biggest reason I only do cruise backed excursion because the cruise ship is aware if it's running late or etc.. and wont leave. If you are on a private excursion you're at risk missing the ship if the private excursion has issues.
Hence, if you do choose to do a non RCL tour, make sure it's short enough, and not too far away from the cruise port, to make it back, if you're delayed.
Highly recommend doing a southern Caribbean cruise! Even better if you manage to find an itinerary operating further south than PR (like Barbados for eg). They had much more unique itineraries, from the more familiar destinations (Aruba/Curacao, St. Lucia etc) to the less beaten paths cruise-wise (Dominica, Trinidad, Tobago etc).
Totally concur. Did a southern caribbean itinerary, that included Dominica. The tours on that eco island where fabulous. Visiting waterfalls up in the mountains, seeing their famous national bird, The Siserou parrot, and more.
Thanks for the off site tour sites. I finally found the video that talks about them. The fun excursions are already booked for our Feb cruise in Roatan.
Your statement is so true Matt about taking the ferry from Cozumel to playa Del Carmen! The last time I did this with my family all of us were throwing up!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yeah, San Juan is a great jumping off point if you're bored of Eastern/Western and want to try Southern, lots of 7 day cruises out of there, and if you can push a few days more, do see San Juan and the rest of Puerto Rico, it's a wonderful place and the locals deserve and would benefit from tourist dollars
Can’t see myself getting sick of the beaches within a one week period but to each their own. Glad to know about the Cozumel ferry as someone who gets seasick easily.
Did that cozumel ferry on one cruise, and as you board, they give you barf bags. I chewed gum the entire trip over and back. That was the most choppy and rocky boat ride ever. Defintely avoid as Matt says!
So true about just walking off the ship with no plan!.. especially in Nassau.. we did the ‘No plan’ once.. Had hundreds of vendors at us.. Finally got to the end of the strip & Luckily got a tour guide to show us the island & turned out great.. But Still Nerve Wrecking 😬
I second your thoughts on the ferry in Cozumel. We went across to Playa on a "calm" day. It was one wild ride. Some in our group sat in the open area in the front and loved it. I stayed inside clutching a margarita.
It’s sometimes a mistake to do a tour at all. In many places the sights are totally walkable and many times you can just grab a cab to the beach etc. just do a little research before you go. We usually only do tours once we determine that it’s not practical to do it on our own
Ditto on the warning about Taking a ferry from Cozumel to Casa Del Playa. The ride was so rough, the boat was listing right and left that I thought we were going to capsize. Not only did I vomit on the ferry, but I also vomited on the bus ride to Chichen Itza. Never again. Listen to Matt.
Great points as usual. Something I've noticed that people don't do when they are doing a back to back in the Caribbean is book so that they change up the itinerary. Nobody seems to talk about in the Caribbean they normally do a 2-week itinerary and then change up and go somewhere else the next two weeks. So if you start your holiday on their second week of the ship's itinerary your second week will be going to different Islands. I love doing that!
The excursion I wanted to go in Aruba was sold out through RCL. So I asked my travel agent. He gave a reliable tour company and I got a better excursion and the amount of people in excursion is a lot smaller.
this is why I love your channel. you tell the truth about what's good and what's bad. even though you got a Royal Caribbean channel I would love to meet you one day on a Royal Caribbean cruise.
Another terrific video Matt. Especially the point about taking different itineraries. I’ve done 40 cruises with RC, including Dubai (1), Shanghai (2) and Singapore (2). Wonderful experiences as long as you are comfortable in a foreign environment. My first out of Shanghai was also my first on Quantum, so I when on line to read a ship review. Literally, the very first review said “stay off of the ship, it’s full of Chinese”. And it was, 97% + Chinese but it was a fantastic cruise.
Hi Matt really enjoy your videos very informative and entertaining I do find myself mixing it up going to different ports I do a lot of short cruises with Royal which takes us to Nassau and perfect Day I believe in the past you did a walking tour of perfect day I think most people would enjoy a walking tour of Nassau for example the Queens steps and different museums I think you would do an excellent video and a lot of people would find it very helpful including myself.
