Ashland

Not sure why you might think that just because you booked with VT anything about a stay at Hyatt Place might be different....It's not.

I believe an hour before will be fine.

Not just in Miami but at every port.

We also just do a roundtrip taxi to Maho to watch the planes then have them drop us off in town for some shopping and water taxi back to ship.

Old San Juan pier.

Amsterdam is one of the best ports we've recently sailed from. The service was amazing. As our taxi drove up a porter was right there to take our bags...put them on the conveyer belt and walked us to check in. For a moment I thought he was going to actually walk us onboard 😀

Sorry I can't help with these but as long as you have the info needed (below) buy one and try. These aren't AARP ones I use. My family purchases gift certificates on line with RCI. They all know this is our preferred gift. Now we're easy to buy for. I apply them online (the only way to apply) at RoyalCaribbeanCertificates.com. Using my sailing info and the certificate serial number and certificate authorization code is easy. I have applied as many as 7 at a time (doing them each individually) towards final payment. There is no limit.

We of course took the ship shuttle to the Visitor Center. Then there was a company selling roundtrip tours to the Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center. It was a great option this past September 2022. Look, as they have a big sign as you get off the ship shuttle. No need to use a private company ($).

Hmmm. We've never been charged extra if a taxi van is the next one up in line.

I also mark it on my calendar but I also always get reminders from RCI. Got one on June 23rd for my FP due July 7th. I was waiting for some RCI gift certificates to be applied which took a week. My FCC's applied with a phone call.

Any reason to not have your hotel call a taxi? It's worked for us.

Was also considering this option but after reading several reviews...decided not to.

That would depend on timing right?...I'd rather do this myself. We've never had any problems....it's really no big deal.

We usually stay in OS's and I just call using the in cabin phone that says room service. I tell them I'm ordering from the MDR menu...tell them what I want. We like to order breakfast and at night we call just before the dining room closes and order dessert. You can order breakfast, lunch or dinner during their open hours.

Jewel & Serenade have a much smaller dining table and only two chairs in the OS.

Thank you so much for your help.

We were not only on Jewel 2022 but also on Serenade in September 2022 and October 2022 each time in an OS and I don't recall anything being set up specifically by the concierge...however we're pretty low key long time RCI cruisers and don't participate in most of these things, so there could have been.

Bring what extra form? We live in California but two of our grandkids live in Georgia. We'll be visiting them this October and want to do everything needed for them for our cruise in May 2024 while we're there then.

JMHO....Between the two choices given by the OP I certainly wouldn't base it on just the possibility of how close they might get to Hubbard glacier....you just never know from one cruise to the next. And for what it's worth we have always gotten pretty close up in May...Just lucky I guess. Again, I would still opt for option #1 overall vs option #2.

Sorry you misunderstood my post it was in response to the OP's question about MTD.

We were also in an OS (July 2022) and they told us just to let them know whatever we wanted to do when it came to MTD. They called us several times to see if there was a reason we weren't using the dining room. After many years we now prefer the WJ now.

Is this the only form we'll need and do both unaccompanied parents have to sign or just one? I assume we'll need a form for each of our grandkids...right? Thanks so much for adding this link.

It would probably depend on the category of suite you're in 🙂

Definitely option #1. Summit has been refurbished it's like a new ship inside and the cabins are beautiful. That time in May has always been our favorite and have never missed Hubbard glacier. Northbound is also much preferred. I would rather sail north to Alaska than south away from it. The itinerary for the Summit is perfect.

Try Hyatt Place just off 17th Street and behind Embassy Suites (avoid very dated). Great location right next to the Harbor Shopping center. It has a Publix Mkt. shops and restaurants. The hotel offers a shuttle from FLL to their hotel for $5.00 per room reservation. They have a shuttle to the port ($) but cheaper to use Uber or Taxi. For pricing try booking as a member or ValueTrips.