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Not going so great in Miami....

We had the staggered checkin March 12 in Miami and it was great! We arrived just a few minutes before our 10:30 check in time and were ushered into the "Next wait time" line and moved right through to first check in, then into the regular check in. Lines were not long and the wait to board was not long. We were onboard before 12.

We had 10:30 staggered check in on March 12th for the Breeze. We arrived a little early and were put in the "Next" check in line. The Priority boarding line was empty. They let us go right on through. We were waiting for boarding within 15 minutes. We were onboard way before noon. Even our friends that had the 12 checkin time were onboard right after us. AND THEIR 20 YEAR OLD SON HAD LEFT HIS PASSPORT IN HIS DORM IN MARYLAND!!

We used them last March for our cruise out of Port Canaveral. We stayed in Cocoa Beach at the Hilton oceanfront. It was cheaper than booking it through the hotel and paying for parking. No problems with the booking and great customer service. HOWEVER, our ride back from the ship to the parking area was not so great. The driver let too many people on with too much luggage and it over heated and stalled. The luggage was blocking the doorway and was a little nerve wracking since we could see smoke coming from the engine. It took a few minutes to get the luggage and people off. He got it started and we were on our way after maybe 20 minutes. Would I use them again? Probably, but I would wait on another shuttle rather than get on an overloaded one.

We had 12 people in a 15 passenger van i think. I will double check with my husband. The back row of seats did not go down. So the last row was full of luggage and then whatever would fit in the skinny trunk area.

 

We had 2 large suitcases and so did inlaws. My sister in law had a large bag. Then her kids each had a bag. I also had a small suitcase and another bag too.

Thank you! I was worried about not being able to get all of our luggage in there.

Great review so far!

Can I ask how many you had in your van and how much luggage? We have a 12 passenger van rented for next month and wondered how many people we could get in it with all the luggage. Thanks!

What type of shoes are needed on the ropes course?

My brother has booked several cruises with the second person TBD. He had a psycho girlfriend and an on again/off again relationship with her. Luckily it was always "off again" when we actually cruised.

I believe that Budget has a shuttle but from the Miami Airport

I called the 89 SE 2nd St location and there was a recording with their shuttle schedule hours. Hope that is current.

Glad to see Dollar has one rented from them today for an overnight in Miami.

I called budget, even though the port of Miami website stated they had a shuttle when I called they did not have a shuttle from the downtown Miami location to the port. she stated they stopped doing that a few weeks ago due to the cost of licenses etc at the port? anyway REALLY glad to see Budget does.

I just reserved a car from the Budget at the downtown cruiseport location. I thought they did have a shuttle. I'm confused now, your post says they no longer have a shuttle and then says they do. Thanks for clearing this up for me.

On our cruise this past March I had both OBC and Carnival gift cards for my on board spending account. We were not able to use it all and I was told by guest services that we would receive the amount left back in a gift card. About a week and a half later, I received a check for $200.

And I didn't know they even came with pin numbers. I used them tonight to pay my balance online and she asked for the pin number. I scratched off the box to the right of the number and there it was! Who knew?

We too have noticed that hotels are quite a bit higher in Fort Lauderdale next March. We stayed at a Hampton Inn last year for $125. The same Hampton Inn is $235 next March. Still staying at Hampton Inn, just a little farther out for $209.

We are cruising in March and are finding them to be higher as well. We were able to rent a 12 passenger van for $138 for the trip from Orlando to POM on the way down. It jumped to $375 for the return trip a week later. We decided to get two small SUV's for $95 each. We found that mini vans were double. I'll keep checking for lower prices until we leave.

It saves you 10% using Verizon rewards.. Get 100 card for 90 dollars and so forth ... Limit 5 per day .. Use on carnival balance

Is this 5 per day limit something new? My stepmom ordered 13 $100 cards in one day a week ago.

I just ordered $500 of the $100. Shipping was $2.95.

For what its worth, that is a long way from the port.

 

I ride my bicycle through there to get to downtown Miami and south beach.

That is interesting. They claim it's a 10 minute ride to the port. It is $65 for our 8 day cruise there versus $160 parking at POM. I think for the convenience and peace of mind, we'll probably park at the port. Thanks everyone!!

Thank you! I found it odd that I could find no reviews about this one. I am just worried how my 79 year old mother in law will do with her luggage walking from the terminal to the parking area. We have always taken shuttles before.

It has been my experience that the rates drop within two months of the cruise and mostly with the more=merrier rate. We had 5 drops in January for our March cruise. I don't expect any this time since we booked 2 cabins with 2 each. I did receive an early saving offer this month with $100 OBC but it was for new bookings only.

There were ten of us and we all enjoyed the food. There was plenty to choose from and no one went away hungry.

The company is Miami parking lots dot com. The address is 8300 NW 7th Ave. Their website says they are located beside the Miami Dade Sheriffs Station and are gated and 100% secure with 24/7 armed guards and 360 degree surveillance system. The fact that they have armed guards is somehow not very reassuring to me. Just wondering if anyone has ever used them or even heard of them.

They can be opened between some of the rooms. However, all of the cove balcony doors have a metal door that can be closed and seal off the balcony in case of rough seas. Sometimes these doors will be in the way if the two adjoining rooms have the doors side by side. This was the case when we stayed in the coves on the Dream.

My PVP called and I told her I was waiting for a reduced deposit sale to book spring break next year. She said typically they have sales toward the end of the month and she would call me when they did. Sure enough, she called three days ago when the reduced deposit sale hit.

We were in 2284 on the Dream twice. Once in 2011 and again in 2012. Was there noise? Yes, definitely. It sounded like something grinding. We just assumed it was the stabilizers as we had never been that low before on a ship.

It did not keep us awake all night and was not a deal breaker. We liked it enough that we booked it a second time. My daughter, however, asked us not to book a cove on our next cruise on the Breeze.

We did this same cruise two years ago on the Valor. My husband also got very sick after the cruise with those same symptoms. He hadn't been that sick in the 25 years we had been married. First time in 25 plus years he had to take antibiotics.

I literally laughed out loud when I saw this because it is exactly something I would do. I am not good at figuring things like that out and my 16 yr old daughter thinks I'm an idiot. BTW when I saw your pic with your kids I was confused at first because I thought you said you had 3 kids and I saw 4. You look VERY young. Great job on the review!! This will definitely be our next spring break trip!!

On our cruise last month, we did not purchase it. We boarded exactly 5 minutes after the FTTF people. Never had to stand in line at guest services and our rooms were ready when we finished lunch. Tenders were also not used on this cruise. I think that would be the only reason I MIGHT consider it.