BrnBrok

We have sailed Royal and Princess a number of times. We found all of our cruises to be a great experience. Of course, opinions are just that. I enjoyed my food experiences both in the main dining rooms and in the specialty restaurants. Hope you enjoy your cruise whichever line you choose to sail on.

I agree that Captain Johnny was lots of fun. We saw him around lots and he was engaging and friendly. First time I had seen a captain riding his motorcycle onboard. I believe that he is on Harmony at this time. I do like Captains with a sense of humor to go along with their other Captain skills.

Thanks to all for your responses, I will pass along the comments and will particularly mention Sea Puffers to him.:)

A friend of mine has significant medical lung problems. He thinks that there might be a cruise line that is designed to support people with these issues. Does anyone know of such a cruise line?

We have sailed the Grandeur of the Seas for the past 3 years. Sea days were cold going down (at least 2 days) and on return. No major movement issues as we are hardy seafarers. Though we have heard from others that winter travel can be an issue. And on one of our trips we had to delay boarding as the ship coming in to Baltimore came in late due to weather. There is no way to predict the weather here or elsewhere, but would agree that fall is generally a great season in the area.

Thinking about a family cruise in August 2018. Deciding between the NCL Escape and RCCL Anthem. Would like to know what hotels in NJ or Staten Island that offer a Stay, Park and Sail Package. And any ideas for transportation to either of the cruise ship locations (Port Liberty/Bayonne and Pier 88(?) in Manhattan.

We have sailed several times on Grandeur from Baltimore and have used a scooter. The scooter was rented from Special Needs At Sea and was there when we got to our cabin. Our standard ocean view room on deck 4 was quite small. The cruise worked out because we kept the scooter in a boardroom on the same floor(recharged nightly) or in a small bar area. Each time we talked with ship staff to make sure it was ok to leave the scooter. Generally the Centrum area on 4 emptied out by 11pm in the evening so leaving it was not a problem. As others mentioned if you can get an accessible room that would give you the most room.

Thanks to all for your quick response. I too prefer docking at a pier rather than tendering. I thought that was a thing of the past on RCCL. I will use the tools suggested to look at the schedule for Dec 2017 as I make my plans.

On a December 9th Sailing of the Grandeur I wanted to know what pier does the ship dock at. That will help me plan my beach day.

Starting my early planning for an upcoming cruise in December 2017. Does anyone know where Grandeur of The Seas docks in St. Thomas?

We were last in Aruba many years ago. At that time we decided to take a bus from the nearby cruise terminal. Not sure if we went to Eagle Beach or not, but it was close and we were in a clean modern bus. That experience was fine, but our later explorations to the town of San Nicholas was a whole other story. We rode a much older school-bus. We made many stops as locals used it to head in that direction. In the end we did not hang out in this town as contrary to the mention in the guidebooks of the time was not the sight of a boutique experience. Not having been back to Aruba since that trip I can't speak about current travel experiences.

We echo the comments about Cosol. The tour delivered all that it promised and the cost was reasonable. We did this about 10 years ago and found the experience was wonderful and well-organized. We too had YellowBird as our driver/guide. He was great! One highlight was going to a beach resort near the Pitons and enjoying our calm swim. Another benefit was having such a large group (about 10 vans full) we had a definite sense of safety and security.

From the responses so far it looks like our family can enjoy our limited time in San Juan. It was particularly helpful to find out that the Allure would dock near Old San Juan. I thought that we might have to get off at the Pan American Pier. That would have placed us further away from the things we wanted to see. The grandkids were looking forward to seeing the fort. Now we can walk downhill to our ship. Thanks for the help!

We will be in San Juan, I believe, on August 10 visiting on the Allure of the Seas. Does anyone know which pier that will be? My plan for our family group is take a cab to El Morro, tour the fort, and walk down through Old San Juan(shopping, food, etc), and find a cab back to ship. One thing ship does get in (expected) at 7am and depart at 2pm. Does this sound possible?

