Midwest Sunseeker

5 minutes ago, johng75370 said:

They are used to policing it and try to be gentle about it.  Our son was with us onboard in October, and one night looked great in blazer, slacks, and collar-less shirt.  He got the "excuse me sir..." from the maitre d' and was able to change quick, but they were nice about it.  

Was this on formal night? My dh was planning on a similar outfit with his jacket.  

We plan to buy Cellar No. 3 does anyone know if  we will be limited to only wines on list 3 or may we also chose from list 1 &2 also?  Does anyone have favorite wines for any of the 3 lists?  We will be on the Rotterdam.  Thank you for your help. 

On 2/19/2024 at 7:49 PM, philv said:

We have always just grabbed a taxi at the taxi stand. I find it to be least amount of brain damage. Easy, reliable, cheap.

How much was the Taxi and what area is your hotel in?

8 hours ago, lovesnow said:

Hi will be staying at 4 Point by Sheraton in Dania Beaçh FL . Does anyone know of any place within walking distance to buy bottles of wine to take on a cruise.

Total wine and more is showing as a 20 minute drive from Dana Beach four point Sheraton. There is a grocery store, Sprouts Farmers Market, on the other side of the interstate, near TJ Maxx.   It has wine on their website.  I’m not sure what type of grocery store it is or what kind of wine is available or even if you would be able to walk there.  Perhaps someone else know?  Total Wine is a great store.  The hotels in the Harbor area are higher priced and well used by cruisers.  We prefer the Dania Point area.  Have a great cruise. 

49 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

That website is pretty badly written for sure. IIRC, there is a small "Query" button somewhere on the page  that opens up a search box that lets you input other criteria and search other time periods.

Thanks you. “Query” button is on the right side above the chart of ships.  We changed the start and end date to include when our ship will depart and return on the pop up window and then hit the “ Execute” button at the bottom of the pop up.   Hopefully this will help others find future information.  

On 1/21/2024 at 11:18 AM, lx200gps said:

More than likely you will be using Terminal 2, the usual Princess terminal at PE. If there are two Princess ships in port that day, then bigger/newer gets T2 and the other one will use Terminal 21. Port Everglades do have a website that will tell you pretty far out which terminal your ship will be using on that date.

 

https://pevvesseltraffic.broward.org/webx/

I can only see assignments 7 days out.  What is the secret to getting assignments into the future? Thank you for the help. 

The Canyon Restaurant has excellent food.  We were in a cabin on top of the hill and ate at the Canyon in for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

1 hour ago, JerseyGirl1007 said:

I apologize if this has been answered, but I haven't been able to find it.  We are booked on a cruise tour starting in Anchorage with one night there, one night in Talkeetna and one night at Denali.  The cruise tour includes the TWT, but I can't figure out what day it is or if I need to book it somewhere.  Likewise, do I need to be worrying about finding something to eat during these days or is food somehow included like it is on the ship?  I'm sorry to sound so ridiculous, but I'm finding the TA we used for booking the cruise isn't very helpful and this is our first cruise ever, so I'm feeling pretty dumb right now. Thanks for any help.

We had a post cruise package and we were given a packet of information on our train ride right before we arrived at our hotel which had the time of our tour. Our package included some meal vouchers for use at the resort.  As I understand you need to buy (add) them to your package.   Ours was part of the package our travel agent put together for a large group.  If you look on CC you will find old posts that recommend you pay as you go, not buy vouchers, so you can walk across the street and buy cheaper meals or share the large meals offered at the resort.  I called the resort prior to leaving home and made reservations so I could use my meal vouchers at the most expensive restaurants.   As it turned out, I was not able to use all of my reserved times because of changes to tour times.  Have a great cruise. 

On 2/8/2024 at 9:18 AM, Shipsareus said:

We’ve not explored the list of excursions that HAL are offering. Thought we would reach out to the message boards first. So thank you for the assistance and suggestions. 
 

We always have a late flight after the cruise.   We usually book a HAL excursion that is a tour of Ft Lauderdale,  a paddle boat ride and ours had airport drop off.  We have done this same tour many times.  The tour changes slightly with the different tour guides and we always enjoy our relaxing day.  We did the Everglades tour through HAL and I do not recommend this tour.   I wonder if instead of an airport drop off if you could return to the ship?

7 hours ago, LindsayC said:

I'm searching for a hotel in Fort Lauderdale with an airport and a cruise port shuttle.

 

Just a basic hotel for a 1 night pre cruise. We will arrive late at the airport so we wont need a great hotel just one with a good shuttle from the airport and to the port.

 

Be careful of the “late” airport to hotel shuttle.   Many hotel shuttles do not run late at night. Call the hotel and ask if your time would work.  Have a great cruise.   

Wonderful pictures.  Thank you for the posts.  We are thinking of booking a cruise with the Jewel.   We went on her years ago and have wonderful memories on the beautiful ship.  Happy sailing. 

We are thinking of Booking a cruise on the Jewel of the Sea.  We have not sailed on RC for the last few years.  Is there a Diamond Lounge anymore?  Where is it located, can you still get coffee, and is there a view?  Thank you for your comments and thoughts.

On Amazon I found a claim that: " The Frio Wallets keep insulin safe for a minimum of 45 hours (more than five times longer that an ice pack)- even in constant environmental temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. " 

On 1/25/2024 at 10:15 AM, JeffT237 said:

 

My wife is type 1 and we travel and cruise frequently. The cabin refrigertor will not get cold enough to freeze her ice packs. In the past we've given the ice packs to the room steward and they would keep them in a freezer for us. She now uses a product with great results called the Frio bag, it is specifically made for insulin and travel as the bags only use water to activate the cooling feature. You can purchase them on Amazon but here's a link to their page with all of the info. She has used them for cruising, camping and while exploring on our land based vacations. She's been very happy with the performance of the bags.

