malony33 Posted December 30, 2010 #1 Share Posted December 30, 2010 My DH hates to do it (??), but I like to arrive the day before. Takes the pressure off re: flight problems, car breakdowns, unexpected traffic problems. Gives us a good night's sleep. Parking provided (sometimes) in the hotel package. Free shuttle to the Port. Chance to practice room service, although I'm already really good at it! Forgot something? Hit the mall! Depending on location, watch the ships come into port - not to be missed. IT'S JUST PLAIN FUN!!! So, my new Oceania friends, any good suggestions? We're sailing on the Marina Feb.,2012. Soooo, we have quite a long time to plan, which is a lot of fun for me. As always, thanks; your responses are fantastic reading, whatever the question! Barbara 1st Oceania cruise but not the last :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burm Posted December 30, 2010 #2 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Have you considered using Priceline if you don't mind a bit of a gamble? We have used them several times now and have gotten fantastic deals and always a decent hotel. PL is a great way to save money for a one night stopover. There are a few threads on CC that offer tips and strategy. Don't let dmk (following link) discourage you from asking questions. With the exception of him, people are always happy to help. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=27302312#post27302312 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patseacruiser Posted December 30, 2010 #3 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Hi Barbara - how's that 28" of snow you got? Heard on the news it was a category 3 hurricane with snow instead of rain that Toms River got. I work in Toms River and live in Barnegat so I digging out right along with you. You have a lot of time to plan and lastminutetravel.com had the Intercontinental downtown in October for about $85. You are probably too far out to book but check there when you are ready. I don't find the Port of Miami that convenient like Ft. Lauderdale is. Bayside Market has some shops and places to eat. I like to eat al fresco so you are on the dock facing the water and it's very nice. But there isn't a lot there - in my opinion. There is a Starbucks about 2 or 3 blocks from the hotel that has free wifi. I tried to use the hotel's wifi and couldn't get in the bandwith was terrible that I eventually called down and asked them to remove it from my credit card. We were there on Halloween so we went down to South Beach and it was fantastic on Lincoln Road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted December 30, 2010 #4 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Lots of good information in the Florida forum http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495 We usually drive then park at Embassy Suites airport location...no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karonius Posted December 31, 2010 #5 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Are you driving from NJ? We are staying at the LaQuinta Inn. It is 99 dollars and includes one night stay, breakfast, shuttle to the port (not back), and secured parking for 10 nights. We are doing this in Feb 2011 so I will let you know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanandJim Posted December 31, 2010 #6 Share Posted December 31, 2010 We usually drive then park at Embassy Suites airport location You drive from Ontario to Miami??? That's more than 2000 miles! Only a GPS can prevent a homicide, at this point! :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted December 31, 2010 #7 Share Posted December 31, 2010 You drive from Ontario to Miami??? That's more than 2000 miles! YUP & then home again :D:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanandJim Posted December 31, 2010 #8 Share Posted December 31, 2010 YUP & then home again :D:D When you pass through New England, give us a buzz, we'll take you to dinner if you can spare the time in your schedule! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropicalkerry2002 Posted December 31, 2010 #9 Share Posted December 31, 2010 You must have no idea how MANY Ontarians drive to Florida!!!! I'm sure each of us knows at least 3 people who have done it, or have done it ourselves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanandJim Posted January 5, 2011 #10 Share Posted January 5, 2011 You must have no idea how MANY Ontarians drive to Florida!!!! I didn't even know that you called yourselves Ontarians. ;) It is is preferable to Central-Canadian, though..... I guess that makes me a "New Englander" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 5, 2011 #11 Share Posted January 5, 2011 I guess that makes me a "New Englander" Might be better than being called an East Coaster :D Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubbieGull Posted January 21, 2011 #12 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Lots of good information in the Florida forumhttp://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495 We usually drive then park at Embassy Suites airport location...no problem We're driving down the beginning of April from London. Do you drive straight through or do you stop over night on the way down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 21, 2011 #13 Share Posted January 21, 2011 We're driving down the beginning of April from London. Do you drive straight through or do you stop over night on the way down? We take a few days we have friends in Atlanta that we visit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudiaF Posted January 21, 2011 #14 Share Posted January 21, 2011 are you a frequent guest to any hotel ( marriott miles, hilton miles etc?) or do you have Am ex miles? You might check that out. I got freem room from Marriott for miles ...nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted January 21, 2011 #15 Share Posted January 21, 2011 We're driving down the beginning of April from London. Do you drive straight through or do you stop over night on the way down? I would think the drive form London would be a rather wet one!:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burm Posted January 21, 2011 #16 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I would think the drive form London would be a rather wet one!:confused: You are confusing us with that other London, also well known, which I understand even named their river the Thames, after ours. Our London is about an hour from the world famous Shakespearen festival, and about an hour and a half from Paris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 21, 2011 #17 Share Posted January 21, 2011 You are confusing us with that other London, also well known, which I understand even named their river the Thames, after ours. Our London is about an hour from the world famous Shakespearen festival, and about an hour and a half from Paris. Also near Windsor ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perrpis Posted January 21, 2011 #18 Share Posted January 21, 2011 WOW! LHT28 you drive down? We are in Toronto and it would never cross my mind. I guess if you have some time on your hands to spare and can stop over in a few places it might be fun. We just got burned for our flights to Miami for this February- $700 RT from Pearson- I almost cried. Our ship leaves and docks back on Saturdays so the flights on fri/sat were all so high! If you are near the Toronto area you can usually get a great deal out of Buffalo on Southwest- $180 RT all in! As per hotels in Miami- if you want Cheap, Cheerful and Fun, the Four Points in South Beach is great. The last 2 times we have stayed at the W in south beach and loved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 21, 2011 #19 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Forgot to mention that we book the parking through "airportparking reservations" dot com They usually are around $7 p/d for Embassy suites plus you keep your keys You have to factor in the taxi/shuttle fare approx $50 The port parking is $20 p/d We usually park for a month so works out better at ES Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 21, 2011 #20 Share Posted January 21, 2011 WOW! LHT28 you drive down? We are in Toronto and it would never cross my mind. I guess if you have some time on your hands to spare and can stop over in a few places it might be fun. We just got burned for our flights to Miami for this February- $700 RT from Pearson- I almost cried. Our ship leaves and docks back on Saturdays so the flights on fri/sat were all so high! If you are near the Toronto area you can usually get a great deal out of Buffalo on Southwest- $180 RT all in! We are retired so we have the time Sometimes it better just to take Oceania air ;) We took the air package with a deviation for $100 pp Flying in a day early ..we got AC flights both ways Our TA checked what flights they would give us & they were the same non stops I would have chosen Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burm Posted January 21, 2011 #21 Share Posted January 21, 2011 It takes us 4 days to drive to Virginia from London, so we would never make it as far as Florida. Perhaps one day, after retirement. Lyn, have you ever been to the Stratford Festival? Such a pretty town. So nice to take a stroll along the Avon River. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 21, 2011 #22 Share Posted January 21, 2011 It takes us 4 days to drive to Virginia from London, so we would never make it as far as Florida. Perhaps one day, after retirement. Lyn, have you ever been to the Stratford Festival? Such a pretty town. So nice to take a stroll along the Avon River. :p It takes us 3-4 days to drive from north of Toronto to Miami Takes 4 -5 day for us to drive to Houston to the relatives there Been to Stratford many many years ago We went to Paris for a few years to the antique motorcycle show there & mary maxium of course;) Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlewWater Posted January 21, 2011 #23 Share Posted January 21, 2011 There's a huge thread where lots of people have booked the Intercontinental Hotel at large discounts by using lastminutetravel.com. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1230783 Most people have good reviews about the hotel itself, and its convenient location for pre-cruisers. TripAdvisor also has many positive reviews about the hotel. The thread has many hints and tips on how to make sure the hotel you are reserving through lastminutetravel.com is indeed the Intercontinental Hotel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susiesan Posted January 21, 2011 #24 Share Posted January 21, 2011 There's a huge thread where lots of people have booked the Intercontinental Hotel at large discounts by using lastminutetravel.com. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1230783 Most people have good reviews about the hotel itself, and its convenient location for pre-cruisers. TripAdvisor also has many positive reviews about the hotel. The thread has many hints and tips on how to make sure the hotel you are reserving through lastminutetravel.com is indeed the Intercontinental Hotel. There are a lot of tips on how to figure out what ALL of the hotels on LMT are on this thread. I used the tips to know I was booking the Fortune House Hotel for my one night Miami stay precruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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