Eclectic outdoor seating on water with a huge menu. Once we got settled, we had great service and…read moremet the manager who told us the sauces were made fresh every day, and the variety was really incredible. We stuck with pasta and fish, and it was wonderful. The desserts were delicious and the authenticity was worth the visit. And the prices - fair. Once again - we don't need fancy to have a great experience. Oh and the guitar player was incredible.

Love to sit outside and hear life music while I'm eating. Saturday's entertainment was the best!…read more Large portions easy to split dinners. Love the eggplant app

The waitress at the Islamorada Brewery told us to come here since it was owned by the same people…read more Huge parking lot and saw a jeep wrapped in the name Crooked Palm Cabana. Tropical theme inside. Nobody was in the dining room but the bar was busy. Another patron had a custom pizza that looked tasty. Sat at a table next to the bar and ordered a Tropically Impaired hazy craft beer 6.1%. My friends also ordered drinks from the bar and played several rounds of Connect 4. Other board games were at other tables. Behind a glass wall there was a whiskey or spirits distillation system. The bathroom was clean with small round tile floors and a distinctive orange sink basin mounted above dark wood cabinetry. Fun staff good drinks and cool ambiance.

From the very first moment, our experience at Crooked Palm Cabana was nothing short of exceptional…read more It all began with the sweetest phone call--actually, two of them--answered by Brittany. She was just as warm, pleasant, and knowledgeable on the phone as she was in person. She knew the menu inside and out, and every single recommendation she made was a total hit. And the cherry on top? She was working on her birthday and genuinely seemed happy to be there--her joy was contagious. We came for Sunday brunch around 11:15, and it was perfect. There was plenty of room to relax and be comfortable, the DJ was great, and the ambience was exactly what we were hoping for. The best way I can describe it is an outdoor escape--very upscale Jimmy Buffett vibes--with a separate adjacent outdoor area for kids, which was such a thoughtful touch. That brings me to Jimmy, the bartender. He made me the most delicious Bubble Trouble with fresh grapefruit--absolutely phenomenal. Even though we were seated outdoors away from the bar, Jimmy made a point to personally connect with all the patrons outside. You don't often remember a bartender's name in a setup like that, but he made everyone feel seen, welcomed, and joy-filled. Val was equally wonderful. She brought out our food efficiently, was incredibly friendly, and consistently checked in to make sure we had everything we needed--all with a smile. And finally, the manager, Shane--friendly, attentive, and clearly supportive of his staff. You can feel the positive team energy here, and it truly elevates the entire experience. Crooked Palm Cabana is everything you want when visiting Tavernier--great food, amazing service, beautiful ambience, and genuine hospitality. We can't wait to come back. Highly, highly recommend!

We have boarded the XCel for a week long Caribbean cruise in the Retreat. It is nice that there…read moreare some brand new spaces on this ship, including the bazaar as well as a flagship shop that has all logoed merchandise for Celebrity. There are even secret areas like IYKYK that we will visited and while no photos or videos are allowed, it became one of our favorite spots on the ship. They have refreshed the color scheme and areas such as al Bacio and the Martini bar, as well as added some restaurant spaces like Bora Bora, mosaic and craft social We have really enjoyed the new Bazaar venue, which is a redo of Eden as it has sea day programming that's unique to where you are sailing and was a lot of fun. This included light bites, crafts, music, and dance of a particular area of the Caribbean. As we had 3C days there were three different festivals celebrated during this time. We found it a pretty unique take on destination immersion. Celebrity has a strong reputation for quality food and entertainment and we were not disappointed. The main theater shows were quality productions as well as excellent headliner singers and comedians. We had a singer, Nathan James, who has performed with MANY famous bands, including Trans Siberian Orchestra- very talented ! The Retreat experience is special on this line (expensive but special) and you will have elevated service (butler, concierge etc) Don't miss the martini bar show :)

Just got off a 5 day cruise on the Summit. Even though we've cruised many times, this was our…read morefirst time on Celebrity, and we wanted to compare it to another cruise line we enjoy (Oceania). We were very pleased, even on a ship that is older and dated. Things that stood out to us: The entertainment was excellent. Good shows, good performers. The food - because we were in Aqua Class, we had access to their Blu dining room. The food was good to very good, and the service was EXCELLENT. The head waiter, Anthony, was so attentive and helpful. And - we actually enjoyed the buffet (I usually hate cruise buffets). The food was decent and the variety was really good. (Blu tip: if you don't like what's on their menu, they can get you options from the main dining room) Chef's table - very poor. The table was in the Tuscana dining room (noisy), the food was no better than elsewhere on the ship, and the cost was high - plus wine was extra. Save your money on this. The spa area/Persian Garden - this was a weak spot for this ship. Honestly, not worth it at all.... Small sized, with a steam room that was too hot, and a dry sauna that wasn't hot enough. And the salt room was barely big enough for two people, with steam so hot you had to elevate your feet. The gym - was acceptable, though the instructor seemed unhappy, like he had better places to be. We don't drink - so can't comment on the alcohol, quality or price. On-board activities - I'd summarize it midway between Carnival (a wild party) and Oceania (well suited for seniors - sedate and shuts down early). Overall, we enjoyed. Hope this helps others choose what's right for them.

