cj_one2000

2 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

On my last sailing All of the beach club over the water cabanas were empty and looked like the ones in south beach area had 1 or 2 rented out.     Smart marketing🤣

As more people realize that the free chairs and umbrella areas are just fine and the regular buffet on CocaCay is fine, the less those overpriced cabanas are being purchased. Only been once but that was enough for me to be glad I saved $3k by not renting at that price, for what, barely 8 hours of use, realistically 6 hours maybe?? Who are these people renting then and what do they do for a living???! 😂

29 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

I always plan ahead to totally understand.  The cruise traffic once in the tunnel will be lighter on a Monday, it's the roads leading from your hotel to that tunnel that has the traffic that I was talking about.  

 

Hope you enjoy your night in Miami as well as have the best cruise!

We are excited, first time on Allure. It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve been to Miami. We’re staying at Hyatt Place Airport East. They have a decent hot breakfast so that timing will be great to leave for the port at 10am. We’re coming from Tampa Bay Area so I get it when you say rush hour traffic 😩

13 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

Just wait out rush hour and you will be fine arriving to the port late morning/early afternoon.   I would leave the hotel no earlier than 10 am and you should be okay.  Not sure if you are staying in the Blue Lagoon area by the airport, but I would give yourself 20-30 minutes at that time.

That’s what we’re thinking, leave at 10:00 but we aren’t sailing until October so I won’t have our embarkation time slot until August. I like to plan ahead though 😂 hoping we get a 10:30 or 11:00 slot. 

13 minutes ago, George C said:

We like having a second bathroom and it’s only two of us 😁

That’s what poopouri is for 🤣 but I get you. My house has four bathrooms, ha!

16 hours ago, George C said:

With 3 daughters I would think connecting cabins would be good for the extra bathrooms , I think your family will love all the entertainment options on oasis class . If you knew a travel agent that you could trust it might be good , we always book directly with rccl . I doubt the liquor package will be a good deal if you drink 2 or 3 drinks daily, but package also includes water and soda. Not sure of where you live but cruises from Texas/Galveston seem cheaper than Florida. For shore excursion you should try to research this as much as possible, private tours are cheaper and often nicer but ships tours you are guaranteed you will not miss the ship , we definitely prefer private tours . After picking a cruise you can join the roll call on this site and they can help with shore excursions . Good luck I am sure you will enjoy your cruise . Might want to include one specialty dinner for your family if it’s in the budget, specialty restaurant for lunch are about half the price as for dinner . 

Agree with the extra bathrooms by having a second room. We had 5 (two teens and a toddler) of us in 2016 and booked early enough to snag a Royal Family Suite for a great price. It was an aft balcony room with an additional interior stateroom within it, so two technically two rooms = two bathrooms. Sharing a bathroom with two teen boys was not something I wanted to do (ha) and it allowed them to come and go to the teen programs on board without waking up their baby sister. This was not an Oasis class ship, but you could get connecting balcony rooms to mimic this setup so your girls can have their own bathroom and a bit of privacy but close with a connecting door.

Traffic has me worried now 😑 we have a Monday morning embarkation, getting ourselves to the port in our own vehicle from a hotel right outside the Miami airport. How much time should we plan on to get ourselves from the airport area down to the parking garage at Terminal A? Want to be realistic even when using a gps and it gives drive time. 

5 hours ago, capriccio said:

While waiting for a reply from @Ret MP, this is from the official PortMiami website (https://www.miamidade.gov/portmiami/parking-information.asp)

 

Disabled Veterans Parking

• Effective July 1, 2016, disabled veterans displaying a Florida license plate for disabled veterans, issued under Florida Statute 320.084, will receive free parking. The disabled veteran to whom the license plate was issued must be in the vehicle for this exception to apply
• Please note that as long as your vehicle has a State of Florida disabled veterans tag, your parking is complimentary in accordance with Florida Statutes. When you exit the parking facility, please present the Toll Attendant your original parking ticket, driver's license and State of Florida vehicle registration. The toll attendant will have you complete a short form and that is all there is to it

But since you asked about terminal A, I would confirm it with Royal Caribbean Customer Service:

 

Garage A (Royal Caribbean)

• For parking rate information, questions or concerns, contact Royal Caribbean Customer Service 24/7 at 1-800-256-6649

Thank you. Yes, I saw that. Similar instructions were for the Port Canaveral parking garage and there was no attendant to help us exit. We had to wait for staff to come by about 10 minutes later on a golf cart to help us. Instead of a form to fill out they just opened the arm/gate thing for us to leave. My guess is they didn’t want to be bothered with the paperwork. So my trusting of what the website says vs reality has me worried. Hoping someone with disabled vet plate can vouch for the process. 

