EnterCruise

I welcome the new travel restriction policy on Cuba. It is a good one and the right thing to do.

I second that emotion.

Cuba is unique in that the ruling military owns the tour and travel industry, so visitors to Cuba directly finance the oppression and imprisonment of the Cuban People.

Yes it is true. Do some research.

 

Anyway, very happy for the other people in this thread. Bon voyage to you all.

If the ship visits or departs from a US port it has to follow the same laws as all other ships. I think you need to do some research.

Won't be subject to the same restrictions, in many areas.

That is simply untrue. Where did you get that?

I booked with a different cruise line which offers better freedom so I won't be subject to the same. Do hope you all have a satisfactory answer one way or another.

Offers better freedom?? What does that mean?

Forward inside cabin deck 9 on Breakaway. Am I going to to be sick or does the Breakaway handle well in rough seas? Got the ear patch but just wondering if I should change to lower floor mid.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app

We have no idea how sensitive you are to motion, so I'm not sure what kind of helpful answers you will get.

If you have a motion sickness problem then you need to be on the lowest deck available and as close to midship as possible. The reality is, though, you will spend more time about the ship than you will in your cabin.

• I know it's anytime dining, but are you assigned to one of the dining rooms? Or are you free to go to whichever dining room you'd like?
  
• Do you get an assigned check-in time? Or can you board the ship whenever?
  
• I am only familiar with Carnival, and they allowed us to bring one standard size sealed bottle of wine per adult in our carry-on luggage. Does NCL do something similar?
  
• Speaking of luggage, I will just assume that it's similar to Carnival: one checked luggage and one carry-on per person, is that correct? Does NCL list their luggage policy on their website somewhere?
  

Thanks in advance.

I stood in enough lines and sat around waiting too much when I was in the Army, so I never show up early. I usually don't arrive until after 2:00 PM for a 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM sailing.

NCL only allows wine if you pay a corkage fee and they will x-ray every bag looking for booze, so don't bother to pack it in your luggage thinking you will sneak it onboard. They'll just send your luggage to the "Naughty Room" and make you come pick it up rather than deliver it to your cabin. Then they make you open it up for them while they search it.

I'm Platinum on Carnival, but I wasn't aware there was a limit on luggage. Not that I ever would need that much, because I always do self-assist, but I have never heard there is a limit until now.

sorry if my info was dated...when we were there, there were common large buses run by the major rental car companies together....

we also did rental from Thrifty which was close to the port but there was an issue with the size of the van and the number of people

 

last year we stayed at the Renaissance Cruise Port Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. stayed on points so cheap..$10 minimum on cab fares and we were under that for the trip to the ship. lots of restaurants and pizza and sandwich shops

The change occurred in February so if you haven't been here lately you couldn't have known. Alamo opened a new location that services Port Everglades at 1700 Eller Drive, so the shuttle from FLL to Port Everglades that was shared by Alamo, Enterprise and National (Enterprise owns all three companies) stopped operating. Alamo and Enterprise have separate locations near the port and have their own shuttles.

if you pick the car up at the FLL airport when you drop it off there is a rental car shuttle from the airport to the port.

 

This is outdated information.

No rental car companies offer a shuttle from FLL to Port Everglades, although, all major rental car companies have rental locations surrounding the port that offer shuttle to the port. You can pick up a rental car at FLL, then drop at one of these locations near Port Everglades and there will be no drop charges.

Beach Properties Close to Port Everglades: Bahia Mar Doubletree, The B Ocean Resort, Ft Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa

If it were in the summer, I would probably do it but upstate NY winters are too unpredictable.

With that being said, I'm surprised that the Air2sea options are flights that arrive the day of the cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Well...Weather issues are not their fault, so...

What's an easy day trip to the keys? Obviously not key west. I might look into it.

I recently did the barrier reef and it's not as amazing as they say. I have seen better off the coast of Fiji and the Cook Islands

While it is still beautiful it was nowhere near as good as the Ningaloo reef off the west Australian coast which gets little or no publicity.

That's why I made it a point in all my post not to go all the way to Key West and back because a one day trip is too much. That's why I am suggesting to go as far as across Seven Mile Bridge, (maybe visit Bahia Honda State Park), then work your way back to Miami.

Or...

You could change hotels on Friday morning and move to the Hampton Inn in Key Largo. It is a very unusual Hampton Inn where you can walk right out of your room (well, first floor rooms anyway) onto a patio only a few yards from the bay where you can often see manatees surfacing.