We were on the Carnival Glory September 26th 2021 sailing from New Orleans to Honduras, Belize, and…read moreCozumel. Embarkation was fairly easy because most information was collected before boarding such as passport and pictures and credit card information. It was pretty much just verifying the information previously provided. The first night we tried the steak house which offers a complimentary bottle of wine only on the first night of the sailing. The cover charge is $38 per person but well worth the additional cost. You are permitted to have three appetizers, one main course and one dessert per person. We got six appetizers including the bone marrow and beef tartare, Ahi tartare, spinach salad, Caesar salad, and a couple more. We both got the giving mignon and lobster tail as our main course and we had art at the table for our dessert. The chef's table is also a fantastic experience but at almost $100 per person it is a little pricey. In my opinion is well worth the cost as it was an 11 course semi-private meal with Incredible service. There were six chefs and a wine stewardess serving only the six of us. Sparkling, red, and white wines were all unlimited pours at the dinner. Entertainment was amazing with a welcome aboard show, four completely different Production shows, Andy comedian all in a 7-night cruise. They're all so different live entertainment venues and comedians every night on the ship. I highly recommend you have dinner as early as possible so you have the entire evening to enjoy the Production shows, Comedians and live entertainment all around the ship. I haven't been on a Carnival Cruise ship for about 10 years but being a platinum member really has its perks. The best is complimentary laundry service 3 times. Other perks include a complimentary drink at Sea Day brunch, Platinum Memorial pin, chocolate covered strawberries sent to your cabin, priority embarkation, priority disembarkation, priority tender and much more. Fantastic Cruise!

Port: 4 Ship: 3.5…read moreService: 4 Food: 3.5 Entertainment: 4 Room: 4 Ports of Call: New Orleans, Belize, Honduras, Cozumel Date: 10/24/2021 - 10/31/2021 PORT Check-in at the port had a lot of people but the line moved fast as the people managing the boarding was pretty efficient so total of about 30 mins from drop off at the port to boarding the ship. SHIP Once on the ship, the mustering was the fastest we've ever experienced... 1) go to your assigned station, 2) they scan your card and 3) they show you how to put on a life vest....3 mins... done! The room (1455) was small as expected for the price but the bathroom was larger than other ships of the same category room. Anwar takes good care of the room and leaves a towel animal each night. He's always friendly and takes time to talk with you when he sees you walking down the hall. For those who walk for exercise, each stateroom level (5 that run the full length of the ship) is about 800 steps where the jogging track is only 200 steps and windy! Ship arrives @ 6:30am on the last day and they work to get everyone off the ship by 9am to 9:30am if you sit there long enough for those who may have a late flight. FOOD Lido deck Grand Buffet was a little snug to get around but the food was decent (some meats and most cakes were dry though) with a limited offering in comparison to other cruises (could be due to the lower capacity due to the virus). This is where we ate all our meals except one. 3 stars Golden Restaurant is a sit down and order set up with a nice menu of appetizers, entrees and desserts which you could order any number of items in each category. We had the crab cake and clam chowder for appetizers, the filet mignon and garlic shrimp and the Carnival melting chocolate cake(?) and Grand Marnier orange soufflé. The entire dinner was very tasty and the filet mignon was excellent! I recommend ordering the filet mignon and garlic shrimp together for a nice surf and turf. 4 stars. Platinum Restaurant is a sit down but we went during their "tea time". The servers would walk by with various pastries and a cucumber finger sandwich and also offer the basic tea pot or for an extra charge you could order specialty teas with a pot of hot water. The pastries were all very good. 4 stars. ENTERTAINMENT We only attended the comedian shows which we found to be much better at the late (R-rated) shows than the earlier (G-rated) ones. James Johann 4 stars Funny and R rated Chris Strait 3 stars G rated show Mildly funny Kim Harrison 4.5 stars R rated show Hilarious Chris Strait 4 stars R rated show Funnier material than clean show Kim Harrison 4.5 stars G rated show Hilarious Kourtney Williams 2.5 stars R rated show Not sure if he was nervous or just new, but pretty bland PORTS OF CALL Honduras (Mahogany Bay) (masks required everywhere) - port shopping was typical with several shops very near the port and laid out nicely - we bought tickets directly from the group for an excursion to Daniel Johnson Monkey & Sloth Hangout via their website and although their communication via email was sporadic, they answered questions and provided directions to meet the driver. It was about a 1 hour tour instead of the 4 hour one from Carnival (also $30 vs $70). Pick up was a short walk through the mall and up a road hill to the security gate of Mahogany Bay TIP: When you get the confirmation email from them, ask for a later time to avoid the rush and get longer time with the animals. (4 stars) Belize (masks required everywhere) - Ship does not dock to the port so you have a water shuttle to the Belize port. The water shuttle is Included in Carnival shore excursions but tickets can be purchased for non-Carnival excursions or to go just get to the port to shop. The port shops are laid out much like a mall. - Calypso Train Tour (3 stars) - very informative but Belize City is basically pretty run down except in spots where the more elite live. Lots of merchants hitting you up at the train terminal both at the start and end. If you want to just get out and around, or you want to get some history, the tour is good for that, but I didn't find it very entertaining. Cozumel (masks required everywhere) - Port has more variety of shops than Honduras and seems larger than Belize - Cab ride to Punta Langosta $8-$10 one way - For you Starbucks fans, the one at Punta Langosta mall is closed down... another location is open maybe 1/2 mile further down the road

