flashdog_1

If you are using the cash back feature you can do it online.

You need to set up a checking acct into which your $ will be

transferred. I redeemed 25,000 for $250 cash.

 

The website is somewhat cumbersome and it took me a while because

I kept getting into a loop - but once it got over it's snit, it was pretty

painless.

 

I've decided the way to go is to abandon the certificate approach

like in the old days and just pay w/ my NCL M/C and get double

points, then just have the cash back issued. Since you can only

redeem one each of the certificate levels, this has no limit and I don't

have to deal with any (okay, as many) inept people this way (just me!)

 

Happy charging!

ga

Thanks for the tip. I'd been dreading trying to find the right person to convert my points into OBC, but it was easy as pie to get a $250 bank transfer. Now let's see if my bank charges for it!

I have not been in a regular inside so can't make a good comparison, but we had a sideways inside on Dawn, near the aft elevator. It was convenient to the Versaille down the staircase, and the spa, up the staircase. But the room itself is small (I think the regular inside is also very small, though). I didn't feel there was enough closet space at the end of the "hall" in front of the bathroom. The bath in ours was plenty big, nice glass door to the shower.

I'd read here that some people felt there was more room to walk in the sideways inside. There were only 2 of us, and we slept in the single beds on opposite walls. There is a trundle bed under one bed, so suitcases could only be put under one bed. With the trundle up there'd be wall to wall beds. The 4th person would sleep in a pullman. Pretty tight!

There is no chair. There is a little stool only. Since they've now removed the coffee pot you will have a tiny bit more room on the "desk/vanity."

It is impossible for one person to access the closet if the bathroom door is open while the other person is going back and forth getting ready.

I'd certainly consider staying on the ship for Nassau, & the private Bahama islands. Walking thru the security area at Nassau is a nightmare I do not care to repeat. However, I did not see the other side of the island, nor Atlantis, so I will try those before I give up, just gritting my teeth getting out of the pier area.

When you are looking at excursions, whether ship ones or private ones, don't you sometimes have a hard time choosing between two or three? Next time in that port, do the excursion you haven't done.

Not so with me.

My documents for two upcoming cruises say:

BA upgraded from BG for PofA this week (there was a price drop), this one booked thru an online agency, using Latitudes/regional discount.

and

BA upgraded from BC for Dawn Canada/N.E. next year (this was using 4 of those BofA credit card 100 point thingys) booked directly with NCL using military and Latitudes discounts.

People looking for an alternate card to the NCL World Points one might want to get the one Chase is now offering thru Priority Club (Intercontinental hotels are giving 30,000 points. That's Holiday Inn & HI Express, Indigo, Candlewood Stes, Crown Plaza, Staybridge Stes) Get the card and get your night before the next cruise free, if you're interested. You just have to use the card once (no specified amount), and in 6-8 weeks you'll be credited with the points and then you can book your free hotel night(s).

I use a travel agent to book my cruise. I want it that way; I know there are plenty of folk who do not.

 

My travel agent does not know how to get me 2 points for every dollar spent that is part of the credit card deal. She said no one at her large agency knows. They called NCL and NCL did not know how I could book through an agent and get 2 points for every dollar.

 

I called NCL myself. They said that there is nothing that they can do and that I should call NCL.

 

Does anyone know where I can get an answer.

If you spend $ at NCL your points are automatically doubled. The payment you make for your downpayment, any other payment, and final payment should show as going to NCL NOT to your travel agency. (That is a warning indicator if it is showing a charge to your travel agency. That is how those couple of agencies in New Jersey absconded with cruise funds just before they went out of business, leaving the cruisers with no reservations since payment had not been made. Just be careful. More than likely your travel agent will do it the right way and make the charge to NCL and wait for NCL to pay her the commission)

If you use your NCL card while on board, all your charges will be to NCL and therefore be doubled (shore excursions, specialty restaurants, service fees, drinks, bingo, spa etc).

The brochure I got in snail mail says "book a cruise before may 31" and get double the usual double points. Small print says anything that says NCL will get the points. I am not booking a new cruise, but have one scheduled, and wanted to pay $1250 on it to get 5000 points (for $50 obc). Sound right, or do you think there really is a stipulation on this for new cruise bookings only? Thanks.

Add this to my list of things I just do not get.

 

* Having medical procedure done while in the middle of the ocean

* Having teeth whitening done while at sea - dangers, limited eating afterwards?

