It stresses me out to cut it too close to all aboard. 
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There are hours before All aboard 
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With my kids, I like doing this because mornings can be hard to get everyone up & going. So trying to rush to be early at the beach is like the opposite of a fun vacation experience. And the island is dead after 2:30pm so you do get a nice quiet empty ship in the morning and then a quiet beach in the afternoon.
But if you go early enough to the beach, especially Serenity Bay, I could see that also holding true and being back on the ship early enough to still enjoy a quieter ship (most people will either be on the pool deck or getting ready in their rooms for the evening) so the rest of it should be relatively quiet.
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My husband is the same way and thereās been twice when weāve still been at Castaway on the beach cleaning up at 4pm with 4:45pm all aboard and I could tell he was starting to get antsy.
But in both cases, there were island employees all around us gently closing things up and we were able to stroll up very leisurely still with no pressure from anyone both on the island or as we approaching the ship to hurry up and get on. And on Castaway they sweep it like the parks so they know exactly who is or isnāt on and where they could be.
Now, on Cozumel we started packing up on the beach 3 hours before all aboard time, even with just a maybe 20-minute drive back to the ship because we wanted to make sure, we made it back on (and we were on our own venturing out not with a ship excursion). Iāll never forget when the ship came into view from our taxi how DH & I just looked at each other with the same sigh of relief and remarking at such a beautiful sight she was, especially at that moment, knowing she hadnāt left us. Weāve done one other excursion where we left sight of the ship but it was with Disney on St. Thomas and seeing the ship come back into view was a different experience. Still beautiful but I wasnāt holding my breath like I had been in Cozumel.
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I am overly anxious but for most people that would probably work.
From my one experience on the island, it seemed to get really busy around 10-11am. Lunch was easy for the first 15 minutes it was open (11:30am), then started getting crowded.
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They wonāt leave anyone behind on the private islands! At Coco Cay I donāt start moving until somebody suggests I vacate
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To be fair I did princess and Royal Caribbean older boats that smelled of mold or toilets down entire halls and the last one was like a giant frat party which is not my bag and there was no high end alcohol like DH only drinks. But I havenāt done the newer Royal Caribbean cruises and maybe if I went off peak it wouldnāt be a frat party vibe? The new boats are very exciting looking I do admit but my two RC experiences have soured me to risking spending that much money on something that disappointed so much
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Sounds like a challenge. 
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In 2014 we were close to the last people back on board Magic. They truly came to us and asked us to go back to the ship.
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My friend and her husband just got off Utopia (or Icon? now I donāt remember) and they had an amazing time. Water features galore.
I did two Princess cruises years ago now with a girl friend. The food was good, but it was a little too quiet for more than 4 nights. Dh would be bored silly on those. Iād do them with a friend again.
My only RCCL was āok.ā Other things soured me on that trip. Iād like to do another RCCL and give them another chance. The ship we did had the wave runner and waterslides and golf. It bugs me that Wish doesnāt even have mini golf!
I havenāt had a frat party vibe on any trip yet, thankfully. But - that said - we are early risers and early to retire. Usually right after dinner we all go back to the rooms and crash.
My favorite line is Carnival which I know Jeff hates. We love the food and activities. And Dr. Seuss!
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Hates is such a strong word!
But I am wary of it. Weāll just put it that way.
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thatās fair!
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This is definitely the way to go. Last time at the Wacky Seagull they started packing up the blenders and we figured we would start walking.
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This last one was like a frat party all day. The pool area was jam packed and blasting dance hits all day long. Not my kind of pool vibes. I think the one we did out of Galveston in Oct didnāt have this vibe. It was a full week Caribbean in mid Oct so that might have been the diff than a 3 day one off Cali to Mexico in August. Just a constant loud party with obnoxious drunk peeps everywhere including my own family lol.
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Ewwwwwwwww.
Yeah. No fun.
The one I expected to be dicey was a 4-night out of JAX on an old Carnival ship with just DH and I. But we were very glad it was not. We did get a little bored on that trip. But it cost next to nothing too.
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For a data point, we got our stateroom assignment today, 15 days from embarkation. It is category 5B, and I was guaranteed at least a 7A. Itās not in a location I would have preferred but has good reviews as far as convenience and quietness. And it was a great rate so canāt complain.
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Another data point. I just got a Palo brunch for 11:00 on our Nassau day. Wonder if they released more times or if there was a cancellation.
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yay!!! Most likely a cancelation. I see them often as it gets closer to embarkation!
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Following for Wish-specific tips, just booked her for July 2027!
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Iāll definitely do a trip report. If not live, post-trip. I am getting very excited! 3 more sleeps until we head to MCO. 
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