Capt_BJ

UBER should run about $70

I sailed from T-18 Thanksgiving week and the parking was horrible. So bad that I will seriously reconsider the port of departure in the future. I had a 1230 PAT and arrived around noon. The adjacent surface lot was full and queries of where to go were met with indistinct arm waves. I ended up in a queue for the garage at 19 which is where it appeared everyone on the south side of the port was being directed. Everything was full except for some spots marked "do not park here' on ground floor which is where I was directed to park (My car was there when I returned). I'm not sure where they put cars that were still in the queue to enter behind me. Oh, and there was no shuttle to T-18 either when I parked or when we returned and no signs indicating recommended foot path ...... I'd tried Park N Go months ahead of time but they were already booked solid for the week (at same price as the port). Previous sailings from Everglades I'd always gotten a ride to/from the port but this time tried to park there. Never again. MUCH better at Canav and Miami . . . Normally I agree with the 'on average same number of cars depart as will arrive' but for the holiday week this was clearly not the case.

yes .... https://www.sunsethouse.com/

you're staying in Melbourne Beach? If you tell me where specifically I may be able to provide better recommendation (I'm a local) from Mel Beach you need to travel a bit to find something 'good' depending on your definition of good. As mentioned the 'arts district' has a slew of decent places incl a chart house ... or a lil way north on A1A is a decent Italian place with 2 sides - one for pizza and the other for full Italian meals https://www.yelp.com/biz/petrillos-italian-eatery-indialantic If a decent burger will suffice try Sand on the Beach in Melb Beach ..... http://sandonthebeach.com/

spit aka lugie

as I think I say in my post ... fog is just a contributing factor to a bad history of significant accidents and the State of Florida took action .... Plenty of other LARGE ports don't 'close' because of fog ..... but TAMPA does the 'bad rap' is from port closures screwing up cruise schedules ..... I doubt the merchant folks like the closures either. {btw .... I was stationed in St Pete in 1980 and present and 'involved' in the BLACKTHORN and bridge collapse incidents . . . it was a busy year 😮}

speaking about FOG causing cruise delays: " I don't remember ever seeing that on the Atlantic side" Oh, it happens ... there was pretty good fog this morning in the Canaveral area. BUT THERE'S A DIFFERENCE .... No, not a difference in the fog! Fog does not necessarily close down a port and I've seen cruise ships moving in Canaveral in some pretty low visibility. Compared to Port of Tampa the run from sea to the terminals in Canaveral is a piece of cake. The run is pretty short with just a minor turn along the way and having navigated both by ship as navigator and 'driver' you just can't compare. Tampa is a long run with many turns and hazards along the way and b4 GPS was significantly more difficult navigationally when visibility was bad ..... and as a larger port you could have multiple vessels moving near you. Canav' it is so small that large ship two way traffic almost never happens. But wait, there's more...... following three very serious incidents in Tampa waterways the state imposed very strict rules about ship movements above and beyond the federal rules and regulations. When visibility drops below certain levels in Tampa ship movements STOP .... dem's da rules. the three incidents 1. USCGC Blackthorn was a 180-foot seagoing buoy tender which sank in 1980 in a collision near the Tampa Bay Sunshine Skyway Bridge, resulting in 23 crew member fatalities. 2. The southbound span (opened in 1971) of the original bridge was destroyed at 7:38 a.m. on May 9, 1980, when the 606 feet (185 m) freighter MV Summit Venture collided with a support column during a sudden squall, causing the catastrophic failure of over 1,200 feet (370 m) of the span. Six cars, a truck, and a Greyhound bus plummeted 150 feet (46 m) into Tampa Bay, resulting in thirty-five deaths. 3. Just after dawn under clear skies on August 10, 1993, three vessels collided at the entrance to Tampa Bay leaving more than 300,000 gallons of heavy oil and another 33,000 gallons of jet fuel in their wake. A raging fire aboard the crippled Maritrans barge Ocean 255, carting nearly eight million gallons of gasoline, jet and diesel fuel, took more than 16 hours to snuff out. https://www.porttechnology.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/PT34-32.pdf "This CVTS was established because the maritime casualty history in Tampa Bay includes the loss of the ‘CGC Blackthorn’ in 1980, the catastrophic Summit Venture collision with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, also in 1980, resulted in the collapse of the bridge and the three vessel collision (between the ‘Balso 37,’ the ‘Seafarer’ tow and the ‘Bouchard’ tow) and resultant fire in 1993. Following these events, the state of Florida commissioned a consortium to examine mitigation efforts to reduce risk on Tampa Bay

what class cabin are you in? Some include restock of mini bar (DV) and some include booze restock of mini bar/fridge (beyond DV) AND VO lets you bring anything on board for own consumption . . . drink pkg will not deliver to the room IME (last time 2018)

you can fly Brightline's projected fare is higher then what I last paid to fly and takes longer .... if you drive expect 4 hours ....

