Just off the NOS

[estherhead]

We're just back from a great 5 day trip. It was just my dh & I as we left the kids with Grandma. It was AWESOME and soooo relaxing.

 

I won't give a whole big report but I did just want to comment on a few things that I found concerning before I left.

 

First, we flew down on Southwest the night before to Ft. Lauderdale even though we were leaving from Port of Miami. I got a hotel on Priceline. It was in Hollandale and was nice, especially for $66.00. Then we ended up renting a car from Thrifty at Ft. Lauderdale. This is what was most concerning as I wasn't sure how this would work out. But for $34.00 we picked in up at 6:00 pm on Fri. night at Ft. Lauderdale airport & drove around having a fabulous time at the boardwalk on Hollandale Beach (GREAT place to party on a Friday night) and then drove to the the Miami airport. Thrifty has a shuttle that goes directly to the cruise. It was fast & easy and about as cheap a transfer as we could have gotten with two people. Plus it allowed us to go to Wal-mart & other places we wanted to go.

 

We bought a bottle of Parrot Bay and a pack of bottled water & Pepsi Max. We dumped out a few bottles of water & filled with Parrot Bay. I had read on here that the luggage people would take this & deliver it to your room. However, it was only a 5 day cruise so we had been modest & not gotten a big case but just 12 packs. When I went to turn this all in to luggage they looked at me like I was crazy & said it was way too small for them to take. So dh put the Pepsi in his backpack & I carried the water around for 2 hours on deck (we got on at 11 am and you can't go to your room till 1 pm.) It was annoying.

 

We LOVED having the Pepsi & rum in our room and hanging out on our balcony so it was totally worth it. But we should have brought a bag we could check that we could put it in. Hopefully this will help others who want to bring water or soda on. The bottles of water were VERY handy, by the way, to take onto the islands & I greatly recommend doing this. But, if you don't want to be bothered & your first stop is Labadee you can buy a drink for $10.00 and it comes with an insulated cup with a straw which you can then fill with water for hydration off the boat or in the gym. Sorry if this is water obsessed but I always find it tricky to get enough hydration on a cruise.

 

Almost no food costs money on this cruise. Johnny Rockets, Chops, and Portofino, as well as the Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Those cost but that was it. Everything else we found was included and fairly delicious. The pizza was not great but we did have it at midnight just for fun. But then we had some pizza at the airport & suddenly the pizza on the cruise seemed great! We liked the desserts on NOS way better than on our Carnival cruises, if I'm allowed to compare.

 

And there were Lobster tails, which I know is a big discussion. I don't eat lobster but dh said it wasn't great & it was very tiny. He said the shrimp he had almost every night were way superior to the lobster.

 

Finally, our return to the airport.

 

We opted to carry off our own luggage. This was SO the way to go that I will do it every time. The boat pulled into port at 6:30 am. We were in line for a taxi at 6:45, yes that is off the boat & through customs in 15 minutes from the time the boat got to Miami. It was amazing.

 

We opted for a taxi, which cost us $70.00 plus tip. There wasn't a lot of traffic at 7:00 am (clearly there was still a lot of traffic, it being Miami and all) and our taxi driver was crazy & going about 85 mph. I think this was because it was Superbowl weekend & he was trying to make as much money as possible. Anyhow, we were at the Ft. Lauderdale airport at 7:15 am. So it took us under 45 minutes from leaving our room on NOS to be at the desk of Southwest.

 

Someone had told me on here that we would be taking a big risk to have a flight before noon from POM to FLL. So our flight was at 11:50 which I still thought was risky. However, as you can see, by carrying off our luggage & being ready first thing, we sat at our gate for 4 hours. That is how much time we had. Now maybe we were just lucky as I can think of tons of things that could slow this down but I was VERY pleased with just how easy it was for us to get on & off this ship.

 

So those are my basics that I thought people might be interested in. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

We did do lots of the activities on board from rock wall climbing to putt putt to The Quest to the bobsled & zip line in Jamaica, the water park in Haiti, and even ice skating. So pretty much anything, ask away.

