breezer

Happy to follow along on your next adventure and wishing you safe travels.

Happy Anniversary and congrats on your retirements.   Thanks for the info on shuttles and parking at Marriott Courtyard.  I was looking for hotel and parking for my upcoming cruise.  Hope you have a wonderful cruise.  I'll be following.

Thank you all for responding

49 minutes ago, Coral said:

I actually like the Grand better. 500 less passengers and it has a pizzeria (that used to be free). It also has a covered pool.

 

I was on the ship last on Christmas 2021 and it had amazing crew and was in good shape IMO.

Thanks so much for your quick response.

1 hour ago, Westsail32 said:

I’m a huge fan of Ruby.  My favorite Princess ship (four cruises on her).  I did the Grand to Alaska out of San Francisco in 2016.  It was a good trip but there wasn’t a center stairwell above Deck 7 (so only 4-7).  It completely messed up my plans as I always stay on Emerald (Deck 8 ) so I can use the stairs to the 5-7 public areas.  It’s exercise.  This meant the midship elevators were always busy too. I hated it.  There was a thread last year about it.

 

Ruby was refurbished the end of 2018 and Grand in early 2019 so both may be a little tired.  Grand was built in 1998 and was the worlds largest cruise ship when launched.  Ruby was launched ten years later in 2008.  Ruby has a Salty Dog Gastropub that Grand doesn’t.  Grand does have an Alfredo’s Pizza that Ruby doesn’t (good pizza).  The big difference is capacity.  Ruby has an extra deck.  
 

All in all I’d easily book another cruise on Ruby.  It would have to be a really good deal for me to do the Grand again.  The missing center staircase was a big deal, but that’s just me.

(South Carolina?  I live in Palm Springs, CA now but moved here three years ago from Greenville).

 

Thanks for responding.

Wow, Greenville...I'm just down the street in Simpsonville.

I haven't cruised with Princess for several years, but I am considering  Ruby and Grand to Hawaii for an anniversary cruise next year.  Both are 16 nights, both leave and return on the same dates, and both stop at the same ports and have the same number of sea days.  Only difference is Ruby is roundtrip from San Francisco, and Grand is roundtrip from Los Angeles.  Right now the cruise rate for Grand is a couple hundred dollars more per person.    

I'm looking for something special for October 2024 for our 40th anniversary.  Considering Celebrity Solstice on October 1st.  Starts in Honolulu with several stops in French Polynesia and New Zealand and ends in Sydney, Australia.  Add a few days in Hawaii  and a few in Australia... I'd say that's pretty special.  Just wanted to do something different than the Caribbean and I have no interest in Europe.

I will be happily following along.  Hope you have a wonderful trip.  I'll be cheering for the Eagles also since Philly is my hometown.  I'm closer to your hometown now in Simpsonville SC.  Bon Voyage and thanks for taking us along with you.

1 hour ago, mahdnc said:

What about NRD bookings?

I have an NRD booking and last week got $400 OBC added.  Never hurts to ask.  Didn't call for the $50 OBC because the cruise rate increased $390 per person.

1 minute ago, Mrs_Tiki said:

Congrats and happy birthday! Do you remember what the minimum bid was?

I don't remember exactly but it was either 375 or 400

Thank you all for responding.  I appreciate your comments and birthday wishes.

13 minutes ago, njguy_south said:

This is great to hear! How long between when you bid and when you found out? And did they email you to let you know?

I made my bids on August 23 and received an email on October 13 telling me one of my bids was accepted.

Can anyone tell me what happens to the rest of my bids.  Do they just get cancelled?

So excited that one of my Move Up bids was accepted.  Celebrating my 70th birthday on the Equinox November 3rd for 9 nights. Yay!!!  Moving from an inside to a C2.  I know concierge class doesn't offer much as far as perks go, but my main goal was to just get a veranda anywhere and the cruise is nearly sold out.  There are only 4 concierge cabins left (2 on deck 9 and 2 on deck 10) and there are only 7 veranda cabins left on deck 6.  For those that like numbers... my inside cruise only rate was 740 pp and my bid for concierge was 425 pp so 1165 pp for 9 nights.  They assigned cabin 1243 first slanted veranda and close to the elevators.  Perfect location for me

Do you have to tell GeoBlue when you plan on traveling, and if so how do you do that?

36 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Thank you for the info.  I did check the port map.  Have not yet found the lot closest to HAL, but there is shuttle service, so I assume that proximity to the pier is not vital.  I was surprised at the reasonableness of the rates - $6.95/day!   And, Capriccio, thank you pointing out that 10:30 and later is an opportune time to find space.  Great suggestions!

 

 

Parking at Port Everglades is $15 per day.  Not sure where you found $6.95.

3 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

We will be driving in on a Saturday afternoon in November.  How likely is it that the garages will be full?  Are there several garages?  Would an online port map show the location of the garages?  Thank you for your recommendations.  I will also look into the Fairfield Inn.

Yes there are several places to park at the port.   Just choose the one closest to where your ship is docked.  Check a port map and it shows where parking garages or lots are.  I can't speculate how full the parking garages will be but I've never heard of port parking running out of space.  There are ships going in and out of ports every day, or almost every day,  it seems.

Fairfield Inn and Suites on Griffin Rd in Dania Beach.  Can park there for up to 14 days.  They provide shuttle to port.  We use Uber to return after cruising.  I've used this hotel to park and stay several times with no problems and will use it again.  Funny, this is the third time I've answered this question today

Best option is at the port garages.  So convenient.  If you want a hotel option with parking try Fairfield Inn and Suites on Griffin Rd in Dania Beach.  You can park there for up to 14 days.  I've used this hotel with parking several times without any problems.   They provide shuttle to the port and we use Uber to return after cruising.  We're cruising in November also and will most likely use this hotel again.

Fairfield Inn & Suites on Griffin Rd in Dania Beach.  You can park there for up to 14 days.  I've used this hotel several times to stay and park.  Never any problems.  They include shuttle to port.  We've used Uber to return after cruising.

Royalcedars, Thanks for responding.  That's exactly what I was looking for.

Yes, Walgreens is my first choice.  Just looking for a Plan B if for some reason Walgreens doesn't work out.  Thanks for responding.

I will be sailing on Mariner soon.  Has anyone used Any Lab Test Now, and if so, are the results acceptable for Royal?  There is one on Merritt Island that charges $100 for rapid antigen test.  The one close to me in South Carolina charges $69.  They don't accept insurance.  

Thanks for any help.

To anyone who recently purchased Emed Tests from Optum, what are the expiration dates?  I have a few cruises coming in the next several months and wanted to know how far out are the expiration dates.  Thanks.

After doing some further checking on their website, they are not travel insurance.  Looks like they assist and coordinate care, but I don't see where they actually pay any medical bills.

Is anyone familiar with the annual plan called EA (Emergency Assistance) Plus?  My friend enrolled in it but never actually had any experience using it.  I am trying to find out if this plan is good or not.  He said he only paid $149 to cover both him and his spouse.