hlb76

We are coming in to Fla early pre cruise. we want to stay on cocoa beach ( or in the area) but looking for a nice safe hotel. we would love to find a suite type room as we are staying longer than one overnight if possible. The grandkids need a little room to move well face it we all want a little more than 2 double beds if possible. there are 7 all together so guessing we will need two rooms. Any help is appericated

Shoot... I was up all night and never thought to check. Been checking all day just incase they come back :/

Thanks everyone... I will start checking out the places you suggested!

It's been a long time since I have sailed from Port Canaveral.

When we did in the passed we fly in the night before and rented a car to make the drive and spent the night in Cocoa Beach.

We also rented a car for the return trip to the airport. This was a little more stressful as it took forever for a empty shuttle to pick up the rental but he had time to kill so it was fine in the end.

In Oct we are sailing from there again.:D We again plan to fly in prior to the cruise rent a car and stay on Cocoa beach. I'm not sure what to do on the return.

Here is a kicker.. we will be traveling as a big family this time. 7 of us ranging from 1 year to 41 years. I know it will be a little more hectic with the grandkids in tow.

What is a safe Flight time out? Is it best to rent a car again? Shuttle service? Carnival transfer?

SW has a flight out at 1245pm but I worry about missing it. I did look at Carnival transfers which is $36 a person and looks like the little guy is free? But the small print says for flights after 12:50 pm. (yes off by 5 mins, can you believe it) I just want our return to painless for us. I can imagine the crabby kids after waiting to debark, go through customs, etc.

Any help suggestion is greatly appreciated.

My lasting impression is check in takes forever!!! I was in line 2 hours+ to get checked in! Tendering was a nightmare. If you really really need off the ship right away be 2 hours early for tender tickets. I'm not sure this will be such a problem with the TA but sure was when we sailed 2 weeks ago.

Other than that we had a great time minus some weather issues which the cruise ship has no control over. We did find ourselves struggling to find things to do at times so I would advise bringing stuff to keep you busy.

Great Outdoor was one of my favorite places and all ships need something like that. Dont miss the crepes on the buffet in the evening! I was not overly impressed with pay restaurants we tried though we did like the steakhouse.

Shows where very good! dont miss the Elements show. David Nessler was our comedian and we did not care for him on the welcome aboard so never made it to his big show. My son did and loved it.

Cant wait to hear more! I was on this cruise too.

Wow... aren't we all a little testy today! Yes this thread is old but things change patterns happen. We should not be shamed for asking.

2 cruises now booked... hoping to catch some. Is there a trick to when they go live?

I booked FTTF in early January this year for a late October sailing.

We are sailing in Oct as well. I think we booked in Dec. This was our xmas gift to the kids. FTTF was available at booking for us then.

We just booked Magic for late Jan 2017. There is nothing listed yet for excursions nor is FTTF open. I'm wondering when we will start seeing them pop up? I'm more interested in FTTF than anything else. This is the first booking where nothing has been released when I booked.

thanks in advance

Just read somewhere that Jade has crazy low pricing for the next 2 cruises. Wish I could have a redo of last week... our week on Jade had many highs and lows.

We just got off today as well. Tendering was a nightmare. Got in line 45 min early - tender 14. Off the ship about 11a in Belize... missed our excursion. Roatan 45 min early again tender 9 still took a long time to get off. Don't recall actual time as we really did not have a time we needed to be off. Nothing was a smooth process when it came to getting off the ship tender or not.

Heading to the airport now. Get to see Jade for myself tomorrow. Thanks so much Kim for answering my questions along the way. I'm excited for my first NCL. Hope you love the Breeze next week. It's a great ship we had the best time on her.

Oh Kim, sorry you had such a crappy day. No one wants to deal with that..EVER! But such is life and the show goes on.

I'm finally getting to packing for our trip. We fly out tomorrow and still not packed :eek: this is so unlike me. I was wondering.. is the hairdryer any good or should I bring my own? also what do you think of the body wash and shampoo? I always pack conditioner as I need it!!

Thanks

Heal quickly H! Hope your mom and dad have extra orange sherbet and cheese for you to help your healing process!!

Thanks everyone.... how well does the hairdryer work? I have thicker hair so need a decent powered one. Otherwise bringing my travel really is not a huge deal.

cant wait to read more.... hope your havin a great time

I'm back for more advice....

We are finally starting to pack for our cruise this weekend :) I was wondering if there will be a hairdryer in my cabin? What about amenities in the bathroom? Assuming body wash and shampoo, but are they any good? I typically bring my own shampoo and conditioner when I travel as I need both but I'm normally not too picky about body wash.

Yay another H review! I'm excited to see how you like NCL. We are too cheating on Carnival in the near future. I'm also taking notes along the way as our grandkids will be sailing with us in Oct (back to Carnival )- the oldest is turning 3 soon.

Great thread... can't wait to try new drinks. What is this toasted almond I hear about so much? Cherry Limeade sounds good too - what's in that?

We went to LFK last May and paid extra for the snorkel package and it was well worth it, they took us in a boat to the reef and gave us a guided snorkel tour. It was a little rough that day, but we had a novice with us and she did great. Without going in the boat we did not find much to see while snorkeling, just some fish by the bridge,etc....we considered trying to go out twice it was so beautiful.

Thanks so much. I do love a good snorkel adventure. I just hate to miss time at LFK but may be worth it.

Can't remember the exact times, but there was a dedicated disembarkation time and baggage tag. We met in the theater and once everybody was there, they took us off the boat as a group and halted the disembarkation process for others. It was definitely scheduled after self-disembarkation and maybe one or two groups. So still time to have breakfast!

 

We were at IAH between 1 and 1:30, which is probably why they say your flight has to leave after 3:30.

 

There were two stops, one at the San Jacinto monument and one at the art museum (bathroom break / food court) but lots of driving through downtown, the Texas Medical Centre and the arts district. I agree that the main benefit is not having to wait at the airport, especially since the price ends up being almost the same.

Thanks.. we will prob end up booking. Def sounds better than the inside of the airport.

She has it started incase you haven't seen it. It's amazing as always.

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I have a hoodie from the Sunshine gift shop 2 years ago. Love it wear it all the time.