Bkchero

I work in that area and eat at the Duffy's fairly regularly. Can't go wrong with it. There is also an Outback that's not far, a Quarterdeck that is a block off of 17th Street, or if if you want something not chain-ish then try Southport Raw Bar or Kelly's Landing. If you don't mind a short Uber there is an Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza on U.S. 1, wings are awesome. Enjoy your trip.

About 20 mins. from my house. Very safe area although like any mall it draws the typical purse snatchers, car break ins, etc. that you will see at any suburban mall. Mall has restaurants and there are others along Sunrise Blvd. and if you are looking for shopping it's a good choice. As noted above it is far from port, maybe 30 mins.

In Reality, Candlewood Suites is 3 miles from Terminal 18 and the Hampton Inn Plantation is another 7 miles out I-595. What's another 10 minute drive to save $50 per night and be in a much nicer park like area that is safe to walk in? Marina Mile is an industrial area with semis, dump trucks, garbage trucks and lots of traffic running up and down the road.

In defense of Candlewood, it is a short cab/Uber to Anthony's Runway 84 or Lester's Diner, which are just as iconic as Rustic Inn and Tropical Acres. Rustic Inn is one of our favorite restaurants in So. Fla. I even got my wife and 9 year old son to both try frog legs and gator bites there (they both liked both).

The only thing that would concern me about staying in Plantation would be traffic. I drive 595 every day and traffic has gotten worse as the years have gone by. However if it is on a weekend then that is not a concern and if you could save $50 or more the extra distance is not such a big deal.

And I agree that a car rental might be a better choice to drive from Lauderdale to Orlando. By the time you go through security, etc.at the airport its about the same time wise and a one day one way rental plus gas might be cheaper than two plane tixs. You should be able to drop the car near Disney.

Enjoy your cruise/stay in the States. My wife's boss is an Aussie, she's been here over 40 years but still talks lovingly about it.

I had originally booked mine direct w/RCL. I found it through one of the online TAs that CC has on their "Find a Cruise" link above for $100 less PP ($500 less total), and I got $100 OBC on top of the price difference. Needless to say I canceled the direct and rebooked w/the TA. I also was able to confirm that I can change the person traveling up to 10 days before the cruise w/no penalty and after that its $50, which is good since one of the tickets is for my college son's GF and while they have been dating for some time you never know . . . the TA rep actually brought it up before I asked b/c she had older kids and completely understood the dynamics.

Bump. We just booked this cabin for next December. Anyone have any recent photos/reviews/updates? Thanks in advance.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I like to book early so that I can get a decent price and desired cabin.

Which is why I booked and I'm not too concerned about the fact that it was $15 cheaper PP the next day. Wife wanted a balcony, there was a D10 aft balcony available on Navigator, so I grabbed it. Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna call and have them adjust, but even if the price didn't change from now till sailing I'd be fine with it.

You should not have to use the price guarantee, you should just call and ask them to adjust the price.

Thanks (you also Biker19). I'll try that. It's not that I'm really upset at $15 a person but hey, it's $75 for my group of 5 and that's a decent amount f money.

Thank you all for the input. We ended up trying to book direct and the room we wanted was available so we booked. Today of course the same itinerary is $15 cheaper a person, so we are going to see just how well the price guarantee works. That's not a lot of $ but that's not the point. Cruise is a 5 day on Navigator next Dec. we booked one of the D10 aft balconies.

I did the same thing and have the same issue. The difference is not significant, it's about $15 a person, but that's not the point. I guess we are going to see how the price guarantee works.

Hello, I have been lurking for a while, registered a few weeks ago and have some questions about bookings. A little history, I went on one cruise w/my then girlfriend now wife about 15 years ago, a 3 day NCL to the Bahamas. Wife has gone on several on different lines w/friends. Cruising is more her thing but I'm open to going again.

So here are the questions:

1. I have a specific cruise picked out that should fit several hectic schedules and I even did a little research on staterooms. I then went on RCCL's website to book. The stateroom I was looking at was not available. However, when I tried a couple of the Cruise Critic partners for booking to see if there was a significant price difference, the stateroom I wanted was available, as were a couple close to it that would be acceptable. Has anyone had that happen before? Should I call the various web TAs (are they really TAs? I will assume they are for this) and make them confirm that the specific stateroom is available?

2. Assuming I can get the specific cabin through one of the online TAs, are there any other real benefits to any of the online TAs? A lot of what they offer I don't need, we live in So. Fla. so no need for hotel vouchers and things like that. Just wondering if there are any hidden perks with any of them. Also, are there any downsides that anyone is aware of in using them?

3. I read about "Wave Season" and I see that RCCL says their sale ends tonight. Although I am pretty sure the timeline fits I am not 100% sure if we can get all our ducks in a row (I have a kid in college and trying to pin him down is tough) in the next 5.5 hrs. Is there any general consensus about how prices will change tomorrow? Will they extend the "sale" for cruises that are not close to full? If I am not too worried about the deposit, should I just go with it? I'd hate to put down $400 and then lose it but part of me thinks if I do it and tell the family they will actually get serious and focus.

4. If I buy through one of the online TAs and I want to prepurchase the drink package, can I do that thru RCCL's site? I saw a post that said that RCCL almost always has a 20% off code in the cruise planner and if I can save a few $ I'm always up for that.

5. Finally, if we want to add people later, are their issues with moving people from one room to another, even if its a cheaper rate? College kid's GF might get added, if that happened we would need an addl. room and would have to move someone to that room.

Sorry for the long post but I figured I'd get it all out and you can all fire away. Thanks in advance for any help.