CanadianDee

In April we used QLS from Miami back to Bahia Mar Am surprised that you said they no longer provide service. I know SAS has stopped servicing Bahia Mar and hotels in that area due to traffic and bridge which can really cause delays

Omigosh, you're right! I'm such a dope. Thanks for responding and setting me right. Booking now. :)

Add me to the list who'd love to see the menu on the tv screen. How handy that would be!

You might try calling the hotel and asking if they know which shuttle companies service the Bahia Mar. Worst comes to worst you could cab it to Fort Lauderdale airport and pick up the shuttle there (I think all the companies stop at FLL).

Yeah, I guess that's what I'll do. Can always cab it if it comes to that. :)

Thanks!

You just have to do the research. Check the websites for SAS, QLS, GO Shuttle, Jiffy Jeff and a couple other that are mentioned here. It will say on most of their websites if there are pickup restrictions.

Thanks Bruce, that's actually what I've been doing. I'm aware of SAS and QLS, and neither goes to Bahia Mar.

I was hoping a local (or someone who's had a similar need) would weigh in with some alternatives. We usually rent a car and extend our vacation on either end, so not familiar with the shuttle services available in Florida.

I'll try GO and Jiffy Jeff and would appreciate any other suggestions.

Happy Friday!

We're going to be staying a couple of days pre-cruise at the Bahia Mar and thinking about our transportation options. I'd kind of like to forego the car (water taxi stops near the hotel) in favour of a shuttle to the Port of Miami. Can anyone recommend a shuttle service that's likely to stop at the Bahia Mar?

Many thanks.

Firstly, ditch the car to sightsee in Fort Lauderdale. Fort Lauderdale is a city to see by water. Spend the day on the Water Taxi instead. Tons of great restaurants on the water taxi. Also you can get off at the Galleria Mall or Las Olas to shop if you want. Runs from about 8am to midnight.

 

The W Hotel has the best pool and a Bliss Spa. I love hanging out at the W Hotel pool. Makes you feel like you are a celeb!

Great tip. Thanks - and happily one of the water taxi stops is really close to our hotel.

 

I had read on another post that bahia mar will be renovated and the works will be held on January so better confirm that before.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We've booked at the Bahia Mar for our pre-cruise overnighters for the same cruise ... on the website it says the renovations are ongoing through to November, so hopefully we'll have the benefit of the renovations by then. :)

Also, due to a unforeseen complication, my husband and I spent our honeymoon night sleeping in the car. A tiny Honda Civic. We'd have jumped at the Rodeway. :-)

DH and I alternate cruises and AI vacations. The research questions are the same. Where do I want to go? What do I want to do, sit on a beach, go shopping, take excursions, diving and watersports? What are the demographics of the resort/ship and does that demographic work for me? What level of luxury and service do I want, super luxury, luxury, lovely and comfortable?

 

We don't find AI's repetitive or restrictive at all. We are in our early 50's, the kids grown and gone, and love getting out and exploring beautiful countries in more depth than an 8 hour cruise stop or sitting by the beach doing silly activities. On the other hand on a cruise we get to a variety of places that we might not get to go at all, and a short stop and maybe a tour is always better than not ever going to some of these places. We find the service and food to be about the same for both when comparing similar *quality* ships and AIs. In the end we end up spending less on an AI vacation than a cruise, but it's strictly a function of our choices.

 

If you do the same research to choose an AI as you do to choose a cruise, you will have a fabulous vacation either way.

 

JoJo

We are the same. We like variety in our vacations ... cruises, AIs, culture immersion, etc. Our expectations for each are quite different and we enjoy those differences.

I hadn't heard of them before (and I still have a couple of years before my 8 month old granddaughter will be old enough to enjoy it :D) but the TripAdvisor reviews are outstanding: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g34227-d2403008-Reviews-BlueFoot_Pirate_Adventures-Fort_Lauderdale_Florida.html

Aren't grandkids the best? A wonderful reason to tap back into your Inner Kid.

I've not done it but we pass it all the time on the boat and the kids are always having a blast. We also let to play with them a little and let them squirt us with their water guns.

Ok. We're in. We're from the landlocked prairies so a chance to be a PIRATE on a SHIP is a fabulous adventure.

Costoc (here) has pirate costumes for Hallowe'en. We nabbed one for our granddaughter and are now planning our own costumes. :)

Thanks for responses. I'll check out the Tripadvisor link.

We're looking at the Bluefoot Pirate adventure here. For a five year-old. Can anyone recommend it? Or not-recommend it?

I love this thread!!!