 

Just me, but I just don't get some of this stuff.

I'll comment for the heck of it. When I was still working, I'd try to get as many things done on vacation that I would have a hard time doing while on the 9 to 5 office routine. Sounds crazy, but I'd have my oil changed and tires rotated while I shopped in Hilton Head! I was taking advantage of having time and no pressure to do even errands.

Likewise, on a cruise, where time sort of stands still (like retirement where every day is Saturday and you no longer wear a watch for the most part) you may decide to do something that you would not take the time to do at home because it would take so much scheduling to do so.

I had my teeth whitened on Celebrity Mercury last Labor Day and am very glad I did. My 50th high school reunion was a month after we got home, and I was pleased with the results. No pain, no nothing, just white teeth 7th shades lighter than when I went in. I was not restricted in my eating. She only said to remember that anything that would stain your tee shirt if it splashed on it would also stain your teeth.

I tried acupuncture on Mercury, as well, and was very pleased. No rush. Plenty of time to discuss conditions. I did acupuncture again on NCL Dawn, too. Had a massage on the beach in Samana' Dominican Republic.

I'm trying to tell you guys that I take risks.

But Botox? I don't think so. Do you guys know Botox is poison? And even under a board certified dermatologist in his own office near the hospital, disfigurements occur. Like others have said, if you had an adverse reaction, there you would be out in the middle of the ocean. Please just be sure you have good travel insurance that covers repatriation if you decide to do it!

I've never done it. Is it like with dying your hair where you do a strand test and wait two days to see if you have a reaction? Do they stick you in a spot where the sun don't shine to test it before they actually do it?

Parrothead, are you still with this discussion. Tell us what they did to find out if you might be prone to react. Thanks, Mary.

My electronic bingo game was free, but my hot pink binglicious tee shirt cost $100.

I think that is what I am going to have to do.....call NCL. I've tried several searches with different dates and they are all putting us in a suite. I didn't know that if I called in that maybe they can override it? The youngest still sleeps in a playpen.

 

We were really interested in Majesty because it sails out of our home port but it didn't even offer a suite on that one. Just got a "no go" type of error message.

 

Thanks for your help!

If Majesty is what you are looking for, the above quote helps you:

N. Majesty

All quad staterooms can hold a rollaway to accommodate a 5th guest

(except CC-719, G-840)

Look for the symbols on the deck plan that show which are quads. The problem with Majesty is that her cabins are very small. Check the square footage as you look at cabins before you jump on a 108 sq ft cabin for 5. There'd be no where for the crib. We had a 145 sq ft cabin with a pullman for a 3rd pax. It was a CC. Perhaps some of them hold 4. I suppose there would have been room for a crib if it would roll so you could move it out of the way. I'd think it would need to be removed each day and put up each night.

The world points system that Celebrity uses usually gets me at least $50 on board credit just when I pay for the cruise. I think it is going to be the same for NCL, right? Double points for anything spent on NCL. So if your cruise costs $1500 you have 3000 points. Then book your airfare and hotel and your usual automatic charges (like utilities etc) have the 5000 points for an OBC. Comes in increments of $50, so you can do $100, 150, 200 etc.

I wish the couple hundred points I'll have at the end of the year could be used that way, since an upgrade ONE category isn't very good use of $100 credit. I'd rather have OBC.

If it's affordable, go with a Sky Suite on Sports Deck (Deck 12). We had 5 Sky Suites this past April on the Century (1210, 1212, 1218, 1220, and 1230) and they were wonderful! The balconies were absolutely HUGE!. And having a butler was very nice. The location of the Sky Suites was perfect.

 

Go for it!

But SS 1200 and 1201 (the first cabin from midship) balconies are NOT the huge ones. Only 67 sq ft. Two loungers opened out give you no feet room to stand. I made that mistake. Got all excited that I'd gotten a deck 12 Sky Suite. But it was a disappointment to see that our cabin, from the hall was recessed with a turn in the hall way. Since something had to go, it was the size of the balcony. We peeked over the railing to see what our next door neighbor had, and it was the huge one. Sniff.

10 days before departure

Majesty to Bermuda April 19, 2008

Cat F to Cat CC both obstructed outside cabins

$25 per person

Took it

Have never sailed with NCL but was dismayed by the small cabin (108 sq ft) for cat F, so we are very pleased to get a cabin with a fridge and 37 more square feet at the aft of the ship where we can walk out our door to the deck, up a set of stairs to food on deck 10, or down the stairs one deck to a shady or sunny lounging area on deck 8. There are no balconies on this ship so this is the very best we can do short of being offered a suite.

can you still put your membership # for the hotel and get points?

