Conference abbott::cruise_travel

    My husband and I are booked on the May 24th sailing of the Majesty.
    When in June are you sailing? I'd be glad to let you know how things
    went for us. This is our second cruise, but the first time on RCCL.
    
    Deb

 Scheduled departure is 6/28, can't wait.  By all means, please let me know how
 it goes.  It's our first for both of us and our 10th anniversary so I want to
 make sure it goes right!

 john

    When we cruised with RCCL a few years ago we also purchased our own 
    plane tickets. We booked our room on a weekend special rate at the 
    Hyatt Regency in Miami, the same place that the cruise line housed 
    the one-day-early passengers. The next morning swarms of people were 
    taking buses from the hotel to the pier, and we were ushered along with 
    them. When we spoke up and said that we weren't part of the package 
    group, we were told to take the bus anyway, nobody would notice. 
    
    Linda

    I'm surprised they didn't ask you for a voucher.  I've embarked from
    Miami a few times and they usually are strict about making sure
    everyone has a bus voucher for the hotel to the ship.  
    
    Ro
    

    John,
    
    I'll post how our trip went when we return. That won't be until the
    week of June 8 though. We're staying in Florida for 6 days after the
    ship docks.
    
    I'm sure you and your wife will have a wonderful time. I've heard a lot
    of good things about RCCL. Last year, my mother-in-law sailed on the
    Sovereign of the Seas, and she loved it. She's planning on cruising
    again next year.
    
    Have you decided on a hotel? You may want to talk to your travel agent.
    They might be able to tell you if the hotel has transportation to the
    pier. If not, you may want to call a shuttle service, such as Mears
    Motor Shuttle. I've used them before, but I'm not sure Mears is in
    Miami. The shuttle service would be able to tell you which hotels they do 
    pickups at, if you need to make reservations, and what the cost is.
    
    Hope this helps.
    
    Deb   

 Deb

 Thanks for your input.  I'll check into Mears Shuttle.  I understand RED TOP
 is another one in the area.  My travel agent is working the hotel issue with
 transportation as well.  I think we'll be ok.

 I just have to remember to let the travel agent worry, not me.  I guess I'm
 afraid to let go of this stuff based on my experiences in the past with a
 'relocation specialist'.

 john

My wife and I are cruising the Majesty in May. We will be getting our own
transportation to and from the pier. My concern is how the luggage gets handled. 
On our last cruise the luggage was handled from the airport to the ship by them 
and from the ship to the airport by them on the return flight.

Am I correct in assuming someone will be at the pier to take our bags ?
and also, at the end of the cruise I'll be able to carry my own bags off ?

thanks

    Never been on RCCL in the Caribbean but its been my experience that
    there will be a place at the pier that will take your bags and see
    that they make it to your stateroom. At the end of the cruise, you'll
    pack and leave your bags outside your stateroom and all luggage will
    be on the pier for you to pickup after disembarking prior to going
    through customs.
    

            RE:  .7
    
            My husband and I did a "cruise only" on NCL (we got our own
            airfare).  We were also concerned about transportation, luggage,
            etc.  But everything went really smooth.  When we arrived in
            Miami, we were going to make contact with the NCL reps and pay
            for a voucher to get on their shuttle bus.  But, we starting
            talking to another couple who were going on the same cruise, so
            we decided to share a cab.  It was cheap ($18 if I remember
            correctly).  Once we got to the pier, an NCL porter picked up
            our luggage right at the curb side.  Then the fun began!
            Seven days in the carribean!!!!!
    
            So don't worry, just enjoy....
    
