cruisegirl29

2 additional rides for $22?

Cruise cat-

The course is actually both the half & full till the last 800 meters when the half marathoners turn to the finishline. I'm sure the marathoners have a min pace required. The Chicago half pace was a 16:00 min mile... Easy peasey in my opinion!

I'm running only the half... I spent last jan in the hospital with a freak pneumonia & missed my cruise...long story but I didn't think I was ever gonna run again... I wanted to run the Chicago marathon but the sign up was when I was ill. I'm thinking that the Miami half will be my last long race... Maybe just focus on my speed for 5k/10k...

Good luck on healing & running!

Cruise cat no way!

You going for the bloggers cruise? I'm so hoping John h. Is still on board for my cruise.... I'm hoping to run the race quickly then get to the port early....

Hamstring injury ouch! I've got a friend who has been suffering for months with one... I can't imagine the pain from it!

Cruise cat I can relate! I trained all summer for the Chicago half marathon in September & ran it with an injury... I have a stress fracture in my tibia... (Summer of 2011 it was in my femur). I took about 7 weeks off & am struggling to get back out there. I'm suppose to be training for the Miami half marathon on jan 27th...my rewarded is jumping on the carnival breeze as soon as I'm finished...I need to run fast! Lol

Hoping to get outside starting tomorrow & get some mileage on! Gradual increase in mileage though as i don't want an injury....

Happy running!

Sue

Just wondering if there are any more recent reviews?

If your on Facebook search woody Dominica... I toured about 3 years ago & still keep in touch with him! Awesome tour...awesome tour guide! You won't have any regrets!

Happy sailing...

Sue

Hi, we are booked at The Westin Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale and was wondering if anyone has stayed there and what your opinion is? Also if there are any restaurants and shopping areas within walking distance from here? Thanks for your response in advance.

I booked the Westing Beach Resort & Spa this past January & I ended up not being able to go. However, my family still went & stayed here. Scored a deal on Hotwire.. $39.00 total per night. It was an amazing score needless to say. They loved loved loved it! I rebooked for March but couldn't get a deal on this property so I stayed somewhere else. I did see the Westin from the Beach area. It's totally walking distance to many resturants along the beach. Beach Place has many bar/resturants you can enjoy. It was Spring Break when we were there March 8-19 so it was crazy with college kids. Lots to watch. LOL

Have a great cruise! Enjoy your stay....

Sue

This is NOT what I was hoping to hear...we wanted someone who is fun and does alot of sing alongs!!

Well.. Sean is a bit older... ok like really really old! LOL... (Hopefully I'm not offending anyone by saying that)

I'm sorry.. hopefully he will get better as time goes on....

Sue

Hello,

We stopped by to checkout the piano bar on the Freedom sailing 3/10/12... Sean was the piano player. Totally not what we expected. He is much older & didn't really fit your typical CCL entertainer. We didn't stick around but noticed some people enjoying their time spent in there throughout the week....

All I can say is that i'm praying for someone really good on the Breeze 1/27/13 sailing!!

Happy Sailing....

Sue

Hello,

Just got back last Monday from 3/10/12 sailing on the Carnival Freedom. Just wanted to give a quick feedback on the two places we stayed.

We arrived 3/8 into FLL @ 10:30pm. Headed to baggage claim. Called the Hyatt Place North for the airport shuttle. They said once we have our Bags to call back. So within 10 min or so I did that. They instructed me to go out of the airport & follow the sidewalk to the right. There is a place for shuttle pickup. We waited about 10 min or so & they arrived. Their last shuttle is a 11pm. Check in was quick & easy. We had room 617. Directly across from the elevator. We had a king bed room & these rooms are spacious. They have a living room, kitchen area with sink, mirco & refrig., desk area. Huge big screen tv that can be turned to face the couch or bed. King bed. This hotel is fine for a one night pre cruise stay if you book it on a discount site. Some of the cosmetics of this place are really awlful.. painted but didn't clean up the paint drips. bathtub was repaired.. or so it looked like it patch but the whole tub was squishy. it was strange. We saved ton of money by staying here 1 night pre cruise with the airport shuttle. Continential breakfest the next morning is great. Nothing fancy but there was plenty of choices. Also, they will shuttle you within 5 miles of the hotel. They took us to the Bahia Mar!

3/9 Bahia Mar

We really loved this place. Directly across from the beach. Nice pool area. Room was nice size. Great partial ocean views from our balcony. Close to everything! We ate at Coconuts. It was lovely. Food was fine nothing that WOWed me. LOL Actually we hit happy hour- 1/2 off appetizers & 1.00 off drinks. Check your bill. They tried to charge us FULL price. We arrived @ 5pm.. the special was going till 6pm. We were done eating by 6pm & they tried to tell us that we must have ordered after 6pm. We disputed it.. they changed our bill. You can also walk to the Beach place. Since we were there during College Spring Break it was crazy busy. Had lunch at Lulu's bait shack. Great views of the beach & great people watching. Loved the beach too...