I went on a cruise to colombia back in March and April this year and for colombia we booked our own 3rd party excursion. It was a cooking class. Really awesome experience. It was cheaper than the rc excursions and it was a lot of fun plus we had time to explore a little. Everyone we talked to that did rc's excursions had nothing but complaints. So yeah I agree don't limit yourself to the ship promoted options only. We found ours on trip advisor.
Nice tips Matt, however, I have personally made at least 40 round trips on the ferry in Cozumel, probably more, but at least 80 (one way) in total. These have been at different times of the year but not during a hurricane. I've never gotten sick and with all those trips I've only seen one person get sick. I've seen more people get sick on a bus before. So I'm not quite sure where all the sea sick people are coming from. Just my own personal experience.
Hey Matt, we love cruising but I’m on dialysis so we are only able to take 3 day weekend cruises. We looked into taking a dialysis at sea cruise but it is very expensive. Have you ever considered doing a review of dialysis at sea? I would like to know why it’s so expensive and is it worth it. Thanks from Troy and Donna big fans.
Consider yourself blessed. I only did it once, last March, and it was awful. Since then, I've heard others share their similar horror stories of the ferry. Glad to hear it's not always bad.
I will admit, one thing I really want to do is go to the Saline reserve and Collier's Wilderness reserve in Grand Cayman and see the Blue Iguanas there. The only problem is that it's literally on the other side of the island from where you dock. And it would take so long to get there. I'd be afraid I wouldn't have any time to enjoy it and get back in time before the ship would leave.
I find it funny that you say to do different itineraries, with different ports, when your recommendations on the livestream for every stop seems to be a beach visit. 😂
Oh that ferry in Cozumel. My husband ended up getting sick on that ferry on the way back to the ship. I will say our experience was a little different as we ended up with some kind of bug that we got in Costa Maya (the medical clinic on board was tracing it back to our excursion) so the ferry didnt help matters and I would say that we had a relatively calm seas day. With that said, if we go back there, we will not be taking that ferry and staying on Cozumel. Once was enough and never again. I will also say that we do catamaran rides, snorkling, excursions that deal with getting there by boats and have had no problems in other locations and dont usually experience sea sickness and I will still never do that ferry again.
Hey Matt, can you type out the first link you said before Viator and Resort for a day? I tried typing what I heard as best I could online but couldn't find anything
One mistake, I have seen people make on Royal Caribbeans private island, in Labadee, Haiti, is being whisked up to an area, where local vendors are, and hassled to buy items. Some cruisers get wrangled there, for so long, before they break away, that they nearly miss getting back on the ship in time. Do not let these vendors get you.
My first cruise to Bermuda, yes north of the Caribbean, I followed my friends and wasted hours window shopping around the port, not even the capital city. I will never go to a port again without making a plan again regardless of whether people say you can choose an activity after arriving in port.
The Port Talk was a miserable sales pitch onboard Carnival. it wasted an hour of my day, but did give me a nice nap (which would have probably been better spent in my cabin)
Hi~ so we will be on our first Oasis class in May. We are mostly all about the ship this sailing (Allure). The stops are Nassau and perfect day. In Nassau we just want to take in about an hour and then go back and explore the ship some more (minus a lot of people 😉). Is there anything worthwhile at the port with our thoughts in mind?
But. Because this is my first time sailing with Royal Caribbean. I only been to Cozumel once in my life. How do I know which sailing is best? Icon of the seas, the ship I’ll be sailing on with my family next year sometime, will do 7-night cruises. I don’t know which 7-night cruise to do first?
Those tour operators are just another company making money from the locals. Viator is an international company. Therefore, I don’t mind booking through the cruise lines. I prefer the cruise line tours. I’m really not concerned that I didn’t find some off the path beach cove or restaurant. I cruise because I like the ship, food, activities, entertainment, then the ports. I get off the ship to shop, learn something about the local area, and if I find a cool local restaurant, great.
Regarding RC shore excursions: I never do them any more because they keep getting cancelled, or are poorly organized. I have much better luck with local tour companies. I do 3 or 4 cruises per year. One is always a TA or TP. One is a Caribbean cruise, and the other one or two will be something new. I have done Australia/New Zealand, Alaska, and Mediterranean cruises so far. One time in Nassau I fell and twisted my ankle getting off the ship, so I couldn't do the shore excursion which involved a lot of walking. So we hired a local taxi driver who offered to give us a tour. It was a risk, we knew, but we negotiated and paid upfront, and he gave us a great tour at a great price. We gave him a good tip on top of the agreed price.
