Yorkiegirl3

Any suggestions for virgin drinks while at Labadee? From what I’ve read it seems like the only frozen drink available is the Labadoozie so that rules out a lot of things. My friend has the Refreshment package so I was trying to think of what she can get besides soda.

Yep, ours dropped to $57 as well on our Sept 12 Symphony cruise.

The Hampton Inn Brickell is a popular recommendation on the Florida boards. No airport shuttle, but they offer a shuttle to the port for $8 pp. 

Thanks everyone. Sounds like we’re going to go with the hotel option. 

17 minutes ago, Flymia said:

I would pass. The area is not horrible, but for someone that is not familiar with Miami you will likely not feel comfortable there at night. There is not much if anything walking distance other than a trendy restaurant or two across the street from a retirement health center and an abandoned school. 

 

If you had a car, then its ok. With no car. This is a no go IMO. 

 

This is exactly the type of place that might have great reviews, and could be great for 3 20 somethings on a road trip, but terrible for a family or people on vacation looking to walk around. 

 

"Buena Vista Shops" that is a joke. But it sounds like it would be close to some great shopping/restaurant area. And it is, by car. 

 

I think our plan is to rent a car. At the moment, our plan is to arrive in Ft Lauderdale around noon so we’d like to be able to spend some time exploring and seems like it would be easiest/cheapest to rent an SUV for a day. 
 

Total cost for the Air BnB for one night would be around $335. Would you still recommend going with a hotel or would you try the Air BnB?

If you still think we should do the hotel, what are your top recommendations? Our most important factors are comfy beds, clean, preferably newer or if not, maintained  well. Also would like to keep the cost around $200 per room. I say comfy beds are important, because I’ve been shocked lately at how bad hotel mattresses seem to be, and I’m not talking about low end hotels. In the last year, I’ve been in various hotels and all of the mattresses were rock hard. 

10 minutes ago, Flymia said:

I think people have posted links before, but you could give us an address or maybe even just tell us the nearest intersecting street. 

Our top pick at the moment looks to be on NE 50th St in Miami. It says it’s across the street from Upper Buena Vista shops and restaurants.

8 hours ago, Flymia said:

I've had multiple clients had their homes listed on Airbnb in Miami. They were not the ones listing them... 

 

I am not against it at all. I have used it myself, but I still prefer hotels. Especially in an area you don't know well. If a house is cheaper for a weekend then two hotel rooms it says a lot about the condition and location of the home. 

 

How about this. Let us know where the Airbnb you are thinking about are at or some that you think have good reviews and we can let you know if that is true or not. 

 

The thing with hotels is we know where they are, you have hundreds if not thousands of reviews. I've seen "high level" host, listing properties they don't even own. And sure a group of 22 year olds who have a car might think a house in Wynwood was awesome. Not sure much for a family etc.. 

Am I allowed to post links or do you just want the area the listings are in? Also, thank you for being so helpful. 🙂

1 hour ago, CoolNickname said:

At one time AT&T had some arrangement for a flat fee to use ship's cell coverage. Now I see they have something like that on their website here including a list to check if your ship is covered. I think plans start at $25. 

Looks like as long as I can set up WiFi calling, I’ll be better of going with buying Voom. No data limit with ships’s internet.

We have AT&T and plan to buy Voom. If we want to send texts to one another, what are the steps we need to take to make sure we don’t get charged roaming fees? Also, am I understanding there’s a way to call one another without roaming as well? We have IPhones if that makes any difference.

So is the main reason why people say not to do an Air B&B in Miami is because you can’t be sure it’s in a good location? It seems like if you go with someone who has lots of recent reviews that are good you would know if it’s in a decent neighborhood. It just seems like it’s cheaper to find a home that will sleep 4 people compared to having to get 2 hotel rooms.

Also you can choose to rent a home vs a condo so being left without someplace to stay shouldn’t be an issue. 
 

Perhaps I’m being naive, but if one does the proper research it seems like getting an Air B&B should be ok. I haven’t decided for certain though. I’m still researching.

We’re cruising out of Miami in September. 3 of us will probably be flying into Ft Lauderdale, and one into Miami. We’ll be flying in on Friday and cruise leaves Saturday. We’ll also need transportation from airports to either hotel or Air B&B and to port the next morning.

If we stay in a hotel, it needs to be clean, comfortable beds and fairly new. We would also need 2 rooms. I’m thinking we might come out better money wise if we get an Air B&B, but not sure once we figure in transportation. What are everyone’s thoughts?

3 hours ago, Blitzburggirl said:

My guy is 6'6 and pushing 400. We were just on the Symphony (and NCL Getaway fwiw.) We did alot of specialty restaurants and they were all able to accommodate without making it a thing. Usually we ended up with a bench on one side of the table and a normal chair on the other side and I simply took the bench and he sat in the chair. Johnny Rockets was insanely tight though, with two benches on each side of the table.

 

Anyway, the theaters and the arenas (like the aqua theater), comedy clubs and pubs etc, no issues.

 

You did mention beach chairs. He's very careful about that and all were strong enough to accommodate (on the ship and Coco Cay.) The umbrellas on Coco Cay at Chill Beach were kind of a pain because they are set very low. But I'm 5'6 and they were kinda low even for me, they are squished in tight and to stand and put on sunscreen etc was awkward. For him, it took skill!!