Service always Excellent. I usually order a NY Strip Steak (medium rare). My favorite appetizer is the shrimp cocktail. We share severals sides for the table. I can't recall the dessert, but chocolate something rings a bell. Only had one poor experience at Chops and that was focused on the steak not being up to par. I should have mentioned it, but instead ate what we were served. That was my mistake as I am sure our waiter would have corrected this. Hope to go to Chops this summer. This time we will be a group of 18-to 20.

It depends. If you dock at the piers that are right at the bottom of Old San Juan it is possible. Another suggestion in take a taxi to the highest and probably furthest point El Morro. Tour the fort and walk down. If your ship docks across the bay than you may have to use taxi.

My experience with the free taxi was that I never was able to catch one, but maybe I'm just too impatient. Of course at a higher cost you can take a ships excursion. Finally you have to factor in the amount of time, for example during the summer the Allure of the Seas gets in early in the morning but is gone at 2pm.

To all thank you for your suv taxi suggestion. Glad that the cost is for all the folks going in each taxi. Hopefully they will hold about 4 each plus our usually large amount of luggage. So now the only issue is with the ship docking at 6:15 am and plane departing at 11:45am that we have lots of time to get through airport security once we conquer customs at the ship

Our RCCL cruise on Allure of the Seas ends on a Sunday with arrival scheduled for 6:15 am in Port Everglades. Our flight home on Southwest is scheduled for 11:45 am. Any advice about taking a taxi, a ship transfer or private limo for our group of 12 with lots of luggage?

Have used the valet service several times. It has worked well each time. We were docking in Fort Lauderdale and going to FLL. I am hoping that with an 11:45 am flight out of FLL that we can use it again. So far love this service!

I stayed at the Renaissance twice. Room nice and quiet. Easy to get to Port Everglades--we used a third party shuttle. Lots of restaurants nearby both very casual and others a little nicer. Went to Total Wine to pickup our small supply of wines not too far away. 2nd stay was similar, but check-in went on forever and then room took many hours to get ready. Friends stayed at the Hilton Marina and they enjoyed their stay. I believe their hotel stay was a bit less costly.

A number of years ago we were faced with a choice in Rome either take a ship shore excursion or a private tour. We chose the private tour with Rome In Limo. The two couples shared a brand new and clean Mercedes SUV. Our driver knew all of the best ways to see Rome, to find parking and get us to out-of-the-way places. In one day we saw about twice as much as the ship shore excursion would cover. We walked into the coliseum with tickets that he got in advance. We were given a choice of lunch stops and asked for a casual Italian meal. So we dined at a small place within the Vatican area where we were the only tourists. While Vincenzo was not a licensed guide within the sites we chose to see, he was very knowledgable about his city. And we could have added a guide at additional cost, but we chose not to do this.

There was no way that we could have seen as much, added in stops and gotten personal attention if we did not use this company. We got back to our ship in plenty of time. I do not remember the cost which was fairly high, but it was well worth it. Had we been 3 couples we would have benefitted from a lower overall cost.

Saw that you got several comments about St. Lucia and Cosol. Though this was more than a few years ago our experience was outstanding. The beach and the sights were great. Also had a chance to sample local foods and still remember the fresh bread. Relaxing at beach near the Pitons is still among my great memories. Also I felt more comfortable as there were at least 10 vans on our trip with drivers galore. We were not left to small group with possible safety issues. All went well!

Stayed there for a one night stay before a cruise. Room was clean, and beds comfortable. Location was excellent for casual restaurants and fast-food places. Could walk to a large wine store in a nearby shopping center. Breakfast was included and while not fancy was good and filling. I think the only thing that it might not have is a swimming pool. You could check further about that. Price at the time we stayed was at the low end of our price range for the 17th Street area. We would stay again.

Thanks for the suggestions about going from FLL to Miami Hotel with our friends and of course lots of luggage

Two to Three couples will be staying at a Miami hotel this November. We are looking for advice about transportation from FLL(Fort Lauderdale) to Miami. Our plan is to come a day or two ahead of boarding the Celebrity Eclipse. We are likely to have lots of luggage. Suggestions about ride-sharing as well as private vehicle would be appreciated.