I've only done one cruise, and yes, by RC. I was happy with my decision to book via the cruise for a zipline trip in Belize. Why? Because the tourguide mistakingly thought we embarked in Houston and not Miami. He was taking his time until one of the tour-goers asked if we would get back to the ship on time. It was no worry for me and my kids, the tour would have to get us to the next port if we missed departure (we made the last tender) I was happy with my decision to take a taxi in the Cozumel port and spend the day at a beach club 20-minutes away. It saved a ton of money and my kids and I had a great time. I was also happy to do the cruise tour in Grand Cayman to swim with the stingrays. It was a unique experience. I've decided I am not a fan of the cruise experience. We enjoy other forms of travel, away from the crowds and with more emersion in the locations we've traveled so far to see.
I did three Eastern Caribbean cruises and just got back from Bahamas. My next one is Alaska and also have Mexican Rivera, Southern Caribbean, Norway, Mediterranean booked with Eastern and Westerns in between. Can't wait for Alaska (leaving in week!) because it's so different from Caribbean.
Questions off topic...if I purchase a RC cruise and the cruise cancel or postpone or overbooked and I am bumped off...1. Do I get a full cruise refund? 2. If I already purchased my airfare and hotel.. would RC refund those monies? 3. What do I look for in insurance to ensure they don't back out or refuse to pay ( insurance company). Thanks
A little irresponsible of you Matt not to mention the one reason to NEVER take an excursion outside of Royal. When that outside company runs late and you miss the ship. You are SOL. It will cost you thousands of dollars to find your way to the next port or home. Not to mention if you need your passport. It's still on the ship with ALL your belongings. Royal will leave you running on the pier. I will NEVER book an excursion outside of Royal for that only reason. So if someone is thinking of saving $50 keep that in mind.
There's a larger discussion about shore excursions than what I presented, or you have responded with. There's lots of other videos and articles on RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com to discuss that
Matt, with watching this video, you mentioned to not take the ferry to the mainland from Cozumel, instead book a different tour or book a land tour. I take it the land tours use a different boat to carry passengers over? What would you recommend for those wishing to visit the mainland while stopping in Cozumel? Thank you!
We always book the ship shore, excursions for one reason, and one reason only…. if you are on a local shore, excursion, and your vehicle breaks down, or anything happens in you can’t get back to the ship in time, royal Caribbean will not wait for you
Viator is horrible. If there is a dispute between you and the tour operator, they always side with their customer… the operator….even if they are scamming you.
THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!! I’ll take this as my sign. Yesterday I was finally able to see my excursions in the RC app and I noticed how HIGH and expensive these things were.. PER PERSON 😮😅 so I’ll try trip advisor and hope for the best because on top of my $2k plus cruise the excursions, drink package, and Internet are another $3k!! 🫠😂 so I’m trying to cut cost anyway I can
the other reason people book their shore excursions with the cruise line you are guaranteed to be back on the ship on time.
Good point! One of our early cruises, we booked island tours at most stops. You can only see so many rum factories and sugar mills. We learned after that to do a variety (tour, beach day, walk around the port, do an activity).
Winging it in Nassau while everyone else went to the casinos was the best thing! We ended up on a horse drawn carriage tour, had an amazing lunch at a local restaurant, and found a cool pirate museum!
FOR REAL!!! Totally true about the ferry from Cozumel to the mainland. I did it last March. I don't suffer from motion sickness and I felt totally fine, even though it was a very choppy ride. However, I was surrounded by 100 other people who were either tossing their cookies or on the verge. People lining up to get into the one or two bathrooms, standing by me while they got sick. I was horrified. One person was told to sit down because there was no room in the bathroom line, so the sat next to me while they covered their mouth trying to hold it in. I spent the 45 minute ride in a chair in a semi fetal position trying my best to stay out of the line of fire from someone's projectile vomiting. I managed to get off that ferry without being puked on, but I'm not sure how. It was such an awful experience. And then you have to ride it back at the end of the day and go through it all again. Not worth it!!! 🤢🤮
OMG! I am laughing with you...not at you! Sounds horrible! I feel sorry for everyone! Those who were getting ready to projectile vomit...and those, like you, who felt as though you were seated next to a ticking time bomb! OMG! LOL! Perhaps this is fodder for a new reality TV show...On the Ferry and Afraid! LOL!
