We have cruised 4 times, 2nd time with Royal Caribbean - it was outstanding again!

Boarding - On the way to the ship we bought bottled water & soda - saved us a ton of money and the line had no regulations on bringing it aboard. Saved us at least $100 as I drink at least 5 bottles of water a day & I think they were $2.75 a bottle. The only free choices aboard are ice tea, lemonade or tap water. We started to board in Miami at 12:10, we were on board & all checked in within 15 minutes! We did pre-boarding online & everything went very, very quickly. we were allowed in room at 1:00 and our luggage arrived by 2:00.

Excursions - Since this was our 4th cruise we decided to not prebook any excursions & just wing it in every port. In every port you could get off & choose from many choices of inexpensive excursions immediately after getting off ship - I don't know if we will ever book through the cruise line again. Belize was first port. We took a 1 hour horse & carriage tour for $20 total for 2 of us! It was "unbelizable"! A lot of history by an informed native guide who took us through the wealthy & average neighborhoods, we even stopped for a local beer for $1.50. We also shopped at the market just as you get off the ship - a woman in her sixties was ahead of me at the drug store, she bought 30 viagra tablets for $90. I bought a bottle of 30 aspirin with codeine for $5 - great for the morning afters aboard ship! There also were a few shops with knock off Gucci, Coach, etc bags & shoes - great prices & top quality knock offs. I bought 3 pairs of knock off sandals for $68 - they are beautiful and my best find of the trip!! We also went to an Internet cafe, aboard ship it was 50 cents a minute, in port it was 15 cents a minute or $3 an hour - it's the way to go to contact home.Next stop Costa Maya - the village as you leave ship is man made, crowded and the natives are very, very aggressive, if you want to buy the typical cheap trinkets wait to Cozumel - there prices are posted, cheaper & you don't have to haggle. If you do buy in Costa Maya be sure to haggle -it is expected, we always paid 40-50% less then first price given. The best thing to do in Costa Maya was pay the $3 air conditioned bus fare to a beach about 5 minutes away - there I got a 1 hour massage on the beach in a beautiful white screened hut for only $20!!It was one of the best massages I have ever had & being on the beach listening to the ocean waves & a local sing a Mexican love song created a great memory. The cab ride back is $2. Their was jet skiing for $40 & snorkeling ride to reef for $15 at the beach too. You could swim at the beach but not at the shore of the village, too rocky. The village did have a swim up bar that looked fun though. Read more