47 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

thanks, but Hyatt Place Miami Airport East on November 22 starts at $307....

 

I booked Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon just in case prices don't come down at all. We liked it a couple of months ago.

Bummer! Must be due to the Thanksgiving holiday travel time-frame that prices might be different than what we are getting earlier in October, showing $149 for our date (we are using points so rooms are free for us). I'm sure you will have a great time. Enjoy your cruise!

On 1/10/2024 at 10:06 AM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

TownePlace Suites by Marriott Miami Airport $149.00 plus tax, 4021 NW 11TH STREET, MIAMI, FL 33126, breakfast included.

 

DoubleTree by Hilton Miami Airport & Convention Center - $169.00 plus tax, 711 NW 72ND AVE, MIAMI, no breakfast.

 

@Itchy&Scratchy If you are considering airport area hotels to save some money, consider Hyatt Place - believe they have two locations in that similar area under $200 that also include a very decent hot breakfast. We have used them 50+ nights on our travels in the last few years. Not sure what your situation is, how many people, car or no car, etc. Great for families with kids as they have spacious rooms with two beds and an additional pull out bed (queen) from the sofa. We are planning on staying at the Hyatt Place Miami Airport East and driving to explore downtown the evening before, restaurants, etc. Next morning we'll get ourselves to the port to park as we get free port garage parking so this was the best option for a group of 6 people (two rooms) to spend pre-cruise. We saw the prices of hotels close to the port and just couldn't justify the cost paying for two rooms at the $300+ rate they all wanted, many not offering a free breakfast in the rate -- and having pay for parking for our car on top of that.

On 3/13/2023 at 8:53 AM, Ret MP said:

As a retired general manager of the FLL and Port Everglades Parking Facilities, you'd be surprised how many people are surprised when exiting parking facilities and didn't/don't know the following:

 

Just a word about ADA parking in FL.  Government own/operated parking facilities (which the Port of Miami is) can and do charge ADA for parking.  An ADA placard only entitles you to park in a parking slot.  It doesn't automatically give the vehicle a free ADA parking space.  So, if you want to get free parking at the Miami or any other government parking facility, the vehicle must be equipped with a wheelchair ramp or lift, hand or foot controls, specialized equipment, and/or a Florida Turnpike Toll Exempt Permit.  Disabled Vets have benefits, too.  Here's the Port of Miami policy on that:

 

https://www.miamidade.gov/portmiami/parking-information.asp

 

For Disabled Persons

 

Miami-Dade County Ordinance requires all guests with a disabled parking permit or license tag to pay standard parking rates except as provided by Florida State Law. However, two hours of complimentary parking will be provided to vehicles displaying a disabled parking permit or license tag.

In accordance with Florida Statute 316.1964, ONLY vehicles with specialized equipment such as ramps, lifts, or foot or hand controls, for use by a person who has a disability, or any vehicle displaying a State of Florida license plate for disabled veterans  issued under s. 320.084, s. 320.0842, or s. 320.0845 or displaying the Florida Toll Exemption permit, is exempt from parking charges.

@Ret MP My husband is a disabled vet and we have the Florida handicap disabled veteran license plate. Do you happen to know with the Port of Miami Terminal A lot, what is the procedure to obtain free parking? Also, any chance that there other places in downtown Miami that follow the free parking at meters or city owned lots?

I wonder what is their operation schedule, how do they plan so far ahead especially these days? If you think about it, they have such a high personell rotation rate. Isnt it possible that they might just not have anyone serve and control the ship by the time of travel? Just look up how many people have lost their jobs all around the world. Its insane 

This was posted last week... so maybe August 2, 2020???


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I want to book a group cruise for summer 2022 also, but guess I'm ok with later in the year to see if things
have smoothed out any.  Sigh.

It’s more helpful for those in our group to have more time to pay off their cruise, we have budgeter type family members that take cost into consideration before deciding to join a trip. Ports of call also matter — people want to see something new so that’s a factor and curious what routes will be offered and the ships too. Always fun to be on a new ship (not necessarily age wise, but a ship we haven’t been on yet). How many do you think you’ll have in your group?


