EnterCruise

Will be on the Escape in October. Is there a shuttle from where the ship docks to the port/shopping area? It looks like a really long dock and one person in our group has mobility issues.

Yes, they have a tram that does rotations on the pier.

And don't waste any time in the theatric tourist-trap port. Immediately pass through to the back and get a taxi or trolley to Mahahual.

My original plan was to return our rental car to MIA and take the free shuttle to POM. I just checked the schedule and there will be 4 ships in port. It's usually only 2 or 3 max. Anyone have experience with the Thrifty shuttle and how often it runs and how long the wait may be, even on a normal day? Our check in time is 10:30 at the port. I'm now considering returning the car the night before and taking Uber from the hotel to avoid chaos.

 

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If I understand you correctly, you will pay for a rental car, then turn it in the night before your cruise, pay for transportation back to the hotel, then pay for transportation to POM?

If you do that, wouldn't it be easier (and maybe cheaper) to forget the rental car and just Uber to the hotel as well? Perhaps you are in Miami for a couple of days, though?

If you had done some research prior to your cruise, you would have known Cagney's is an a la carte restaurant. It was your own choice to spend the $200 (I don't understand your !!!!!)

 

If you had done some research prior to your cruise, you could have seen the floor plan for your balcony cabin. Sounds like it was a given that your daughter would be sleeping on the pull-out sofa which does make it difficult, although not impossible to access the balcony.

 

I find it implausible that crew members did not speak English.

 

A broken light, especially in the bathroom poses a safety hazard. Either wait to take showers until it was fixed or keep calling until the light was replaced.

 

Tracy

Actually, she was traveling with 3 daughters. It makes me wonder if there were 4 women in one cabin?

OK this is a bit out there. I have a drone, whats the low down on being able to use it while in a port. I would love to get some footage of the Epic, but understand that authorities might shoot the thing out of the sky:')

Most foreign ports do not allow them and you could risk confiscation and even arrest!

https://uavsystemsinternational.com/drone-laws-by-country/

Thank you! I know,the price was low but I was hesitant to book because I have never used Hotwire before.I was afraid that it won't be Riverside but some other hotel.. Maybe I should wait a bit and book directly with the hotel or book with LMT which I've used couple times in the past.

$85 for a 3 1/2 star hotel is still a good deal. Even if it isn't the Riverside, it should be a nice property, especially since it's 90% recommended.

I get the impression maybe I ought to fly in the day before, or at least arrive much earlier than noon? ;)

 

Yeah, ya'll confirmed what I was thinking......I have done pre-cruise flights the same day in the past, but never to FLL, and never with a connecting flight. We have done about a dozen to the west coast back when there were one-way flights from Memphis, but those are rare indeed now. I am Scottish so it's hard for me to drop $200+ for just a bed for the night.:')

 

Thanks to the poster above who mentioned those direct flights from Nashville. I had forgotten about that option. I have also flown from LIT to save a few bucks. We have done those direct flights in the past the same day as a cruise, and yes, even then I worried about our arrival time. It depends on the time of year, weather, etc.

 

And of course, I can always drive down.....I HATE flying commercial! And I do enjoy driving....but not the packing/unpacking in hotels along the way or on-the-road food! :cool:

 

 

Thanks to the poster listing the departure as 1600; I just verified that. When I booked the cruise in February 2016 the departure was listed as 1630 - I will appreciate that extra half hour on board, but it does make airline connections even more troublesome!

 

Speaking of insurance, we ALWAYS get trip insurance, even though we've only used it once in 20+ years - that was for Irene out of the east coast for a Bermuda trip....sure glad I had it that time! Who would have expected a hurricane in NJ?:confused:

I was born and raised 90 miles north of Memphis and lived in Nashville for 8 years so I know the region well. If I want to fly to Memphis to go home, I can't get there from FLL. I have to fly somewhere else to start. I also know flights in and out of MEM are usually overpriced and very few nonstops to destinations, so not only can connecting flights from up north in January be a nightmare, but it increases the chances your luggage will get lost. I've seen quite a few people who were frantic because they are about to leave for a cruise and they have no luggage, which of course means no clothes, but no toiletries and in some cases no medication because they packed them all in their checked bags.

As far as extra cost for a hotel...Are you factoring in the cost of parking into your Scottish budget? You're going on a 12 day cruise and parking at Port Everglades is $15 per day (12X$15=$180). Even if you park at one of the discount parking lots you're still going to be around $100. The La Quinta Inn-FLL Airport will let you park free up to 14 days (no need to book any package) with a one night's stay. Currently, their AAA rate is $188.10 for Saturday, January 13,2018. You'll have to taxi or Uber back to and from Port Everglades so that will be $10-$20 each way. Also, have you calculated the tolls driving down? That's another $25-$30 each way unless you take I-95 from Jacksonville.

