hookedoncruising99

Our wait at FLL for Uber was about 2 minutes (they are waiting in a que area), our wait at Port Everglades was the same, just 2 minutes as again they are all waiting in a que area. And we have Uber'd as well in Miami and the wait there is the same- all very quick and very easy.

Does anyone have any current information regarding whether Uber can enter the Jaxport terminal to drop cruisers off? I thought I had read somewhere that they weren't allowing Uber to enter the lot but that we would instead have to take a cab. Is this still or is it true at all? Thanks!

Have you gone yet? Did you get an answer? Wondering myself as we leave very soon for a cruise out of Jaxport as well. I have read where Jaxport has a franchised deal with Checker Cabs so they do not allow ride shares to enter the port area. From what I understand you have to be dropped off an picked up outside of the port area--that calls for a long walk especially with luggage.

I was wondering how long once sail away begins does it take to sail down and clear the river until the ship enters open waters? Are we in for a Tampa like sail away (a couple hrs)? I figured it certainly isn't an all night event like New Orleans. Just wondering ;p

We have used Uber at FLL (at the airport as well as the cruise port) and never have had trouble. Just follow in the instructions in-app for pickup locations. Typically a fraction of the cost of a shared van or cab

Costa Maya is a dock with a avg beach at best and that pretty much wraps up what Costa Maya is. I would be forking up the $50 administration fee and switching sailings

Would they purposely forgo the additional revenue (shops, casino)?

You'd think definitely not--but do a quick history check of these ships and their actual departure times from the port--they are consistently hrs late. So it's either the fact they have a short trip, or these ships for one reason or another aren't able to get going on time like everyone else, or just plain bad luck for these ships.

On our Disney cruise a couple of years ago we ended up diverting to Miami for a medical emergency going from Cozumel to their private island. It seems one of the crew had fallen while cleaning the deck in the morning and they decided to stop in Miami quick to take them off the ship. I have never seen so many people out on their balconies at 10:00 pm at night, mainly to make calls since we were back in the US. We got to Castaway Bay about 2 hours late, but was able to stay an extra hour.

 

I also did a trip on the Carnival Ecstasy where I got sicker than a dog. Went down to the medical doctor, she diagnosed me with strep and gave me some heavy antibiotics. They didn't quarantine me or anything, I think she could tell I was miserable and wouldn't be venturing out until things kicked in. So sent one of the sea days sleeping all day. Two days later when we got home my daughter got the diagnosis, and then a day later our traveling partner was diagnosed. The medical facility seemed very well stocked, it looked like it had 3 beds in it. No insurance, the visit cost $95.00, which you paid before you left the facility.

$95--heck that's cheaper than a visit at a Dr's office here at home without any meds!

As a nurse, I'm curious as to the medical center. I'd love to just go down there and see how it is. Do they charge your insurance for everything? Obviously getting flighted off the boat would require extra fees, but if you are dehydrated and need some IV fluid, they charge your insurance? Hopefully we won't be needing any medical services! (We don't drink so no hang overs or anything. My 9 yr old son tends to be my "weak link" medically so lets hope he is ok! He's usually my carsick kid (Im bringing a patch for him) but he is also very small so excessive vomiting is detrimental to him and fluid replacement would be important. What about broken bones? Can they do x-rays and set the bone for until the cruise is over? Just curious but totally not planning on using this service! ( But then again, who plans a medical emergency?!)

I've seen it once, on a tour right before they started the behind the scenes excursion. At least at that time (about 8 yrs ago), the ships had very minimal equipment/capabilities. I do know they have improved that though as most ships have basic xray now. I don't know how serious of something they can treat without needing to take someone off immediately or what will get you taken off at the next stop. You are charged (your sail and sign acct) for any and all service--this comes from Carnival's site, then you can make a claim with your travel insurance or insurance company afterwards.

Without looking into the matter- I'd say it could be anything. A couple yrs ago we were on the Victory out of Miami, scheduled to leave at 4pm, didn't pull away until 9pm. No explanation, nor did I go look for one either. Regardless we still made our first port on time. Possible reasons: People who booked air and/or ground transportation through the line is delayed, Coast Guard has delayed them for any of many many reasons, Captain went to Bubba Gumps and hasn't returned, Tug/Pilot issues. And again without looking at their port of calls- though both of them do a lot of Bahamian cruises- if they are in fact simply cruising over to Freeport & Nassau, many of those ships are famous for sailing away late as they're in no hurry. You could make that trip in a matter of hrs, though the ships will typically have a sea day between Miami and those ports.

The medical team on board is like an ambulance squad. The hospitals on most Caribbean islands can offer the support that a dental practice in the U.S. can. Hope you are close enough to have the US Coast Guard take you from the ship, hope even more that you're close enough to the US to be taken there. There are a few places where the medical services really are quite adequate but they are few and far between (places like Cuba). If you are near place like the D.R. or Honduras- make peace with your God. I say that after seeing the "best" hospital in the D.R. in Santo Domingo---I've seen better facilities at Vet clinics.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. Your post that I quoted said that you were going in September, I guess I was wrong for assuming that it was this year. Usually that is what it means when you don't add a year on to it.

That was my bad for not putting the year on--I guess I was just hoping it was 2018 already, ha!!

Well I think we can all agree, regardless of how the process works for any of us, a back to back is just great! We are very excited to do our first back to back in just 2 weeks now!!!

There is no overnight in Honolulu on this cruise. The ship leaves at 4 pm to go to Australia.

September 2018 Cruise does have an overnight in Honolulu (arriving Sun morning, docked until Monday). It then sails Monday night to the Polynesian Islands. We went with '18 over '17 for that reason (basically one less night of a hotel!!!)