It might be a bit of a hassle Friday morning, but you can crash an hour sooner on Friday evening. Then get up and head to the port on Saturday morning.

Sounds amazing if only we had more time

Not something I want to be doing on the back of jet lag 24 hours in transit to get up and drive

I should have planned for more days in Miami to do this. Might see if I can stretch it on return

You'll be fine.

Get to the hotel after you land and get some sleep. Get up the next morning and drink a few cups of "ambition" and get going. In the Keys you will drive slow because the speed limit in most places is 45-55 mph and making occasional stops to see the sites.

You coming all the way from Australia and not experiencing at least a little bit of the Keys is akin to me flying all the way to Queensland and not experiencing the Great Barrier Reef.

Hello!

Can anyone tell me the approximate time the cruise line begins taking luggage? If we wait until we can do the drop off, my husband and I could then return the car together. Or we could return the car with our luggage and take an Uber to the Port. From websites I've seen, it is a little less tan $20.

 

Another question, Does anyone know what the tolls are from the airport to the Port via Fl-836? We are staying at the Hampton Inn at the Airport and since we would do this twice if we drove to the Port, it may just be easier to drop off car and go to Port either by shuttle or Uber.

 

Any thoughts on this?

Yes, drop the car, take your luggage up the elevator and get on the free shuttle to the POM. It's just that easy. No need to overthink it. Personally, I would arrive early as all you will do is sit and wait. I usually don't arrive at the port until about 2:00 PM for a 4:30-5:00 PM departure.

We are returning a car the morning of the cruise, is it better to drop off one person with the luggage at the port, about 9 am or suck it up and drag the luggage around while dropping off the car? I would try to find corner to stay out of the way!

If dragging your luggage from the rental car return, to the elevator, out the door to the rental car shuttle is a hassle, then you might be an over-packer. :D

So when leaving the ship there won't be a shuttle to MIA Alamo until approx. 11.15?

Unless you have a special status to stay on the ship late, the latest you can usually stay is 10:00 AM and they want you out of your cabin by 8:00 AM or 9:00 AM depending on the cruise line. Most cruise line want to clear the ship by 10:30 AM so they can start boarding the next group of guests.

Edit: I misread your question. Yes, the shuttle from the POM to MIA Car Rental Facility will begin running continuously early in the morning.

We arrive on a Thursday night and sail on a Saturday. Only really having the Friday to enjoy the Miami sun and sights although shall be very low key considering we would be coming off a transit time of 20+ hours from Australia.

Logic would dictate you spend Friday with the convertible and enjoy it. Personally, I would pick the car up early on Friday and drive down through the Keys. In my opinion, Miami has nothing compared to driving through the Keys in a convertible. Everyone here will tell you that the choice of driving a convertible through the Keys or on an Interstate Highway to Orlando is a simple no-brainer decision.

Driving all the way to Key West and back in one day is a bit of a stretch, but going as far as the Seven Mile Bridge and Bahia Honda State Park would be a full relaxing, fun filled day for the kids and adults.

The kids would love the Turtle Hospital in Marathon. If you're timing is right you might even have the opportunity to see a turtle release back to the ocean...

http://www.turtlehospital.org/

The Seven Mile Bridge...

http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/sunset/

It's a little early for events to be listed for April, 2018, but here's a link to things to do in the Keys...

http://www.fla-keys.com/things-to-do/

Advice heeded on the 22 June reminder. Also the one way tickets, although we fly so rarely that a credit would probably be wasted on us.

If you book and the price goes down, you might as well have the free credit. Right now fares from BNA to FLL are as low as $60 in December. Maybe you could come down for a pre-cruise visit with the credit?

I will be sailing on my 1st cruise on The Conquest-June 17th - 22nd, Out of Port Everglades. And flying home from Fort Lauderdale Airport. I have a departure flight time of 5 p.m. I wanted to rent a car and drive down to Miami for the afternoon to kill some time. Has anyone ever done anything like this before? Do you know of any rental car companies that are located at the airport that will pick you up from the port? :)

It's not a good idea to go to Miami with a 5:00 flight. There's plenty to do in Ft Lauderdale and going to Miami could cause you to miss your flight.

You need to be at the airport around 3:30 PM and if there is no traffic problems it will take you 45 minutes to one hour each way to Miami. If you are thinking about South Beach figure an hour to 1 1/2 hours travel time each way with very little traffic. If there is a problem on the causeway then you could be stuck in traffic for hours. It's better to make good use of your time and stay in Ft Lauderdale.

