Group dining - away from resort

We will be at the Royal Caribbean in Feb. We are bringing along some friends, so there will be 10 in all. Any suggestions where to go out that are group friendly without waiting very long? I'm guessing mid price range for the most part. Thanks!

sarasue wrote:

We will be at the Royal Caribbean in Feb. We are bringing along some friends, so there will be 10 in all. Any suggestions where to go out that are group friendly without waiting very long? I'm guessing mid price range for the most part. Thanks!

My wife and I love to eat at Captains Cove. The shuttle bus at the resort will take you directly to the restaurant. Captains Cove was destroyed in the hurricane and has just been completely rebuilt. It was great before, should be better now. You can find info about it on the Royal Resorts website. You should go to the Royal Sands Friday night seafood-Italian buffet. We never miss it. Once again, the resort shuttle will take you there (free shuttle). At Plaza Caracol we enjoy La Fisheria (a George Savio restaurant). I always have the stuffed flounder. Not too far from the Royals is La Dolce Vita (another George Savio restaurant), an Italian restaurant with lagoon view. A really nice place, pink and white marble, quiet, live dinner music - very nice. Our experience at the Royal Resorts restaurants has been very good as well. We really enjoy going to the Palapa at the Royal Mayan for the breakfast buffet. The regular chef there, Javier, is a wonder to watch as he simultaneously prepares multiple items to your order - eggs, omelets, pancakes, waffles. Downtown we like to go to La Parilla (you can take a bus, but we prefer a taxi)- a Mexican grill that is popular with both locals and tourists. There are too many to name.

If you use a taxi, we recommed Jerry at the Royal Caribbean taxi stand. He has his own Suburban. He is a wonderful, reliable guy. He has taken us on numerous daytrips as well as downtown.

ENJOY!

sarasue wrote:

We will be at the Royal Caribbean in Feb. We are bringing along some friends, so there will be 10 in all. Any suggestions where to go out that are group friendly without waiting very long? I'm guessing mid price range for the most part. Thanks!

Sarasue,

There are so many fine places to eat on and off site the Royal Resorts. We tend to stick to the resort for breakfast and lunch, and mostly eat from our villa. On our first day, we always make a run to Walmart to stock up on groceries. We take a bus there and a cab home.

On site, you will enjoy La Palapa at The Royal Mayan, and Pacos Tacos (the upstairs restaurant) at The Royal Islander. I'm not a big fan of The Tradewinds, but they do have some good take out items and pizza if you want to stay around the resort. Captains Cove will be open and is a short walk or resort shuttle from all of them.

We like La Dolce Vita, La Palapa Velga (the former chef of the Ritz Carlton is there - awesome! I think it is in the Imperial Fiesta Lagoon Hotel. Ask your Concierge and they'll be able to get you reservations), La Distilleria...

People like the show at "Pericos", and it is fun to go with a large group (although I think the food is better at La Parilla). There are so many restaurants there that you won't have trouble. Most are very affordable, and in February I wouldn't anticipate that you'd have much of a wait for any of them.

If you have any fisherman in your group that take a Deep Sea Fishing Excursion, bring the fish back to La Palapa at The Royal Mayan. They will prepare it for you for $5 a person, which includes vegetables and rolls. We do this every trip (at least once) and have them prepare it three ways. Our favorites are fried and blackened!

Have fun and enjoy your trip! :-)

Hi everybody,

I am new here, my husband and I will be staying at the royal caribbean timeshare in september of this year, and are looking forward to getting away for the week. we will be guests there.

Any suggestions on what we can do, in addition to what the timeshare has to offer?

I am curious about the excursions that are offered, and does the shuttle bus take you to them?

thanks for any feedback you can give me

Debbie

debram143 wrote:

Hi everybody,

I am new here, my husband and I will be staying at the royal caribbean timeshare in september of this year, and are looking forward to getting away for the week. we will be guests there.

Any suggestions on what we can do, in addition to what the timeshare has to offer?

I am curious about the excursions that are offered, and does the shuttle bus take you to them?

thanks for any feedback you can give me

Debbie

Debbie, I own 6 weeks at the Royals. You will be very pleased with your experience there. Each resort has a travel agency (Thomas Moore) that can arrange day trips for you. The shuttle bus just goes among the five Royal Resorts.