 

I give the NOS a huge thumbs up & would take another cruise on it tomorrow, if it weren't for my pesky job & kids & life.

[Twibes]

I agree completely with this review! We must've been within eachother's sites getting off the ship because we chose express departure also. We were at least 14th in line off the ship, and literally by the time you stated already through customs, 2nd in line for a taxi!

 

This cruise was amazing, and the NOS did not fail to impress, they were spectacular. Glad to see we had the same experience on this sailing. Express Departure, it has my 2 thumbs up! ;)

[jdickm]

We're just back from a great 5 day trip. It was just my dh & I as we left the kids with Grandma. It was AWESOME and soooo relaxing.

 

I won't give a whole big report but I did just want to comment on a few things that I found concerning before I left.

 

First, we flew down on Southwest the night before to Ft. Lauderdale even though we were leaving from Port of Miami. I got a hotel on Priceline. It was in Hollandale and was nice, especially for $66.00. Then we ended up renting a car from Thrifty at Ft. Lauderdale. This is what was most concerning as I wasn't sure how this would work out. But for $34.00 we picked in up at 6:00 pm on Fri. night at Ft. Lauderdale airport & drove around having a fabulous time at the boardwalk on Hollandale Beach (GREAT place to party on a Friday night) and then drove to the the Miami airport. Thrifty has a shuttle that goes directly to the cruise. It was fast & easy and about as cheap a transfer as we could have gotten with two people. Plus it allowed us to go to Wal-mart & other places we wanted to go.

 

We bought a bottle of Parrot Bay and a pack of bottled water & Pepsi Max. We dumped out a few bottles of water & filled with Parrot Bay. I had read on here that the luggage people would take this & deliver it to your room. However, it was only a 5 day cruise so we had been modest & not gotten a big case but just 12 packs. When I went to turn this all in to luggage they looked at me like I was crazy & said it was way too small for them to take. So dh put the Pepsi in his backpack & I carried the water around for 2 hours on deck (we got on at 11 am and you can't go to your room till 1 pm.) It was annoying.

 

We LOVED having the Pepsi & rum in our room and hanging out on our balcony so it was totally worth it. But we should have brought a bag we could check that we could put it in. Hopefully this will help others who want to bring water or soda on. The bottles of water were VERY handy, by the way, to take onto the islands & I greatly recommend doing this. But, if you don't want to be bothered & your first stop is Labadee you can buy a drink for $10.00 and it comes with an insulated cup with a straw which you can then fill with water for hydration off the boat or in the gym. Sorry if this is water obsessed but I always find it tricky to get enough hydration on a cruise.

 

Almost no food costs money on this cruise. Johnny Rockets, Chops, and Portofino, as well as the Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Those cost but that was it. Everything else we found was included and fairly delicious. The pizza was not great but we did have it at midnight just for fun. But then we had some pizza at the airport & suddenly the pizza on the cruise seemed great! We liked the desserts on NOS way better than on our Carnival cruises, if I'm allowed to compare.

 

And there were Lobster tails, which I know is a big discussion. I don't eat lobster but dh said it wasn't great & it was very tiny. He said the shrimp he had almost every night were way superior to the lobster.

 

Finally, our return to the airport.

 

We opted to carry off our own luggage. This was SO the way to go that I will do it every time. The boat pulled into port at 6:30 am. We were in line for a taxi at 6:45, yes that is off the boat & through customs in 15 minutes from the time the boat got to Miami. It was amazing.

 

We opted for a taxi, which cost us $70.00 plus tip. There wasn't a lot of traffic at 7:00 am (clearly there was still a lot of traffic, it being Miami and all) and our taxi driver was crazy & going about 85 mph. I think this was because it was Superbowl weekend & he was trying to make as much money as possible. Anyhow, we were at the Ft. Lauderdale airport at 7:15 am. So it took us under 45 minutes from leaving our room on NOS to be at the desk of Southwest.