3/18 Hyatt Place North again

Our last night in FLL was spent here again. We got a room on the 6th floor but I requested away from the elevator to keep the noise down from late night people coming back. It was much quieter but the room smelled like someone sprayed cleaner or carpet powder or had insense in the room. It was awlful... we should have changed rooms but we didn't. Just be aware.. change rooms if this happens to you! I think we were in room 622. At 6am we were woke up by the fire alarms going off. We evalcuated as so did everyone else it seemed. Took the stairway down. It was a false alarm thank goodness. We had the breakfast again & took the shuttle to the airport. The driver said he wished they would fix the fire alarm problem.. seems to happen often. Again I'd stay here again only if I got a good deal...

Also, ate at Bubba Gumps on the beach. It was fabulous! Perfect post cruise goodbye dinner.

Happy sailing!

Sue

Hello,

Ahhhhhh.... I'm so consumed with scoring a deal on Hot wire. LOL Tonight I scored the Hyatt Place Airport North (10th Street) for $65.00 including taxes & fees.. so now I'm staying March 8th @ at the Hyatt, then going to the Bahia Mar for March 9th. I'm saving about $150.00 by doing this! Our flight arrive at 10:30pm.. so I just couldn't justify staying at the Bahia Mar at a premium rate!!! Kind of a pain to switch hotels but it's only $15.00 cab ride away... can't complain!

Sue

Sue, You did great (again)! Hyatt Place is not perfect, but for one night it should be a very good stay. Some of the people who write experience reviews online are very picky. If the weather isn't great, you can actually take the trolley all the way from Harbor Shops to Galleria Mall.

Regarding the Bahia Mar, check prices daily, as I often see daily price changes on Doubletree. I use my hhonors number to look at Doubletree rates on hiltonfamilymvp.com. I just checked your dates and found a king partial oceanview room for $167/night.

We have the MVP rate for $167 per night.. plus tax. We are staying March 8 & 9.. total price:

167.20 USD

Total for Stay per Room:

Rate 334.40 USD

Taxes 36.78 USD

Total 371.18 USD

Total for Stay: 371.18 USD

Average price per night $185... .

I usually don't believe all the reviews I read. LOL...I go with an open mind & for one night post cruise I'm saving over $100.00. :) That's a lot of DOD on the ship!

Sue

Hello,

Long story but I had to cancel my Jan cruise due to some last min health issues but was able to rebook 3/10/12 sailing on the Carnival Freedom. I scored such a deal on hot wire dot com for Jan & my family enjoyed their $39.00 stay at the Westin Beach Resort & Spa. Now I have been searching for a deal for 2 nights pre cruise & 1 night post cruise. I have the Bahia Mar booked for my pre cruise stay.. $185 per night.... my post cruise stay was also booked there at $141.00. However, I finally found a deal on hot wire tonight for the post cruise stay on March 18th. I got the Hyatt Place 17th Street location for $58.00 +12. in tax... $70.00 for the night. I think this will be a fine location for one night post cruise, includes free airport shuttle & breakfast. Plus the sun trolley stop in at the Publix across the street...

Any comments? Mixed reviews on Trip advisor but the latest 3 have been decent reveiws...

Sue

I am cruising on the Valor March 11, anyone know who is playing on that ship by chance?

Brad Alexander 1/21/2012 - 6/17/2012 http://www.bradalexanderonline.com

Got from the list above a few posts....

Sue

Sean is the entertainer on the Freedom until mid July.

He is an older gentleman from New Orleans, and has played with and opened for many stars, Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, Liberace and more.

Not quite the Carnival type of player, but he's brand new to this venue.

Very talented on the keys and vocals, but plays slower than many of you are used to.

He also talks quite a bit.

Does have an outgoing personality, so perhaps he will improve with experience with Carnival.

The pb is not very busy, and I hope they bring that to his attention.

 

On another note, the Freedom has more live entertainment otherwise than the Dream did, Latin band, the singer in the Casino is great, and they do have a Lido band again!

Thank you for posting! I'm so glad there is a piano player on the Freedom LOL.. I saw the blank.. and was hoping someone would be on board!! I sail 3/10/12..

Sue

Hello,

I'm so enjoying reading & looking at your pictures! I was suppose to be on the 1/28/12 sailing along with my family, however I ended up in the hospital last week for 6 days. :( Have to reschedule for March 10th!

Can you tell me if the cabins have mini refrigerators?

