3 Nights Ensenada Cruise Cruise

Great time and Fun

I read some of these reviews and wonder what planet some people are on, or what they expect. Along with another couple we have just done the Canary Itsland cruise. Staff unbelievable, ship clean and tidy, shows the best I have seen on any cruise, and I have done a lot. Food great. With regards to a previous comment about no fruit, I suggest you go to spec savers! and it was always available. Also the comment about Butlins at sea, stupid stupid stupid! You can make a cruise with Marella whatever you want it to be, we chose to go to our waiter service meals presentable and treat it as a sense of occasion. What Marella offer is a choice, that there is not this stuffiness and tuxedo,s/ball gowns every night! for the vast majority it works, probably the reason Marella cruises are the fastest growing in the cruising market at the moment! (No me guessing but look it up). Also I have met many many people on these cruises who have done Cunard/Royal Caribean/Holland America, who all say the same Marella offer the best value for money, all inclusive as standard without having to pay ridiculous bar bills at the end of your cruise! It one price and that is it! Sorry but if you don't like it go elsewhere! For our party we have no issues!

Chillin on the Islander

MARGARITAVILLE ISLANDER REVIEW: After 20 plus cruises with Carnival and 1 with Royal Caribbean, we decided to take a chance with Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Islander out of Tampa. About us: Mid 60s couple, recently retired so we are counting coins. Price matters. Reviews leading up to the Cruise were less than kind: Old ship, leaking infrastructure, bars that close at 7pm, terrible food, etc. Let’s see what happened. First off: This is NOT Carnival…and it is not supposed to be. The Islander is a former Costa Liner (Carnival) so if you’re familiar with the Legend, you’ll recognize the layouts. There are some differences between the two brands, but not enough to deter us from a future return to the Islander. Here we go. Port of Tampa, sprung for valet parking. We brought one suitcase and two backpacks. I’m not sure we ended up in the right line because we breezed through the Port and were onboard within 20 minutes. They have the same “Rooms available by 130 pm.” standard. Now if you know anything about the late Jimmy Buffett, “chill” “partying”, etc are keywords, so you’d think, like Carnival, since COVID they’d line you up against the wall, bags on the floor, you cannot go beyond the line while Rin Tin Tin sniffs your bags. Our last cruise out of Tampa on the Paradise, significant numbers of armed Security Officers gave everyone the once over. No Cops. No Dogs, No problems. Seriously. if there was Security on the Islander, and I’m sure there was, they weren’t dressed like a SWAT Team roaming the Ship at all hours. Our 12 noon appointment finished and we were at our Interior room, Deck 6, front of the Ship by 12:20. We dropped our bags off and noticed there was no refrigerator. We have some meds..prescription…that needed chilling. We met Lewiz our Steward who had one installed within the hour, along with a bucket of ice. Off to the “Port of Indecision” buffet on Deck 9. Now Carnival, having a bigger budget, does have a more diverse menu, and while we had no problems with the food, I can see where some people might. “Cheeseburger in Paradise” is their version of “Guys”, again a slight nod to Fieri, but we did enjoy the burgers and fries. They utilize that space for an additional breakfast buffet as well. And Jimmy also has a Taco/Burrito bar which got very popular very quickly. Two pots of Regular Coffee and two of Decaf at the buffet lines and by the outdoor restaurants, using the same Nestle Vitality beverages. Once the buffet closes, so do the drink machines, except at Frank and Lola’s Pizza, open till 2 am. There are no Late Night Snacks, which I missed but my waistline did not. If you read reviews of Carnivals, many people dislike that food anyway. Being on a budget we did not partake in the JWB Steakhouse or Pearls Dining. There is no assigned seating, and we worried that the lines would extend out to the “Bubbles Up” bar. We timed it right, as we had very little wait time to get a table. Where you are seated is whats available so we had different waiters every night. Not a problem for us as every member of the waitstaff that served us had their act together. One main dining room, two floors. Oh…there is no formal dress code, however this crowd did not dress in torn jeans, NBA jerseys or swimsuits. There was no formal night, which was fine by us. Appetizers included Florida Hush Puppies, Lasagna Genovese, soups and salads, shrimp cocktail amongst others. Jimmy’s Jambalaya was tasty, probably not spicy enough for some, but I ended up taking half of it back to the room for later. Southern Fried Chicken, smothered pork chops. They offered the extras like Lobster Tail, Prime Rib etc for a $20 to $28 upcharge. Desserts included Pina Colada Lush (my wifes new nickname), ice cream, chocolate cake and so on. This particular crowd seemed to go for the dinner Buffet as the dining room was never at capacity while we were there. We did miss one night because we failed to set our clocks, so our 7 pm was 9 pm ships time so we missed that and went to the buffet. They do a lot with chicken, tasty all around. Buffet desserts included Boston Cream pie, Tangerine cakes, cookies and such. Again, not as diverse and deep as Carnival, but no complaints here. How many times have you