 

We did find quite a few places on Symphony were the ceiling height was a thing. We've never been on Indy, but, fair warning! The ceilings may be low! The sprinklers in the cabin grazed his hair, and the entrance to the bathroom and the balcony required a slight dip. I think it was Wonderland on Symphony as well that had some pretty low ceilings going down the stairwell.

Thanks so much. You shared lots of helpful information. 

So my question is about the loungers I see pictures of on all the beaches in the Caribbean. They all appear to be plastic. Does anyone know how sturdy they are?

We’re going on Symphony in September. We paid $51 pp for our passes during the Black Friday sale. The current price is $79. I’ve heard they are as high as $199 pp on some cruises. 
 

Your pass gets you into the beach club which has a private beach area with loungers and umbrellas. There is a private infinity pool that has in water loungers and day beds around it that are first come first serve. There is a coffee and tea area with breakfast pastries. There is also a private restaurant with upgraded food such as steak and lobster. They have a deck with comfy chairs, sofas and rocking chairs to hang out in. There is a small bar as well. They supply towels so you don’t have to bring any off the ship. If you have a deluxe drink package it will work in the beach club.

There are several videos that people have posted online you can watch. Just google Coco Cay Coco Beach Club.

Is $15.99 per device per day a good price? This will be on Symphony. I haven’t been watching the prices for this, so I don’t really know what the average price is. 

12 minutes ago, cbr said:

When you say watch for the deals I’m assume you log in to your RCL account and check there? Or do they display the info elsewhere? Would definitely LOVE to get a BOGO for DH and I on our 4/16 cruise. 

Yes, log into the Cruise Planner on RC website to see the “deals” available on your cruise.

I’ll be on the Symphony in September and our current “deal” for the DBP is $65 pp per day which it says is 20% off onboard prices. I got it for $61 during Black Friday and that’s the lowest I’ve seen it since we booked last July. I keep watching hoping for a cheaper price, but no luck so far.

Does anyone know if Kraken rum is still covered with the drink package? I really want to have Kraken coladas, but I don’t see Kraken listed as a covered rum on the deluxe beverage package on Royal’s website.

22 minutes ago, Gettin Married said:

If you call you can purchase for just one. It's not required to purchase for both unless you do it online but even then you can call and get that adjusted. I guess I will buy one for myself and if my husband wants one or two drinks that's way cheaper than buying him the package.

Normally, you are still required to buy at least the soda package for the other adult in the stateroom. So if you call they’ll allow one adult to get the alcohol package as long as the other gets a refreshment or soda package. 

I 100% agree. People have gone way overboard with abusing the rules by claiming their dogs are emotional support animals. It hurts those who actually have legitimate emotional support animals or service dogs. Although if I read the article that I saw correctly about the new proposals, they still won’t be required to provide proof of training. People will have to sign a federal form swearing their animal has proper training. I’m sure there will be plenty who will lie and sign the form, but hopefully if their animal attacks someone or damages property, they’ll be held liable and people will realize the consequences.

46 minutes ago, mom2tcdx2 said:

 

We found on the Allure that you couldn't use it either. When we boarded the first day we were told we could use it at Sabor (By those making the specialty dining reservations) that day for lunch, and then when we went to Sabor they told us no.   Our upcoming Harmony cruise only has 2 Sea days, so figuring we really won't get any use out of the lunches.  

 

Is interesting to read about Jaime's.  They are one I am not overly certain that I want to go there out of all the dining options.  I wasn't a fan of Giovanni's however either out of what we dined in on the Allure.  I might consider just multiples at Chops and 150CP.  

Hmmmm, maybe it’s a Sabor thing, lol. No Sabor on Symphony, so I guess we’ll see what happens at JR and Playmakers. I’ve been told those are the only two open early enough for lunch on port days. Well as they say the only thing consistent about RC is their inconsistency. 😂

That’s interesting that Sabor wouldn’t let you use the dining package on a port day. While I know it does state it can only be used for lunch on sea days, others have reported having no problems using it on port days if a restaurant was open for lunch. I guess it just depends on what ship your on. It would be nice if they could all be consistent across the board.

8 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The website was update to show that hibachi now allowed a $35 credit.  Since the one protein mean was $45 there would be a $10 upcharge.

 

We ate at Hibachi twice on Oasis over Christmas and they did stress this when we booked it.  There have been a few reports that even with the two proteins $49 they were only charged an additional $10. 

Sorry, maybe I’m misunderstanding your post, but I don’t see where the website says there is a $35 credit for hibachi. It just states there is a $10 up charge. Also, I just realized it doesn’t actually state that it only includes one protein, so I guess one could have a valid argument if they wanted two, that it should be covered.

When I bought it recently for my upcoming cruise on the Symphony, it states there is a $10 up charge for hibachi. I’m bringing the print out with me since I’ve seen people posting there have been issues on some ships trying to use it.

We’re actually not going until September, just doing some research ahead of time. We probably will stay on the ship for one of these stops. Currently we’ve purchased passes for CocoCay beach club so unless reviews are terrible after it opens, I imagine we’ll just skip Labadee and stay onboard.

3 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Snorkeling from the beach any priority?

If there is pretty sea life and coral to see, than yes