finished an eight night cruise on Odyssey OTS this Sunday and my parking experience (at berth 18) tells me to NEVER sail from PE again (and I have 70+ cruises under my belt) We had an early arrival time but when we got there and I dropped off the bags the adjacent lot was closed off as 'full'. I could SEE open spaces but yellow tape covered the entry. ASKING anyone directing traffic where to go to park got a random arm wave. I eventually ended up in the garage at T-19 from which there was NO shuttle back to 18 and no one could point me in the correct direction. All in all a really horrible start to my holiday. BTW I tried Park n GO ... they were booked up when I checked (MONTHS in advance) and the SAME price as parking in the port! curious tidbit ..... I think I could have parked for free!!!! When I did manage to park in the tower at pier 19 and stumbled around looking for a shuttle ... I saw some machines "pay for parking here" ....... hmmm ... no signs saying you must pay in advance BUT .... So on my return, I went to the pay here place and dutifully paid for my parking and got a ticket to use to exit the garage ........ and as I exited the garage a port employee pushing cars out told me ... don't stop ... don't use the ticket ... just GO. 😮 Overall ... with 70+ cruises I found PE the MOST unfriendly cruise port for a drive up .... a few years back we left from PE and our daughter who lived near dropped us off at the port and THAT sucked but I thought 'anomaly' ..... NO .... PE just handles people very very poorly.....

we carried a 'special' wine that is a turkey day tradition for us this past week on Odyssey. We were on the drink package as well. WED I mentioned to asstnt server I'd be bringing my own wine on THU and asked what corkage fee would be ..... "don't worry about it" and wine glasses were set for our group (7) .... I opened the bottles myself. No fee on my final bill. it's pretty good this year . . . . I've picked up another case

yes T-18 (yesterday) be aware the parking can be quite the mess. We had an early boarding time - 12:30 - but at noon the lot next to 18 was already 'closed/full' and getting directions to alternate was not clear. I ended up in the garage at T-19. There was no shuttle to take me to 18 .... no clear directions of which way to walk and when I asked I just got confused looks ...... When we returned I found a short cut as compared to the long way around I took on arrival but it was NOT marked. Overall NOT impressed with parking at Port Everglades. Much easier in Canav' and Miami. Not many options for 'off site' either. The nearest place was booked up MONTHS b4 the cruise. p.s. arrival time was not being checked/enforced .... I suspect many knew this hence arrived early and the full lot at 18

just recently renewed for Mrs and I. No interview required for either of us. Had approval within a week and new cards about 2 weeks after that . . .

resort certified?????? that's a new one or some places, after you do a resort aka discovery dive will book another escorted dive at a reduced cost from the original discovery ..... not transferable typically . . . example from Sunset Divers Discover SCUBA Diving $175 per person Repeat shore dive $150 per person

yes .... issue one becomes what are you going to do with your bags while you do something other than go to the airport - and btw you can's just give yours bags the the airline that many hours b4 you fly either. The easiest option is to rent a car - toss the bags in the boot - and then go do what ya want. HINT - ya want a car with an ENCLOSED TRUNK cuz visible bags are a great temptation to 'some folks'. Luggage direct might work too . . THEN some suggestions in no particular order - Bayside Miami and a boat tour of the 'mansions' waterside - hop on hop off (most base out of Bayside and some INCLUDE the previously mentioned boat tour) - people watch on South Beach - lunch at Joe's (seasonal) - Sawgrass Mills ..... HUGE outlet mall ..... visited by MANY who are passing thru Miami/Lauderdale b4 returning home . . . just a few random ideas . . .

IME yes, you can buy after boarding and use OBC .... actually that's my plan for our next trip. For us SS is a no brainer . A drink b4 dinner, a glass of wine (our choice ... not just the daily pour), maybe 2 with dinner, soft drinks during the day .... maybe a foofoo drink for the Mrs in the afternoon. $22 a day ...... and no worries about the bill at the end of the trip! Heck on my last Royal cruise the drink package was $70/day PLUS 18% tip and that was MARKED DOWN from full price.

coca cola, over ice you mean a virgin cuba libre 😎

from their web site note the beach is at the base of the falls ... park entrance is at the top of the climb ... to get to the beach you must go to the bottom (stairs or the falls) and of course when done you must climb back UP.

