reedl

As long as things look clean, that is fine with me. My immune system has has a lot of practice, so it can deal with a lot of stuff. I am rarely sick.

People who live in a bubble of cleaning supplies have not given their immune system much practice, and they are more sick on average I have found.

I hope it makes it back to Boston by Sunday. I am getting on that ship that day.

Everywhere I have seen free WiFi in ports has always been very slow with many people standing around the access point area trying to get emails, etc.

That is why I always travel with my Google Fi service phone which is $10 a gig no matter where you use it (not on cruise ships). It works in every port, and is my connection that is mine alone.

I usually rent a car in Disney since I want to go to places outside Disney. You can return the car near the Port. Budget I know has a location that is not too far.

A bit of advice if you do rent a car. Drop you family and luggage off at the pier first with the porters and drive yourself to the car rental location. That way it is only one person carrying nothing who has to get onto a shuttle. You might think it wastes time, but it saves time and hassle because getting all the luggage out of the car, into the rental shuttle, and then off the shuttle to the porters takes time.

The last time we needed a minivan so we rented it through the cruise (which was a four night RCCL Majesty cruise). I paid for the parking at the port for $80. But it was still cheaper and easier to park in the garage than to have to return the car, and then pick up another one.

Does the Majesty have evening drinks for Grand Suite guests? I see they don't have a Concierge Lounge....maybe an area in the Viking Crown Lounge?

 

Thanks

Yes, there is a piece of paper in your room that says that you are invited to the VCL for evening drinks. The funny thing is that the 'security' on that party is quite lax. We went one night and sat down and they offered us drinks without even looking at our seapass.

I actually live in Orlando. My dad was going to drive me but he's older and doesn't drive at night too well any more. If I take transportation it's gonna be $140. That's why I'm angry. It's either my dad drives at night or I pay $140.

You could also drive to the port and park in the Port Canaveral garage for $80, or park outside for less money. Or merely arrive earlier and just hang out.

It will not take 1.5 hours to travel from the airport in Orlando to Port Canaveral. I'm driving from the Tampa Bay area and it will only take me 2 hours and that's coming from the west coast of Florida. I'm staying in a hotel in Port Canaveral the day before my cruise. I agree check the Florida port section for hotel tips.

You are correct on the time. I forgot about the stops we made. It is about 45 minutes.

But my other statements are still correct.

You can see if you can stay in the same hotel, and leave your car there. That would be easier.

The pier in Boston dates back to WWII and load and off load Navy members.

I used to work in the building next to the Black Falcon terminal a few years ago. Also I have sailed out of Boston two other times, and both times was not impressed with the facility. I wish there were more cruises out of Boston.

This converfssation has degenerated to ridiculous aed. I am tired aand bored. I imavgine anyone eradin g is ofre than tired of such nonsense I am. Thjre is nothing inyteresting , to b learned by congtinuing. I dislike nonesense. Have fun.

It is ridiculous because the other person does not agree with you and has presented valid reasons why your points are not valid for others. Passports do not cost $75. They cost $110 for the passport for $25 for the 'execution fee' That means for a family of four, it costs $540 for regular delivery of a passport. If this family never plans to travel outside the US (other than cruises), then a passport is optional in the vast majority of cases (exceptions noted by others above).

Look sail7seas, you might be a long time poster here with many posts, but just because someone does not agree with you does not mean that they are wrong.

Alamo offers a shuttle from the airport for free. The location near the cruise port does not offer the shuttle, but the rates are usually cheaper.

 

 

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I fixed my post after you responded. I used Budget Rental, which has a shuttle from the POM to their neighborhood location. I thought that perhaps Alamo would be the same, but I was incorrect.

You don't say if you are flying domestic or international and I see no 'location, indicated in your signature. You cannot make it throgfh international check in an securitty in time but maybe domestic.

She said:

Our return flights from Orlando (to Canada) are at 11:45 a.m

I would book a later flight.

I loved the Majesty Suite area. Of course the shades over the couches was kind of weird. There is no direct sunlight you are filtering out.

I doubt Boston has anything special for Suites. Probably just a separate waiting area.

It look like there is a location near the port of Miami, but that does not have a shuttle. Budget Rental does have a location near the port that does have a shuttle.

I suggest renting a car also. For the two days before you can sightsee and do whatever you want. Car rentals are not expensive and you can return it near the port.

Pick your car rental company and then when do you the rental, pick the drop off location as one near Port Canaveral.

A bit of advice. When you drop the car off at the cruise terminal, first drop your family off at the cruise terminal with the luggage. Then you go alone with the car to the rental return location. That way when you return back to the terminal, you do not need to carry your luggage onto the rental shuttle bus, and a party of one fits nicely onto a shuttle without too much trouble.

When you drop the others off, you can leave your luggage with the porters immediately.

I got the Disney Premier Visa card a few months ago and it has the following perks:

Earn 2% in Disney Dream Reward Dollars at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants and most Disney locations.

Earn 1% on all your other card purchases.

So you get 2% back on Disney purchases.

It has a $49 annual fee.

Plus the $200 you get for spending $500 is a statement credit, not a gift card. That makes it easier to redeem since it just is applied to your account directly.