            Linda                             
     End of note
    

    Hi Everyone,
    
    My husband and I just returned from Miami last nite.  We had a Cruise
    only  package.  We were on th soverign of the seas from sat. to sat.
    When we got to Miami last week we picked up our own bags at baggage
    claim area and proceeded outside and took the super shuttle bus (they
    called it) to the port of Miami.  It was $4.00 per person (plus small
    tip if you want) then gave our luggage to a porter (small tip again)
    right at the dock and our luggage made it to our rooms in about 3 hrs.
    Y ou have to remember there are over 2000 passegers and we all had 3
    bags or so apiece to get to our correct rooms. no problems at all.
    At the dock we saw them preparing for the launch of the Majesty the
    next day.  It must of been someting with the queen of norway to
    christen it that sun. Anyway we meet the Majesty at 10:00pm that nite
    and both shipped blew there whistles as a salute to a sister ship.
    she was grand.  Just as grand as the ship we were on. The whole week
    was fabulous.  Then fri. nite we put our bags outside our stateroom at
    11:00 pm.  Sat. morning after customs on board check and breakfast we
    picked up our own bags in a holding area just outside the ship
    proceeded to a super shuttle bus to the airport for $5.00 per person. 
    We picked up our avis car and went to Palm Beach for 2 days . 
    Everything just seems to work out. Don't worry by happy as they say.
    It was everything i imagined and more.  have a great trip.

    My wife and I cruided the Sovereign last year in April.  We too booked
    our own air travel.  We were given luggage tags by RCL and even though
    we did our own air they told us that they still take care of the
    luggage.  Once we checked our luggage at the departing
    airport RCL did the rest.  Our luggage arrived in our room approx. 3
    hours after we boarded the ship.  No problems.
    
    BTW, we just boarded the RCL shuttle bus in Miami and no one checked 
    anything.  It took us right to the ship.
    
    DV

	Help!  We are in the process of making our final plans to
	cruise on the Majesty of the Seas or the Monarch of the
	Seas in October.  Can't make up our minds Southern Caribbean
	or Western.

	This is for our honeymoon, departure date is October 25, for a
	seven day cruise.  We are both very excited but, nervous.  Neither
	of us have done any prior cruising.

	We can use any input anyone has.

	
	Thanks in advance

	Cyndi
	

    Cyndi,
    
    	My husband and I experienced our first cruise on our honeymoon
    too!  My travel agent was very helpful when it came to the decision,
    western, eastern or southern.  We decided western and cruised on RCCL's
    Song of America.  We chose Western because the two of us wanted to
    relax and were more interested in sightseeing, watersports and beaches. 
    My agent mentioned that if I like shopping (which I hate) that the
    southern would be more appropriate.  That's why I didn't choose
    southern.  Also what helped make my decision was the number of port of
    calls.  Since I never cruised before and heard so much the ship's
    activities, I didn't want to overwhelm us with a zillion stops.  I
    wanted to have a day or two to spend on the ship.  The southern cruise
    has 5 stops vs. the western with 4.  Even with 4 stops, we didn't get
    to do everything we wanted to do on the ship.
    
    I'll also tell you something else.  We really didn't have a choice
    because we were married on a Saturday and the Song of America was the
    only carribbean cruise departing on Sunday.  We could have sailed on
    the others, but we would've had to wait a week and we didn't want to.
    In fact, there were 120 honeymoon couples on the Song when we sailed in
    May 1990.  I think that was another important factor because we had
    something in common with quite a number of other people.  In fact our
    whole table was on their honeymoon.  That made it so much more fun.
    
    	We just celebrated our second anniversary this May on the Sovreign
    of the Seas (departed on Sat. 5/9).  We enjoyed this cruise very much. 
    Can't compare the two cruises because there were so many differences.
    I have to say, though, that no matter what I chose, I would have
    enjoyed it.   We decided on this cruise because there were only 3 port
    of calls.  Since we didn't have enough time the last time to spend on
    board we figured we'd have enough this time and we did!  We were able
    to participate in alot more things.  In fact, it was almost impossible
    to participate in everything and we were never, never bored.
    
    	Good luck in choosing.  I hope I've helped and not hindered your
    decision.   I wish you premature congrats too!
    
    Donna
    
    	

I choose "southern" itinerary on RCCL Monarch because:

A) Departure date matched wedding plans
B) We have already been to Jamacia, a usual stop on "western"
C) "Southern" offers a diverse European colonial cultural experience i.e., French 
   food on Martinque, Dutch beer on St. Maarten, English tea on Barbados,  
   Spanish salsa on Puerto Rico.  Provided, of course, for those willing to go 
   further than the gift shops... 