The crossing I went on they were handing out barf bags at the start of it so I knew it would be rough. I'm lucky I don't get sick.
We recently went on our first RC cruise. While it was enjoyable there were several things that went wrong. One was the excursion we booked w/the cruise. They changed the time and we missed it. Meanwhile, we booked 2 other excursions on our own and they were great. No issues. In fact, it was my first time booking outside of the cruise line so I accidentally scheduled one for the wrong day & I had no way of rescheduling while on the cruise. But when we got off we saw the tour guide. He made a call & we were good to go. We were so happy and the tour was amazing. Shout out to Roaton Fun Tours!!
Aruba is one of our favorite places to go in the Caribbean. Curacao is beautiful as well.
There are advantage to excursions through Royal Caribbean. Our Whale watching excursion in Alaska was more than an hour late on our return and the cruise ship waited for us
Port talk used to be very authentic decades ago. They spoke of the port's history, museums and other things to see. I was very disappointed when I was on several RC ships that the person in charge (forgot his title but was an RC officer?) seems to be hired by Effy and all he talked about was Effy diamonds and where to buy! And some other stores that you've seen in all the Caribbean ports.
The biggest reason I only do cruise backed excursion because the cruise ship is aware if it's running late or etc.. and wont leave. If you are on a private excursion you're at risk missing the ship if the private excursion has issues.
Hence, if you do choose to do a non RCL tour, make sure it's short enough, and not too far away from the cruise port, to make it back, if you're delayed.
Highly recommend doing a southern Caribbean cruise! Even better if you manage to find an itinerary operating further south than PR (like Barbados for eg). They had much more unique itineraries, from the more familiar destinations (Aruba/Curacao, St. Lucia etc) to the less beaten paths cruise-wise (Dominica, Trinidad, Tobago etc).
Totally concur. Did a southern caribbean itinerary, that included Dominica. The tours on that eco island where fabulous. Visiting waterfalls up in the mountains, seeing their famous national bird, The Siserou parrot, and more.
Thanks for the off site tour sites. I finally found the video that talks about them. The fun excursions are already booked for our Feb cruise in Roatan.
Your statement is so true Matt about taking the ferry from Cozumel to playa Del Carmen! The last time I did this with my family all of us were throwing up!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yeah, San Juan is a great jumping off point if you're bored of Eastern/Western and want to try Southern, lots of 7 day cruises out of there, and if you can push a few days more, do see San Juan and the rest of Puerto Rico, it's a wonderful place and the locals deserve and would benefit from tourist dollars
I'm not into snorkeling or ATV so discovering a different beach is right up my alley.
Can’t see myself getting sick of the beaches within a one week period but to each their own. Glad to know about the Cozumel ferry as someone who gets seasick easily.
Did that cozumel ferry on one cruise, and as you board, they give you barf bags. I chewed gum the entire trip over and back. That was the most choppy and rocky boat ride ever. Defintely avoid as Matt says!
So true about just walking off the ship with no plan!.. especially in Nassau.. we did the ‘No plan’ once.. Had hundreds of vendors at us.. Finally got to the end of the strip & Luckily got a tour guide to show us the island & turned out great.. But Still Nerve Wrecking 😬
I second your thoughts on the ferry in Cozumel. We went across to Playa on a "calm" day. It was one wild ride. Some in our group sat in the open area in the front and loved it. I stayed inside clutching a margarita.
It’s sometimes a mistake to do a tour at all. In many places the sights are totally walkable and many times you can just grab a cab to the beach etc. just do a little research before you go. We usually only do tours once we determine that it’s not practical to do it on our own
Ditto on the warning about Taking a ferry from Cozumel to Casa Del Playa. The ride was so rough, the boat was listing right and left that I thought we were going to capsize. Not only did I vomit on the ferry, but I also vomited on the bus ride to Chichen Itza. Never again. Listen to Matt.