 

Someone had told me on here that we would be taking a big risk to have a flight before noon from POM to FLL. So our flight was at 11:50 which I still thought was risky. However, as you can see, by carrying off our luggage & being ready first thing, we sat at our gate for 4 hours. That is how much time we had. Now maybe we were just lucky as I can think of tons of things that could slow this down but I was VERY pleased with just how easy it was for us to get on & off this ship.

 

So those are my basics that I thought people might be interested in. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

We did do lots of the activities on board from rock wall climbing to putt putt to The Quest to the bobsled & zip line in Jamaica, the water park in Haiti, and even ice skating. So pretty much anything, ask away.

 

I give the NOS a huge thumbs up & would take another cruise on it tomorrow, if it weren't for my pesky job & kids & life.

Hi, this is our first cruise and we are taking our 4 children next week. I am confused because I thought you could not bring water and alcohol in your suitcase or it will be confiscated? Can you please explain, I was just about to buy the water package for all 6 of us and it was 70 dollars! thanks!

[estherhead]

Hi, this is our first cruise and we are taking our 4 children next week. I am confused because I thought you could not bring water and alcohol in your suitcase or it will be confiscated? Can you please explain, I was just about to buy the water package for all 6 of us and it was 70 dollars! thanks!

 

Alcohol is not allowed to be brought and will be confiscated. However, bottled water & soda pop, both in cans and bottles, is allowed. You cannot bring water onto an airplane. But it is just fine being brought onto a cruise. We bought ours at a Wal-Mart near our hotel.

 

We opted to take the risk of bringing on a small bottle of Parrot Bay (which is a rum that tastes like coconut) which we split into two of our water bottles and put back them back into the case of water. We knew it could be confiscated but really wanted some for our room/balcony and totally understood it could be taken & we would not have been mad, just slightly inconvenienced.

 

I also had a sports bottle of water that I had in my bag and that, too, was allowed on no problem.

 

If I had brought my three children, I would certainly have bought more bottles of water for them at Wal-Mart and brought it with us. As for the soda, I'm not sure. There is milk, ice water, fruit punch, lemonade, and ice tea available for free in all the dining rooms at all times. I probably would just make the kids choose from those. The reason I liked having the bottles of water were for working out/basketball when it is more convenient to have a closed bottle of water versus an open glass. And also for when we went on the islands. I was able to just put a bottle of water or two in my bag to drink all day.

 

I hope this helps. There are plenty of free ways to get drinks for your kids on board. I would NOT pay $70.00 for a water package. If you opt to not bring your own bottles of water, just buy bottles of water for them on the islands and refill them on board.

 

I hope this answers your question.

[jdickm]

Alcohol is not allowed to be brought and will be confiscated. However, bottled water & soda pop, both in cans and bottles, is allowed. You cannot bring water onto an airplane. But it is just fine being brought onto a cruise. We bought ours at a Wal-Mart near our hotel.

 

We opted to take the risk of bringing on a small bottle of Parrot Bay (which is a rum that tastes like coconut) which we split into two of our water bottles and put back them back into the case of water. We knew it could be confiscated but really wanted some for our room/balcony and totally understood it could be taken & we would not have been mad, just slightly inconvenienced.

 

I also had a sports bottle of water that I had in my bag and that, too, was allowed on no problem.

 

If I had brought my three children, I would certainly have bought more bottles of water for them at Wal-Mart and brought it with us. As for the soda, I'm not sure. There is milk, ice water, fruit punch, lemonade, and ice tea available for free in all the dining rooms at all times. I probably would just make the kids choose from those. The reason I liked having the bottles of water were for working out/basketball when it is more convenient to have a closed bottle of water versus an open glass. And also for when we went on the islands. I was able to just put a bottle of water or two in my bag to drink all day.

 

I hope this helps. There are plenty of free ways to get drinks for your kids on board. I would NOT pay $70.00 for a water package. If you opt to not bring your own bottles of water, just buy bottles of water for them on the islands and refill them on board.

 

I hope this answers your question.

Thanks so much!! We have no idea what we are doing! So we could just pack a ton of water and pop in our suitcase and take it on the plane then on the ship..right? I read on RCCL website it was not allowed but it will save us so much money if we can do it!! Can you also give us an idea how Haiti was? We talked to our kids about it and the crisis they are going through...can you let us know what you saw so we can prepare them better? thanks again!

[fumelkin]

No, you cannot bring soda or water on the plane. If you want to stop at a store on the way to your cruise you can bring those items on the ship with you. Puring out the water and replacing it with rum you can do if you'd like, but if they decide to smell your water and it has alcohol in it they will take all of it away from you and give it back at the end of the cruise.

[estherhead]

Thanks so much!! We have no idea what we are doing! So we could just pack a ton of water and pop in our suitcase and take it on the plane then on the ship..right? I read on RCCL website it was not allowed but it will save us so much money if we can do it!! Can you also give us an idea how Haiti was? We talked to our kids about it and the crisis they are going through...can you let us know what you saw so we can prepare them better? thanks again!

 

As has already been replied, you can't bring water or pop on the PLANE. That is not allowed. You have to buy the water & pop once you are off the plane but before you get on the cruise. Any taxi will stop at a grocery store for you. And a van taxi would probably be your cheapest bet with your large family.

 

As for Haiti, I would definitely prepare your kids. It is totally gorgeous and completely isolated from any damage or tent cities, etc. However, almost every single worker there has family that died in the earthquake. And if you do any shopping they are not afraid to use their dead family to try to extort money from you. Also, there are trucks taking supplies off the boat & transporting it to Haiti Relief all day. So if I had kids, I would certainly prepare them with just an understanding of why things are different. But it won't affect their (or your) fun or day. Of course you can't put it completely out of your mind, but we had a GREAT day at Labadee and wished our kids were with us as it is a great place for kids of all ages.

[jdickm]

As has already been replied, you can't bring water or pop on the PLANE. That is not allowed. You have to buy the water & pop once you are off the plane but before you get on the cruise. Any taxi will stop at a grocery store for you. And a van taxi would probably be your cheapest bet with your large family.

 

As for Haiti, I would definitely prepare your kids. It is totally gorgeous and completely isolated from any damage or tent cities, etc. However, almost every single worker there has family that died in the earthquake. And if you do any shopping they are not afraid to use their dead family to try to extort money from you. Also, there are trucks taking supplies off the boat & transporting it to Haiti Relief all day. So if I had kids, I would certainly prepare them with just an understanding of why things are different. But it won't affect their (or your) fun or day. Of course you can't put it completely out of your mind, but we had a GREAT day at Labadee and wished our kids were with us as it is a great place for kids of all ages.

Hi! Thanks so much for your reply! We are flying from Detroit so I thought I could pack the water and pop in my checked bags? We paid for the transfer from Royal and now I am sure it was a rip off..58 each round trip...we also booked a tour in Jamacia to see the falls, do you think my kids will love it or is it not a " must see" because this trip is really costing us more and more...please let me know, thanks!

[navigator0709]

The airline won't allow you to bring that much liquid in your checked bags... plus, you don't want to (trust me)... you will end up with soaked clothes because the bags are tossed around all over the place. To have enough water for your entire family, your checked bags would be full of it, and HEAVY, and again, the risk of leakage.

 

Just stop at CVS, or Walmart, or whatever store on the way to the ship. You really overpaid on the transfers $58 per person. Is there any way to cancel this? If not, then you probably won't be able to make the Walmart pit stop. I'm going on a cruise with my 2 kids and the free choices listed below (lemonade, tap water, milk, iced tea) will be fine for them (they have less choices than that at home LOL), I don't plan on spending a dime on drinks for them.

[TennisLover]

Thanks for the review! Our last RCI cruise was three years ago (also Navigator). What did you do in Ocho Rios? We've already been to the Falls. Considering Mallards Beach. Did you hear anything about this beach? Another beach recommendation? We sail next weekend :D