We set sail on August 2nd.

								-Paul

    Can anyone comment on the MAJESTY of the seas? We've just
    made our honeymoon reservations aboard her...
    
    I sailed on the Sovereign a couple of years ago, and am
    assuming that this ship will be pretty much the same (WONDERFUL!)
    
    helen

    Helen,
    
    My husband and I sailed on the Majesty in May.  The food and service 
    were very good, as well as, the entertainment. I'm sure you'll have a 
    wonderful honeymoon. Since the Sovereign, Monarch, and Majesty are
    sister ships, I would agree with you about being similar. 
    
    Have fun!
    
    Deb           

              
 

	We are all set.  We are honeymooning on Majesty of the Seas, Western
	Caribbean.  We decided to opt for fewer stops.  After all the
	wedding plans and celebration we will have time to recuperate
	before we see our first island.  We leave October 25th for 7 wonderful
	days.

	Thanks to all who helped, your input was great!

	I will gladly do a trip report when I return.

	
	Cyndi


	
	P.S. Helen when so you sail?  Are you going on Majesty?

	     

You won't be disappointed.  Plenty of time for R&R and many other activities
if you so desire.  My wife and I will NOT forget this trip!

 /john

    To those who have sailed the Majesty......a familiar question. What are
    the room sizes like? Cramped? What about tour excursions? My
    brochure says that they stop in Playa De Carmel and people with
    Tulum tour tickets may only get off the ship. They don't have
    these tours from Cozumel?
    
    

    .19
    
    I suspect the reason the ship stops at Playa Del Carma is because it
    saves time and the tour to Tulum is a long one.  This enables plenty of
    time, otherwise leaving from Cozumel would add another 45 minutes (boat
    trip to the main land).
    
    There are Mayan ruins on Cozumel, they are not as elaborate as Tulum
    but interesting none the less.  Not sure if RCCL offers a tour of the
    Cozumel ruins, but if not, I'm sure you could work that out on your
    own.
    
    Ro
    

    If your not into seeing the ruins in Playa del Carma, Cozumel is
    wonderful to tour yourself.  Last year when we went we got off the
    boat, rented a jeep right there & toured the island.  The other side of
    the island is quite deserted and very beautiful.  We found an old light
    house, some ruins, and a long beautiful beach we had all to ourselves.
    We also found Paradise Cafe, (perfect name), which was  a little shack
    right on the beach.  We drank Coronas & sat in hammocks overlooking the
    ocean.  It was by far the best day I had on the cruise.
    
    Enjoy!

    RE:19
    
     Actually, the ship never docks in Playa Del Carmen, nor does the
     ship physically stop, it slows to about 3 or 4 knots for a tender
     to take you to shore.  This tender is for the Tulum ruins tour.
    
     I didn't take it, but many I talked to liked it but it was very long
     and depending on temperature can be brutally hot.  You may like to
     tour Cozumel yourself like others noting here and I did. 
    
    /john

    We are planning on sailing on the Majesty in April. One of  the stops
    is Grand Cayman Island. Any comments about this port...good ....bad?
    
    Thanks,
        Doug

    Grand Cayman is a terrific port of call.  Some of the world's best
    diving and snorkeling are there, along with crystal clear water, exotic
    coral growths and shipwrecks that you can see using a mask and a paddle
    board if you are not comfortable in the water. Stingray City is at
    Cayman, too.  Many people think that is the highlight of their cruise.
    
    This is one of our favorite places to stop.  I am sure you will enjoy
    it as well.  Please remember to include a trip report so we can all
    vicariously enjoy your trip.
    
    Jeri	

    Grand Cayman is wonderful. We sailed on the Majesty last May, and we
    found that Grand Cayman was the best port of call. In fact, we were
    disappointed that the ship didn't dock there longer, like the other
    ports. 
    
    If you would like more information on the island, you can send mail to
    WEORG::LADEROUTE.
    
