Jiffymom

Funny I was just thinking if I should take a lanyard.  Guess so !

52 minutes ago, Needz2Cruise said:

I'm not really one to post reviews, but we were also on the June 22-28 Adventure of the Seas cruise to Canada/NE.  My general opinion is that it was a spectacular cruise...very few complaints and a few comments. I'll try to touch on a few of the comments above too:

- Wow, we hit the jackpot with weather. Anyone going on this cruise should prepare themselves and know you're heading into cooler weather and prepare for it. We actually had it much nicer, and yes warmer, than average. Beautiful weather in all of our ports - embarkation day in Bayonne, Bar Harbor, Saint John and Halifax. Slightly cooler and a little cloudier in Halifax, but we had none of the damp, foggy conditions that can  often happen, especially in Acadia/Bar Harbor. The at sea day coming home was very foggy and cool...definitely not a sitting by the pool day. Otherwise the weather was much nicer than I expected.

- Yes, Windjammer is crowded on embarkation day at lunch. That's been a standard on every cruise I've been on, Royal or not. Other than that, we never had any problems finding seating in Windjammer for any of our meals and never had a problem with the lines. (The key might be to use the lines in the rear of Windjammer...same food as the front, much less crowded).  I will say there was just two of us, so maybe finding seating for two was easier.  We used Windjammer for all breakfast and lunches and one dinner...other than the usual embarkation lunch crowd, never had issues. Windjammer staff was really nice. Since we tended to sit in the same general area, we had a server (not our MDR server) come over to us and gave us hints on some of the ports, etc. Never felt hurried...

- One minor problem...one of the Freestyle machines in Windjammer was broken the entire week, so it was just the one there and the two in the Promenade.  Never had to wait more than a person or two ahead though.

-  Yes, trivia could get crowded. Especially that last at sea day when the weather wasn't the greatest. We did trivia a few times and the Schooner definitely can't handle the crowd, but for the most part, there were areas to stand, etc. Still enjoyed it. Never won those highlighters, but got close a couple times. We did sit a couple times, especially when it was in the Imperial Lounge. Seating in Schooner could be difficult even showing up early, since the venue often had other things going on before trivia. 

- Dinner in the MDR was fine. Nothing spectacular, but certainly adequate. We skipped it one night for Tex Mex night in Windjammer, which was good. Our MDR server was good and our request for a two top table near a window was granted. For those of you going and covered in many threads, if you have a dining request, sending an email to dining services a few weeks before the cruise does the trick.

- For the most part, the live shows were quite good. They had a couple really good comedians, the Can't Stop the Rock show was good and the ice show shouldn't be missed. They did the ice show three times (hint, the first one is the most crowded, so skip that one)...showed up about 15 minutes ahead for the 2nd one and had plenty of seats to pick from.  The 70's throwback show in the Promenade is fun too.  One exception to all this: They started a new show called "Jackpot: Las Vegas tribute" one night. I don't know what they were thinking: awful. There was a 10 minute or so stoppage for technical difficulties, but that isn't what made it bad.  Singers weren't good (with the exception of one woman: Candy, I believe), song arrangements were awful and it all seemed very disjointed. This was surprising, because the singers and dancers with all the other shows were quite good. I know there's a lot of overlap with the performers on the different shows, but there were some new ones on this performance and I'm sorry to say it just didn't work.

- We didn't interact with the officers too much, but found them very friendly when we did.

- Our reaction to getting off the ship was quite different than one of those above: we hated getting off and wished we could have stayed on for the southern swing that followed.

Thank you for the nice honest review. We will be going oct1. Quebec to Ft Lauderdale.

Enterprise on Marginal way, they pick you up near ship.

but we changed our mind. It’s a short day so we booked 

Portland explorer. It’s two  hour tour to see three light houses than we will go find a lobster lunch and spend time in town .

I do wish we had more time in Portland.

Thank you sharing.  Great info.

my other option  is to drive and make our own tour of lighthouses.

16 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Two Lights is fine, nice view, but the prices are high, about the same as a waterfront sit down in town. You're paying a lot for seagulls to steal your fries.

Well you’ve given me something to think about. We are traveling with friends and I keep telling them about the beautiful views. So guess as time gets closer I will make my decision. The weather will determine. 

Love the Maine coastal views 

4 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Living in Portland, the following restaurants are right on the waterfront, a few blocks from the pier.  I don't recall which do lunch, since dinners on a cruise port call are problematic in many cases.  Eventide, Street & Co, Boone's Fish House, Gilbert's Chowder House for chowder.

We are renting a car and want to drive to Twin Lights Lobster Shack at Cape Elizabeth.

i was there 5 years ago and hope it is still the same 

Make sure you are not sunburned 

We never had any problems under the pool. One morning we did hear them cleaning the deck and sliding chairs around. 

Depends on the excursion they will have a boat that goes back and forth. So you can come and go as you please. Check your daily planner and it will tell you where and when to meet for departure.

I suggest the hop on and off bus.  

We found it easy to get to HARVARD and we stopped for a mandatory beer and shopping at Cheers on our way back.  