3.5 stars. Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is one of the largest cruise lines in the world in terms of…read morenumber of cruise ships and passengers. Its ships sail to the Caribbean, North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. My husband and I have been customers of NCL a few times, including Hawaii in 2012, the Southern Caribbean in 2019, and Central America/etcetera in 2026. Overall, we have found that the employees are generally friendly and timely but that they make more mistakes than some other cruise lines' employees. We consider Norwegian to be in the "middle" in quality, higher than Carnival but lower than Celebrity. Our rooms were mostly in good condition, and the restaurants had mostly tasty foods. We did not like when NCL headquarters gave us only a 19% refund for a shore excursion that the tour operator shortened by many hours. In the future, we will instead sail with NCL's higher-quality competitors.

Our intergenerational family (ages 5 to 82) had an overall decent experience on the Norwegian Bliss…read morein April, and the crew was fantastic. My feedback below is specific to signage at the buffet. On the morning of the last full day of the cruise, I noticed a sign at the buffet that read, "Tonight at the Buffet: Oriental Dinner." I mentioned to a team member that the term oriental is outdated and considered offensive, and suggested that they change the wording to "Asian cuisine" or "Asian buffet." The team member thanked me for letting her know, and said she will convey this feedback to a manager. At lunch, the sign was replaced with "Tonight at the buffet: Oriental Dinner - Whole Roasted Suckling Pig." I shared the same feedback to another team member, who also said she would share it with her manager. At dinner, the sign had not changed. To me, this was a relatively simple print job. I was very disappointed that the management at Norwegian chose to ignore this feedback, which perpetuated a word that has historically ostracized Asians and Asian Americans by characterizing them as foreign and exotic. In 2016, President Obama signed a bill that eliminated the terms "negro" and "oriental" from federal laws. Kat Chow also wrote a piece on NPR with additional context on the harmfulness of this term. I shared my experience on the Norwegian survey, including the 2016 federal law, and received the following response: Norwegian Cruise Line prides itself on being a diverse company. Our family of crew and guests is comprised of people of diverse cultural background, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and race. This is demonstrated by the demographic makeup of our corporation and does not, whatsoever, promote or approve of any discriminatory acts. Your observations were carefully noted and we assure you that we have not received similar complaints. However, you can be certain that a copy of your letter was also shared with our Fleet Operations department so they may be aware of your impressions and for internal review with the team onboard. To me, what Norwegian failed to understand is that it is in a position to eliminate language that is outdated, offensive, and fetishizes Asian cultures, and its leadership chose not to. That makes me wonder, what does it gain by continuing to use the language? Are more people more willing to return to a cruise that offers an "oriental" buffet instead of an Asian buffet? Thousands of people saw the sign that morning, including young children, and tens of thousands more have seen it on previous voyages of the Bliss, and still more will see the word on future voyages. Words matter, and Norwegian has a very public platform. My hope is for Norwegian to educate itself, as a company that "prides itself on a diverse company," on the impact of the language it chooses to use.

