lx200gps

Welcome to Cruise Critic. You'll need to be a LOT more specific as to your itinerary, dates, etc for anyone to be able to help you.

We did the Canada/New England trip back in September on the Enchanted. You will definitely be sailing out of Red Hook, AKA the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. You won't be sailing out of the much more convenient Manhattan Cruise Terminal. They want everyone out of their cabins by around 8AM, and off the ship by 9ish

Further to my comment above, I should point out that we never made it clear to them that we were on a schedule, such as having to meet a showtime. Had we done so, no doubt they would have expedited things.

We were on the Sky in November, and again a few weeks ago and we ate in Sabatini's, four times in those two weeks. Service in Sabatini's was VERY slow each time, to the point where one night we missed the early theater show, despite sitting down at 5:30. On one of those meals, we didn't even see the waiter until we'd been seated for half an hour. We also ate in the CG four times and service speed was pretty much pre-pandemic normal, as was service in the Bistro. Food quality in the Bistro was top notch, Sabatini's and CG was hit and miss.

We've had flights that early a number of times. We did early walkoff with our bags, were among the first off the ship to beat the lines, and were at FLL easily well before 8:30. That assumes all goes well with the ship's arrival into PE of course.

I'm looking at our Stateroom Account statement from our trip on the Sky out of Port Everglades, 11-18 Feb of this year. There are two line items for for Feb 11, Embarkation Day, one titled "Bar" for $1.77 and one titled "Ft Lauderdale US Sales Tax 7%" which came to a heart-stopping $0.11. We had the Plus package.

We took a taxi from Terminal 2 to FLL a week ago. The fare from T2 to the airport was around $14 plus tip. I had read here on CC that there are issues in that area with taxi drivers refusing to use the meter, but on both our trips (to and from FLL) the drivers did use the meters. As we were standing in line at PE to catch the cab back to the airport, I asked the sherrif's deputy who was calling and loading the cabs (why do they use police for that?) about the issue of taxi drivers not using the meters. He was quite adamant that all taxis must use the meter, as if it was not an issue. I suspect he wasn't aware that it probably is, given the comments here on CC.

FWIW, when we boarded the Sky a few weeks ago, the dedicated Suites/Elites "lounge" was not used. We waited en masse in the lower boarding hall then all headed onto the ship, boarding in order of priority based on the boarding card we were handed at checkin. This was different from the boarding procedure used when we boarded the Sky in November, when the dedicated lounge WAS used.

Uh, sorry, it was bread mold not Roquefort. The soup base was also faulty to the point of tastelessness. We had eaten at the CG two days previous and had no issues with the "onion soup" but this time it was inedible.

I looked into this a few months ago and found exactly that, you can't get to Pier 11, and therefore to Red Hook, easily on weekends as the needed ferry only runs during weekday rush hours. The only way I could figure was to take the ferry from Weehawken across to the Midtown terminal on 39th, then take a taxi or Uber to Pier 11 then grab the ferry from there to Red Hook. The ferry terminal at Red Hook is literally next door to the BCT. The maps and schedules from the New Jersey side are on the NY Waterways site https://www.nywaterway.com/

That's exactly what I did. I set up the Uber account here in Canada, using my Canadian credit card, and the experience was seamlessly identical whether I used the app here or in the US.

Montrealer here. It's not worth attempting this, for all the reasons mentioned above. It's a long walk, and depending on the exact route you choose, some of the streets are more than just slightly uphill. Also, Old Montreal, where the cruise terminal is located, features cobblestone streets, which could be problematic if you are towing large, heavy bags. Taxi or Uber would be my suggestion as well.

On two of our last three trips, we had the Plus package and tried the Premier on one. We are wine drinkers, and in all three Specialty restaurants and the MDR, we chose the most expensive wines by the glass that were offered, typically in the $16-$17 range. The total upcharges per glass we paid by having only the Plus package still came in far less than the price for us to have bought the Premier package.