Are you going to drive over 1,000 miles straight through or will you be overnighting in a hotel somewhere along the way? Nothing like being stressed and tired to start your expensive vacation, only to have to drive back after the cruise. Then you need to get rested again from the vacation and drive home. What happens if you cut it too close and then have car problems or get involved in a car accident? A few years ago in my younger daze, I got stuck overnight in the Knotty Pine Motel in Tullahoma, TN because a blizzard blew through the area in March closing Monteagle Pass (Yes, I know you would go through Birmingham, but they got hit by the blizzard as well). Once it opened again, ice covered the road all the way to Atlanta. Have you ever seen Atlanta drivers on icy roads? Trust me, you do not want to. In the end, it took us 3 days just to get to Daytona.

I think I would drive to Nashville, spend the night in a hotel there with a park & fly policy and take a nonstop flight to FLL.

Hyatt House

Hello, I need to book one night hotel for September 22nd . I checked the Better Bidding website and it's looks like the 3 1/2 stars hotel for Las Olas area on Hotwire is Riverside hotel.Is this the Riverside hotel and is it a good price for September ? It's $80 before tax .Thank you in advance :)

 

 

Amenities

 

Free internet. Business center,Fitness center,Golf nearby. Pet friendly, Pool(s)Restaurant(s)Smoke-free rooms.

 

I'd be pretty surprised if you get the Riverside for that low of a price even considering you're actually paying $85 because Hotwire always hide a fee in the taxes.

You need a rental car so you will have transportation and luggage storage. Then you can do what you want, when you want. Make sure you have a GPS, though.

Our cruise is mid January 2018. Our Celebrity ship departs Port Everglades 1630 (430PM) on a Sunday.

 

I am comparing the costs of driving to Port Everglades from our home - it's about 1000 miles each way. I am also looking at the costs of flying, the available FLL arrival times, and wondering what is a reasonable airport arrival time considering our 430PM ship's departure.

 

For those of you who have flown into FLL and departed on your cruise that same day, what do you consider a reasonably amount of time? I figure around noon for a 430PM ship departure? I know the FLL airport and Port Everglades are pretty close together, but I do not know what to expect at the airport, claiming bags, findin transportation,etc. Does a noon arrival sound reasonable? Depending on flight arrival times, we might have to fly to FLL a day early and spend a pre-cruise night in a hotel - I figure $200 for that. So that would make driving a bit more attractive.

 

Recommendations for FLL arrival for a 430PM ship departure from Port Everglades?

 

Thanks.:cool:

The only Celebrity ship departing on a Sunday in January from Port Everglade is the Silhouette on January 14, 2018 and it departs at 4:00 PM NOT 4:30 PM, so you have even less margin or error flying in same day.

Southwest's schedule only goes to Sunday, January 7, 2018, but it lists two nonstop flights from Nashville on Sunday morning, 6:00 AM arriving 9:10 AM and 8:30 AM arriving 11:45 AM. It would be wise to opt for the 6:00 AM flight, though, or even better the 1:45 PM on Saturday. Right now you can get either of those flights for $129 one way and they might get cheaper.

Our cruise is mid January 2018. Our Celebrity ship departs Port Everglades 1630 (430PM) on a Sunday.

 

I am comparing the costs of driving to Port Everglades from our home - it's about 1000 miles each way. I am also looking at the costs of flying, the available FLL arrival times, and wondering what is a reasonable airport arrival time considering our 430PM ship's departure.

 

For those of you who have flown into FLL and departed on your cruise that same day, what do you consider a reasonably amount of time? I figure around noon for a 430PM ship departure? I know the FLL airport and Port Everglades are pretty close together, but I do not know what to expect at the airport, claiming bags, findin transportation,etc. Does a noon arrival sound reasonable? Depending on flight arrival times, we might have to fly to FLL a day early and spend a pre-cruise night in a hotel - I figure $200 for that. So that would make driving a bit more attractive.

 

Recommendations for FLL arrival for a 430PM ship departure from Port Everglades?

 

Thanks.:cool:

Another suggestion would be drive to Nashville (preferably the day before) spend the night at a hotel that will let you park & fly, then catch a nonstop Southwest flight into FLL the day of.

The safest thing to do, though, is fly in the day before as others have suggested.

Does Norwegian give military credit when booking a cruise??

Not really. NCL tries to claim they do, but it's really non-existent. There's no kind of automatic OBC like military/veterans enjoy with Princess and there is no lower fare for military/veterans such as Carnival has on certain cruises.

I plan to rent a transportable scooter for the first time for my upcoming 8 day cruise on the Carnival Vista. I got a price of $175+ insurance ($90) and cancellation ($10) from Scootaround. A Carnival Representative suggested I look for a local company and rent through them. The rep also commented the insurance is not necessary.

