After booking a mini-suite sailing out of Houston, I almost cancelled it after reading reviews on Cruise Critic. Many of the complaints were about the cold, inattentive staff. This could not be further from the truth! Everyone on board smiled and said "hello", the waiters and stewards were happy and fun. There was this ONE GUY, working at the hamburger stand who did not seem to enjoy his job. That was it, everyone else was adorable.This was my 12th cruise, and there was little to complain about. The food can be hit or miss, but there was something exceptional on the menu everyday. We went to the Chef's Table dinner, which was a once in a lifetime event- four hours of galley tours, sampling wines and great food prepared table side. At $95 per person (complete with a huge cookbook) it is a bargain.
We loved our mini suite. It will spoil us for smaller rooms from now on. Some reviews complain the patio is exposed to the elements and eyes above on upper decks. Not a problem for a wife who wants to sunbathe daily! The carpet was a little worn, but it was clean. The big tub and shower were nice, and all appliances worked as designed. Our room steward Raul was a delight, funny and efficient.
As for food, the good: Pizza was always excellent. Chef's table experience was awesome. Fish and Chips were good, lobster night and the baked Alaska was great. The not so good: Don't order a veggie burger at the hamburger bar. Even if ours hadn't been blackened on one side and raw on the other, it wouldn't have been good. The eggs benedict in the main dining room had very runny whites, so I sent it back. Second time around, the whites were firm but the yolks were like hard boiled eggs. They offered a third try and I passed on it. Finally, the Horizon and Caribe cafeterias are cafeteria quality. Occasionally something is very good, sometimes not. My suggestion would be get many small samples and try it out at the table, then go get more of your favorite.
We loved our mini suite. It will spoil us for smaller rooms from now on. Some reviews complain the patio is exposed to the elements and eyes above on upper decks. Not a problem for a wife who wants to sunbathe daily! The carpet was a little worn, but it was clean. The big tub and shower were nice, and all appliances worked as designed. Our room steward Raul was a delight, funny and efficient.
The terminal was very efficient. We arrived at 12:10, we were seated and eating lunch by 1 pm. We recommend you take a cab or shuttle to the terminal as they have priority parking.
Very clean tourist trap. The same stores with the same merchandise you see in all of the ports. It has the feeling of a theme park complete with the chairlifts to the beach. Looked like fun, but at $14 per person, we walked. Duty free shop had the best prices we saw, i.e. 1 liter Grand Marnier was $28, same bottle in Cozumel was $35. It was the nicest of all the ports.
Cozumel is what it is, determined by where you are when you get off the ship. The docks are moving farther south than previous visits, where once we were across the street from Carlos and Charlies, now we're two miles away. Lots of people hawking tours and wristwatches, it felt like a midway at the state fair until we got far enough away.