Cheezus

Why not just move on?  Personally, I look where I'm walking.  Maybe accept even a tiny bit of blame for this and get on with your life.  Accidents happen. 

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk is fun and practical. Can get there via water taxi. 

Went through FLL this morning. Between parking and getting through security we tallied about 12 minutes from getting out of the car to sitting at the gate.  I am still yet to experience the horror stories from some posters but anything is possible. 

22 hours ago, Gatordad815 said:

We were recently at Junkanoo Beach on a big family trip earlier this month. We chose it based on the perceived ease of being able to walk & the generally good reviews here & on Tripadvisor.  While I can see the appeal (very clear water, local feel, fun music and fun party vibe), we just did not have a great experience there & I’ve never been so happy to leave a beach after only 2 hours (and I love beaches)!

 

I love walking and I think if I were solo or just with my wife the walk would have been quite manageable, but with 4 eager kids and 6 adults in our group, I felt like we were playing a game of Frogger walking along and across the busy roads. Just not a pleasant or easy walk at all with a larger group and small kids. Perhaps we didn’t choose the easiest route...

 

Once we got to the beach, 2 chairs & umbrellas magically went from $25 when we were walking up to $38 when they charged us. The kids were happy to be finally getting settled on the beach and I didn’t have the energy to argue, so I just paid it.

 

I’m pretty certain the first Bottled beer I ordered had been opened and refilled and recapped with a different brand of draft beer. After one sip I took it back to the bar & made them open one in front of me which tasted “normal”. That was just weird. They were like $6 each. Not over the top but no bargain either. 

 

I picked up and threw away no fewer than 10 big pieces of glass (broken beer bottles) on my travels to & from our chairs. The same area my kids & nephews were running around barefoot. Great. That was the part I really didn’t like.

 

The sand was very rocky. Everybody around us was smoking. 

 

We took a van cab back & all 10 of us squeezed into one. It was actually pretty funny! $4 per person I guess isn’t bad but $40 for a mile seems excessive. I happily paid it though to get back to the ship quick!

 

I wanted to love the place. I really did. And I’m generally easy to please. I acknowledge part of what made it challenging was having a larger group & smaller kids so it wasn’t easy to just mobilize & walk another 50 yards to a spot that was more conducive to relaxing. I genuinely think (hope) if we had made it to the far end of the beach it could have been a better beach experience. But it just wasn’t for us and once was enough for me.

 

If you’re with a small group that’s easy to manage in a crowd and willing to keep walking to a better spot once you get to Junkanoo, I suspect you’ll have a better time than we did. If you can find another beach altogether without so much darn glass all over the place, you’ll probably have an ever better time!  

 

I hope you enjoy your time whatever you decide!

 

 

It's worth the ride to a better beach.  Love Beach is a great spot.  Also a day pass for Melia is pretty affordable.

I'm a pizza snob and I found Sorrento's to be just fine for what it is.  Definitely not the worst pizza I've ever had.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.  Not everything has to be a competition!  It's just good pizza.

When were you planning on making the trip to Orlando?  The day of your flight?  Or are you making the trip the day your cruise comes in?  The question is a bit confusing without more information. 

14 minutes ago, kalliekae said:

 

This happened to us when we flew American a couple of years ago. They said the same thing....not enough room at the gates. Personally, I wish FLL would expand. It is just too small for all the passenger traffic.

 

 

 

 

Oh they did expand. They added a controversial new runway to handle more passengers and flights. Big expansion.

Of course, the terminals are basically the same and the pickup and drop off lanes are the same. All too crowded and too small during busy times.  Used to be the smaller and easier airport.  But those days are long gone. No sure they will ever be able to fix it. 

I've personally never seen a surge at Miami or Fort Lauderdale Airport. Tons of Uber drivers line up and wait.  Should be fine. 

I'd much rather hang out at the airport than a cruise ship on the last day.  At least you are AT your next destination and have that out of the way.  Airport has restaurants, bars, etc.  Cruise ship you sit in a lounge or whatever as everything is closed and a sense of "get out" in the air.

35 - 45 minutes.  Adding in waiting for an Uber or transportation.  I'd plan for an hour, too.

If you do self-disembarkation, it should be easy making a 10:15 flight without rushing.

12 minutes ago, NoWhiners said:

 

Thanks for this. I wasn't sure what the Uber rate would be but you're right, that's not bad and eliminates one step.

😊 I think more cruisers would find Plantation a great option. It's a straight shot to the port on the highway and just a few minutes away.  More restaurants and what not than 17th Street area, too. Uber is readily available and for a few bucks you can go to all sorts of restaurants and things to do.  Cheaper hotel rates don't hurt either. 

I'm not a big fan of 17th Street. It's just a couple of shopping centers and not that walkable either. 