    Deb

    Been to Grand Caymen twice on cruises.  First time we (me and better
    half) rented a scooter and toured the island; spent about 6-8 hours and
    LOVED it.  MOST of what we saw is also available on group bus tours,
    but the scooter (I THINK the total cost, including a license and rental
    was something like $75) let us go at our own pace, stop at an
    occasional resurant/pub as we saw fit, go for a quick swim when we saw
    a pretty/deserted cove, etc.  One of the nicest experiences was at one
    point I'd stopped at the side of a road to consult my map, and THREE
    consecutive cars driven by islanders stopped and asked if we needed any
    help/advice and chat.  Truly nice people, not JUST trying to extract
    maximum tourist dollars.
    
    As I recall, highlights were:
    
    Turtle "Farm" - holding/breeding tanks to build/protect the sea turtles
    population.  Fascinating chance to see and hold these creatures,
    ranging from just hatched to multi-hundred pound "monsters"
    
    Hell - Go to hell.  Actually, small town/area with (i'd guess) lava
    formations which looks rather "hellish".  MANY folks stop there, send
    themselves a postcard from the Hell post office for a souvenir
    postmark.
    
    Black Coral- Don;t remember the name, but while there are several
    jewelry shops that sell black coral jewelry, ONE was the standout with
    some truly incredible work (dinner service done for Di and Charles,
    intricate miniature instruments, etc).  Bought my wife a very pretty
    bracelet there our first trip.  A year or so later the clasp broke and
    one of the black coral pieces had cracked (not the fault of the
    bracelet!).  We stopped back at the shop hoping to get it repaired...
    they REPLACED it.
    
    Beaches... several very nice beaches, clean, gentle surf, etc.  I
    believe the major beach is called seven mile beach (which WAS very
    nice) but, as I mentioned, we scootered by and stopped at several
    equally nice but smaller/secluded coves.
    
    I think GC is a great place for a 1 day cruise stop, and probably very
    good if someone wants a quiet weeklong carib vacation.  Should probably
    also not that while there is some ok duty free shopping it's not like
    St Thomas.  Probably the only downside would be if someone went there for 
    a week expecting the more typical nightlife/casino environment.
    
    Very nice island indeed.

    Re: .26
    GC also is one of the Banking capitols of the world. I think they have
    more banks than Switzerland and provide the same anonymity. Anyway,
    if you visit the turtle farm, don't buy anything made from turtles
    because it will be confiscated by US customs if they happen to find
    it (endangered species and they don't care that the turtles were raised
    on a farm). Also, as noted somewhere above, if a tour is offered that
    includes Ray city, consider it. Its a gas.

    My wife and I traveled on the Majesty of the Seas in May and she was a
    great ship. We went to the western carribean, Cozumel, Grand Cayman,
    Jamaica, and coco cay in the Bahamas (RCCL's private island). The ship
    was scheduled to stop in Haiti but didn't due to the civil unrest on
    the island.
    
    The time at sea was fabulous, great R&R. We didn't care for Cozumel, at
    least the part we saw. I'm sure it wasn't the prettiest part of the
    island. Grand Cayman was the best of the islands in the western carib.
    The "Sting Ray City" tour was great except there were to many excitable
    people on the tour. Yelling and screaming when a ray touched them
    caused to much commotion, other than that it was excellent. Jamaica
    wasn't appealing from where the ship docked. We were told there was a
    very nice side to the island but we didn't get a chance to see it.
    Shopping was very pressurized but had to be ignored and not let it
    bother you. We took the Dunn's River Falls tour which was climbing the
    Dunn's Falls from where is entered the ocean to approximately 300 yards
    to the top. Very refreshing and different. It was fun. From Jamaica we
    stopped for a day at Coco Cay, to enjoy the beach, snorkeling, and
    barbeque.
    
    We had a room on B deck which was very spacious and the room service
    was excellent as was our last cruise on the "Sun Viking" 2 years ago.
    We had second seating for dinner and that helped us in keeping our
    weight down. Dinner lasts from 8:30-10:30 and your full, so you don't
    go after the mid night buffet. 
    