You are probably better asking this question either on the NCL board:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

or the Northern European Baltics board:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=192

Hi everyone, I am going on a cruise for the first time with my husband and family.

 

There will be 6 of us in total and our cruise to the Eastern Caribbean is from December 10th-17th. My husband and I are flying in to Orlando on the 9th of December and flying out on the 18th and my family is driving down and getting to Orlando on the 8th and driving back on the 18th. I am looking to book a hotel from the 8th til the 10th and then on the 17th.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for hotels that will include parking? Also I am unable to find options to book the same room from the 8th til the 10th and then on the 17th or am I better off booking two separate hotels? Finally would you recommend staying near Orlando (we're flying in and out from MCO) or near the port.

 

Thank you in advance for any help!

I always stay in the Orlando area before a cruise. It is a quick 1.5 hour trip from Orlando to the cruise port, and the hotel and food selection is much better in Orlando compared to Port Canaveral. Look at hotels near the airport as their prices can be quite low.

As to parking... You can park at the cruise port for $20 a day, or there are offsite locations that are certainly cheaper. It all depends on where you want to leave your car, and how conveniently you want to be able to get back to your car. For our recent 4 night Majesty cruise, we parked in the cruise terminal. It was $80, but it was easy to walk out of the terminal, take the elevator to the floor I parked on, and drive away. That was worth the difference in price.

Are you renting a car also? If so, then you could rent it at MCO and return it to the rental car facility near the port. I know that Budget, Alamo, Enterprise, and Hertz all have facilities near the cruise port. I definitely know that Budget has a shuttle to the cruise. So you rent two cars. One before the cruise and one after.

We pondered just your idea. But, we didn't pay for early bird check in, so one wouldn't be checked in.

 

But definitely like the idea.

 

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I usually pay for internet, so I always check my party in at the 24 hour before mark if I have not purchased Early Bird checkin. As was said above, you never know when the cruise line is going to check you in, and I would rather get as low a number as I can.

But since I have been staying overnight after cruises lately, I do not use the luggage valet since I need my stuff for the hotel that night. I figure, why rush home.

Might work but must not be a walk through area like the Casino on most ships. Casinos need to be SMOKE FREE. This is a public area and other cruisers should not be subject to the smoke.

I totally agree. Make it a single use room with a single door.

I used it a couple of times, and it did exactly what I wanted. My luggage was available at my home airport.

One trick if you are flying Southwest is to check both bags in for one person and you only need to pay one fee instead of two. Since Southwest allows two bags for free, you do not need them to check in any other people if you only have two bags.

That happens all the time on every form of travel related services. I have had hotels, rental cars, airline flights, etc. all change many times.

When it happens before final payment, and you catch it, then it is good. OTOH if you see it and it is after final payment, oh well.

I personally have no issue with an inside room that is designated as a smoking room with good ventilation that is configured in a negative pressure way (so the smoke does not pour out of the room). Just vent it up to the stack and make the smells go away.

If this were the case, they could make that the only smoking area, and no one would be able to smoke anywhere else. This is the way it is in airports nowadays. They have the smoking room with the hazed over windows right now.

Anyone smoking anywhere else would be thrown off the ship (even while at sea. :D )

There is something about the water on the ship that makes me retain water, and my feet and hands swell, which in turn aggravates other medical/cardiac issues. Whether this is scientifically explainable is irrelevant to me. I just know that I swell when I drink ship's water and I don't swell when I drink bottled water, regardless of the increased salt in the food I am eating. So, it is better for me to carry on the bottled water.

 

Also, the bottled water comes in handy to bring ashore on port days too!

Are you sure it is the water? Have you ruled out everything else?

Of course you dismiss it with "Whether this is scientifically explainable is irrelevant to me."

I understand that a passport in this situation is an expense you may not need but I suspect most of these souls take out auto insurance, never planning to get in an accident, home owners or renters even though they are not likely to have a fire or be burglarized and health insurance in spite of the fact that they will not visit the hospital this year.

But those insurances are required that you purchase them. You have to have Auto insurance to finance a car. You need homeowners insurance if you have a home loan. You have to have Health insurance because of Obamacare.

OTOH a passport is a nice thing to have, but if you have four people, it will cost in excess of $600. If you are booking a inexpensive four night cruise, that is a large sum of money to spend for something that is 'nice to have' that 'might happen' but most likely will never been needed.

And you can still get back to the states in the very small chance that you need to. It might take some doing, but it can be done.

I asked for help here a few months back and everyone was so good . there are six of us all adults and we are staying in Orlando for two nights then one pre cruise night in Embassey suites . I have a few items I need help with as I don't understand the distance or the areas .

1.if we hire a vehicle to take us back to Orlando airport , where is the nearest place to port that we can pick it up?

 

2. what companies are best and reliable to use ?

3. what is the earliest we could collect our vehicle after disembarking?

 

I appreciate any help

How are you getting to Fort Lauderdale before the cruise?

It is about 3 to 4 hours from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale depending on how slowly you go.

Budget Rent a Car has a location on 17th street near Port Everglades. They have a shuttle that brings you to the Car Rental place. The Budget Rental location code is EV3 They should allow a one way rental to MCO (Orlando's airport)