LIkewise, if you book airfare, can you put your airline # and get skymiles? Thanks

It may or maynot be the recipe from Sun, but it sounds good, doesn't it?

I used to live in Spain and we put "Casera's gaseosa limon" in it. (like sprite). It's basically "wine ade with fruit."

We were at a French owned restaurant one Saturday after market day and ordered a pitcher of sangria. I guess they didn't know how to make it and they put an anis flavored liqueur in it. We sent it back !

and you will hear personal experiences. There is currently one up near the top on the NCL board about Majesty. This poster stayed in the Marriott Downtown. They left their car there during the cruise and hopped the shuttle to the historic distric coming and going, although they had to wait half an hour for the pick up at the pier.

That hotel was not available for my pre-cruise stay, so I booked at the Courtyard Charleston Downtown/Riverview which is 2 miles from the port. They have a shuttle ($6) to the historic distric so I'm hoping they will take me on to the pier, too. Says free parking, so I'm hoping that will be for the duration, as well. We've left the car at another Courtyard, in Tampa.

I began to wonder if it is the size of the HAL ships (as well as those of RCI who I understand are also starting to experiment with their own brand of "as you wish dining") and number of passengers carried that make this a more difficult transition than I read about on the Regent & Oceana boards where they seem to have no complaints. But then, they knew what they were getting when they booked, didn't they? ha

If this is going to be the trend of cruising (when they actually work it out so that some people can have traditional dining and others the freedom to take their chances, or spend all their time making reservations which may or may not be honored), I thought to myself, "perhaps I should try the most experienced in this business." So i booked a couple of NCL cruises. I may laugh all the way to the travel agency after the first one, to cancel and rebook the second one.

On land, if I have failed to make a dinner reservation because I was too busy shopping or whatever, I take my chances when I go to a restaurant. If I see a long line I either decide to go somewhere else if I'm too hungry, or wait it out if I know the food is great where the long line is. Would this be so on a ship? We're rather captive there, though.

But it is comforting to know, from what I've read here, that you usually do not have to wait for a table if you dine before 7 p.m.

Personally, I think part of the cruise experience is getting to know some new people if you didn't come aboard with friends you already know. This would include your table mates and servers in traditional dining. I like meeting new people, so that's part of my expectation.

I'd like to know if anyone traveling without friends under these experimental dining venues has had a less than satisfying experience in the realm of getting to know new people. Thanks

I saw a tour to Playa Blanca on the Casa Rosada site.. Has anyone done this straight from the ship?

If you or anyone else is interested in doing this, just contact Javier Putul, the owner, thru the website and he will arrange something for you. I think the tours & prices he has listed on his website are for guests staying at the hotel. Timewise he'd have to make adjustments for cruise ship passengers, and the cost would much more since he'd have to make two round trips from Livingston to Santo Tomas, 25 minutes each way. I know that he plans on updating the website with a section for cruise passengers, but that hasn't happened yet.

You may have read my postings from earlier in the year but I'll repeat them here.

If you want the experience of seeing the town of Santo Tomas and its church built in the 1600s, a very short trip to Puerto Barrios and seeing that town, you can get a taxi there at the pier for $10 round trip, and the driver (ours was Romeo) will let you out at the municipal pier there and you can take a launcha to Livingston (and he WILL be back to pick you up at the designated time!). Our launcha and tour was arranged by Hotel Casa Rosada in Livingston. Their website is hotelcasarosada.com. You can reach the owner by email thru the website or at javier.putul@gmail.com. Javier picked us up in his covered boat (photo on the website) and after the 25 minute boat ride to Livingston, served us coffee while others freshened up. We placed our lunch orders, then we embarked on the Rio Dulce.

I love to say that I thought I'd found paradise! Wild exotic birds were calling to one another in the hotel gardens. The photo on Gus's website showing his pier is taken from Hotel Casa Rosada's garden. They are next door to one another. Locals were transporting themselves in canoes, fishing for their suppers etc. Absolute peace. We had plenty of time to walk around Livingston. It was pretty hot in mid March so none of us wanted to venture far.