    Our consensus was not to travel to the western carribean again unless
    we just wanted to spend all our time on board ship and just relax. The
    southern carib is much prettier and better tours if you're into tours.
    
    We are very happy with RCCL and will stick with it on our next cruise.
    
    
    
    Fred

    My husband, myself and my 3.5 yr old son are set to curise on the
    Majesty of the Seas on August 29th.  This is our first cruise and we
    are all looking forward to it.  One thing I was wondering is I know
    they have activitys for kids on the ship and would like to hear from
    some of you who have taken you children on the cruise.  We are going to
    the western carribian.  The secretary I work with cruises on NCL all
    the time and she has filled me in on what type of clothes to ware for
    the semi formal dinners and the formal dinner, which is usually the
    Captins dinner.  We are going to rent tux's for my husband and my son
    for this night and they will suites for the semi formal and casual,
    (sport coat and tie) for the rest of time.  We have an inside stateroom
    on B deck (I think) and we are all excitedly awaiting for this
    vacation.
    
    
    Liz

    I would suggest you choose the early dining rather than the late.
    I've noticed that most people do with little ones because it is 
    just too late in the evening for the second seating.  

    re: .30
    
    We did choose the early sitting for dining.  The seating were 6:00 and
    8:00pm.  We choose the 6:00pm one becasue of Alex and figured if we get
    hungry later on we can hit the midnight buffett.
    
    Thanks for the suggestion.
    
    Liz

    My wife and I have been on 8 cruises, one of which was a 4 night Disney
    cruise with our 3 year old daughter at the time.
    
    I've been on Sovereign and Majesty Kids program should be similar and
    pretty good. August 29 will probably have a fairly large number of
    kids being it is last week before school starts for most kids. 
    The Disney cruise really had a very large and well run program, of
    course they always get a lot of kids the way it is packaged. The
    only problem we had was our daughter did not do too well with
    the separation from us in the program. She liked it but more or less
    wanted one of us nearby, this was true even though she had been going
    to a day care school for a year. How this affects you I would not know.
    
    These programs usually work best for slightly older kids. It really
    depends on what you want. If you want to be with you child all of
    the time then the program is not too important. Inside cabin on B
    deck with 3 will be a little tight but ok. Those cabins are small,
    outside is no larger. You can get after hours care I believe
    at about $8.00 / hour, may be higher now. If you something like that
    for a late evening then you probably want to set it up early on
    Cruise, limited number of people available to do this.
    
    There are usually 2 formal nights, 2nd night out is Captain's party
    and then the last or next to last night. Dark suit is fine also.
    
    I believe you go to Grand Caymen, if you do and like the beach then
    make sure you go to 7 mile beach. It is a really nice beach. You
    can usually just take a $2/person cab to one of the hotels which
    allow you go enter free. They should tell you which. If you take 
    a package you will not have very much beach time. It is one long
    beach, all hotels, timeshares, condo's etc., really nice to walk.
    Grand Caymen is expensive but nice. I haven't been to Cozumel etc.
    
    If you go up Dunn's River falls in Jamaica just remember it is
    very slippery. I would suggest wearing those water shoes they sell
    with treads on bottom that hug your feet (about $10). You can do it in
    bare feet, but be careful. Jamaica is the place to be more careful. I
    wouldn't suggest going on the tours that stop at shopping centers there.
    People have their pocket books etc stolen all the time. They just wait
    for the cruise tours and other tourists to come in. A friend of my
    wife went on Majesty and went on one of these tours. At 2 of the
    shopping centers purses/pocket books were stolen, In one case the
    local brilliant policeman just shot the thief on the spot right in the
    middle of a crowd of tourists. YOu probably will get offerred drugs
    there also. You can have a good time in Jamaica, just use common sense.
    
    					harold c.
    
    
    

    Thanks Harold for all that great information.  My son is almost 4 and
    we have explained to him that we may leave him with a sitter late at
    night so that my husband and I can spend some quality time together. 
    Alex is a very bright little boy and just said "ok" and left it at
    that.  He is really looking forward to going on this cruise, as he
    loves to swim and is really excited about meeting other kids.  He is
    not a shy type child and will play with anyone that is around his age
    and older and we have had no problem with seperation at all.
    