On our recent trip to Islamorada, we stopped in for breakfast at the Green Turtle Inn. We had…read moreactually ordered delivery from here earlier in the trip, so we already knew the breakfast was going to be good. I ordered The Turtle Breakfast with eggs over easy, added an extra egg, sausage, and bacon, and swapped the toast for a side of biscuits and gravy. Everything was cooked perfectly. The bacon was thick-cut, salty goodness, the sausage was packed with flavor, and the biscuits were light and fluffy. The sausage gravy was some of the best I've had, rich, hearty, and loaded with flavorful sausage. Whether you're staying in Islamorada or just passing through, I highly recommend stopping by Green Turtle Inn for breakfast. It's a great way to start the day in the Keys.

Came here the other night for dinner as my bf and I were heading up to Miami. We sat at the bar and…read moreit wasn't busy at all. I ordered a key lime martini that was really good. To eat we ordered the sautéed mussels and then I ordered the traditional Greek salad for my dinner and he ordered the farmhouse pasta. Overall the food was good. The potato salad in the Greek salad was random but good I enjoyed it. It also had a good portion of chicken on it. My bf liked the pasta but not the sauce (aka broth) he said it tasted like ramen with the broth and I couldn't agree more. Not the best pasta dish we've had. I will say our service was awkward. Although our bartender was friendly she seemed very drunk. She was dropping glasses, slurring and just seemed out of it -- but not THAT out of it because our ordered came out correct so there's that!

Awesome resort! We spent my husbands 40th there with our two young kids and there was so much for…read morethem to do! Everything was beautiful. Everyone that worked there was so kind and made you feel at home. We will definitely be back!

6 stars! We booked this for our honeymoon and it was an…read moreamazing and wonderful experience. Everyone was nice and I mean the staff and other people staying. It felt private but also just one step outside before feeling like you're at a party. Slept wonderfully and drank happily. We did everything the resort offered and I am already looking into another stay there or even a day pass. Kayaking was a ton of fun and the pools are perfect. The Calles honeymoon was beautiful and fun thanks to the islander and its amazing staff. Thank you so much

My son and I had a fantastic experience diving with Sail Fish Scuba. Michaela, T, and the entire…read moreteam run an excellent shop and made us feel welcome and well taken care of throughout the trip. Over two consecutive days, we completed four dives at French Reef, City of Washington, Hannah M Bell, and the Benwood Wreck. The dive masters did a great job leading the dives and making the experience both fun and relaxed. They also captured outstanding photos and videos during the trips and shared everything afterward via Flickr, with more than 300 photos and 60 videos from the two days. We had an amazing time and will absolutely dive with them again the next time we return to the Keys.

What a great experience. The owners and my trainer are experienced, fun, kind, smart, etc. It was…read moremy birthday and they even bought me a cake! They all really went above and beyond my expectations and I couldn't be more happier that I chose them for my scuba diving training. Elara was my trainer and I'm soooo happy I had her. She made me feel safe, calm and confident. She is delightful and caring and made the whole experience fun. I'm coming back on a few days to do scuba diving and my boyfriend will snorkel. I trust them and would encourage my loved ones to go here for training or for a tour.

We had a great time with captain stewy, very knowledgeable, comfortable boat. Highly recommend!read more

Absolutely incredible and Captain Stewy is amazing. Our family of four went snorkeling and had a…read moregreat time....saw the Christ statute, coral reef, lots of fish and marine life. He got us totally prepared and set up before getting on the boat, all the equipment was perfectly sized and fit great (and felt new). We had a personalized experience that was a million times better than one of those boats with dozens of people!!! Highly recommend!!!

This was the second time I did one of River of Grass Adventure's boat tours. Both times, my guides…read more/ boat Captains were great. They are passionate about the Everglades, preserving it, and really love what they're doing. For about hour, we zipped and stopped around the park, through channels in between the high saw grass, over grassy flats, and within a few canals dredged many years ago. The fresh air felt great and I think maybe my blood pressure eased for a few moments. We saw wildlife, including a peregrine falcon, other birds and of course, many alligators, either resting on the grass or swimming off to do whatever it is they do. The guides I think know pretty much where to find the alligators, some of which have names. River of Grass is one of the first swamp tours west of Miami off of highway 41 past the casino. The boats take you pretty far into the Everglades where you don't see or hear any civilization, only the quiet rustle of the grass, i.e. when the engines are not powering the boat thru the glades (why can't they make a quieter engine?). The pictures I took really don't do it justice.

What an absolutely unforgettable experience! The airboat ride through the Everglades grass was…read morebeyond amazing--we saw alligators and crocodiles up close, which was thrilling and fascinating at the same time. Robert was our guide, and he was incredible: knowledgeable, engaging, and so great with the kids. He made the entire ride fun, safe, and educational. My kids had an amazing time, and honestly, I had the best time ever--it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I would 100% recommend this airboat ride to everyone. If you're visiting, this is a must-do!