Like on Gus's tour, we went to a school, and various rivers. It was just gorgeous. I am glad i did it and got to see the three towns, eat Guatemalan food (Tapado is my recommendation for authenticity) and have a smaller group of 6 total. The boat would have held more but we liked to spread out. The cost is about the same, just add the cab fare.

I was on Veendam and we were in port one more hour than Sun, so adjustments to either Gus's or javier's tours would be made to accommodate the difference in time.

P.S. it was about $44 each for 6. Would have been $40 if we'd had 7 or more. Lunch was $10. Beers sold individually.

Prices may have increased a little due to price hikes in gasoline.

http://www.belize.com/articles/puerto-barrios-guatemala.html

I've been back from our cruise for a month and still am looking up info on the area. We only drove straight from the S. Tomas pier to the P. Barrios pier so did not see any of the hotels, or much commerce that is there.

This website article gives a little history of the port there, which used to be exclusively for the United Fruit Co. until the earthquake of '76.

RoperDK - Dawn, It's not way too far to go from Rocky Point to MacDill AFB. It's not very hard either. In fact, a lot of service men stay at the Sailport Resort on Rocky Point. I think the military has some special rates for them or something. Our office is next door, and some of our people have stayed at Sailport too. Not a luxury place by no means, but not a bad place either. We have saw the Blue Angles and Thunderbirds staying there before. I've seen USAF buses picking up people there to take them down to the base. Ken

We had pre-booked at Sailport and saw a gazillion men and women in uniform, many of whom were checking in when we were, so there was a little wait.

Sailport is a time share place that also rents suites. It was about the same price as the other places that allow you to park during your cruise. However, they DO NOT provide a shuttle to the pier as we'd been told on th phone.

They do have a nice continental breakfast. Hint: bring a plate from your room since there are only napkins at the buffet. They had various sweet rolls, English muffins, bagels, cream cheese, jellies, butter or margarine and coffee. There was also a coffee maker in the room with complementary packets of coffee for it.

All suites have a water view and balcony, which is great for us smokers traveling with family/friends who do not smoke. Got to watch the sun set from the balcony.

It said it had free Showtime on tv but we didn't ever find it.

The ground floor is all for opn air, but covered, parking, and rooms are on the floors above, as is the office. There is a single elevator.

There is a notice "do not feed the birds." Well, a gull stayed on top of the balcony light the first night and left his signature on the carpet below. He was gone in the morning, however.

There is a full kitchen, utensils, dish washer and soap for it, but no paper towels. We took a couple of cans of soup with us and heated them in bowls in the microwave.

There are a couple of restaurants within walking distance, and a couple more across hwy 60 to the other side of Rocky Point.

We selected this area because it seemed a safe place, and was.

We did not use the pool or beach or barbeque area, but they are there. The grounds are pretty.

The bedroom was small, living room with pullout sofa with connecting kitchen adequate. It was clean but a little older on the inside than it looked on the outside. Each suite had an internet connection (free) if you brought your laptop.

There was a very small "ship's store" where you could buy snacks, bottled water, sodas etc.

As it turned out we had to spend another night in Tampa and they were full, so went to Courtyard Marriott Westshore on Cyprus which was nice, and near lots of restaurants. The cab fare from the pier to CY Marriot was $15, plus tip, and not much traffic to get there on a Saturday morning. They gave free parking while on the cruise, same price as Sailport but no free transportation to the port. They did have free shuttle to the airport, only a few minutes away.

We were on the first floor with a patio that was by the pool, indoor hot tub, & exercise room. They have a restaurant but it is only for breakfast. We did not us it, so can't comment. They had one computer for free internet service, a fridge with ice, ice maker down the hall.

The other hotel the travel insurance offered for the same price was Residency Suites.

SANTO TOMAS

Prior to the cruise I could not find a HAL excursion that I wanted, so had contacted various hotels in Livingston to see if one could be arranged. As it turned out, by sailing day, there was a very similar shore excursion offered, but I'd already made my arrangements independently for a ride down the Rio Dulce and lunch in Livingston, with a little walk around town.

Our group met, disembarked together at 8 a.m., and met a couple of English speaking guides on the dock, one who had lived in the states when he was 8 years old, and the other had spent 20 years in NY (GUS). They both knew our Livingston contact (told us to tell him "hi" for them), so they were not trying to sell us tours but were helpful in any way they could be. The young one wanted to practice speaking English. His was perfect but said it was difficult pulling it out of his memory.