    
    Again thanks for the info.
    
    Liz

Just got back from 7 GREAT days on the Majesty of the Seas - the trip was
May 7 - 14.  Getting back to work is tough...

This was my third cruise - second time on Royal Carribean - first time on 
such a large ship.  The ship was gorgeous.  All the shiny brass and glass
made it look really classy.  Huge too, but we didn't get too lost.  It was 
set up so finding things was quite easy.  The weather was great - 85-90
and sunny every day.  Only half an hour of rain one afternoon.  The food
was excellent - gained lots of weight.  They even had one of the midnight
buffets with all chocolate desserts - I was in heaven.  Our waiter and
assistant waiter were great (the waiter clued me in to the chocolate desserts
at the buffet that night).  Cabin kept real clean.  

You can sign up for the shore excursions from the minute you walk on the
ship basically.  They have the forms in your cabin.  Probably a good idea
to sign up soon if you want to do a ship thing since they did sell out fast.
by Monday, some were sold out.  I liked the way they broadcast the shore
and shopping talks on the cabin TV, over and over.  That way we didn't have
to waste time going to them, just watched them while we were getting dressed.
They also broadcast the shows too, which was nice.  One night we left a show
early to watch the sunset, and the people at our table told us we missed a 
funny ending, and we were able to watch it later on that night.

The shows were really done well.  The band they had playing was excellent.
They also had a comedian who was really funny - he performed twice, both 
times were excellent.

Someone commented in here about not seeing the same people around the ship
since it was so large.  We found the opposite.  We kept bumping into the
other people from our table all over the place.  We met a couple at Cozumel
and we ran into them daily for the rest of the trip.  

Cozumel was great.  We took the advice of people in here and went to 
Chankanaab Park.  It was fun!  We got there early and had first pick
of chairs and covering.  On the way to the beach we walked by 2 iguanas.
Big ones, just hanging out there.  For the most part, it was not crowded,
though at one time a tour bus came by and filled the place up for half an
hour or so.  Got snorkeling equipment ($8 including vest, $5 without) and
went out to snorkel.  I have never seen snorkeling so good.  Tons of fish -
big bright ones, everywhere.  Standing in the water putting on the mask we
had fish swimming up to us.  It was amazing.  My husband doesn't know how to
swim, but he wanted to try this, and with the vest, he had no problems.  He
was all excited - "swimming" for the first time, and with all these fish.
Later we walked around the garden area and saw lots more iguanas - just hanging
out in the trees, along the walkways.  Just a real nice park - so glad we
went there.  During the cruise we spoke to people who did the snorkeling with 
the ship, and they said the fish were just alright, nothing spectaculur.  I
think we did much better by going here.  Got some shopping in later in
the afternoon, and an authentic Mexican marguarita.

Grand Cayman was ok - we didn't have a lot of time there, especially
since we hit high winds on the way and got in a little late.  The tours
we wanted to take of StingRay city from the ship were filled up, so we ended up
just walking along 7 Mile Beach (see why in my gripe section about the shore
excursion people), and walking around town.  It was a beautiful stretch of
beach - not crowded at all.  Town was nice, quaint, but pretty expensive.
From talking to people who went to StingRay City, they had a great time and
that was "the thing" to do.

Ocho Rios  - we had spent a week there 2 years ago, so saw everything already.
We just walked into town, did some shopping, and walked back.  Then hung
out on the ship.  Everyone seemed to love the Dunns River Falls (excpet the
72 year old lady who fell down there and broke and dislocated things). 

