KINGBOBOFTHENORTH

I was on an MSC cruise earlier this year and in Ocho Rios they docked at the pier adjacent the cruise terminal and the city. I have no idea where you docked if you're saying they docked at an industrial pier. To the OP, try the MSC cruise out of Martinique. It goes to Trinidad, St Vincent and Grenada. We did this a few years ago and those southern islands are wonderful destinations seeing very few cruise ship calls. You want something different, there they are.

Check out the Morrow/Stockbridge/Jonesboro, Georgia area or even as far south as Macon. I agree with you about Atlanta hotel and parking prices and you definitely want to wake up south of the city to avoid morning traffic. You can use the map feature on hotels.com to see what hotels including Marriott properties are in that area, even if you actual book your hotel from the marriott.com website.

Driving via rental car will definitely be the cheapest option. However, we don't know Brightline's prices yet and their trains will take passengers to downtown Miami and offer free transfers to the port. Brightline will also depart from MCO and thus a connection from the plane to the train is possible. Returning a rental car to MIA or to a downtown Miami location will create its own hassle and expense. So I wouldn't rule-out Brightline as an option if they're operational next April.

It doesn't look like the point of your inquiry is to save money but perhaps save hassle. Since you've ruled-out staying one more night at WDW, you really have two choices with one staying near MCO and then continuing to the ship the next day, or going all the way to Cape Canaveral after WDW and spending the night there. Have you checked the NCL website to see what hotel options they offer near MCO and/or what they charge for their bus transfer from MCO to the ship? Short of letting NCL take care of your journey to the ship, either choice is viable and one is not necessarily better than the other.

There used to be; I think $27, but I've read elsewhere on Cruise Critic that they got rid of it and it's now whatever the meter says.

The current sale is $49 per night per passenger which would be $196 for 2 for the cruise, plus tax, tag & title. Are you sure that isn't what your email says too? If there actually is a $49 per person for the entire cruise, perhaps you have to wait until Black Friday for it to post.

And it's a trolley train, not a bus. It runs on rails.

I would rent a car and spend one day in Everglades National Park and another day at Biscayne National Park. Another option would be to use the car to go to the Keys and spend two nights down there, assuming your return flight on Wednesday isn't early in the morning.

Please note in the photos posted above that the bottom photo is not from Lighthouse Pointe. It's from the mini-marketplace called the Freeport Harbour complex that is within walking distance from where Margaritaville at Sea docks. It has a straw market, a dozen-plus shops and several bars/restaurants including a Señor Frog's. Please be aware that this complex is only open when another cruise ship is in port. Margaritaville at Sea does not count and neither does the Balaria Caribbean ferry.

We got off last Wednesday too. Second trip on this ship. Everything was fine. Spent the port day at the mini festival marketplace over where Royal Caribbean's ship was docked. Lots of shops and Señor Frog's.

There's also a Hyatt hotel right in the airport terminal with direct access to the airport's food court and a few other restaurants that are before security.

Announcements are made in 5 languages and sometimes 6. Everybody in western Europe speaks English. (I realize that's an exaggeration but it's basically true and particularly true for crew on the ship and people you're likely to encounter as a tourist.)

Stabilizers are an old technology. Of course the ship has stabilizers.

Flying standby procedures vary by airline. Some will charge $75 for a confirmed earlier flight but will charge $0 if you do standby. But this typically can only be done day of flight or within 24 hours of your scheduled flight. Also, if you bought a Basic Economy fare on some airlines, not changes including standby are allowed. So you really need to contact your airline to find out their rules on changes.

1) Follow signs in terminal for "Miami Mover" train. It's a bit of a walk. 2) Take "Miami Mover" train from airport station to Rental Car Center. Free. 3) Take MetroRail train from Miami Airport Station to Government Center station or Brickell station downtown. $2.25 (Depends on where your hotel is.) 4) If your hotel is walking distance from the Brickell Metrorail station, get off there. If it's closer to one of the MetroMover stations, get off at Government Center station and switch to the Metromover Brickell Line and get off at the station closest to your hotel. FREE

I don't see any benefit of this. You think it's busy at Port of Miami, wait until you see how busy it is at the airport. And I've arrived at the airport before to find every parking space full and officers directing those arriving to turn around. And there basically isn't any off-airport parking. For your own sanity, go to the port and park there.

There's a hotel right in the terminal; no shuttle needed. That's where I would stay at 1AM. https://www.miahotel.com/

During on-line check-in, MSC asks for your credit card to be used on board. Sometimes it accepts your credit card number; often it doesn't. But whether it does or doesn't, you still have to go to a kiosk on the ship on Day 1 (or to Reception) and register your preferred credit card.

There is no covid database to look up your vaccination status. Boarding doesn't take any longer or shorter than it ever did. When you get your cruise docs, it will show a 1-hour window for check-in. Try to arrive within that window.

Yes, they always run a Black Friday / Cyber Monday special. It might be an extra discount or free drink package or something else.

The Tri-Rail station at Miami International Airport is located at the Rental Car Center. It's connected to the airport via the "Miami Mover" train, not by a walkway. You do need to take a lift upstairs to a walkway to get to where the Miami Mover train departs from. Please note the train schedule is more limited on weekend days. If I were you and following a long flight from Europe, I would stay at the hotel that's IN the airport and then take Tri-Rail the next morning using their more frequent weekday schedule. Get off at the Fort Lauderdale or Sheriden station. Tri-Rail offers free shuttles to nearby spots so you can see if Port Everglades, which is very nearby, is one of them. https://www.tri-rail.com/

Yet another reason to get a quote from Uber/Lyft before taking a taxi.

Another option is Tri-Rail which operates trains directly from Miami International Airport's Rental Car Center to Fort Lauderdale Sheridan Street station, Fort Lauderdale International Airport station and Fort Lauderdale (Downtown) station. The airport station is also closest to Port Everglades. While the Miami station is at the airport, the Fort Lauderdale airport station is near but not in the airport and you'd need to check your hotel to see if they'd pick you up. But Tri-Rail also offers free shuttles to locations near their stations. Information: https://www.tri-rail.com/ Do be sure to differentiate between their weekday and weekend schedules.

It's been my experience at all the Port Miami garages that you pay when you depart.

You might keep a signal from your cell phone carrier longer than you think. Sailings from Port Canaveral go right down the coast and after dark you can often still see the lit-up U.S. coast line. I don't turn my phone off (or to airplane mode) until I no longer see the Verizon logo at the top of my phone.