I'd take Plantation over 17th street regardless. Lots of great stuff within walking distance or a short Uber.. 

Plantation to PE is a $20 Uber. Not worth transferring at the airport to save a couple bucks. 

19 hours ago, LeeW said:

What I don't get is taking a flight from FLL to MCO after a cruise out of Miami.  Going to take a minimum of three hours at the airports for checkin, waiting, flight and luggage, plus ground transportation to Disney.   Rent a car and drive the 3 1/2 hours.  Boring, cheaper, and no possibility of losing luggage, either.  With the discounts I can get from former employer or various affinities I can get a large car for less than $50 (plus gas and tolls) or a van for $80.  No dropoff charges in Florida.

And yet the Orlando route for Southwest is generally full. A lot of people don't like driving.  Glad we have options. 

The courtyard can be full of children. Another vote for the spa suites and spa access. 

If the worst case scenario is ending up in Plantation, barely 20 minutes from the port, then it's probably not that big of a deal.  It's not like Plantation is a bad spot or far away.  Tons of restaurants, a Total Wine, and easy drive to the port.

What might annoy me the most is that if you are not getting a free night/refunded, then the price you paid for 17th street still might be more than the going rate in Plantation.  So you may end up actually overpaying for the hotel as opposed to getting a sweet deal.

26 minutes ago, blueridgemama said:

Can you access Cove Beach with the day beach pass?

You should check with Atlantis.  If you cannot, then boy what a waste of paying for a beach pass!  "Atlantis Beach" is basically a public beach (Cabbage Beach).

Does Hyatt not have to provide the room for free if you booked through a separate booking engine?  That might be exactly why they bump these 3rd party guests first.

You can almost always get to the port around 9:30 - 10AM.  Not 11:30.  So that cuts down the waiting time drastically.  Plus it's a 45 minute drive from FLL to PortMiami.  Plus the time to get your transportation.  I think you would only really be resting at the airport until 8:45 or so.  By the time you get your bags, just find a quiet place at the airport to rest for a couple of hours.  It's not that big of a deal.  You won't be able to do that at the cruise port, they won't let you in the terminal that early.  Just bring a few snacks and hang out.

I'm not sure about the suggestion of staying at a hotel in the morning and going to the cruise in the afternoon.  Unless you love staying at budget hotels more than hanging out on the cruise ship.

1 hour ago, sirenitas said:

I work front desk at a big chain hotel in a very touristy town and I deal with 3rd party sites every day. The Hyatt overbooked, they walked you and tried to blame Booking com.  One factor why this happens is if the hotel did not close the bookings on 3rd party sites on time and it is a busy day. Overbooking falls on the hotel.

 

You obviously had a reservation since the agent said you were moved and Booking.com should have told you - first of all that is not how it works.  Walks happen last minute (same day), guests don't find out until you go to check-in. 

 

I also used to do rooms control at a big hotel in Disney World, we walked people all the time (granted it was easier since WDW has so many hotels and we would the comp night).  All hotels overbook.

This seems fair to me.  People want sweet deals through 3rd party booking sites.  You can't always have your cake and eat it, too.  Save money but risk being the first to get bumped.  And when they bumped the person, they provided adequate alternate accommodations and transportation accordingly.

6 minutes ago, CruisinCrow said:

 

I got yelled at by a lady security guard once because I stepped onto a bridge to take a picture.  I wasn't even trying to get to the pools (I had jeans on) but apparently that bridge was OFF LIMITS!   They do check wristbands.

The bridge on the back of the property that goes to the Cove beach is almost certainly what you are talking about.  It's one of the only places with a security guard that checks bands out there.

Definitely don't do the tour.  You don't want to be paraded around the property with a big group.  We always feel so sorry for those people, it's awful.  The property is easy to navigate yourself.

30 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

The thing is, you can't say for sure that this particular sale is what caused the price drop. Most large cabin price drops are not because of "sales", but because that particular sailing is not selling well at current prices and RCI has decided the cut the pricing.

Not the cabin, the drink + internet package.  And the sailing is over a year from now.  It was more expensive the day before the Black Friday sale.  It's still not a great deal but certainly cheaper than it was before the sale.

4 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

A good promotion will create a sense of urgency and leave the customer with the feeling that they have scored a good deal. Repeated evidence from this message board seems to prove that Royal Caribbean has failed miserably at both.  

The problem with your theory is that you are using this message board as evidence. This is a cruise message board, and the people here are much more detail oriented when it comes to these things. 

This is not the proper focus group. We are not the people Royal caters these sales to.  They don't cater these sales to people who check daily and share spreadsheets on cruise forums. 

The marketing is probably very effective. NCL has been doing it forever as well. 

And by the way, the sale for drink and internet combined package for a Symphony cruise I have next year was indeed cheaper during this sale than it was the day before.