Labadee - that was the suprise of the week.  I was not expecting Haiti to be
so beautiful.  A real hilly island, lots of different foliage, gorgeous
views (especially of the ship docked in the harbor).  Just a big beach day.
There are 3 swimming beaches, and 1 long beach that had a strong current
and big waves, so not for swimming.  Hammocks between the trees, plenty of
sun and shade places.  You could do lots of walking - had a section of rocks
to climb out on.  So beautiful.  We rented a floating mat and hung out on
that and in the hammock all day.  My huband played some volleyball.  We took
lots of pictures.  There were shops there, but we never made it over to them.  
Lunch was a plain old BBQ, but real good food. We were thinking of renting 
snorkel equipment (that also sold out early, and we were on standby for late 
in the afternoon), but after talking to people who snorkeled, decided not to.  
They said there were not many fish at all. A real relaxing, lazy day.  Didn't
seem to get too crowded either.    

We took a Miami City tour offered by the ship the day we were flying out,
mostly to kill time, but it turned out that was a very nice tour.  Drove
through some pretty sections of Miami - much nicer than on the way from the
airport to the docks.  

I only had 2 gripes about this ship.  First, there seemed to be lots of lines -
everywhere.  Checking in was a nightmare.  We arrived early in Miami (9:45), 
and had to wait over an hour at the airport for the Royal Caribbean shuttle 
busses to take us to the dock.  (I am assuming this is only because we were too
early to check in to the ship, so they had to delay us).  Meanwhile, all the 
other people from flights landing all morning were piling up at the doors 
where the shuttle was coming.  BIG line to get to the busses once they came.
Got to the dock and it was still too early to check in, so they kept us on
the busses a while.  Then once we got let off, there was a HUGE line to
go through security, another huge one to check it, and then we still couldn't
get on the ship.  Had to wait in another big line before they would open the
door up to get on the ship.  We spoke to other people who arrived later in
the day and they said they had no problem with lines checking in.  Throughout
the week it seems the buffets always had long lines.  Couldn't go up and
browse the food setup to see what was further down, just had to get in line
and follow everyone else.  Buying pictures always seemed to have lines too.
And the tenders - forget it.  Had to take tenders on two days.  They have
a nice system - give out passes for numbered tenders so not everyone shows
up for the tender at the same time.  They call the tender numbers, and people
with those tickets are supposed to then go to the tender.  I think this would
have worked if people hadn't been so stupid and tried to get on early.  The
stairs were clogged with people who were on later tenders, the people who
should have been there had to push and shove to get past those who shouldn't
have been there.  Frustrating.  They kept announcing to get out of the way
if it isn't your turn, but that didn't seem to sink in to most people.

The other big gripe was the shore excursion people.  Didn't seem so bright.
I'm sure they knew their stuff about ship-sponsored excursions, but not 
about the island in general.  On Grand Cayman we were given all sorts of
wrong information.  We were told you could not rent snorkel stuff along 7
Mile Beach, but when we walked along the beach, we saw two places renting
equipment.  We were told that we wouldn't be able to get a taxi to StingRay
City to do it on our own, yet when we got off the ship, the taxi's were all
there willing to take us there.  We were told we could get a taxi just to
the Turtle Farm, but we couldn't.  All the taxis going to the Turtles were
doing it as part of their "tour" - stopping there for 20 minutes and a few 
other places too, for a 1.5 hour tour.  We didn't want that - we just wanted
to spend some time with the turtles.  Impossible.  I complained to the shore
excursion people when we got back, but they didn't seem to think they said 
anything wrong.  Oh well.  

All in all it was a great trip - the long lines were not bad enough to
ruin anything.  And they did seem to dwindle towards the end of the cruise.
Especially the buffet lines - maybe people were getting full and stopped
going.

Oh - and when we landed on Sunday back at the docks, the Legend of the Seas
was there.  Its maiden voyage was leaving that day (I think).  Pretty ship.
Real streamlined.  Looks nice.  Maybe we'll get to go on that some
day...  soon...

Sharon
    

	Legend of the Seas was docked next to us in New York when we left on
May 7, and we were told she was taking her maiden voyage with travel agents
from there!  Sure is a beautiful ship, I'd like to take a cruise to Alaska
on that ship someday!


	Laura

I'm booked for the Legend for an XMAS Canal cruise...AND CAN'T WAIT!
Tho I guess I'll have to :-(

SteveS