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Probably A Nov/Dec timeframe like the past few years. But with Covid-19, who knows for sure?

Yes, I think the virus is making everything travel related difficult lol. Hoping to book a group for a cruise in June 2022 and hard to get that process going when you can’t see what the sailings will be. I’m impatient lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Royal Caribbean sailings for the summer months  in 2022 haven’t been posted to their website yet, so I figured COVID-19 is causing a lot of delay in doing so. Anyone know when they might get those sailings up to book?

Hi Bob,

Are you sure the splashaway bay toddler section allows children in swim diapers? Just double checking before I book my cruise w/ hubby and my 1.5 year old (still in swim diapers). RCCL is clueless when you call them, and they won't give me an answer. I have't found anyone say they've used the splashaway bay toddler area with a child in swim diaper. Thanks!! :)

 

 

A very small area allows swim diapers to be worn. If you have toddlers and kids without swim diapers, the splash area they can use is larger. Here's my daughter at 2.5 years old, she was going through potty training when we were on Liberty and we had her use the bathroom before going down to the pool. We also made sure she had her morning bowel movement before pool time too, just to be safe.

 

Thanks for the response! We have a trace bassinet we are thinking of bringing but by 8 months he might be getting a little big for it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Have a wonderful cruise! Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Does anyone have any pictures of cruise lines provided cribs or pack and plays? Just curious what they provided. Haven't decided on a cruise line yet but will most likely be traveling with 8 month old on princess or celebrity. Thanks!!

 

Oh and do they change the bedding the same

Amount as they do the normal beds?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

 

We were on Royal Caribbean. They didn't put any sheets on it because of liability but I took extra sheets and a comforter from my boys room (we had royal family suite) and put it in the pack and play for my 2year old. Since you have an infant, my idea isn't safe for your little one. We used pack and play for her since she hasn't graduated to a toddler bed yet and we didn't want the sofa bed pullout to be in the way. Here's pics of what Royal uses. My cousin next door to us used pack and plays for their 1-year-old twins and they were fine.

 

 

She didn't have any issues at all :) She only took it off while eating and in pictures. I noticed a few people doing a double take, but no one gave her issues. We had a wonderful cruuse! Thank to all who contributed. For anyone in the future, I would have a doctors note even though my cousin didn't.

 

Sent from my VS987 using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

Wonderful! Glad your family had a great time together and wish your cousin good health. [emoji5]

Ours was graco on allure in May. The standard fitted sheet for them worked just right. They put regular sheets in it and folded them under. So we just put our fitted sheet over that so no chance for sheets to come lose. Worked well. We actually brought our own pack and play in case we didn't like theirs and never unpacked.

 

 

Same here several weeks ago on Liberty. But they wouldn't put on sheets. Something about liability for safety reasons with infants and SIDS? We just took the extra set of sheets and a comforter from our boys room and since my daughter is 2.5 years old, she was fine and the pack & play was large enough for her. She's barely 30 lbs but petite.

We heard from ours about a week before via email.

^^^ that exactly. I saw several people on Liberty on our 11/13 sailing wearing masks for their own health.

Super fun watching Allure leaving Cozumel.

 

https://vimeo.com/193218195

We didnt stay for that show. Don't recall where we ended up after that. An Oreo shake once or twice would have been really good BUT with that said I usually got cookies and cream with our free Ben and Jerry's so it wasn't a total loss

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Hey whatever makes you happy on a cruise [emoji16][emoji106] we were tempted a few times passing by Ben & Jerry's but got cones from the Sprinkles kiosk instead. The strawberry from the machine tasted like strawberry chapstick but the chocolate was pretty good. My daughter loved getting those cones every time we went to the pool.

Oreo milkshake? Is this something new in the MDR? Is this something the refreshment package would cover?

 

 

Not sure about it being new. It's on the kids menu and yes, it was included in our drink package as it technically is a bar item. I had the Royal Refreshment package.

We were on the same sailing and agree the person interrupting Bingo right before the Love & Marriage show was rude. Did you stay for the show? That's awesome someone in your group won money!

 

Also it didn't make sense to me either for those that had drink packages why the milkshakes weren't included. Tip though; there is an Oreo cookie milkshake you can get in the MDR with your drink package. My daughter loved it!