 

https://www.frioinsulincoolingcase.com

I also have a Frio bag that I have only used once on a flight day.  I am a new insulin pen user.  We have a cruise planned where we will have an excursion outside in the Ft Lauderdale heat all day.  It will be 5pm before we will be back in air conditioning.   I have been looking at a ice pack bag and case to use instead of the Frio.  Do you think the Frio would safely keep the pens cool in FL March weather all day or should I get an Ice Pack case?  Thank you for your help and guidance.  

I booked the end of November by calling HAL.  I had to pay for CO at time of booking. 

On 1/13/2024 at 10:18 AM, TenerifeSharon said:

A friend mentioned to me that she had read/heard of people being refused the Shareholder Benefit if an AARP credit was already applied.  Anyone else heard of that DP?

I called HAL ten days after applying and was told that both appear on our Spring Booking.  She was able to see the source of each, stock and AARP, and sent us an updated invoice.  

I thought we needed to re-verify AARP every year. I made a note on my calendar a year out to check.  If this is true will they send us a note it is expired?

Before Covid we used a Uber to the airport with no problem.   We had a late flight and at that time you could walk over to the The Fl Aquarium and they would hold your luggage while you visited the aquarium.  We had planned to go to the aquarium and then head to the airport. Unfortunately the ship was hours late unloading and we had to change plans and head right to the airport.   We had just enough time to eat a meal and head to our flight.  We were very fortunate to have a late flight.   Many cruisers missed their afternoon flights that day. 

1 hour ago, Ski Mom 2 said:

So I have a question and I hope it's not a dumb one...

 

To book Club Orange, one must call Holland to first ask about availability.

Two, if it's available you tell them to book the lowest price cabin in the category you'd like (veranda seems to be the best value).

Three, once you tell them the cabin you'd like, they will automatically upgrade you to the "real one" you'd like (the higher valued cabin in that category).

 

So it all happens at the same time?

We just booked CO with a room upgrade the weekend after Thanksgiving.   We told them upfront we wanted to book Co.   She checked availability then booked us the lowest cabin. Then she added CO and asked us what cabin # we wanted.  She tried to confirm that cabin was available and found the department that keeps track of cabin inventory was closed.  She then told us to call Sunday morning as soon as they opened to get a cabin upgrade.  It worked fine when we called back . However, I will never get back that lost night of sleep.  

You could take a post cruise tour from the cruise line with drop off at FLL. When you are dropped at the airport you could use your hotel shuttle or a taxi to your hotel.  

We have used Direct Luggage many times and love the convenience.  It is well worth the money.   Our direct flight has always been at 4 or 5 pm and using DL allowed us to enjoy our day without dragging our luggage around or waiting for the 4 hour window to check it with the airline.  We strongly recommend the service.  HOWEVER, this time our flight is at 9 pm.  I seem to remember flights out of FLL needed to be before a certain time to use DL?  Does anyone have a form that they could check the cutoff time for me?  Thanks. 

On 11/30/2023 at 3:38 PM, Midwest Sunseeker said:

I booked using the HAL 800 number last Saturday night.  Very confusing time.  They hung up on me twice and then after going through the whole process they told me to call back the next day, first thing Sunday, and they would confirm a cabin # and I could pay.  I just called again and talked to a nice man that said I should use the Holland AARP verification link and then wait 72 and my OBC would appear on my booking.  That sounds to good to be true,  but I will wait till Monday and call and ask them if it has appeared and to send me a printed copy.  Does anyone know how I could see OBC  myself without calling?  Does OBC show  on Navigator or the Website?

I called again today and was confirmed both on the phone and by Email that the AARP $100 OBC was on my booking.  Thank you everyone for your help. 

7 minutes ago, Ashland said:

The Harbor shopping area by Publix is safe....Surprised to hear anyone has posted it isn't.

It was just at the end of the pandemic posted by a resident of the area.    I was surprised too we always loved walking around this area.   We will definitely go after the cruise and ride the water taxi since our flight is 9pm.   Now I am considering pre cruise hotel.  Have you stayed there in the last two years?   Thank you for your thoughts. 

We have  stayed at a  Harbor Shop area hotels many times in the last 15 years.  We have not stayed since 2020.  We went on a group tour out of Port Everglades last spring and the package included the AC hotel in Dania Point.   Very new, under construction, shopping and tourist area.   I am debating the Habor Shop vs Dania Point.   I had read posts to cc a year or two back that the shopping area by Publix and Total Wine was not safe.   Does anyone have current experience of the safety of the area?

11 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Weekend time does not count in the 72 hours. Booking on the weekend probably was not the best thing either! But that's done. AARP OBC showing up without asking has not happened for me. Well, I didn't actually ASK the Pricing Specialist to apply it, she volunteered (!). But I did reference that I would be getting it.

 

Any OBC will probably not show on website; you need to request a new email confirmation -- it will be a PDF attachment down at the bottom -- save it to your computer; you can print it anytime before your cruise. It should show in Navigator once you're on the ship or maybe a day or two early (someone correct me!). You want to make sure the Navigator/onboard account agrees with the confirmation email.

Thanks for the thoughts.   I will call again next week and ask.