Be sure to take at least one trip downtown. You will get away from the Hotel Zone which is just like any other large beach resort.

Ben

Hi Debbie - we love going to Xel-Ha . It is a park where you can snorkel, go on the natural lazy river with rafts, jump off cliffs, eat at outdoor restaurants, swim with dolphins for a charge. We used Cancun Valet and then you can have a air conditioned van and driver at your beck and call for the day. You could incorporate that with checking out the town of Playa DelCarmen. We suggest stopping at the Royal Haciendas on the way home for a drink to check out that new facility. ENJOY! We will back in December :)

benk15 wrote:

debram143 wrote:

Hi everybody,

I am new here, my husband and I will be staying at the royal caribbean timeshare in september of this year, and are looking forward to getting away for the week. we will be guests there.

Any suggestions on what we can do, in addition to what the timeshare has to offer?

I am curious about the excursions that are offered, and does the shuttle bus take you to them?

thanks for any feedback you can give me

Debbie

Debbie, I own 6 weeks at the Royals. You will be very pleased with your experience there. Each resort has a travel agency (Thomas Moore) that can arrange day trips for you. The shuttle bus just goes among the five Royal Resorts.

Be sure to take at least one trip downtown. You will get away from the Hotel Zone which is just like any other large beach resort.

Ben

Thank you for your comment. I do have a question. Can I order the day trips prior to going to the royal carribean, or do I do all of this on the day of orientation?

debram143 wrote:

benk15 wrote:

debram143 wrote:

Hi everybody,

I am new here, my husband and I will be staying at the royal caribbean timeshare in september of this year, and are looking forward to getting away for the week. we will be guests there.

Any suggestions on what we can do, in addition to what the timeshare has to offer?

I am curious about the excursions that are offered, and does the shuttle bus take you to them?

thanks for any feedback you can give me

Debbie

Debbie, I own 6 weeks at the Royals. You will be very pleased with your experience there. Each resort has a travel agency (Thomas Moore) that can arrange day trips for you. The shuttle bus just goes among the five Royal Resorts.

Be sure to take at least one trip downtown. You will get away from the Hotel Zone which is just like any other large beach resort.

Ben

Hi Ben,

Thank you for your comment. I do have a question. Can I order the day trips prior to going to the royal carribean, or do I do all of this on the day of orientation?

You can do it either way. I would recommend waiting until you get to the resort so you can see first hand what is going on and talk to the agent directly.

I would also talk to some fellow vacationers who have already taken some tours to see what they think of what they saw.

Everything about the Royal Resorts is first class. You should not worry about being cheated or taken advantage of there. BY ALL MEANS avoid going to any timeshare tours from other properties (i.e. non-Royal Resort). They will waste a day of your vacation and use high pressure to sell you an undesirable time share. You can always buy or rent something on this site (RedWeek) cheaper than at the properties themselves.

The Royal Resorts people will also try to sell you a timeshare if you are interested. Take the tour, get information, but as Nancy Reagan said:"Just Say NO"

It is cheaper to rent on this site or the TimeShare Users Group site (Google it) than to own. You can always buy at a later time but cannot change your mind after the deal is done.

For a snorkeling day trip try Snorkeling Adventure at Puerto Morelos. You can book it thru Thomas More at the Royals tour desk. It is a great day on their own private beach. They will take you on 3 hourlong trips right off their beach. The first 2 are one right after the other, the 3rd is after lunch. They serve a wonderful buffet lunch on the beach after which you can relax in the sun or the shade (lounges and hammocks). They also have plenty of drinks. There changing rooms and bathrooms as well. They also have a rousing game of beach volleyball if you want to play. After everyone is rested is the 3rd snorkeling tour. Then you shower up and they return you by van to your hotel. A first class day trip for about $65 a person.

Ben,

You are so right about the royal resort NOT pressuring you into buying a week. I have been to some in the pass and they were the worst. This one was the most comfortable I ever felt. Well, needless to say, I bought one at the Haciendas. I'm very happy with Royal Resorts. :o) Alicia