MichRN

Priceline Express Deal

Miami International Airport area

Date: February 16-17 2018 (1 night)

Townplace Suites by Marriott Miami Airport

Rate: $77.00 taxes/fees: $17.97 less coupon $9.24=$85.73 total.

Extremely happy with this rate. For this time of year in the Miami area, It's hard to find anything below $200.

We have a few cruises under our belt. Having cruised Royal Caribbean (platinum) and Celebrity primarily. Also have experienced Holland America, Disney and Carnival as well. So that is the background that I am coming from and what I have in comparing NCL to other lines. We took our first NCL cruise on the Jade last month 2/13/16. I also didn't know what to expect going into this cruise. I had read the not so good reviews (primarily from November when this ship came back to the Caribbean) with some good reviews sprinkled in as well. I am a "go with the flow" type of person and enjoy taking a break from the daily grind/cooking/cleaning/work that a cruise provides me. When we booked this cruise, it was due to price and promotions offered. We couldn't beat it. We had two inside cabins on this cruise (we are a family of 5). We had the unlimited beverage package and 4 speciality dining credits for one cabin and the soda package and 250 minutes of wi fi in the other cabin. We had a great time! Staff was great. I thought the food was pretty good too. I especially noted the wide variety in the buffet for breakfast and lunch. We enjoyed all of the speciality restaurants with the exception of Le Bistro and Jasmine Garden (didn't dine at these) and Moderno (food here just didn't wow us). The main dining rooms were good as well. Didn't have a problem getting drinks, though the one takeaway that I had with the beverage package on NCL was that I couldn't believe that bottled water and speciality coffee were not included. Not a huge issue. We brought on a case of water knowing this and since it was a perk that we chose, we didn't have to pay anything for the beverage package except for the gratuity on it. With that said, for what they are charging, I think that bottled water and speciality coffee should also be included. It was on Celebrity. I also loved the live band at the pool. Especially on sea days. It seems like the last few cruises that we had been on, the bands were not out as much and piped in music was just being played. The tendering could have been better in Belize. Having to get in line for tendering tickets was a drag. Be mindful of this if you book an excursion on your own in Belize. It can take a while to get off the ship. We also tendered in Roatan but it wasn't as bad since we were using the ship's tenders. It moved much quicker. Shows were quite good and we enjoyed them. Leaving out of Houston was a bit different for us as the majority of our cruises have been out of Florida. The port and the airport are not super close so transportation can be an expense, especially for a family of 5 when shuttle or cruise transfers are $50 per person each way and a cab can run over $100 one way from George Bush International so take that into account when pricing plane tickets. All in all, we would sail on NCL again. We even bought a future cruise certificate while onboard so I guess that means that we enjoyed ourselves! It's not one of the bigger ships with all of the bells and whistles but was very well maintained and had a great staff. Oh, and we are definitely fans of the casual, freestyle type of dining. Loved not being locked in to a set time to dine. I did make our 4 speciality dining reservations online before we left but left the rest open to what we felt like doing. All in all, a great cruise for us.

We had just put a deposit down last Sunday on a February 2016 sailing on the Jade. Called this evening and had another perk added on without a problem. I literally asked and she said sure which one? A few minutes on hold and it was done. She sent me the confirmation email. I was surprised how easy it was.

In booking our last cruise, I was able to book directly with RCCL and they matched the online agency price. The online agency was offering the same price but with onboard credit. The person from RCCL that I spoke with asked me to send a screenshot of the offer (from one of the larger online agencies) and they matched it. It seems like every time you call, you get different answers from different people but it doesn't hurt to ask if RCCL will match.

Another thing to keep in mind is that even if you carry off your luggage and make it through customs, the line for the security check points at FLL can be very long on any given Saturday or Sunday. They were crazy this past Saturday. Give yourself enough time for that as well.