Originally Posted by MC21
I’ve been on 2 cruises.

1st was a 7 day carnival cruise that went from New Orleans to Montego Bay to Cayman Islands to Cozumel and back to New Orleans. I personally had a blast. I do have to say, for the most part I enjoyed the boat more than I did the port of calls. Reason being everything on the boat is already paid for and there is a ton to do/ eat and drink. Montego Bay and Cozumel are “tourist traps” for sure. The exception was the Cayman Islands. I thoroughly enjoyed the caymans, it has beautiful clear blue water and beautiful beaches. We ended up taking a snorkeling tour there.

2nd cruise was a 5 day Royal Caribbean cruise that went from Miami-Nassau-Cocoa cay- Miami. We also had a blast on this cruise. We did not spend to much time in Nassau and ended up getting back on the boat pretty quick. Cocoa Cay is amazing. It’s a royal Caribbean owned Island so food and drinks are included (considering you have some type of drink package) you can pay extra to do certain things on the island such as the water park, hot air balloon ride, or rent a private cabana. But it’s completely free to use the pools, beach chairs, umbrellas, and just relax. If you decide to go Royal Caribbean I HIGHLY recommend going to cocoa cay.

As I said for the most part I enjoyed the boat more than the port of calls. With the exception of the Cayman Islands and Cocoa Cay. I’m going to give you a few tips That I would follow.

1. Don’t directly book the trip yourself. Hire a travel agent to find you the best deals.
2. If you plan to drink any alcohol. Even just a few beers a day go ahead and get the drinking package. It only takes 4 or 5 drinks to get your moneys worth.
3. Pay a little extra and get any time running and eat when you’re ready not when you are assigned to eat.
4. If you want to do an excursion, book it before you get on the boat. It will be a lot less expensive
5. When you are on the boat download whatever app they have available and schedule what activities you want to go to and map out where they are.
6. Take plenty of hand sanitizer and wash your hands frequently. Also not a bad idea to wipe down your room at the beginning of the trip.


Wife and I did Royal Caribbean for our honeymoon. Really didn't spend much time at all in Nassau...but like you said Cocoa Cay was great. I splurged for the private cabana, and it was super nice, but we spent the whole day snorkeling because there was so much to see.