The child’s price is very reasonable. Maybe he would enjoy a dessert. I almost guarantee they will bring chicken fingers or Mac n cheese or anything you ask for. 

We don’t cruise till October. No price drops at this time 

3 hours ago, martincath said:

Is this an organized group tour? Or are you doing it yourselves with bus/rental car for the Toronto-Montreal parts?

 

I ask because that first 2 days especially is very inefficient - Niagara is the opposite direction from Kingston so you end up passing through Toronto again (hard to avoid this if you want to see the Falls though, unless you have a private boat to take you across the lake!); Toronto offers so much more stuff to do than Niagara it's just incomparably better - literally the Falls and then you're done in Niagara, the Canadian side is a horrific tourist trap full of cheesy crap (oddly enough the US side is much classier, but it has no view of the best angles). I say this as someone who lived in Toronto almost a decade, visited Niagara Falls double-digits of times including several overnight stays there - you can even do the light show and then drive back to T.O. as sunset is early enough in October (and the roads will be delightfully traffic-free). Kingston isn't bad - we did lots of short stops there on eastbound roadtrips, quite a few decent restos - but unless you're heavily into Canadian political and military history again it's weaksauce compared to Toronto.

 

Assuming you have some degree of control over your plans, I'd book a hotel in Toronto night 1 and 2, take a day-trip to see the Falls, drive to Montreal on Day 3 (spending the afternoon in Kingston on a 1,000 Islands boat ride - by heading east in the morning from a downtown T.O. hotel you are going against commuter traffic this day too); also consider bumping your train to Day 6, or at least taking an evening train Day 5, as there's both more stuff in Montreal plus you have at least embarkation morning (and with many cruises a whole other overnight) in Quebec City to sightsee.

 

While still very short visits to both Toronto and Montreal, these change would improve your ability to do justice to them and you really won't miss out on anything either - of course if you have the time, I'd strongly suggest adding at least an extra night to both these cities!

Well I had thought of that. But This is on my husbands bucket list.So we will arrive the first evening so we can see the falls at night. Then next morning take the boat trip and then head out of town. If weather is nice we will stop in Kingston otherwise just go direct to Montreal. 

I already have a hotel reserved and train tickets.  Thanks for your suggestions. 

9 minutes ago, Sunny AZ Girl said:

 

We are doing the same.  We will have 3 nights in Montreal, train to QC, then 3 nights in QC prior to our cruise out of QC.  We are blessed to have that much vacation time.  

 

(Sorry about the double quote.  I don't know how to fix it!)

October 1 Toronto to Niagara

2 Niagara to Kingston

3  boat tour of 1000 island in the morning

3 to Montreal in the afternoon

4 all day in Montreal

5 train to Quebec 

6 - 7 tour Quebec

It’s action packed we will really enjoy our day at sea to rest up .

Sunny Az Are you on the train on the 5 th

We will take the train to Quebec City 

Is there still a jacuzzi  in the spa/fitness area. 

4 hours ago, Twickenham said:

Given you'll be taking the train, I'd look at staying at one of the hotels connected to Gare Centrale  - Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth, the Hotel Bonaventure, and the Marriott Chateau Champlain are all connected via underground tunnels. I personally have stayed at the Marriott a few times and very much enjoyed my stays.

We reserved Le Dauphin.  But will Keep my eye out for  good deal for Fairmount Elizabeth.

we don’t need the room till next October. Thanks for your suggestions. 

Will be in Montreal for two nights then take the train to Quebec for 2 nights prior to cruise.

any hotel recommendations in Montreal. 

It’s 50.00 on our Adventurer of the Seas. Same as before 

Oh sounds so fun.  I wonder if the Adventure offers that.

One week in JS then switch to a GS for second cruise if available. But don’t reverse it. You will be so disappointed.  We love  the  GS and the perks. 

If you start in the JS you will have something to look forward to. Enjoy 😊 

We just go to Walmart buy a cheap snorkel and mask. Then leave it on our last day so we have room for souvenirs. I’m worried about sharing snorkels. 

2 hours ago, JohninDC said:

Alamo and other in town locations offer free shuttles from Port Everglades - if you get a better deal renting from an agency at the airport a taxi from PE to FLL will run about $15+

 

I would drive up I-95 with lots of fun beach towns along the coast.  It will take about 3 hours to get to Port Canaveral with nice beaches and some fun dining options if you do not stop earlier.  From PC to MCO is an easy 1 hour drive.

 

Everglades tours are one option, as is the Kennedy Space Center near PC.  Traveling with kids? Adults?  Without knowing your interests it is a challenge to offer suggestions close to your target.

Thank you that’s exactly the information I was looking for.

We will rent a car near the fLL port then drive to the hotel at MCO. We will have all day. Our flight is the next morning.

ill need to find the best/easiest car rental then decide what to do for the day.

A nice adventure.. looking for recommendations.

Our ship arrives at FLL  7 am our flight is the next day at MCO. We will stay at the Hyatt hotel at the airport.

so with one day what do you recommend for us to do. Rent a car? How about nice beach area  for lunch.

No we don’t want to do any amusement parks. We will be just coming off a 13 day cruise. 

I considered driving to Key Largo  but that would be a long drive to our hotel.