some places don't have a variety of dive shops ... like places up north or not along the coast So your relationship could be a very limited choice hence not necessarily a good place ..... I've lived places (south Miami) where there was an abundance of dive shops, some MUCH better then others ..... not to mention choosing dive boat operators in the Keys (where we'd typically dive 2 weekends a month) AND we've lived in Lafayette Indiana ... where I'm not even sure where the nearest dive shop might have been (PURDUE has/had a dive club) .... Indianapolis I suppose. Not much local diving anyway ..... But hey - just a suggestion. We were cruisers until I convinced wife to try a discovery dive during a cruise. She started classes the weekend after we returned from the cruise and 3 weeks later we left on the first of MANY dive trips to Cayman, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman, Bonaire . . . and then we found cruises where we could blend the two. In the 80's and 90's in was not hard to find cruises with diving in every port - or most anyway. WINDSTAR ran the trips using their own zodiaks and fill station on board ... alas no more. Yes building a relationship with a dive shop can be good as can doing same with a TA or a dive resort. I was on first name basis with a bunch of the staff at Sunset House for many years. Was able to get last minute rooms and 'special trips' in exchange for bringing them some hard to get items when I flew down ....... Relationships . . . final point that wraps around to my first .... I was first certified in 1973 by a PADI instructor with a single digit instructor number (wish I kept that card) in a cold lake in Wisconsin. Two others who came to do checkouts bailed after the first 'dive' was over because of cold, zero vis and poorly fitting rented or borrowed wetsuits. Only because I knew I was going diving at a Carb' island weeks after this experience did I see better in the immediate future. So when Mrs and later dau were doing training and first dives I managed the situation ..... trying to ensure it was pleasant with reasonably warm water and good vis and and and ....... me and dau' on her first 'post OW cert' dive .... in the big fish tank at EPCOT . . .

daughter and I at My Bar looking the other direction . . .

OUCH .... that's a tuff one. The closest mall is kinda struggling but does still have a few decent stores including MACY'S Merritt Square Mall https://www.merrittsquaremall.com/directory/ checking now I see a basic UBER price at $20 . . . options are Target / Walmart or other malls MUCH further out ...... like Orlando and almost $100 UBER each way . . .

I've used this for years it's stupid NOT EXPENSIVE - $12 for a pak of FOUR ...... good as a safety case for sure but I also shot u/w video for a solid 30 minutes using one! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075ZQGW9T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I see OP is in Mass' so let me offer some food for thought. I realize you're thinking of diving in conjunction with a cruise and this common altho the SCUBA offerings I'm seeing as cruising resumes are down a BUNCH.My next cruise is going to Curacao and Aruba and there are no diving excursions offered!!!!! But that's not what I was gonna discuss. Taking certification class 'up north' can give you a bad first impression cuz it is gonna be COLD ..... no matter when you do it if you do the open water dives up north it is gonna be COLD. An option is to go to a dive resort where you can do the whole process where it's WARM!!!! Here's an example at Sunset House in Grand Cayman: PADI Open Water Course You can get started immediately with the knowledge development portion of the course and work at your own pace using the PADI eLearning system. This convenient, interactive study option allows you to learn anytime and anywhere. The eLearning portion of the course is payable direct to PADI - CLICK HERE The in-water training portion of the course is conducted over 2 full days, this is where you complete the 5 confined sessions and 4 open water dives. The cost for the 2 days is $450.00 (discount for in house guests). Equipment rental is included during your open water course. Already completed your academics and pool skills with your local dive shop? We also offer Open Water Referral courses. Complete the final part of the Open Water Course with one of our Instructors in beautiful Caribbean conditions. Our Instructors will complete the 4 open water dives, required to finish your open water course from shore right in front of the Resort. This course is scheduled over 2 half days. Sunset Divers is able to offer PADI, SSI and Universal Referrals. The cost is $400 (discount for in house guests). Equipment rental is included during your open water course. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>When daughter got certified a few years back we did this. She did the e-learning and then I arranged with a dive shop in the Keys for a 'referral'. Day one was a pool session followed by a 2 tank boat trip for dives 1 and 2 under instruction. Day two another 2 dives from the boat completing #3 & 4 and POOF Open Water Diver. We followed this up with a week trip to Cayman to build experience. The following year she was an intern at CocoView Roatan! We're warm weather divers!!!!!

you checked the web site? https://www.turtle.ky/ Today it is more like a waterpark that has turtles but generally gets good reviews the history of the place does bother some folks but that is long gone history ..... <the place was originally a turtle farm ... raising turtle for food .... talking 60's here. {my parents visited the farm in 1969} The Cayman government invested a lot of $$ into the project as in Cayman turtle was a staple food and many other islands too .... there was a market. Then the US banned turtle products and a major market was GONE. The 'farm' struggled along for many more years until eventually being reborn as a water park featuring turtles. In the 'tween years there were turtle releases from breeding ... and food sales. Last time I was in Cayman you could still find a place or two with turtle on the menu ..... but it is unusual>

https://hawaiioceanproject.com/why-we-no-longer-support-full-faced-snorkel-masks/