There was a large "warehouse" type building filled with vendors. Apparently the custom is to ask a high price and for the buyer to refuse, offering a lower price etc. until an agreement could be made. I'd taught my group to say, "demasiado" (too much) or to exclaim, "tanto!" (so much!) to get the bargaining going. Our dinner mates said they said nothing, and were just trying to decide on a color, when the vendor dropped the price by 50%. So that's a word to the wise. Don't pay the asking price.

There was a steel drum group playing. We were given little 2" Guatemalan dolls. We did not tarry since we wanted to make the most of our one day in port.

There were some interesting and unusual "facts" I will now offer. There were six of us but we could not get a van unless we booked one of the shore excursions there at the pier. So we booked two taxis. The asking price was $130 per person round trip. I spoke up that we'd been told we could do it for $10 per person!! So that's what we paid. Off we went.

When I say, "we booked" what I mean is that inside the pier facilities you will get a licensed driver as opposed to walking outside the pier where someone may offer you a ride for a set fee. You will also be able to negotiate in English inside the facilities.

I was going to walk outside, but I could not see how far away it was, or if in fact there were any cabs there, so it just seemed simpler to do it there, be safe with a licensed driver, and not have to walk to search for a lower price outside the gates. Security was very good at the pier, and I saw that we'd have had to walk a distance to leave the pier to find a cheaper rate.

Our Livingston guide had told us what other people he had taken on tours had paid ($10 each) and that it might be even cheaper outside the pier gates. He also had told me that the previous tourists had paid AFTER the round trip, but we paid before. We set a time to meet, and he was there at 3:30 p.m. as promised. So we were back on the ship before 4 p.m.

Our taxi driver spoke very little English and was relieved that I spoke Spanish, so we went back and forth if we could not understand each other. Romeo was going to school 2 hours every week night and said it was slow learning. He showed us his school, the hospital etc, and at my request took us by the 400 year old mission church in town so we could take photos, and then to the port in Puerto Barrios where we met our Livingston guide. We had occasion to ask if the missionaries had actually destroyed the Mayan religion. The answer everywhere we went was that it had not been destroyed, even if everyone had become Christian.

He drove very slowly so we saw some of the "life" in town. Streets were very wide, but very few cars were on the road. No one seemed to know there should be "lanes" for driving. In other words, all the cars were simply where they wanted to be, whether the middle or to the right side of the road. Or perhaps they were avoiding pot holes.

It was very tropical, humid, and poor by US standards, but no beggars. We did see one juggler (on our return trip) at an intersection who stopped by each car to collect his tariff. I'd spent every single dollar I had, so told him, "no tengo dinero" at which point he gave me a large coin. I'd read that this was a custom! I gave it to Romeo.

It was pouring rain, (but no thunder and lightning) and one of our members did not have a poncho. He asked me to ask the attendant at the dock if she had them to sell. She did not, and said the store across the street had them, but that store was closed. She did come out with a thin black garbage bag for him (price $1!) and helped him fit into it. Several of the women went across the street to find "servicios" (don't say banos because a bano is where you bathe). There was a charge there, as well. Originally they wanted a dollar per person but the women convinced her to take a dollar for 3.

The municipal pier was tiny, accommodating perhaps half a dozen private boats and the ferry. No one approached us to try to sell us anything.

PUERTO BARRIOS TO LIVINGSTON, GUATEMALA.

Our guide for the day was Javier Putul, a native Mayan who owns the Hotel Casa Rosada with his Belgian wife. We waited until there was a break in the weather before heading out for a half hour bumpy trip across Amatique Bay to Livingston. There were no sissies in our group of 6 which ranged in age from 29 to 65. This was a real expedition! I suppose we could have canceled and paid the 33% penalty for doing so, but we hoped the weather would improve (it did). We laughed as we held up the tarps Javier had provided. Even Javier was laughing. Imagine, laughing tourists instead of complaining ones! Thank goodness we had cushioned seats which helped with the jarring of the boat meeting the sea at high speed.

Even in the rain the scenery was nice. 90% of the trip we were close to land, but it always felt as if we were on the open seas. There was a canopy on the launcha but it could not protect all passengers equally.