When we go on vacation we have a rule about food. On land vacations, we almost never eat at a chain restaurant (unless it's a chain we don't have access to at home). Onboard, we try to opt for things we've never tried before. It's not always been a culinary success for us (curried goat, turtle stew), but it's always been interesting.

On our last cruise our five year-old granddaughter (who knows the Vacation Eating Rule) tried - and loved - frogs legs. It was the first thing she told her pre-school class about when we returned. :)

I haven't read through all the posts, but enough to know that I'll be re-stating what others have said.

First of all, I can't speak to your husband's clinical issues. That's another matter.

But I can reinforce what others are saying in terms of cost and activities.

We've been all over the board in terms of cost. For our first cruise, we were last minute additions to a group cruise one of my husband's suppliers was hosting. We had two weeks' notice and had never even considered a cruise before. No time to research the ports or book excursions. The base costs (airfare, cruise fare, and tips) were covered by the supplier - presumably those are the same costs your parents have covered. We didn't spend a dime over that except for souvenirs and the handful of bills we brought for extra tips.

We got off the ship at every port, but wandered around, checked out beaches, etc. That was the extent of our excursions, but we still had a great time.

We only very infrequently use the onboard upcharge restaurants. In our experience there's plenty of delicious food on offer all over the ship - no need to spend extra unless you really want to check out the upcharge restaurants.

We're not drinkers, but my husband gets the soda package. I find the available free drinks are fine for me. If I want to try a couple of wobbly pops, I'll buy them as I fancy, but I'd be fine with what's available at no charge.

Your kids might love meeting new friends in the onboard kids' club. Our granddaughter went to the kids' club twice on our last cruise, preferring to stay with us. She's normally an outgoing kid, but Papa is currently her BFF so she was happy just to hang with us Greys.

For the last few cruises we've done, we've chosen to dine as a family (in whatever table size that would mean), but on cruises prior to that we met some fabulous people that we continued to correspond with long after the cruise. Dinner is such a fun way to meet new and interesting people.

On our last cruise - with our pre-school granddaughter - we didn't do a single adult show (they're free). On port days, we were out and about, returning exhausted and ready for dinner and relaxing on the balcony. On sea days, we spent time swimming, people watching, exploring the ship, reading, chatting - pure bliss.

I didn't read anyone here stating that Celebrity is an adult line. But the fact remains that there are very few activities for active children on board compared to other lines. My kids are grown. But when they were younger I put their needs before mine. Did I want to go to Sesame Place or Disney, no, but I wanted to watch my kids enjoy themselves in age appropriate experiences and have family time together.

As you know, not all children are the same or have the same interests. It's not necessarily a case of parents (or in our case, grandparents) putting their "needs" before a child's.

For example, my husband and I love Disney. In fact, of our two vacations with our granddaughters next year, one is on a Celebrity ship, the other is Disneyworld. We expect that our granddaughters will enjoy both as much as we do.

Your idea of what a family should look like and enjoy just doesn't match ours. Which is fine.

And yet the poster was only stating that many passengers, including her/himself, would report it to staff if kids were running around breaking rules! If they were doing that, they would inevitably be disturbing adult passengers and, without question, their parents would be at fault for failing to supervise them properly!

You may have missed some of the more offensive posts about kids/families that were deleted by the Mods.

.......that you could just as easily buy and eat at home?

For myself, being an american, the pork and beans at breakfast buffet service always amused me. I asked someone what the deal was with this? They told me that the Australians have beans on toast for breakfast. Now, that was a few cruises ago and to this day.....that is a breakfast staple for me on every cruise. Beans on toast and I forgo that awful vat of tasteless scrambled eggs! :rolleyes:

Could be easily done at home but this outrageously simple item is my cruise special.

What's yours?

Are the pork & beans made from scratch?

I still get "Can we/I speak to the man of the house?" I then reply..Well which one? usually gets a pause.

LOL. You win the Internets this week.

I do all the research, bookings, payments, etc., and all the mail comes to me. Sometimes I don't even tell my husband until after I've booked a vacation. I'm a planner when it comes to vacations; he is not. I don't think sexism is at play here, OP.

Check out post #57. OP has completed the cruise and updated the situation.

Thanks. Whew. Anxiety attack averted.

So glad it all worked out. Glad she's not a chair hog. :)

I load my iPhone with audiobooks, music, and even movies. I can't just-treadmill. :)

Audiobooks are probably my favourite. I have books I only allow myself to listen to when I'm on the treadmill and sometimes I'll stay on the 'mill longer because I have to finish a chapter. :)

Our reservations are linked. I am on Cape Cod, my sister in Wellesley. Nobody has cruise insurance. My Husband is willing to go home if necessary to let me and daughter go on cruise. Last minute is how my sister and her husband live. If no one cancels since not necessary to cancel for cruise insurance purposes then maybe there won't be a singles supplement? And she will most probably make it.