passed the Ice Cream machines, to see puddles of ice cream and crushed cones because people (adults and kids) just leave messes. An attendant will serve you up, but its not 24 hours. Drinks? Yes. If you read reviews where the “influencers” say the bars close at 7 and there's a half hour wait for drinks, constant leaking, we floors and one actually said “There are no balconies on this ship.” feel free to block them, Out and out lies and these individuals make money off your clicks. I tried a “Zombie”..then another. My Bartender said a pitcher would be a better value. Which it was. (In reality that's why we missed dinner one night.) The drinks were not weak. The layout reminded me of the Legend: Three pools, three hot tubs, two taken over by kids (nothing new there, right?) Also nothing new are Chair hogs. At 7 am on sea days at the middle pool, each and every deck chair had a towel. Fortunately there is an Adults Only area, the Tiki Bar and Grill in the back of the ship. For the record, this pretty much sealed the deal of a return cruise. We enjoy the Serenity decks on Carnival…that is until Carnival Cruisers forgot the meaning of Serenity. Our last three Carnival cruises, Mardi Gras, Paradise and Vista saw the Serenity decks commandeered by these “family reunions” which eventually devolved into loud talking, yelling and …well you’ve seen the You Tube videos. The Tiki Bar and Grill with 20 tables and dozens of deck chairs and over 100 people, who were quieter and more well behaved than Carnival's clientele. Literally “chilling”. There are Cabanas available for rent pool side, nothing we’d spend money on. Sailing from Tampa, much of the crowd was older, about 40 percent, the rest families with kids or teens. Having no kids, or grandkids, we do not know of the Kids programs, but we didn't see one meltdown or overly misbehaving child. I hesitate to add the following as I’d like this ship to be the best kept secret in the Caribbean. One of the arguments at Carnival is the choice, or lack thereof, of television in the rooms,especially sports. I can hear the wailing now “If you want to watch sports don’t cruise!” Well we flipped on the TV, and in addition to the standard Scripps offerings (HGTV, Food Network, Discovery…there is ..hold on to your antennas ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN U and being in florida the SEC (Southeastern Conference Network). All in. the. Cabin. The NCAA Mens and Womens Basketball Championships were underway via ESPN Caribbean (they own the rights outside the US) On The Big Screen, and in the Havana Daydreamin Sports bar. Granted, Carnival has a fleet, so the rights fees for all those ships would break them. Jimmy has two ships. College Football season should be fun. Helpful hack: If you want more TV, buy the Coconut Telegraph Internet package, subscribe to YouTube TV and stream your local channels. Occasional buffering but otherwise worked out fine. While we did not attend the formal performances, they sounded great as did the musicians performing at the Flip Flop bar, and the Havana Daydreamin Sports bar. (They performed up front, TV’s in the room behind with comfortable seating. The ports: Key West, always nice. Last time we were there, one store had $5 everything. This time a dozen or so offered sweatshirts, etc for $5. Proofread, though. One Sweatshirt said “Pensacole Beach”. We sauntered down Duval Street to “The Bull” to wet our whistle. Two for one wells. Barkeep on the first floor said “That special is upstairs”. Hit the second floor, “The Whistle Bar”. They told me, “Nope. You need to go to the third floor”. Bar is the “Garden Of Eden”.This would be the area's Clothing Optional bar. Great drinks, I opted to keep my newly acquired $5 shirt on…. Next port Progreso, Mexico. A few shops ship side, but the City is a bus ride of several miles. Think “Santo Domingo” twenty years ago. In another twenty years, should the Countries “Legitimate Business Groups” give their blessing, it will be the next Cozumel. We passed through about four gates, the last one featuring Mexican Army soldiers ( at least I think they were the Army) brandishing AK-47s. Speaking of Cozumel, if you cruise Carnival, many folks, like us old ones, take advantage of the three wheeled trikes to get us to the shops. Not Jimmy. His restaurant is by the first dock, a five minute walk to that Margaritaville, where the bartenders made us “Incomunicados” , a multiple shot drink normally found at Margaritaville, Grand Turk. They were great. The tourist shops featured tote bags, sarapes, wrist bands, jewelry, tequila all pitched by aggressive vendors, and what appeared to be a significant amount of NFL merchandise that I don’t think the League endorsed, so…. All in all, a most enjoyable cruise. No ship, no cruise is perfect, but please disregard the slanderous remarks made by some “influencers”. Get a License to Chill because it is 5 o’clock somewhere!

Exceptional Riviera Maya cruise

Recently experienced a transformative Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady Riviera Maya cruise. Effortless check-in and disembarking. During the journey, I was deeply inspired by the enchanting ambiance, impeccable cleanliness of the entire ship, exceptional cabin, but most profoundly, the genuine warmth and kindness of the personnel, who went above and beyond. Excursion to Xcaret Xplor was great. Entertaiment at The Red Room was fantastic. Dinning was truly exceptional. I am eagerly anticipating my next voyage with them. Ahoy! a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z