1. Category 5 cabin is perfect for two people. Plenty of drawer and bathroom space. We didn't need the over the door shoe holder, nightlite or flashlight.
2. Bringing the extra alchohol was a waste of space for us. We didn't even touch it. The drinks on the cruise seemed reasonably priced, there are always specials in the morning $2.99 mimosas and bloody marys, specials in the evenings including two for one drinks.
3. Bringing our own bottled water was a great idea. We brought 24 for the two of us...probably could have used another 12 bottles, at least. Our room host kept the cooler filled with ice, we didn't even have to ask him after the first day...Carl did it automatically. Carl (room host) was excellent...and left us plenty of towel animals...we loved them all.
3. We brought way to many dress clothes, not enough short outfits/tshirts. Next time we would take 4 short outfits for each of us, and send the dirty ones out about 1/2 way through the cruise to be laundered. The laundry/dry clean prices are also very reasonable. Much better than packing extra.
4. The pressing hint worked out great...we sent everything out as soon as our luggage arrived, it was back the next afternoon, we hung it in the closet and we were ready for the week.
5. In Key West, be sure to stop by Bo's Fish Market for the best fish sandwich you will ever eat. The fish is fresh caught that morning, so the special changes daily. Well worth the trip.
6. In Key West, we stopped by Caroline's to catch the rest of the packer game...great place to watch the game..bar outside, the food being served looked and smelled delicious..the people around us confirmed it was delicious. We didn't eat, as we had already snacked too much that day. Good selection of beers.
7. In Grand Cayman, try lunch or drinks at Rackhams or Big Bamboo. Both are excellent. The menu is larger at Rackhams. Both bars/seating areas over look the ocean. People are great!
Both are a short walk up the road, oceanside. Rackham's has the locally brewed Stingray Beer (light and dark), both excellent. Big Bamboo is a microbrewery with 5 beers to taste...all excellent. We highly recommend either of these places.
8. In Grand Cayman we explored on our own, as it was our first time to the island. We took the two hour taxi tour when we got off the ship $15 per person...well worth it. The turtle farm was the best part. You are allowed to hold and pet the sea turtles.
9. In Cozumel, we highly recommend Mr. Sancho's beach area (thanks Carolyn). The taxi ride is $15, and well worth it. The area is beautiful. They have horseback riding, atv's, water trampoline for the kids, nice restroom/changing area, lockers, restaurant, bar with swings for seats, some local crafts people have shops set up. We had lunch there...the food is delicious, the service is excellent. The beach/water beautiful of course.
10. We also had a great meal at Carlos and Charlies....if you like ribs...go here. They are excellent. The fish tacos were sold out...so we I had the chicken...they were wonderful. The caramel crepe for dessert was excellent as well. We stopped because we had heard it was a fun place...we never expected the food to be as good as it was. Great music, dancing. Service is excellent. We had dinner there...and enjoyed the music before returning to the ship. We highly recommend either staying out and having dinner there, or having your dinner on the ship then coming back out and having some fun at Carlos and Charlies.
11. Everyone on the ship was wonderful...we especially loved Marko at Palo's...he made our anniversary trip extra special.
12. The biggest thing I noticed is that the bathrooms and restaurants in Grand Cayman and Cozumel were cleaner than any of them in the US ever thought of being. This was a surprise to me after some of the posts I had read about needing to take your own toilet paper, especially in mexico. We took it, and we didn't need it.
That's about all I can' think of for now. We had a great time, and we are looking forward to our next adventure!
Thanks to all of you for your help before we left, it sure made our planning much easier.
Cheryl and Bob
2. Bringing the extra alchohol was a waste of space for us. We didn't even touch it. The drinks on the cruise seemed reasonably priced, there are always specials in the morning $2.99 mimosas and bloody marys, specials in the evenings including two for one drinks.
3. Bringing our own bottled water was a great idea. We brought 24 for the two of us...probably could have used another 12 bottles, at least. Our room host kept the cooler filled with ice, we didn't even have to ask him after the first day...Carl did it automatically. Carl (room host) was excellent...and left us plenty of towel animals...we loved them all.
3. We brought way to many dress clothes, not enough short outfits/tshirts. Next time we would take 4 short outfits for each of us, and send the dirty ones out about 1/2 way through the cruise to be laundered. The laundry/dry clean prices are also very reasonable. Much better than packing extra.
4. The pressing hint worked out great...we sent everything out as soon as our luggage arrived, it was back the next afternoon, we hung it in the closet and we were ready for the week.
5. In Key West, be sure to stop by Bo's Fish Market for the best fish sandwich you will ever eat. The fish is fresh caught that morning, so the special changes daily. Well worth the trip.
6. In Key West, we stopped by Caroline's to catch the rest of the packer game...great place to watch the game..bar outside, the food being served looked and smelled delicious..the people around us confirmed it was delicious. We didn't eat, as we had already snacked too much that day. Good selection of beers.
7. In Grand Cayman, try lunch or drinks at Rackhams or Big Bamboo. Both are excellent. The menu is larger at Rackhams. Both bars/seating areas over look the ocean. People are great!
Both are a short walk up the road, oceanside. Rackham's has the locally brewed Stingray Beer (light and dark), both excellent. Big Bamboo is a microbrewery with 5 beers to taste...all excellent. We highly recommend either of these places.
8. In Grand Cayman we explored on our own, as it was our first time to the island. We took the two hour taxi tour when we got off the ship $15 per person...well worth it. The turtle farm was the best part. You are allowed to hold and pet the sea turtles.
9. In Cozumel, we highly recommend Mr. Sancho's beach area (thanks Carolyn). The taxi ride is $15, and well worth it. The area is beautiful. They have horseback riding, atv's, water trampoline for the kids, nice restroom/changing area, lockers, restaurant, bar with swings for seats, some local crafts people have shops set up. We had lunch there...the food is delicious, the service is excellent. The beach/water beautiful of course.
10. We also had a great meal at Carlos and Charlies....if you like ribs...go here. They are excellent. The fish tacos were sold out...so we I had the chicken...they were wonderful. The caramel crepe for dessert was excellent as well. We stopped because we had heard it was a fun place...we never expected the food to be as good as it was. Great music, dancing. Service is excellent. We had dinner there...and enjoyed the music before returning to the ship. We highly recommend either staying out and having dinner there, or having your dinner on the ship then coming back out and having some fun at Carlos and Charlies.
11. Everyone on the ship was wonderful...we especially loved Marko at Palo's...he made our anniversary trip extra special.
12. The biggest thing I noticed is that the bathrooms and restaurants in Grand Cayman and Cozumel were cleaner than any of them in the US ever thought of being. This was a surprise to me after some of the posts I had read about needing to take your own toilet paper, especially in mexico. We took it, and we didn't need it.
That's about all I can' think of for now. We had a great time, and we are looking forward to our next adventure!
Thanks to all of you for your help before we left, it sure made our planning much easier.
Cheryl and Bob
