truffles2

Oh, thanks so much. I didn't have a clue!

Looks like Willie won't be there in Sept. We miss him about every other year.

Your explanation sounds like you nailed it. Frankly, I am quite suspicious of the cab drivers and porters in FLL. Too many bad experiences and consequently we avoid that port if possible...

Oooops - I forgot that they have a few one way trips on GR. Actually, things are changing and I may not get to PMI (this time) after all.

 

I'm still glad the revitalization was as expected and not just hype.

I give up. What/where is PMI?

Looks like we will just miss Willie on Freedom:(

Found the latest listing from Ph8

AD Adventure of the Seas -Reshma

(Silvia Abreu De Gasperi date TBD)

AL Allure of the Seas--(Concierge)-Rahim and Dexter(Fernando on vacation)

(Diamond)-Kenton Stubb

BR Brilliance of the Seas -Anis Tebbeb(06/02/12 till 07/03/12)

Betsy Medrano(on vacation)

EN Enchantment of the Seas - Reyno Varkevisser(on vacation 07/06/12 till end of Aug)

EX Explorer of the Seas -Mario Reyes as of 4/12/12)(Carlos Javier Ortiz)

FR Freedom of the Seas (Concierge)-Willie Salaya(on vacation 6/17/12)

(Diamond)-Rahul Barua (Verdine Leotaud on vacation)

GR Grandeur of the Seas -(Suite Concierge)-Raj Bhugwath(till July 2012)

(Diamond) Fernando Cataldo(till Oct 2012)

ID Independence of the Seas (Concierge)Ken Boodoo till 10/31/12

(Diamond) -Silvia Abreu De Gasperi until 06/30/12(Columella Arandia)

JW Jewel of the Seas -Jasmin (Nedere Reid on vacation till 07/02/12)

LG Legend of the Seas -none till 2/7/13

LB Liberty of the Seas (Concierge)-Carlos Ortiz (Oana Popa on vacation till 6/21/12)

(Diamond)--Nicola Baker

MJ Majesty of the Seas- none

MA Mariner of the Seas -(Concierge)-Luca Iorio

(Diamond)--Erik Lafitte

MN Monarch of the Seas- none

NV Navigator of the Seas –Ricardo Mock (Karen Hernandez on vacation 04/12 for 4 months)

OA Oasis of the Seas (Concierge)Francis Calimag and Charmaine(Natalia on vacation)

(Diamond) Hayley De Vos Luzio

RD Radiance of the Seas-(Concierge)Steven -as of 4/22/12(Juan Diego Miranda-Allen on vacation)

(Diamond) Gazetty James(as of May 18th)

RH Rhapsody of the Seas-(Concierge) Amit Chattopadhyay(Mone't Morning on vacation)

(Diamond)Abigail Hendriks as of 06/01/12

SR Serenade of the Seas -Francois Roux ( on vacation 06/10/12-returning 07/28/12) -(Daniel Ascoli as of 06/10/12)

SP Splendour of the Seas – Diego Tripaldi (Telma Santos on vacation 05/02/12)

(Diamond)Carolina Costa

VI Vision of the Seas - none till 10/23/13

VY Voyager of the Seas -Israel Sanchez(till 06/19/12)

Ahoy truffles2...

Do you know where Amit is going?

If Rahul is going to the Cl in a few weeks, who will be in the Diamond Lounge? I know that Willie left for vacation not long ago.

I'm almost afraid to trust my memory, but I was thinking I read Rhapsody somewhere. If I come across it again I will try to get back and confirm.

We are D+ and always go to the DL on the Freedom for the view and for Rahul, it is a great spot with an excellant crew.Also no children in the DL but are allowed in the CL(no flames please,I paid my dues as I am a Gr.Grandmother). We also enjoy it during the day for a cappucino and a nice place to read.

Ditto everything that you said (except the Gr. Grandmother)! Rahul and Willie are top notch --as was Amit (will miss him)-- and probably the example we hold all others to.

That's too funny! Our taxi driver tried to rip us off last year when leaving Port Everglades. He tried to pretend he got lost taking us to our hotel (we stayed 1 night post cruise) and it added an extra $5 to the meter. I told him I knew he wasn't going to charge us for the time he "got lost". He didn't say anything and I subtracted the $5, gave a tip and moved right along into our hotel. Our hotel was 3 miles from the port and he tried charging us $26 before tip! (We could see the hotel from the exit ramp on the road and he turned right instead of turning left--what an idiot! Unfortunately for him, he wasn't messing with one either)

Don't know where you stayed but from Embassy Suites to the port the fare is about max $12 + tip so I assume reverse would be true. Think you probably should have deducted more than $5 :eek:

What? no one is watching today? I had to search for the thread:eek:

From the pier to the airport was 7 minutes and $12.90 + tip for fare. I assume the reverse would be about the same.

On an avg day, you will make it if you do the self-embarkation and if nothing goes wrong. There are opportunities for issues with US Customs delaying disembarkation or not sending enough officers to the terminal lines, long security lines at the airport, or the taxi line not running smoothly (this one is rare). Not sure how express luggage would work with such an early flight.

Flight must be after 11:30 to use luggage valet.

We have always had only the highest compliments for Willie, Rahul, and Amit on Freedom. They seem to set the standard--to which we tend to compare all others:o.

The captains like to be put near their homes. Capt Rob lives in Seattle, so at least for the summer, he can homeport in his hometown.

I can understand that. We will miss his entertaining remarks on Freedom. He should have his own comedy show.

Oh, NO. Why is Capt. Rob leaving Freedom? I don't like it.

And we just stayed for a single night on a Friday night on April 20 before Eclipse transatlantic.

Very nice! Thanks.

And I will welcome the Eclipse back to FLL in the fall. That is my next cruise.:)

Hopping on Eclipse next week to take her over. Have you sailed her before?

Has anyone stayed at the Sheraton Ft. Lauderdale Beach Hotel?

Any information on this hotel will be helpful.. thanks

Patty

We have stayed there. At the time, it was the only hotel directly on the beach. It was the setting for the movie "Where The Boys Are".

It was the Yankee Clipper when we stayed there and it has been over 5 years I know.

I remember when Mariner went around the Horn that quite a few passengers were denied boarding because they did not have the Brazilian Visa. I would wonder why India would be different??? And I would not believe a rep on the phone but would check it out from the proper channels.

There is one within walking distance of the Hyatt.

Emmy, just tried your second link and got a strange page saying

"domain for sale"?????

Majesty was our first too.

Thanks, just wondered. We're all addicted :) :) :)

How about you?

I'll take Royal Caribbean any day :)

 

I just saw in your signature that you have 64 under your belt...that's so cool! What's your favorite ship so far?

Like them all:D...altho, some better than others;).

If I had to pick one I'd say Freedom, Allure, Brilliance, Radiance.