Great points as usual. Something I've noticed that people don't do when they are doing a back to back in the Caribbean is book so that they change up the itinerary. Nobody seems to talk about in the Caribbean they normally do a 2-week itinerary and then change up and go somewhere else the next two weeks. So if you start your holiday on their second week of the ship's itinerary your second week will be going to different Islands. I love doing that!
The excursion I wanted to go in Aruba was sold out through RCL. So I asked my travel agent. He gave a reliable tour company and I got a better excursion and the amount of people in excursion is a lot smaller.
But if you go through RC you are guaranteed to get back to the ship on time…worth it.
Very true
And i think for first time cruisers its the best option
Happy Birthday 🎉🎈to Mrs. Silver Honda🎶🎵You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too, yeah
They say it's your birthday 🎵
this is why I love your channel. you tell the truth about what's good and what's bad. even though you got a Royal Caribbean channel I would love to meet you one day on a Royal Caribbean cruise.
Our best caribbean excursion was the Rum and Reggie tour on Bahama visit. Booked outside of the cruise line.
Another terrific video Matt. Especially the point about taking different itineraries. I’ve done 40 cruises with RC, including Dubai (1), Shanghai (2) and Singapore (2). Wonderful experiences as long as you are comfortable in a foreign environment. My first out of Shanghai was also my first on Quantum, so I when on line to read a ship review. Literally, the very first review said “stay off of the ship, it’s full of Chinese”. And it was, 97% + Chinese but it was a fantastic cruise.
The ferry in Cozumel!!! It was horrible. 2018 they had a fire onboard and didn’t evacuate us!
Olld news!
Hi Matt really enjoy your videos very informative and entertaining I do find myself mixing it up going to different ports I do a lot of short cruises with Royal which takes us to Nassau and perfect Day I believe in the past you did a walking tour of perfect day I think most people would enjoy a walking tour of Nassau for example the Queens steps and different museums I think you would do an excellent video and a lot of people would find it very helpful including myself.
I went on a cruise to colombia back in March and April this year and for colombia we booked our own 3rd party excursion. It was a cooking class. Really awesome experience. It was cheaper than the rc excursions and it was a lot of fun plus we had time to explore a little. Everyone we talked to that did rc's excursions had nothing but complaints. So yeah I agree don't limit yourself to the ship promoted options only. We found ours on trip advisor.
Nice tips Matt, however, I have personally made at least 40 round trips on the ferry in Cozumel, probably more, but at least 80 (one way) in total. These have been at different times of the year but not during a hurricane. I've never gotten sick and with all those trips I've only seen one person get sick. I've seen more people get sick on a bus before. So I'm not quite sure where all the sea sick people are coming from. Just my own personal experience.
Hey Matt, we love cruising but I’m on dialysis so we are only able to take 3 day weekend cruises. We looked into taking a dialysis at sea cruise but it is very expensive. Have you ever considered doing a review of dialysis at sea? I would like to know why it’s so expensive and is it worth it. Thanks from Troy and Donna big fans.
I book through RCCL for my excursions bc I do not want my tour to run late and miss the ship. No thank you.
Totally appreciate the honesty and information.
Oh heh, once I was staying in Playa del Carmen and took the ferry across to Cozumel, and it was... an experience. Survived, though!
Wow. I have used the ferry at Cozumel at least 3 times and never had an issue.
Consider yourself blessed. I only did it once, last March, and it was awful. Since then, I've heard others share their similar horror stories of the ferry. Glad to hear it's not always bad.
Thank you so much this really opened my eyes to try something new and different.
So true. Thank you for this information.
Panama Canal was so hot and they wake you up to talk about it as you in line waiting I did enjoy it
We walk around cities & ports all the time and have great food & great fun.
I will admit, one thing I really want to do is go to the Saline reserve and Collier's Wilderness reserve in Grand Cayman and see the Blue Iguanas there. The only problem is that it's literally on the other side of the island from where you dock. And it would take so long to get there. I'd be afraid I wouldn't have any time to enjoy it and get back in time before the ship would leave.
Thank you for your honest opinions. This was helpful
I find it funny that you say to do different itineraries, with different ports, when your recommendations on the livestream for every stop seems to be a beach visit. 😂
Just sharing the top recommendations. Staying onboard or walking around town is always a fallback
Oh that ferry in Cozumel. My husband ended up getting sick on that ferry on the way back to the ship. I will say our experience was a little different as we ended up with some kind of bug that we got in Costa Maya (the medical clinic on board was tracing it back to our excursion) so the ferry didnt help matters and I would say that we had a relatively calm seas day. With that said, if we go back there, we will not be taking that ferry and staying on Cozumel. Once was enough and never again. I will also say that we do catamaran rides, snorkling, excursions that deal with getting there by boats and have had no problems in other locations and dont usually experience sea sickness and I will still never do that ferry again.
Hey Matt, can you type out the first link you said before Viator and Resort for a day? I tried typing what I heard as best I could online but couldn't find anything
Viator, shoreexcursionsgroup.com & Resortforaday.com
One mistake, I have seen people make on Royal Caribbeans private island, in Labadee, Haiti, is being whisked up to an area, where local vendors are, and hassled to buy items. Some cruisers get wrangled there, for so long, before they break away, that they nearly miss getting back on the ship in time. Do not let these vendors get you.
Jus came back from my first cruise at Bahamas. Best time of my fking life freedom of seas
Had no plan in Falmouth so we just decided to walk thru the town. I wouldn't recommend that. I think we were the only ones that didn't know better.
Good to know!
My first cruise to Bermuda, yes north of the Caribbean, I followed my friends and wasted hours window shopping around the port, not even the capital city. I will never go to a port again without making a plan again regardless of whether people say you can choose an activity after arriving in port.
What about culinary tours? I love them.
The Cozumel ferry is ok if you take it November - April, which is not during the rain season. I would never ride it during the rain season.
What was the name of the first excursion website that was mentioned? It sounded like "Shore Shirps."
I listened twice and couldn't make it out either
He talked about go to the Royal Caribbean’s official website and book the “shore excursions” there.
@@orangey_orange_orangutan I'm referring to the site he mentioned right before he mentioned Viator.
yep, I gave up trying to understand what matt said...
Ditto
New subscriber, and get my coffee ready when I see the blue dot 🔵 letting me know you have uploaded another video!! 🎉
Yay! Thank you!
The Port Talk was a miserable sales pitch onboard Carnival. it wasted an hour of my day, but did give me a nice nap (which would have probably been better spent in my cabin)
Great advice
Been on 10 RC Caribbean cruises and never knew about the port talks
All good points.
Hi~ so we will be on our first Oasis class in May. We are mostly all about the ship this sailing (Allure). The stops are Nassau and perfect day. In Nassau we just want to take in about an hour and then go back and explore the ship some more (minus a lot of people 😉).
Is there anything worthwhile at the port with our thoughts in mind?
Attending a time share sales pitch during a port stop is a waste of time.
Unless you want to buy a time share.
But. Because this is my first time sailing with Royal Caribbean. I only been to Cozumel once in my life. How do I know which sailing is best? Icon of the seas, the ship I’ll be sailing on with my family next year sometime, will do 7-night cruises. I don’t know which 7-night cruise to do first?
Have a travel agent that specializes in cruises help you. They don't charge for booking with them and will help you figure out what's best for you.
Those tour operators are just another company making money from the locals. Viator is an international company. Therefore, I don’t mind booking through the cruise lines. I prefer the cruise line tours. I’m really not concerned that I didn’t find some off the path beach cove or restaurant. I cruise because I like the ship, food, activities, entertainment, then the ports. I get off the ship to shop, learn something about the local area, and if I find a cool local restaurant, great.
I love the ABC islands
Cozumel ferry heads up on thank you
Regarding RC shore excursions: I never do them any more because they keep getting cancelled, or are poorly organized. I have much better luck with local tour companies.
I do 3 or 4 cruises per year. One is always a TA or TP. One is a Caribbean cruise, and the other one or two will be something new. I have done Australia/New Zealand, Alaska, and Mediterranean cruises so far.
One time in Nassau I fell and twisted my ankle getting off the ship, so I couldn't do the shore excursion which involved a lot of walking. So we hired a local taxi driver who offered to give us a tour. It was a risk, we knew, but we negotiated and paid upfront, and he gave us a great tour at a great price. We gave him a good tip on top of the agreed price.
Can you link the 3rd party excursion providers you recommend? (They go by too quick in your narration)
viator, shoreexcursionsgroup.com, and resortforaday.com
The word "duped" means being tricked or scammed by someone else. It does not mean bad things happening to you through your own mistakes.
I've only done one cruise, and yes, by RC. I was happy with my decision to book via the cruise for a zipline trip in Belize. Why? Because the tourguide mistakingly thought we embarked in Houston and not Miami. He was taking his time until one of the tour-goers asked if we would get back to the ship on time. It was no worry for me and my kids, the tour would have to get us to the next port if we missed departure (we made the last tender)
I was happy with my decision to take a taxi in the Cozumel port and spend the day at a beach club 20-minutes away. It saved a ton of money and my kids and I had a great time.
I was also happy to do the cruise tour in Grand Cayman to swim with the stingrays. It was a unique experience.
I've decided I am not a fan of the cruise experience. We enjoy other forms of travel, away from the crowds and with more emersion in the locations we've traveled so far to see.
I did three Eastern Caribbean cruises and just got back from Bahamas. My next one is Alaska and also have Mexican Rivera, Southern Caribbean, Norway, Mediterranean booked with Eastern and Westerns in between. Can't wait for Alaska (leaving in week!) because it's so different from Caribbean.
I know you love st. Thomas 😊😊😊😊😊 🇻🇮
Questions off topic...if I purchase a RC cruise and the cruise cancel or postpone or overbooked and I am bumped off...1. Do I get a full cruise refund? 2. If I already purchased my airfare and hotel.. would RC refund those monies? 3. What do I look for in insurance to ensure they don't back out or refuse to pay ( insurance company). Thanks
Great questions to ask a travel agent!
Some shops in ports are actually owned by RC. Don't buy any jewelry or t-shirts or refrigerator magnets.
A little irresponsible of you Matt not to mention the one reason to NEVER take an excursion outside of Royal. When that outside company runs late and you miss the ship. You are SOL. It will cost you thousands of dollars to find your way to the next port or home. Not to mention if you need your passport. It's still on the ship with ALL your belongings. Royal will leave you running on the pier. I will NEVER book an excursion outside of Royal for that only reason. So if someone is thinking of saving $50 keep that in mind.
There's a larger discussion about shore excursions than what I presented, or you have responded with. There's lots of other videos and articles on RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com to discuss that
Matt, with watching this video, you mentioned to not take the ferry to the mainland from Cozumel, instead book a different tour or book a land tour. I take it the land tours use a different boat to carry passengers over? What would you recommend for those wishing to visit the mainland while stopping in Cozumel? Thank you!
They are a good suggestion he's saying don't do a beach day at ALL your ports of call
I recommend doing a land vacation to Cancun for that. Stay on the island for cruise visits.
Dont forget to stop at Diamonds International for your free charm bracelet.
😂
We found the Bigger the Ship the LONGER it takes to
see it all , So We Book Longer Cruises 10 ++ Days is good for Us...
We always book the ship shore, excursions for one reason, and one reason only…. if you are on a local shore, excursion, and your vehicle breaks down, or anything happens in you can’t get back to the ship in time, royal Caribbean will not wait for you
What was the other shore excursion site you mention besides viator?
www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/
Where is this Zipline in the promo?
@williebrown8881 looks like Labadee
Viator is horrible. If there is a dispute between you and the tour operator, they always side with their customer… the operator….even if they are scamming you.
Different port, same ….
You are in big trouble
With Royal. How dare you direct people away from their shore excursions 😮. 😂
The biggest cruise trap still out there in 2023 is this clickbait channel that runs the same 30 stories all year long.
Thanks for commenting and increasing his engagement!
THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!! I’ll take this as my sign. Yesterday I was finally able to see my excursions in the RC app and I noticed how HIGH and expensive these things were.. PER PERSON 😮😅 so I’ll try trip advisor and hope for the best because on top of my $2k plus cruise the excursions, drink package, and Internet are another $3k!! 🫠😂 so I’m trying to cut cost anyway I can