This is my experience with a B2B on the Elation's sailing on 1-23 & 1-28. We met at guest services at 9:30. We took our passports, which they never looked at and our customs declaration. They took our old cards. While they were getting our new cards, we had our pictures of the B2B people. One picture was as a group which we received free. We never did leave the guest services area, as they took care of the customs declarations forms. They asked if we wanted our old card back when they brought the new ones. We were given transit cards if we wanted to get off the ship. We had access to our rooms after we left guest services. The sailing on the 28th was my 25th Milestone cruise. We received a bottle of bubbly ,I also celebrated my birthday and a $50 gift card from the spa. We met in the casino for both muster drills. The first one we went to the lifeboats, second one we didn't. The weather wasn't the greatest for either sail away. No consistency in how these were handled.

Very helpful. So you never even had to get off the ship? I have heard that many times customs agents have just been on board and did the clearance

We are going in September from Vancouver- hits all 5 ports with a full day (14 hrs) in Maui and an overnight in Honolulu. Since it ends in Honolulu after 2 days we are electing to stay there then an additional week to do even more--so I guess we are getting the best of both (land and cruise)

We sail each yr with our kids and have always had to put an adult "in their room"--regardless if I book online or through a CC rep. The reps and even guest services on board have always told us we have to do that, but we can just get extra key cards and everyone can just sleep where they want but as far as the booking is concerned there is at least 1 adult in a room with kids. I know the website states anyone under 12 can still be directly across hall or next door if parent insists- and I've brought that up, but each time both booking reps & on board guest services states that a minor must have a parent listed on their room. Maybe this is just a recurring issue for us--but with that said it actually works out for us as when we are with the kids my wife chooses not to drink much and I still do (hey I'm with kids I need the bar!)--so since we are then listed in separate rooms I can still get Cheers and she doesn't since she won't be using it

My experience is sewer smell comes from the ucky stuff humans put down into the sewer

We've been to many places now in the Caribbean and in other parts as well. Aruba at least in the Caribbean ranks among my top 5 for sure. You have to know where to go or have a operator that takes you to the right spot and not a tour that focuses more on drinking/partying (which most do in Aruba). We have seen a lot of sea life and decent reef formations. As I've said elsewhere- they don't have huge impressive reef formations but the sea life is abundant.

Thanks!

I should add that we've also been to Bonaire and Curacao. Bonaire has the best reef formations, Aruba had almost as much sea life. Curacao has good snorkeling but none of the organized tours take you to the few places that have it-again a car rental or a cab (negotiate an all day fare) is best there too.

Our experience in Aruba with snorkeling is that the snorkeling is good (yes Bonaire, Klein Bonaire specifically is better but it's better than about 90% of the rest of the world so don't try comparing). However our experience of organized snorkeling tours in Aruba is this: 4 hr tour consists of 1 hr of round trip travel to catamaran, 1 hr AT MOST of combined snorkeling at 2-3 sites (all which are side by side, really just one spot), with about 2 hrs of sitting on the catamaran with open bar/party atmosphere--regardless of operator. We go back again in a couple weeks and are renting a car at the port and just making the 20 minute drive straight up the road to the Arashi/Boca Catalina/Malmock beaches where all those operators take everyone anyways. Except instead of paying $75-$100 per person, we are paying $50 for a car and have the entire day to snorkel/beach at our leisure....oh and for a stop at the supermarket on the way back where the true bargains for dutch chocolates are! You'll pay more at the port in Aruba for dutch chocolate than you will here in the U.S., but at their grocery stores it's 1/4 of that. Oh shoot--really got carried away didn't I? Sorry- what we've seen: all kinds of fish, schools of bait fish so thick you couldn't see through them, squid, star fish, eel, turtles....plenty of sea life, just not the big impressive fans/corals that places like Bonaire and Belize have. But I'm more interested in the sea life anyways

We will be making our 3rd (all on cruises) trip to Aruba in a couple weeks and this time renting a car. We love to snorkel and are tired of the excursions that blow all the time outside the water for open bar/party time. We plan to drive up to the Arashi/Boca/Malmock areas-- my question is- did you happen to notice the parking situation? Last time we were there in Sept, we drove by those spots but did so on an UTV excursion and blew by them so quick I couldn't see (I was already planning my route in my head)

From our experience last year where we had two different cabins for our first B2B: We asked our cabin steward about the process. He told us what to expect and then gave us the name of our other steward. We went to meet with him and he said the two would work together. As others have stated, all we did was pack the things in the drawers and bathroom. The first steward removed all the hang up items and sent them to the new cabin and they were inside when we arrived. We had 62 B2Bers on our cruise. We met in the MDR for coffee and snacks at 10. Our old cards were taken, we walked off the ship through customs and immigration, we were given our new cards and met with champagne and a Welcome Back sign. They took a group picture and then we were free to explore the ship or, in our case go to our new cabin. We didn't have to wait at all. They really work to get those B2B cabins done first.

When you say your cards were "taken"--did you not get to keep them? We are on the Vista in a couple weeks on a back to back and we have a scrap book of each cruise, part of it is the cards.

Glad to hear, we are on the Vista for both the 8 & 6 day sailings on a back to back in a couple weeks. As we all know- some people can't be pleased and spend their entire cruise seeking out the negatives. It's always beneficial to tell yourself on the way to the port- not everything will go right, not everything will be as expected, some things may just go wrong--but it's always better than a week at home!

I'm beginning to think there's a conspiracy regarding menus on the Vista--granted I know they are all just about the same except for the Port of Calls options. But I've been asking everywhere & looking everywhere for both the 8 & 6 day menus on found none, as the ship is going on 10 months now. Well maybe no conspiracy but really- there's menus for every other ship all the way down to 3 day cruises but no Vistas :confused: