gratamama

We are going down a day prior, checking out SoBe in that time. On the way home, we fly out of FLL at 8:45 p.m. Renting a car at POM and delivering it at FLL. On that day, I'm considering another beach day, or some sort of Cuban-American immersion (not sure what that would be, LOL) or maybe even an everglades tour. Good luck!

Thanks all. Will have to figure this all out.

My family (dh, two kids) and my parents are all going on a cruise out of Miami in April. My parents are staying at the Surfcomber for several nights beforehand and enjoying South Beach, which is awesome.

DH and I are not sure what we're going to do. We arrive one day before cruise. Options are: Get a room at Surfcomber ($$$), get a less expensive place in SoBe, or stay in downtownish Miami. It would be nice to see them on that day before cruise, but I guess not absolutely critical. Would love to see SoBe, just a little afraid of hotel rates. If we do the third option, how easy is it to get to SoBe from like a "port of Miami" area hotel? (We land at MIA on a Friday around lunch.)

Thank you! Miami virgin here!:hearteyes:

I've only been on fantasty class on carnival (paradise, elation.) were on Glory later in April. I see Serenity is forward-trying to imagine... loved it being aft.

Thought is that Waterworks would be complete by end of drydock, right? I'm always amazed how much they can get done during these "time outs." We sail 4/15/17

Hi CC'ers,

I've only been to MIA, not actual Miami and I need your help!

We're on an April 15 cruise. My husband and I, along with our two boys (ages 12 and 2 years old) arrive at MIA just before lunch on Friday, April 14. Joining us are my parents - and my mom will be about 70 days post knee-replacement surgery. They are actually flying earlier by a few days into Miami. Where to stay????? Where NOT to stay???

Right now, my older boy's only real requirement is a pool, lol. I think that's a good thing for my mom, too, as sometimes sand walking is a little tricky - I want to make sure she's taken care of. But I think we're all sort of interested in at least seeing South Beach and something close to the beach would be nice. If we did stay downtown, is getting there a big problem? I know the easy answer is just "book a nice hotel right on the beach" but we're always pinching pennies to some degree and trying to figure out if the money saved by staying downtown outweighs these other wants.

Thanks!

I haven't actually done this yet, but we have a 9 p.m. flight after our cruise. We've reserved a rental car and will drop off even at FLL. Price was super reasonable, and then whatever we do, we have our bags.

Help! Our family and another family (5 kids total, ages range 1 yo to 13 yo) are planning a spring break. Maybe cruise, maybe all inclusive. Want to have a great time, but want to be budget conscious, too!

Today I see MSC Divina for week of March 26 at $399/ pp. (eastern Carribean, which we want.) I know nothing about MSC or Divina.

* Is food really a problem?

* kids are mainly pool rats. Is kids club stuff OK? (I assume its not quite as catering as Carnival.)

* evening entertainment ok? We love comedians, nice places to have drinks. Both husbands are really good musicians and will disect musical offerings....)

Thanks!

hi there,

i utilitzed this for our upcoming cruise with RCC. The price was awesome but I didn't want to put the money down at that exact second. I think what basically happens is that they pay the depost that the cruise line requires, then you have a deadline to pay them back.

It worked just fine for us. Not sure I'll do it again - I generally believe in "don't spend it if you don't have it" but I'm not sure we would be doing spring break w/out this option this year!

Same issue- i contacted visitor's bureau- useless. This seems like a solvable problem?

Bad idea, right?

Plane tix from Chicago to Houston are ridiculous, imo, so we are taking a super budget flight at gets us into IAH late the night before cruise. On way home, we're planning on flying out of Hobby (haven't bought tix yet, still watching fares)

Anyway, I have never really spent any time in TX, and that afternoon post-cruise is a chance to experience Galveston, at least. There will be 2 adults with suitcases, 1 9-year-old with a suitcase. This is just not worth it, right? Save it for some other time when (if) I do a Galveston cruise?

considering a SWA flight from Hobby that leaves at 7 p.m. or a 1:45 out of Hobby (no tourism time). If you did have 3-5 hours post cruise, what would you do?

thanks everyone - made a reservation at Chops for second full night. And, we'll be using kid care that evening!;)

is it good to not go on a formal night? We have ports on full day 3,4 and 5. Thinking formal night would be full day 1 and 6?

This is our first RC cruise, and even on our two CC cruises, there were no specialty restaurants.

What's not to miss? We live in Chicago and have access to truly great cuisine of all types. That said, DH loves steak, but we're also adventurous!

Navigator will have Chops, Sabor, Giovanni's and Izumi.

Oh, and we have a 9-year-old. Kids club for this one, yes?

thanks!

Ah, kindred spirit....

Bought a cheap flight into IAH, bidded a hotel room and now looking for good (and low-cost) driving service. What made you steer away from Allstar? I could only find 1 yelp (5 stars) and a tripadvisor mention (very satisfied.) We may still try them. Ladybird looks good though, too.

thanks!

Haven't been on either - going on NotS in April. We had a choice, too, and I am excited that NotS is going to be completely new by then. One thing a pp said, i do love that aft pool area on the Carnival ships, Dream or even the older ships.....favorite way to spend a day......

Our son, then 8, LOVED it last year. He wants it from now on....

what's your email? I can send you the info that i have. I don't know if the cenote has a name, but i can give you the info!

hey, i'm on your cruise!

We want to see a cenote, but also wanted to do Uxmal. We're going to hire out Lawsons - it's expensive bc its just 3 of us, but when in Rome, I mean, Progreso......

if you're interested in joining us, give me a shout.

oh yippee!

my husband and I will LOVE this!!!!

hi everybody,

I've been on WW since Jan. 2011. From then to June 2011, i lost about 20, then i got pregnant, then i lost the baby at 21 weeks (sad story, obviously) and now I'm back on to get to my ultimate goal of 135 (i'm still far off from that) or unless I get preggo again, which i really hope I do.

I love WW. It is reasonable, well structured and its easy to be successful. You just have to be conscious of what you're doing - I think that's where my troubles came - grab it, go, don't think about it...

Anyway, I've lost another 7 since joining at the beginning of the year.

Good luck to everyone!