Every major rental car company has shuttles from the port to their rental locations surrounding the port. Take your pick. Your questions about rental cars and what to do with a late flight are asked here every week so just use the search function in the upper right of the screen and you will find all your answers.

Here...I'll help you get started...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=108637147

That's great Thankyou I didn't think to look it up on you tube. Thanks for the warning I'll see if I can convince him into a hard top maybe or else travel very light.

While they drive may not be scenic it beats driving on a boring freeway. Many years ago we drove from LA to Las Vegas and that was the most boring drive ever. I though if we at least made it a bit more interesting by seeing some interesting towns etc it may be better. Being from Aus we love everything American to us it feels interesting and like being on a movie set. I don't know what other routes would be better to see driving up to Orlando

What time do you arrive at MIA before your cruise? Do you arrive the day before your cruise?

There is not really anything to see in between, so you get from Point A to Point B as quickly and efficiently as possible. Drive up and down Ocean Blvd in South Beach then get on Interstate 95 and get to Ft Lauderdale Beach. Drive up and down Ft Lauderdale Beach Blvd, then get on to Orlando.

I have never been to Miami hence asking for advice in here. I'm sorry if I offended you but not living in reality. thats why I am on here asking these questions and seeking advice.

We are only coming with one suitcase until we hit Orlando so trunk space is no issue. Kids just wanted the novelty for an hour or so seeing as we give it back in Orlando.

It was just a thought for a gift for him otherwise we would get the smallest economy far which I imagine has the same amount of room

Thankyou for your input I'll try and research s bit more before I say anything that may annoy you regarding the coastal route

You are not annoying me. I am trying to help you, but sometimes I can be rather blunt in an effort to jolt people into reality. Again, I am currently driving a convertible Camaro and I promise you it's impossible for you to get two suitcases into the trunk with the top down. I am told the Mustang has slightly more room with the top down, but not that much more. I don't want to crush your dreams, but I don't want you to get here and have a bad experience. So if it goes badly, remember, you were warned.

Here's a youtube time lapsed video of the drive from Ft Lauderdale to Miami Beach so the ocean would be on the left side of your screen. The 2 or 3 miles of Ft Lauderdale Beach that start the video are great, but after you cross over the 17th Street Causeway at Port Everglades the drive is not so glamorous.

Thanks. I plan on re-checking all the flights BNA-FLL RT the end of June. Hopefully I can get a reasonable fee for SW to FLL. I did find a DL RT from BNA for $230 which is acceptable. We'd drive to BNA on Saturday morning, then fly BNA-FLL that afternoon/evening, spend Saturday night in FLL. Ship departs Sunday at 1600, so that ought to work well.

Do not wait until the end of June to check Southwest's fares. Write yourself a note to do it early on June 22nd. Again, airfares are not static and can increase by the hour. Sometimes airlines will put a few seats out at a low price and once they are sold, fares automatically increase. With Southwest you can always rebook if they drop prices. You don't get a refund but you can save the difference as a credit for a future flight up to a year.

Love good seafood, classy cuisine or casual but not fond of the fried stuff :(

We are staying at the embassy suites don't mind taking an uber if needed.

 

Would love to see the water while dining also any other suggestions would be appreciated

I thought Bimini Boatyard was closed?

Edit: Oh...I guess it's just called Boatyard now.

Renovations are underway everywhere you look.

Slave labor for the government is pretty cheap in Cuba. The going rate is about $25 per month on average.

What about around south beach way is there any of the big companies that have a large selection or are they all in hotels

We are thinking driving the coastal route for a bit before cutting inland so makes sense

Would rather avoid heading back to the airport

It's more of a novelty for a bit with the kids but yeah the Ford mustangs are his dream

Is it possible to come in an extra day before the cruise? That way he could have one day to get a convertible and really enjoy it. Perhaps even driving down to the Keys, cross 7 Mile Bridge, turn around and come back.

As you have probably already discovered, though, April is peak, peak season in South Florida so hotels and convertibles are expensive.

I think paying the cost of the pre cruise hotel night is a small price for comfort. Add up the stress and cost if delayed. Easy decision.

 

Bad weather doesn't just have to hit New York to cause problems. Remember the shooting at FLL this past Jan.? We had our flight cancelled from Milwaukee. .luckily we planned the extra night. Lots missed their cruises. And on the way home two weeks later we couldn't land in Atlanta for our connection due to hurricanes. We spent a night in Charlotte. So... stuff can and does happen.

I don't think his issue was with paying for a hotel, it was the price of the day before flight...or both.