capecruzer

Thank you for your response.  I think we'll just show up early and see what happens.  We'll also be ready to get into the adults-only hot tub with an umbrella drink upon boarding 🙂

Thank you everyone.  It seems with an A04 boarding maybe we should sit tight at the hotel.  Do people ever arrive in "pool clothes/coverups"? for the short 3-day cruises.  I'm just thinking we'll hang at the hotel pool, grab an Uber and board whenever.  But it would certainly be more convenient to be "pool-ready" than to have to change out of bathing suits only to have to find a change room and change back into them lol once we arrive.

So, does that mean even if you get through the "early" checkin  line, you're still sitting and waiting for your zone to be called in the sitting area?  So that checkin time makes absolutely no difference in when you board?  I'd rather not sit for hours on end because I arrived early..I can sit at the hotel pool lol.

I"m also curious.  We have a 11:30 board time but A04 zone.  We're staying at a local hotel in MIA and planned to head to the port at 10 am, arrive by 10:30 am.  For experienced MIA cruisers, should we just take our time and arrive at 11:30 or is there a chance that we might get on by 11:00 from the early line?  Although I've cruised many times, this is a new system to me...I've always arrived early and got on early on Celebrity, Princess, Norweigan.

OH good, I'm Gold VIFP, didn't realize about the water, I wont bother carrying it on then....wine yes, water no.

I recently booked an inside for what was originally going to be myself, solo, on a 3 day Victory cruise.  Just prior to booking my sister decided to join and I kept the room I had been pricing for about a month.  Not having to pay the solo supplement saved me half the price (approximately $200).   I kept checking the price after booking and found a one day sale for past guests where a balcony would cost $125 and grabbed it when I found reviews for a particular stateroom (#6459) that was L-shaped.  Figured I'd try it.  

Will it be worth the extra $125?  I think so.  I'm an early riser, sister not so much.  I'll enjoy having my coffee on the balcony in the morning, drinks in the afternoon while we each shower and get ready.  There is only one port day (Nassau) and if we get off at all it'll only be for a few hours to have wifi and check out Junkanoo Beach.  

I've stayed Inside, OV, balcony and aft balcony, never a suite.  I love having a balcony but it all depends on the price, the ports, the travelling partner.  I think for $40/night it makes sense....$100/night not so much.

Thank you.  I did see a 12 pack for $4.95 can be delivered to the room and that seems fair enough.  Beats the $1.50 or whatever they charge per.  I just like water bedside....have no problem drinking "tap" so again, thanks.

Do I understand correctly that you cannot bring on plastic water bottles?  I've never seen individual cartons of water, or any size actually.

Yes, of course 750 ml....I knew when I was typing that I had something wrong lol

Anyone try to bring on the larger bottles of wine or boxed wine?  Are they very strict with the bottle size; ie., only allow 175ml size? 

Yes, we did it. If I remember the details lol....I think there was far too much time waiting and "herding". We met on the pier at the assigned time but then waited for more than 30 minutes (maybe 60 minute not sure) for everyone to be signed in. We then walked to where the buggies were kept and more waiting....I know it was more than an hour before we actually started our excursion. Buggies were fun! Ours wouldn't start and it took them a bit to get it going but once it did, it never failed us. We rode to a "commercial" snorkeling spot where once again we waited and herded. Took another 30-45 minutes to get everyone into their snorkel gear and to the water for a short snorkel. We left shortly after the snorkel and headed to a restaurant and locals goods' market where the expectation was that you would purchase their lunch buffet and shop around at the two or three vendors. We ordered a couple of frozen drinks and headed across the street to a beautiful beach. Unfortunately, they frowned on swimming because it was a bit rough but we did enjoy our drinks on the beach. We were given a time to reconvene and promptly left the beach to meet the group (others went to the beach as well). This is where the waiting became troublesome. I'm all about "island time" but I'm not all about waiting another hour for others to finish their drinks in the restaurant and then another 30 minute spile which really boiled down to "tips" for our tour guides. We did have fun and we did have a good couple of drinks and decent snorkeling, the buggies were a blast. I doubt I would do it again based on time wasted though.

I just got back from a cruise out of FLL and we used Uber 5 or 6 times. I checked their website before signing up to find out about the tipping policy. I, like others, assumed no tipping because it was presented as a cashless event. I tipped on all but one of the trips and every single driver seemed surprised. Most of our rides were under $10 and I tipped $2-3 depending on service, etc. Its easy to over-tip when you aren't paying cash for the trip itself :D Note to self: dial it back a bit lol.

FYI, we had a terrible time getting Uber from the ship back to the airport. The original driver would apparently be there within 4 minutes. He called 10 minutes later and asked what terminal. Another Five minutes later we were contacted by Uber that we had a driver that was closer and they provided the information. He would be there in 12 minutes. After 20 minutes another driver was "assigned" to us. He eventually found us but the app showed a different car and then he was upset with us when we didn't see him parked there for a bit (almost right in front of us). He called but it was very loud in the pick-up area and I was having a really hard time hearing him. Eventually we synched and were off to the airport. It was about 45 minutes from the time we originally requested a ride. Glad our flights were scheduled when they were. I was about ready to give up and hire a cab.

We also had difficulty getting a ride out of the Las Olas Blvd area. Three drivers and half hour later someone finally found us. The GPS system wasn't tracking us properly and many of the drivers don't know their way around and so didn't comprehend the markers I was giving. The driver who took us there from Dania Beach got lost and it took much longer than it should have.

