familycruzinnewbie

In Canada our visits to doctor, ER etc are no cost through our Medicare plan, and then we have private health insurance fo other stuff. There are services which are not covered - so recovery note, sick note, medical exam for work purposes, testing for travel purposes etc. I broke my hand at the race in Montreal and was seen at medical tent and had fingers taped and doc said to get xrayed at home. Silly like I didn’t have medical card with me and Quebec is a pain I’ve heard. So when I came home I went to ER for X-ray. Was casted and referred to hand clinic. Had surgery, 3rd temporary cast. Back to doctor again and now have fibreglass cast. But fibreglass casts aren’t covered so I will get a bill for $15 in the mail (actual supply cost to the hospital). And my private insurance only covers drug cost, not dispensing fee( which is most of the cost). I’ll get free physio at the hospital once cast is off.

I got covid along with my broken hand. Hubby too. We are now recovered but don’t know if we can test negative or else we need doctor to write recovery note - which will prob cost more as that visit isn’t covered.

getting surgery on my hand tomorrow. but you know i will be in the gym when we board in less than 3 weeks. however my ability to take pics will be impeded.

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Welcome - I broke my right hand. Do I need it for Alaska lol. Probably need surgery and still in cast for trip 😞

are you back - can’t wait to read review

They canceled my bids. again due to change in reservation. I don’t know what they are doing

I had an OV guarantee. I received Royal up bids after final payment. I placed a bunch. I checked in at 45days and found out room in Apple wallet. When they confirmed room via email my bids were canceled and they gave me link to make new bids. But minimum bids increased. I made new bids. But then they were canceled again. Only change was we depart 1 hr earlier. Bid minimums are the same so I bid again. But???

Where everything is connected electronically, it is likely you won’t be allowed on the ship without arriveCAN and will slow down the people behind you.

It was not the cabins around IMAX as those walls are sound proof. It’s the cabins directly above the theatre on deck 10, that get noise and vibration through the floor. I’ve read a few complaint posts and one of the cabin review sites put a warning about them.

I looked at SAS but they only drop off to Hotels in downtown Miami not Miami Beach. How much does an Uber usually cost from FLL to Miami Beach

I'm trying to pin down some places with free cancel now. But looking for some ideas of where to check. Fort Lauderdale - I've seen Best Western, Riverside and Hyatt Place suggested. Several options in Miami for after cruise but sounds like I need to stay closer to Fort Lauderdale pre-cruise. I can raise my budget as needed but don't want to get too high.

Feb 16-18 and Feb 26-28 , 2023

We are flying into FLL two days before our cruise from Miami and have another two days post cruise. Accommodations pre cruise will be hard near Miami pre cruise as there is some kind of boat show. Post cruise is a little easier. We stayed at South Beach pre cruise 10 years ago and hubby was hoping for something similar but prices are crazy high. Originally I was looking for $200 per night which Im not sue is possible. We stayed at Home2Suites in Fort Lauderdale a few years back but that wasn't really a good location. I don't think we will rent a car and usually get shuttles or cab. Any suggestions for places to stay either near Fort Lauderdale or Miami or near a beach somewhere in between the two. Thanks

My PVP suggested a lido inside cabin on Horizon. I have since read that those cabins get vibration and noise from the IMAX theatre. What hours does the IMAX run? Should I switch cabins and is there a location that would be convenient that I could switch to. There are no 4J cabins, or any other inside cabins in deck 10 or higher left.

I often don’t book my seats, if I have to pay for that privilege. Usually if you check in 24hrs in advance you can get decent seats. We are flying on Westjet and I originally made the mistake of booking “Basic”. Found out later that Econo let’s you pick your seats when you check in 24hrs in advance but with basic you are assigned the crappiest seats on the plane. I read people booking basic mean that the Econo has less competition for the seats. Prices had dropped and they had free cancel, so I was able to rebook Econo for a little less $. Flying across the entire country and taking a red eye on the way home would really suck in the middle seat.

@tidecat we were looking at your exact Mardi Gras cruise, but will go with Horizon this time.

Thanks. Miami may be more convenient, but if I have to fly into FLL then we need to workout that transport and where is the best place to spend the nights pre/post cruise. Miami will probably be warmer in February too.

Thanks. I don’t mind tipping for drinks we have, but we don’t drink a lot so didn’t want a big gratuity based on $120 drinks per day.

My husband and I were looking at cruising the 3rd week of February. We are travelling from Atlantic Canada so usually arrive 2 days before and it looks like we can't fly into Miami with the airline and companion voucher we are using, so we would be flying into Fort Lauderdale or Orlando. There are 4 cruises of 4 different class ships and 4 different lengths. We have done Eastern/Southern a few times before and are more for relaxing and beach than sightseeing this time. Probably booking ocean view or inside with walkway view on Freedom or Magic. From Port Canaveral 5 day Freedom to Amber Cove and Grand Turk 6 day Magic to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk and Amber Cove 7 day Mardi Gras to San Juan, Amber Cove, Grand Turk or From Miami 8 day Horizon to Amber Cove, La Romana, Bonaire and Aruba We have sailed on 3 other Conquest size ships and the Breeze but never the other 2 classes. Not sure how many days is best - as we have to add travel days etc. Price wise they seem to work our close per night other than the Mardi Gras which is higher, slightly more than the 8 night Horizon. We've never been to Amber Cove. I like the Magic itinerary because of HMC which was a complete rain out the only time we went there (we tendered but weather was really bad, so just short walk around) We've been to San Juan and Aruba twice, never been to Bonaire and we didn't get off boat in La Romana as we had some security concerns, but might consider an excursion. Thoughts?

By included, do you mean you weren’t charged the extra 18%

I didn’t see extra gratuities show up, but I’ve hear that on other cruise lines you are charged gratuities on your free drink package. The rate is not a lot more to book, but if we are $60x2peoplex8daysx18% it could add up to a lot.

We still need to test to board the ship. The problem is the less things you need to test for, the less available the testing options. But I can look at some US vacation destinations now without testing. We have a few Westjet companion vouchers the expire this month ( hubby gets 1 per year with his credit card, but they moved expiry with pandemic) so I have to decide I want to book anything.

I checked in this morning for my Serenade Alaska cruise and best I can tell, my cabin is connecting ocean view on deck 4 port side midship. Not sure if I will hear noise from deck 5 above or from whatever activity Is on deck 4. As I mentioned above, I have minimum bids on balcony to grand suite, just have to decide if I should bid on spacious or ultraspacious ocean view (hoping for balcony so not sure if bidding on these reduces chances of getting that or increases chances of getting something. Btw a mock booking today shows no ocean view available.

Our cruise next month on Serenade is pretty much “full” other than inside cabins. I received my Royal up offers weeks ago, and at that time I could book one ocean view, no balconies and the owners suite but I had offers on many different types. It’s moved around a bit since the offer (or they added cabins) but back to one connecting ocean view, no balconies and a grand suite. I am a GTY ocean view and bid minimum on all categories from balcony to suite, but not the owners suite. I can check in tomorrow, so if I find out my room, I may adjust my bids or add one for the larger ocean views.