We are absolute Uber newbies and only used it for the first time two weeks ago. We used it twice here in Canada to and from the airport, and we live quite a distance away. Much cheaper than a taxi would have been and we saved a fortune in parking fees. We also used it in Fort Lauderdale to travel from our hotel, the Renaissance, to Terminal 2 at Port Everglades, a ridiculously short distance. Initial setup of the Uber account is very simple and the app has some great features. I loved being able to watch the moving map display showing exactly where our car was as it approached. That being said, there is one down side to using Uber, for us anyway, which caused us to resort to using a taxi instead. We found that trying to hail an Uber at FLL was simply too challenging for us to bother with, so we simply opted to get in line for one of the hundreds of taxis which frequent the airport. Trying to locate a specific vehicle in the pandemonium of an airport arrivals area wasn't worth it. The problem was even worse at Port Everglades when getting off the ship, the rideshare area was absolutely jammed with people waiting for their ride, while the taxi lineup was much easier to navigate.

We were on the Sky the week of Feb 11 and I would completely agree with this. We alwasy sit down the moment the venue opens, either 5 or 5:30PM. We only ate in the MDR once but found it slow and disjointed. We ate in Sabatini's only once and service was every bit as slow as in the same venue back in November, to the point where we missed the first theater show that night. We ate in CG twice and service was, as you say, quicker. Problem was, in all these dining venues, we had almost as many food misses as hits, some courses very good, others dreadful. I think finding bread mold in the onion soup in the CG, and the inedible, uncuttable rubber lobster served to my wife were the low points for us. Wine availability was a bit better this trip than in November, but there were still a few missing wines. Although we had the Basic package, we tended to order the higher priced, $16 + wines, so perhaps that was the issue.

We've made the bed request online many times and pretty much always arrive to find the change wasn't made. How is your experience with this?

Definitely must be recent. On the Sky just last week we were easily able to swap out our minibar setup for coke and sprite

? What problems are you anticipating? You haven't explained yourself. Why would a Canadian have any problems disembarking at Port Everglades? Your only possible problems would be when leaving Canada as you have to prove you're vaccinated in order for an airline to fly you into the US.

What's the question?

It's first come, first seated unless you are in the reserved section dedicated to the folks who have the Premier package. On the Sky last week, the theaters were jammed for the big production shows, so if you wanted a good selection of seats to choose from, you have to arrive at least 30 minutes prior. There is never any "lining up", just enter the theater and look for suitable seats as the theater fills up.

We've flown down to FLL a number of times in the past year, most recently last week. Each time, we were asked by the Air Canada agent in Montreal to show our proof of vaccination, even though we had made the declaration when checking in online that we were vaxed. The AC online check in did not require actually uploading the vax documents so we had to show them before boarding. IIRC, a few folks here on CC have reported that they did not have to show their vax documents in similar circumstances, but we sure did. To be safe, carry a paper copy with you, or have a copy on your phone just in vase.

It probably is a targeted Email, I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere. Maybe have your travel agent look into it for you? Surprisingly, when I did the mock booking that saved me the $CAD230, it ALSO showed that the BSE had also been applied to the price, so I would probably get the $US300 OBC as well. Our TA is looking into it for us.

+1 on Plantation, particularly during high season. The prices out there don't seem to fluctuate nearly as much as on 17th St, and stay pretty consistent throughout the year, For mid-April, I'm seeing prices about half or less of what they are near the port. Only downside to staying in Plantation is the longer distance from FLL and PE, but the savings are significant

Thanks for the heads up. We'd received the Email but I hadn't looked into it yet. Princess do seem to have a bunch of sales going on right now, that's for sure. Just last week, while we were on the Sky, I had our hard-working TA rebook our October trip under another sale, basically upgrading us from a Balcony to a Minisuite for the same price. Now, checking this Canadian $$$ at Par sale, I can rebook yet again, probably keep the same room we just upgraded to, and save a further $CAD 230.

Perfect, thanks very much. ;o)