Sleep in a bit (until about 8 instead of our normal 6:30-7). Have breakfast in the dining room if available. If not, have breakfast around the pool or on our balcony if we have one. Lounge in the sun, swim in the pools, do some reading. We're generally done with the sun by 3 pm or so. Have drinks on the balcony while everyone showers/cleans up. We then spend time at the casino/game room/trivia at the bars, look at our pictures, explore the ship's crevices for places we might have missed. Love sea days!:)

If you have a full day in port (6 hours or more) I would highly recommend you take the ferry over to St. John and snorkel there. Its an easy trip to DIY, not too costly, and much nicer than either Coki or Sapphire. Trunk Bay is notorious for their snorkel path but there are several other less congested beaches where the snorkeling is just as good.

My daughter and I just came back from a 5 night cruise and spent much time deliberating which line we liked best, which we liked least, and why. There were clear winners and losers. Just for fun, list your favorite at the top and work your way down, just cruiseline, ship name, and your favorite thing.

Disney, Wonder: Rotating dining and themes

Celebrity,Summit: Aft grill and sushi bar

Celebrity, Constellation: Martini Bar

Princess, Golden: Embarkation at San Juan

Carnival, Glory: First Caribbean itinerary for us I

Carnival, Splendor: NE/Canada itinerary

Carnival, Holiday: Nothing memorable

RCCI, Independence: Aft balcony, and tied for last place

NCL, Pride of America: Hawaii itinerary

OP, my daughter and I just got off the IOS two days ago and I must say I agree with everything you wrote with the exception of service. The service we received was horrible: from experiencing an ongoing argument between our waiter and assistant waiter on formal night to being greeted another night with "know what you want?" just seconds after sitting down. My answer to that one was "yeah, I'd like a waiter who introduces himself and asks if I'd like a wine list". While my daughter was horrified at my behavior, I was horrified that we were treated in such a way. I could give several other examples but I think those two pretty much sum up our service experience. In this assistance waiter's defense, it was clear he was teamed with a jerk. He actually went out of his way to find us and apologize while the head waiter continued to mock him to us, apparently looking for our support. :eek:

I will be writing my own review when time allows this weekend but just wanted to show some support....not everyone wants to read glowing (often one-sided) reviews. Everyone's experiences are helpful for future cruisers, the good, the bad, and in this case, the ugly.

^This. Just got back from picking up $30 ones for room service tipping. We tip about $3 each time, generally once a day, rare occasion 2x. Its also handy to have ones available for the porters. We also tip the cabin steward if he does something special like get a corkscrew for us or extra ice/pillows, that sort of thing...

@mitsugirly, my daughter and I are booked via Hotwire at Sleep Inn FLL (Dania) next week for our Jan 14th cruise. We paid $175 all in, includes comp transportation from airport and $10pp transport to port (we'll UBER instead). When I booked it mid-summer the reviews were 3.5 or so, they seem to have gone downhill since then but alas we booked non-refundable so we'll be staying there:D

Its within walking distance of both a Walmart and Walgreens, 3m from the airport and 3m from Hollywood Beach. Our thought is to hit Hollywood Beach when we arrive that afternoon, walk around, possibly have dinner there. If weather doesn't cooperate, there is a restaurant in a stripmall within walking distance named Hemingways which gets great reviews...that is our second option.

If your cruise is after the 20th, feel free to PM me and I'll fill in all the details for you. When I was looking this was by far the least expensive place to stay including fleabag hotels.

Last year my husband and I cruised out of FLL in January and scored the Hard Rock Seminole for cheap $$, I think $350 for two nights. It was a fantastic stay for pre-cruise. I rented a car at the airport but can't remember where I dropped it off before embarking but it didn't cost much, I think the car rental was less than $100 for two days. Loved the Hard Rock.

Happy Cruising , Brenda

Tough NYE? I'm thinking someone slept through the game on Sunday afternoon :D:D

I'm not worried. We pulled the best record of the season using 2nd and 3rd string quarterbacks, lost our main man Gronk, injuries galore and yet...yes, best record. I'll save the gloating for the Superbowl. :p

Best of luck to everyone in the playoffs. Its been a great season. And a big YOU'RE WELCOME to Cleveland for Collins, it was the least we could do. (That's what happens when you get on BB's bad side). Maybe we'll send you a coach next year and really help you out, then the rest is up to you.

Yes, we have cruised several times during the football season but haven't had luck with Celebrity showing the games. One year they had it on a 36" TV in the casino and that was it. Probably a dozen bar stools and no standing room. Sounds like RCCI understands the importance of a Patriots football game, hope my daughter can find something to entertain her for 3 hours our first night :D

For anyone on the IOS January 14th, I will be representing, look for the short woman in a WILFORK jersey and say hi :)

Thanks Bob:)

Hi Everyone :) We'll be cruising for the first Patriots playoff game on January 14th. Game is at 8:15 pm. I thought I read somewhere on the boards that if the game is in the evening they'll show it at the pool movie screen? That would be awesome. If not, where will they show it, if at all. I can't imagine they won't be airing the NFL playoffs.

Finally :D Thank you epcopres. I love a balcony and don't care that it is mostly shaded. I'm much the sun/beach person but with my coffee in the morning and my afternoon before-dinner glass of wine, I am quite content with cool and shady. It will also give my daughter and I a bit more room to spread out, especially since I get up by 6 am and she'll sleep another couple of hours while I laze around on the balcony taking in the sights and caffeine.

Bumping...well, because I can and because I really want someone to tell me this cabin was a good pick lol. Come on' just lie to me so I can get on with my life.:D

San Juan is a great place to spend the day. Drop your bags at Barrachina in the morning (you might want to plan to have dinner there that night when you pick your bags up) and wander the streets, see the forts, eat great PR food. The beaches really aren't that great so I wouldn't even bother but there is great shopping in OSJ, some outlet stores, good walking paths seaside. Plenty to fill your day without any hassles. Enjoy.