lucywestie

Because of medical issues my wife has to have a very high protein diet, i.e. approx. 80 grams a day. Thats an awful lot of chicken and eggs etc. She takes a protein drink that packs a huge wallop of protein and assists her.

Are you allowed to take such items on board? Would she need a letter from her doctor stating its a medical necessity etc?

Many thanks

For some background: We have cruised twice (or is it 4 times) in the last 9 years. A back to back on the Serenade from Alaska to San Diego and then the Sapphire Princess on the same route.

As they say, go big or go home, so we are sailing on the Navigator 11 night cruise over Christmas/New Years this year. I spent 5 weeks in the Cayman Islands courtesy of the military nearly 30 years ago but that is the extent of my Caribbean experience.

So what can we expect on such a cruise? Weather wise will it be cooler than normal, currency on the various islands we visit etc. Its going to be a whole new experience for us and I expect it to lead to more frequent cruising for us if it meets our needs.

What are our needs I hear you ask. Well they are simple, a cold beer or three and maybe a fancy cocktail now and then. Not foodies as long as I can still get a decent steak in Chops.

I know there is a ton of experience with Caribbean cruising on this forum so maybe people can chime in with what we have to look forward to.

Hi there Tigercat. We will be doing a similar drive in December from Ontario down to Miami.

I don't know about the tolls there but when we were in Richmond,Virginia a couple of years ago I accidentally drove through the camera recording toll gates rather than the actual physical gates where you pay cash. The next day I called the company that manages the toll booths as I didnt want to get stuck with a $500 fine for going the wrong way. I gave them my credit card info and about 3 months later a 76 cents charge appeared on my bill.

For a U.S. state to send you a bill I think they would have to have a reciprocal agreement with Canada to have access to your plate info. From what I know its only the U.S. states along our border that have that agreement. So I'm not exactly sure how they would be able to bill you. Then again, Florida has a high concentration of Canadians throughout the winter months so maybe they do have such an agreement.'

http://www.floridasturnpike.com/tools_paytoll.cfm

And after typing all that I went to the website and it looks like they also have pay as you go tolls along with the passes. So you should be ok

Found this company while searching out parking ideas for our 11 day holiday cruise. Nice looking website, good parking rates ($7.50 a day v $20 at POM) plus free shuttle to the cruise port. Claims they have fenced, gated and security patrolled parking.

Just wondering if anybody has ever used it and what they thought. I have posted this on the Ports forum as well but figured I would put it on the RCI as we are cruising on the Navigator in December.

Pete

Found this company while searching out parking ideas for our 11 day holiday cruise. Nice looking website, good parking rates ($7.50 a day v $20 at POM) plus free shuttle to the cruise port. Claims they have fenced, gated and security patrolled parking.

Just wondering if anybody has ever used it and what they thought.

We have done two RCI cruises before but that was 9 years ago and we didn't have a vehicle with us. This time around we are driving down from Canada and probably planning to park at the Port of Miami.

So saying that, I have been on Google Maps and "driven" the roads around the port but it seems a bit of a confusing mess. So on the morning of our cruise, how do I know where to go to park for our cruise, how do I locate our cruise terminal, will it be signposted etc?

Many thanks

We are doing an almost similar cruise to you and more or less around the same dates. I got some good recommendations on this West Coast forum. I ended up contacting a few hotels but the one that was the most pleasant to deal with and got back to me with good info was The Blue Horizon on Robson Street.

I actually ended up phoning them with a question and they offered me a room for $149 using a CAA/AAA rate. I was initially enquiring about a law enforcement rate.

What really swung it for us was also the fact that the Hop on Hop off trolley tour bus has a stop right outside the hotel which means we have ease of access to do some touring on the one day we have in Vancouver.

I was advised its about $15 taxi fare to Canada Place from there so Im not complaining. Its a Boutique hotel so not part of a big chain but if you filter through the chaff on review websites like Tripadvisor it gets good solid reviews from frequent posters/travellers.

I also posted a question about it on Tripadvisor and got good recommendations from Vancouver residents and tourists to that part of the country.

Its not $100 but Vancouver like alot of major cities in Canada is a pretty pricey place to stay and compared to a lot of the more fancier hotels its a pretty good rate.

Pete

Hi there from a sunny pre-Autumn Ontario. We will be in Vancouver next Autumn [yes, I know, thinking way to far ahead right now], but I was wondering what hotels are close enough to the Cruise ship port area that provide quick and easy access either by taxi or walking, and, are reasonably priced [in the $150 per night range]

Im not familar with Vancouver though my wife lived right at the northern tip of the island for years.

Cheers

Pete

We had lunch at The Twisted Fish restaurant which is right at the pier when the Serenade docked last September. Amazing fish and chips [and thats from someone who grew up in the UK] Prices are a bit higher but i think that is the same for all of Alaska. Nice restaurant though, very clean, lots of seating, and it was very very good food

Pete

Oops, my review is now up on the board if interested

pete

I just sent a review through to the site mediators? for our first cruise on the Serenade. Hopefully I was indepth enough with info about food/services/entertainment etc to cover anything you might need. Not sure how long it takes to get the review up on the board but keep checking back

Pete