We stopped at the waterfront hotel to place our lunch orders (1 lobster & 5 tapados. Tapado is a local dish made from coconut milk, plantains, fish and shell fish. My bowl contained a whole crab, 6 shrimp, 2 mussels and half a fried local fish. It was delicious and messy! It was served with coconut bread, a first course of salad with their own salad dressing, and key lime pie for dessert. I had made sure that purified water was used to clean the vegetables and to make ice. We all tried the local beer) and look around a bit, waiting for the weather to clear. And clear it did. It was beautiful weather the entire time on the Rio Dulce. We drank Guatemalan coffee, as well.

The dining room was open air, overlooking the Caribbean, with exotic birds chirping. There were lovely gardens, Mayan designed, hand painted chairs and tables. I chose this particular hotel to deal with because it seemed so authentic and because i felt I had a personal contact with javier rather than another hotel trying to sell me something. javier wanted to give us what we wanted. We could have gone to a more Americanized resort for our tour and lunch, but we wanted something Guatemalan, and we got it. Javier was born in Livingston and was totally familiar with the area, and gave us what we were looking for. For those of you who may not know, Livingston is accessible only by boat. No roads lead there.

We went thru the canyons, up close to the limestone walls with hanging vines, to the hot spring with clear water to see the bottom, which was rocks (it is not a volcanic hot spring, but one created from moving plates?), bird island where there were a gazillion birds in flocks, to El Golfete, stopping at a school, Ak Tenamet and lagoons with lilies. We saw tiny frogs (smaller than a woman's pinky nail), termite nests, many herons and cormorants. No alligators, jaguars or Quetzales (the state bird after whom the currency is named) who reside in the mountains.

The area is pristine. I thought I'd found paradise. The water appears green because of the reflection off the vegetation on the walls of the canyon. There were people getting about in dugout canoes, some just crossing the river to visit friends, and others fishing for dinner or to sell.

After lunch Javier walked us to town on the main street. It was very Caribbean in feeling. The street was paved, with a concrete storm drain on both sides of the street. Flowers in every doorway. Every other house was a store or bar of some kind, with the family's living place behind it. Most people were of Mayan descent. I saw no negroid Garifunas except one beautiful woman waiting for the ferry in Puerto Barrios. Other cruise people did see many Garifunas, however in the restaurants and bars where they went. We saw only a handful of visitors, mostly Europeans and "capitalistas" meaning people from the capital, Guatemala City.

We will be at Sailport pre-cruise this coming Friday. I think the room will be ready by the time we arrive, since we are driving from Alabama and won't arrive until after 3 p.m. I just wanted a place with a view, that was safe, and it was a plus to have a separate bedroom from the living room. I told my daughter it would be like a time share. Sometimes you get a great time share, modern and new, but sometimes it's an old one that is like a 50s house, serviceable, but different from the way you live at home. That's how I'm expecting Sailport to be! Now i just hope they don't find a way to reneig on the parking!

Phyllis - FlashDog 1:

You should read my review of Sailport posted on February 19th bere staying there. We were not pleased at all. Good Luck

I just read your review. I called the "resort" today to make sure everything was in order. When I booked with hotels dot com in January I had 3 criteria: free breakfast, free parking during the cruise and free shuttle transportation to the port.

We kept getting different rates on my computer, on the hotels dot com agent's computer, and on her supervisor's computer, so the agent called the hotel, spoke to the manager to get the final word before I booked. In looking at my notes it says "free shuttle to port between 7-10 a.m. but have to take a taxi back to the resort after the cruise.

Well, today they said there is no note by my reservation indicating I'd get a free shuttle. I called hotels dot com today and they called the resort. The reservations man, Charles, said they USED to have a shuttle, but it was never free (there was always a surcharge), and that the only free shuttles were for people who booked packages just for that.

Now I don't really expect to be able to get a free ride, but it's disappointing, isn't it, when you're told one thing, confirming it with the manager, and then 6 weeks later they act as if the service never existed. Said they'd call me a cab!~

It's rather late now to change to another hotel, but I'm tempted. I just don't want to put myself thru the hassle the week of the cruise.

Our cruise is Saturday 3/11 and we plan to arrive in Tampa on Friday. I think if I leave home at 6 a.m. I can make it there by 3:30 p.m.

Will I be early enough to get thru town to Sailport Waterfront Suites, 2506 Rocky Point Drive 33607 before rush hour?

I know it is a quiet area. That's one of the reason I picked it, figuring it would be safe. I've read there are only 2 restaurants in the vecinity, but since there's a kitchen in each unit, we can always cook.

The resort has shuttle service to something called the port (but not the cruise port). Is this something worth doing that afternoon? Thanks