Questions:

Has anyone used a local company for this type of rental at a lower price?

Has anyone needed to use their purchased insurance for damage or loss to their scooter while on the cruise?

 

Thanks for any insights.

Lyn

You are talking about a motorize wheel chair like a Rascal, right? You're not talking about a scooter as in mini-motorcycle?

I can't believe cruise lines actually pay someone a salary trying to steer business to favored companies. I wonder what the cruise lines percentage of sales are? Ever notice how they ask to see your ship card as they are ringing up sales?

March 25th 2018 will be prime spring break season - do not expect hotel prices to drop. I like the idea of staying further out, saving $$, and an easy drive to the port the morning of your cruise. We once spent the night near Orlando and drove to POM the morning of our cruise - sure beat spending $300+ for a Miami hotel.

Yep...March 25, 2018 is Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. That week is the very peak of peak season, so hotel rates are going nowhere but up between now and then.

I lurked and read for quite a while before I finally registered and started posting because I got tired of people who live in California, New York or Michigan jumping in with completely erroneous information and arguing with us locals. The problem is those seeking information think these folks from faraway lands are credible because they have large accumulation of posts on this board. They're not. The reality is they don't live here on a daily basis and don't see the "Big Picture" because their view is very short term, myopic and usually the same thing repeated over and over and over again. There are many, many options for transportation, hotels, restaurants, events and activities in South Florida, but to read this board there are only one or two hotels and everyone should stay there because the "foreigners" with lots of posts say so.

Others in cabins on Deck 11 mid ship have heard what you have heard before and it has never been explained. Officers won't speak of it, but the crew members have told stories of a crewman that was found dead in the kids pool on Deck 12 a few years ago and they never solved his murder. They say his spirit only makes the racket when he is cold.

I've never heard of that anywhere, actually. [emoji15]

 

 

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You just didn't know about it. I stayed at a Hampton Inn in Waycross, GA last week on points and they put a $50 hold on my credit card that took a week to drop off.

Thanks For the advice....:) About the terminal the only thing I know: HOLLAND AMERICA terminal....

If it was Princess it most likely be Terminal 2 which would be an easy walk to 17th Street where you could catch the Sun Trolley. In your case, taxi or Uber to the beach near The B Hotel and you can move about the length of Ft Lauderdale Beach and the Galleria Mall by walking and the Sun Trolley.

$3 per person gets you unlimited hop on/hop off...

http://www.suntrolley.com/

I have booked my 1st European cruise. I have only ever done Caribean cruises where I didn't care about the ports at all. Since this trip I really care about the ports I was thinking of booking my excursions with a tour company I have read a ton of great reviews. I am considering doing this because of the massive cost savings from booking with NCL and good reviews. They say max group size could be 8. I am wondering if this is a good idea or not. I am starting to think this could be a gamble. I am not doing this with people from roll call so I would have no idea about the group I would be sharing with. Anyone ever shared a private shared excursion?

The odds are everybody on your tour will be from your ship since it will probably be the only ship in port that day. Even if they are from another ship, what difference does it make? Who knows, maybe they will be nicer than the people from your ship?

I have booked my 1st European cruise. I have only ever done Caribean cruises where I didn't care about the ports at all. Since this trip I really care about the ports I was thinking of booking my excursions with a tour company I have read a ton of great reviews. I am considering doing this because of the massive cost savings from booking with NCL and good reviews. They say max group size could be 8. I am wondering if this is a good idea or not. I am starting to think this could be a gamble. I am not doing this with people from roll call so I would have no idea about the group I would be sharing with. Anyone ever shared a private shared excursion?

Only 8? That sounds small to me.

:ship: Fort Lauderdale port...We have 6 hours time to continue our cruise ...So please any infos about Public transportation from the port to the City ...Thanks

Do you know what terminal you will be at? What is the cruise line?

There's a joke in there that I'm not understanding.

 

Roz

Nashville...Music...Artists...Agents...

Obviously you don't work in the music industry in Nashville.

I apologize if this thread is any where else.

I'm at work.... Looking to rent a car at FLL

and return near the Port Everglades. Anyone

know which car rental offer free shuttle to port, or do they all? Thank you. (trying something different)

Pretty much all of them do...Enterprise, Budget, Avis, Thrifty, Dollar, Hertz.

Alamo at 1700 Eller Drive. You can pick up there, drop at FLL or pick up at FLL and drop there with no drop charge.

When you're picking up post cruise they're a safer choice of all the rental car companies surrounding Port Everglades because they have far more inventory than the small satellite locations of their competitors. Many times, if you aren't the first off the ship the small locations run out of cars.

Agree - we have those in Nashville.

 

Roz

 

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No, in Nashville those are called agents. :cool: