mickeycrz03

We self disembarked a couple of weeks ago (with LOTS of bags) .. we had a limo transfer scheduled with Happy Limo and were walking through the doors of the airport at 8:30 a.m. Our flight home was also at 12:40 so we had a lot of time to kill in the airport.

Thanks for your review. We board this weekend. I am most curious to find out who the entertainment will be .. any ideas if the same entertainers from your cruise will be there for several weeks or do they change them out pretty frequently?

Better hope there's no thunderstorms in the area either. If it's lighting at the airport they will not unload the baggage from the airplane until it stops. I went thru MCO last week and there were people waiting for over 2.5 hours for their luggage. Fortunately summer thunderstorms are usually late afternoon.

 

 

Aft Cabins Rule

That's precisely why we are planning to pack everything that we "have" to have to truly enjoy our vacation carried on the plane with us in carryons .. the suitcase that is checked will have those extra pairs of shorts/shirts etc that I always tend to overpack .. and then give us space to bring stuff home.

We are flying in from Springfield, MO thru Atlanta, GA on Delta. Work makes it impossible for us to fly in day prior to cruise so we are forced to take our chances and hope for the best. We have flown into Orlando once/twice a year for the past 5 years so we are pretty familiar with the airport / rental car situation and have done the drive to Port Canaveral twice in the last year .. (while that isn't often compared to a lot of cruise addicts .. it's more than enough for my DH :-) )

I'll really be stressing .. but I'm hoping for the best.

Our flight arrives at 11:20 a.m. on Sunday 8/31 (the day our cruise leaves). I have been tracking that flight for a couple of months now and so far it has been on time or early all but one time (and that day it was 20 min late).

If everything happens as it should and we find that we do want to make a quick stop for last minute things we didn't pack .. where would be a good place to do that close to the port? I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize boarding the ship but if we find we have enough time .. where could we shop that is within minutes of the port?

Also, since there is NO way we can be among the first to board .. what time would be a good time to arrive to avoid the bottleneck of cruise passengers arriving by RCCL transfer? I understand 12:30-1:30 (which is when we would be arriving if we don't stop anywhere) is a very busy time. Is it safe to wait and arrive closer to 2:30?

We are renting a car and will be parking at the port so transfers won't be an issue from a car rental location.

Really enjoyed your review. We are cruising on the FOS for the first time in a couple of weeks.

I'm very nervous that we will be met with long check-in lines since our flight doesn't arrive MCO until 11:30 a.m. I'm guessing we will arrive at the port about 1:30 p.m.

Curious how long the current line-up of "entertainers" remains on the ship. We sail on 8/31 ..

Reminds me of my first wedding .. we didn't find out until we met with the photographers weeks after the wedding that the photos from the ceremony itself didn't turn out .. the photographer had messed up the film so the only photos we had were photos taken separately before the wedding and then at the reception. No compensation given at all!!! Really ticked me off.

Don't really have any questions .. just reading and learning all that I can before our first Freedom of the Seas cruise on August 31. Can NOT wait!!

The cruise is actually at the end of August .. I jumped the gun a little when I said at the end of this month ..

I read about the glitch as well. I had to send in my passport for renewal last Friday. It takes 7-10 days to enter their tracking system so hopefully I can start tracking it next week.

 

Currently the Department of State website still says 4-6 weeks for routine processing as of today. I've generally found it to be quicker but that is their standard timeframe.

 

Hopefully the "glitch" doesn't hold it up... :rolleyes:

Didn't realize there was a way to track the passports progress .. hopefully this glitch will turn out to be nothing ..

We are cruising at the end of this month and the party traveling with us has waited until about 6 weeks out to apply for new passports (their old passports were lost and/or expired).

A co-worker alerted me to a news story last week about the current glitch in the processing of passports. Just curious if anybody has recently applied for and received their passports. I'm trying not to stress but our friends don't appear to be too concerned and don't have time right now to bother with applying for a second set of certified birth certificates to have just in case their passports are stuck in the processing glitch.

This just made my day. We really enjoyed our two Disney cruises and the "casual" atmosphere in the dining rooms. When on vacation DH doesn't like to "dress up" every night and prefers to be comfortable in nice jeans and nice shirts .. I like not having to shop for dress clothes that will only get worn once a year on a cruise.

After reading this thread I'm torn about whether or not to go with the premium package. I initially thought no way would we come out ahead with the package. I know on our past cruises I was always very conscious of the cost and seldom ordered anything. This will be an adults only cruise with two of our close friends so I'm thinking it would be nice to splurge and just grab a beverage whenever and a glass of wine with dinner ...

Decisions .. Decisions ...

My goal is to pack with just carry ons for this trip. We are forced to fly in the same day the ship leaves (has me a nervous wreck but can't change our plans). Knowing that .. I am really hoping to pack lighter than I ever have before and make it with just carry ons. My main concern is liquids / shave gel / sunscreen. Not sure I can find all that I need in the FAA size containers and we won't have any time at all to shop prior to boarding ship.

Thanks for the quick review. We are cruising on the FOS 8/31 in connecting E1 cabins on Deck 8. Hopefully we will be fortunate enough to have our balcony dividers open as well.

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I thought I saw a reference to which cabin sections had recently been remodeled. Can someone direct me to that information. We have booked cabins 8328 and 8326 ...

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I'd think that the op would forgo the wine if running late, don't you?

I am the OP and you bet we'd bypass a wine stop if it meant being late ... My main concern is reliable transportation to and from port 😄

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We definitely would not attempt a wine stop if time doesn't allow ...

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Due to schedules that we cannot change, we are forced to fly in day of cruise. The earliest arrival I can get arrives MCO at 11:30 a.m.

We are a party of 4 adults ... We have always had a rental car in the past because of pre-cruise days at Disney. Looking for suggestions for private transfers that would allow for quick stop for wine before dropping off at the port.

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While I would LOVE to be able to experience the Allure or even Freedom, both of those ships sail on Sunday which would require us to fly in that day. Absolutely no way we can fly in a day early. While I know many people have success with flying in on the day the cruise departs, I'm not thrilled with the added stress of potential flight delays.

The $$ savings of a Grand Suite vs. Balcony on Allure or Freedom wouldn't be significant but I'm thinking peace of mind might be.

Seeing that the Grand Suites are below the Windjammer has me concerned with noise .. would have to shell out the extra $$ only to be annoyed with constant noise .. decisions .. decisions ...

Thanks for your review. Trying to decide which ship (if any) to cruise on in late Aug / early Sept. We have done two Disney cruises in the past 12 months. My last RCCL cruise was many years ago on the Mariner. I'm thinking of trying the Enchantment of the Seas for a short 4 night getaway for just DH and I .....

I think I have decided against Allure of the Seas and will scale down our cruise to just a 4 night on Enchantment of the Seas. I'm curious to know what recent cruisers thoughts are on the Grand Suites on Enchantment. I see they are directly below the Windjammer which makes me think there will be a lot of extra noise from above.

Initially I was trying to save money by downgrading ships and length of cruise but then I thought the added amenities of a suite might help to make up for everything we will miss by not going on one of the mega ships ...

Now to decide if the added amenities are worth the extra $$ ...

We are looking at a cruise on Allure of the Seas with a stop in St Maarten. Maho Beach is really the only reason we are planning to take this particular cruise itinerary. So much so I'm wondering if a land only vacation would be a better idea for us. Curious if anyone who has been to Maho Beach found it interesting enough to book a "land only" vacation after having been there on a cruise?