Thanks,

Sue

Thanks JXR. Does he keep a crowd going? What kind of genre? Can't wait!

Here is his website http://www.ronpass.com

Happy sailing...

Sue

Hello,

Just found out that Doug Ross is now on the Carnival Freedom as of 1/22/12. I'm not sure how long he is on board for. I'm sailing 3/10/12.. anyone know if Doug Ross gets a good crowd going???

Sue

Hello,

I'm so excited to find your thread! I haven't read everyone's post as it would take me forever at this point. A little about myself & running. I've been a runner for about 1 1/2 yrs. I ran my first 5K in June 2010 without really training. I didn't really think I would learn to love running but this year I've ran several 5K's & trained for the Sept 2011 Chicago 1/2 Marathon over the summer. The training was going so well but then I developed a femur stress fracture. Had to quit my training in July. I was disappointed. I walked every week over 20 miles until 2 weeks before the race. I was determined to still at least run/walk it. Well I ran the whole race. I couldn't believe I made it in 2:28.. I was hoping for 2:10 without an injury! I felt great. The Chicago 1/2 marathon is a great one to run for a first timer! Then 6 days later I ran another 1/2 marathon in my hometown. All hills.. very tough course & i ran it in 2:29.

I did a 5K in October & it was a chilly 35 degrees. Totally different running in cooler weather for me. Well tonight, I decided to run a 5K Turkey Trot that is put on by our local YMCA. Weather should be about 36 degrees. I haven't invested in any cold weather running gear yet but I'll just bundle up.. probably look funny but it doesn't matter! It's about the finishline for me!

Looking forward to next summer's 5K's, the Chicago 1/2 maraton in Sept, my first marathon will be the Chicago marathon in Oct 2012 & then the Maimi 1/2 Marathon Jan 2013!

Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Running!

Sue

This place is new. I haven't been there yet. There are much more interesting restaurants in the area so I probably won't bother to go out of my way to try it. It looks like a wine and craft beer bar ...they have basic food like pizza, salads, and sandwiches. Cab fare would be about $14 each way.

Ok! Good to know.. :) I'll skip it. Thank you!

Sue

Hi,

On livingsocial they have a coupon for the Las Olas Gourmet & Wine Resturant. It's $20.00 but worth $40.00. Has anyone been to it? How close is it to the Westin Beach Resort & Spa? I'm assuming we could grab a cab.. any idea on cost of a cab to the resturant?

Las Olas Gourmet & Wine

111 Southeast 8th Ave

Fort Lauderdale.

I'm trying to figure out if it would be worth the time, cost etc..

Thanks for your help in advance!

Sue

Casablanca Cafe is great, just 2 blocks south of the hotel. No reservations accepted, so be prepared to put your name down and wait about an hour on weekends. Meanwhile, hang out in the piano bar. After dinner, visit the W hotel about a block north of the Westin...there are 2 fabulous bars: Whiskey Blue and the Lobby Bar.

The Westin is an old Sheraton that was closed down and completely renovated about 2 yrs ago. Most of the reviews are pretty good.

Perfect! Thank you!

Sue

Hello,

I originally booked pre-cruise 1/26 @ the Hilton Marina Ft Lauderdale $223. per night & 1/27 @ the Embassy Suites MVP rate of $195 (One of my favorites). However, I have been checking on Hotwire & also read somewhere on CC that people were scoring the Westin Beach Resort & Spa for $39.00 per night including taxes & fees. So I decided to check it out. I received an email from Hotwire saying they were offering email exclusive deals today only. So I click on the deal entered my info & took my best guest with better bidding dot com & sure enought it was the Westin Beach Resort & Spa. So I will cancel my other two rooms @ the Hilton & Embassy. I went from paying $418 to $112! We have 6 of us too! That is only $20.00 per person for 2 nights! Woo Hoo...

Now.. is there anything bad I need to know about the Westin Beach Resort & Spa... I've checked out the reviews on trip advisor dot com. They seem pretty good. Now I will need to do some research on good places to eat & drink! Any suggestions?

Happy Sailing!

Sue

What car rental agency did you use?

 

 

I think Budget is the car rental place that is nearest the port.. google it!

 

Sue

Thanks for the more in depth review, sue, we are going to be there very soon, so looking forward to this tour with woody:D

Hi Susiefay...

Thank you for telling Woody "Hi" from me today!! Hope you enjoyed your tour of Dominica as well!!!

Hope your having a fantastic cruise this week!!

Enjoy,

Sue

Thanks for the more in depth review, sue, we are going to be there very soon, so looking forward to this tour with woody:D

Your welcome & tell him "Sue from MI says a big HELLO!" I'm so jealous!! Have a great time!

Sue