 

Will update when we get home-hopefully the 29th and not earlier!

:eek: Omigosh. I'm having an anxiety attack for you!!

Please do update us on how it goes, but hopefully your sister will reconsider. I must say, if I were in this situation, I'd be a little torqued at my sister. It's one thing if she wants to play fast and loose with her trip, quite another to possibly jeopardize yours.

While there's such a thing as too much misbehavior, if I saw someone on a cruise being as obnoxiously hard-ass about these things with someone's kids as you portray yourself to be -- I would make a scene and publically shame you over it, not the kids.

 

Sorry, but no adult wants to deal with cranky old people on their cruise, and correcting that bad behavior is the best way to discourage it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I'm so tired of a core of dedicated Celebrity-is-for-adults fans trying to discourage families with overt threats around policing and turning kids in. Geez. Relax, have a good cruise, and let others do the same.

And for the last time, Celebrity is not an adult line! (I fear it won't be the last time.)

We took our grand daughter to Disneyland at 4. Spent 3 days, had naps and pool time mid day. Papa and little one got naps (papa loved that). We carefully split the day up to not wear a little person out.... Used a stroller for long trots across the park also to not wear tiny legs out....

Have already been flamed for suggesting at 2yr old on a cruise ship is really hard on the baby and especially the mom. Grandma is a wonderful alternative if she is able.

But each family vacations in their own way and I hope this family enjoys no matter what they end up doing! Safe journey!

LOL. We've done Disneyworld with a two year-old and Papa and Grandma had about the same stamina as the preschooler. Disney in the morning, a swim and a nap in the afternoon, back to Disney for a couple of hours later in the day ... maybe. The highlight of the toddler's trip? That Papa could swim WITH HIS HEAD UNDER WATER!

Anyway, the cruise was a slower pace, but still a blast for our preschooler. Beaches and parks when the ship docked, more restful days when we were on sea days. Mornings on the balcony, having First Breakfast and watching the ship dock are some of our best moments.

Said kidlet still says her favourite of the two is the cruise. I can't decide which I prefer with little ones, both are a blast.

As Flatbush says, to each his own.

And best advice for dinner... go to MDR in the early seating and have the waiters get used to how the kids work. They will bring food/snacks out early. They will speed up the pace if you want to get out quicker. And personally - I'd use the babysitters for nights you want to do the specialty dining. You'll pay less for the sitter than you would for the cover charge for the kids. And the adults can enjoy the full experience more... Book a later table (8:00 or so) and the kids would likely be asleep for the night anyway. And you don't have as much concern over a "stranger" taking care of the kids. We did Luminae last time... it was great' date=' and they were great with my kids, BUT it's a much quieter restaurant and you feel much more conspicuous. My kids are older now too - 6 & 10, but even few times their laughing and chatting felt too loud for Luminae. The MDR is loud anyway, so a kid can be a kid a bit more in there. And having the same waiter throughout the week will be a blessing. Maybe even throw them a few bucks in the beginning of the week with what your expectations are... would go a long way to making it a great week for all of you.

 

I've always found the crew to be AWESOME with kids. And 90% of the passengers are too. Of course, be respectful of others' experiences... remove the kids if they are melting down, etc. But I'd expect you to have a WONDERFUL time with the Grandkids!![/quote']

 

100% of the adult cruisers in our family enjoy the company of children, which is why we actively search for vacations and cruiselines (including Celebrity) that cater to families. :)

 

We start the MDR experience chatting about our day, but bring an iPad along for near the end of the meal so our granddaughter can play a game or watch one of her favourite shows while we dawdle over dessert.

For what it's worth, do know that your 2 year old will have zero memory of this event in later life. Worth consideration of a delay until at least age 4-5.

That may be true Flatbush but they will enjoy it whist they are on holiday and it will expose them to lots of new and exciting experiences. Working on your assumption you'd never take a baby to the zoo or even read them a bedtime story.

We have a journal of every vacation we've taken with our granddaughter (as well as vacation journals with our own kids) from age one.

For what it's worth? Those memories - our memories, even if the kids are too little to remember - are priceless.

To the OP, have a fabulous cruise with your family!

As a parent that devotes my life to my family, I would have to say no. I would rather go nowhere as a family than somewhere as a couple. Thank you for your opinion.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

Teehee. As a Grandma, put me in with those encouraging you to bring the grandparents. :)

We never vacationed without our kids either. It's such a blast seeing things through the eyes of your kids. :) Have a great cruise!

:D

See if this will help stop you from spinning

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=47446933#post47446933

Wait, what? Now I'm just more confused.