drd-aus

We just booked the November 30 departure and there were a number of cabins available.  Since that is the weekend of Thanksgiving in the US I booked a flight into FLL right away after booking the cruise.  Using a service tied to hotel points I ended up spending $1200 for two in a Concierge class cabin with tips and OBC.  My SO and I usually travel the week after Thanksgiving as that is a slow travel time most everywhere.  

We fly into Ft Lauderdale this Friday for our cruise leaving Saturday from Miami and have booked Moveo from the airport to a hotel in Miami. The driver will pick us up at the curb and for two people with luggage the cost is around $100 including tip. There are lots of other options including a shared ride service like Super Shuttle that may be lower cost. When traveling on business I use Super Shuttle but on our previous cruise we took Moveo it was a nice relaxing ride.

Been on several cruises and have not tipped up front. As a former bar tender at higher end hotels most of the folks who tip up front cause trouble later in the evening. I can see the logic in handing the steward an extra something at the beginning as a goodwill gesture. My concern is would they think that is all they would get or what extra requests I might make in return.

Will find out the difference between AQ and CC in about nine days. This will be our fourth cruise and first in CC with the previous three in AQ. In AQ we were near the top of the ship and that meant lots of stairs plus we had noise every morning from the deck chair gang. Our CC cabin is on the 9th level away from elevators and stairs plus it was a lower price than AQ. We can spend that money on drinks, for-fee dinners and have more freedom of choice. In AQ we never used many of the amenities so we will see if CC works better for us.

In my experience, three AQ cruises, we dined at slightly different times each night and our seating varied by cruise. On one we were always in the same section and the other two we were all over the place. Blu is fairly quiet unless you are seated next to a loud couple. Some tables are closely spaced which yields some crosstalk between tables while others are more private. For our fourth cruise coming up we are in CC not AQ. The price difference was significant and CC allows us to spend money on the extra cost dining venues and still come out ahead.

We fly into FLL and leave from POM but we are doing the transfer upon arrival at FLL the day before. Our hotel is 2 miles from POM so the cab ride is minimal. Using a car service for the transfer.

I use Super Shuttle for business travel quite often but rarely for personal travel. The extra people on the van and the numerous stops makes it too much like a business trip for me. This week we fly into FLL and depart POM the next day. I looked at various option for the transfer and found a car service that will do the transfer for only $15 more than Super Shuttle. On our return we will use a tour that drops off at FLL. One thing I found about Super Shuttle charges $25 from my house to my local airport and wants over double that from FLL to our hotel in Miami. Catch is the distance is about the same.

No one have any ideas about this?

I read a recent post where the ship used the DVI input but all of the other inputs are disabled by a lockout code. On another post from another ship, both ships are S-Class, used the HDMI port. It may be possible to unplug the ship's connection and plug in your device if it supports that input type. DVI is less common than HDMI.

My wife has always wanted one so in anticipation of our cruise on 3/21 we bought one from Amazon and kit of accessories. The kit was a great deal an included so much stuff for $25 I will probably never use even half of them. In REI and Best Buy the accessories are very pricey. She plans on using it for snorkeling / snuba and who knows what else.

Deck - 11

Cabin # - 1575

Class – Aqua

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – Bath

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – Occasional noise from pool deck above and loud voices next door.

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Beautiful view of ports on Western Carib

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal

Was wind a problem? no

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? N/A

Any specific problems with this cabin? none

Any other comments?