Transfers to pier

[gyork]

Could anyone tell me when we are likely to be transferred from Hotel to ship on the day of the cruise.

[jwlane]

Port, ship, itinerary?

[MinnesotaCruisers]

For 5:00pm sailings we were transfered aroung noon from the hotel.

[gyork]

Sorry, should have said Explorer of the Seas, 28th Nov, Eastern itinerary. Have room in Inter-Continental next across from the pier night before.

[legospice]

Hi Gillian- I told you youd be hooked on cruising, hope you and Henry enjoy your trip, i have been looking for you all year(lost your email when my server went down), Ron said you were going away soon so i thought id find you here, and i did. Ron and David are going on our next trip, Japan to Seattle 3 weeks on the Saphire Princess(i cant wait).

 

Say hi to Henry for me and have a great time!!

 

Donna

[emeraldcity]

I anticipate that you'll really love the Intercontinental. Nice location, right on Biscayne Bay. I don't know that RCCL offers transfers from that hotel, but if they do, turn them down. Two years ago the cab was only $6.00. Can't be much more than that now.

 

We made the mistake of waiting to take the RCCL transfers at the nearby Hyatt where we stayed. We got to the lobby well before noon and waited for the bus that would "momentarily" arrive. I watched several folks give up and go grab a cab. I should have done the same. When the buses finally arrived (we were on bus #2), the time-consuming process of loading all those people and their luggage was not to be believed. By the time they finally got us to the pier it was well after 2:00. The line to board was pretty long by that time. It was another hour and a half before we snaked our way through the line, boarded, dropped our carry-ons at the cabin, and headed for the Windjammer for "lunch". I was ready to eat the leg off the nearest table by that time.

 

We're planning on the Explorer in April. Not sure which hotel yet, but it will definitely be a cab this time to get to the pier.

[gyork]

Hi Donna,

 

Yep, finally persuaded him that it was a good idea to book another cruise. Can't wait to get away from this freeeezing weather.

 

Received an e-card from Ron and David (was really nice of them).

 

Have sent you a longer e-mail, hope its the right address.

 

You can e-mail me anytime, would love to hear how your last trip went.

 

Hope to hear from you soon.

Henry & Gillian

 

 

 

Henry & Gillian

[Globaliser]

Sorry, should have said Explorer of the Seas, 28th Nov, Eastern itinerary. Have room in Inter-Continental next across from the pier night before.

Definitely ignore anything offered by the cruise line, then; just jump in a cab and go under your own steam.

 

Are you expecting a transfer because you're on an ex-UK package? Virtually all of my ex-Miami cruises are on ex-UK packages with transfers included between the pre-cruise hotel and the ship, and I long ago gave up the irritating and time-wasting process of waiting for the included transfer. Not only did they occasionally even fail to turn up, the buses that they use are used for getting pax from the ship to airports etc. in the morning, and only then do they get pax from hotels to the ship. That means that they tend to dump you at the pier at the busiest times for ship check-in, which means you can wait ages (some people in my group waited 2 hours last year). If you go in a taxi yourself, aim to go earlier and then you're likely to have less of a wait for check-in and more time during the afternoon to get settled in.

[gyork]

Thanks for the reply, yes I am expecting a transfer, as its included in my package. I think we'll probably just get a taxi, as we are just across from the pier anyway. What do you think the best time is to leave the hotel.

 

Thanks again

[HappyStamper]

Please go to our roll call thread and introduce yourself. (Sorry, I don't know how to insert a link!) My family will also be on the Explorer 11/28.

[Globaliser]

What do you think the best time is to leave the hotel.

I haven't done an RCI cruise from Miami so I don't know how their procedures work in Miami (normally our group is on NCL) but the conventional time that we have all settled on over the years is to get to the pier at about 11 am. Sometimes that involves waiting for up to 30 minutes or so before the ship is actually ready for boarding, but last month we were nevertheless all still on board just before midday.