Mark_T

Perfect description, we left our hotel in Brickell at about 10:35, and we were in the Top Sail lounge by 11:05. Already met Pepe as he whisked us from the lounge area straight onboard. Yes, he is everything he has been described to be, this is going to be a great cruise. Pepe handed us over to Elvin, our Butler from our previous cruise on Divina and he took us through to security in the ship. No waiting at any stage, perfect onboarding experience.

Not sure if this applies in your case, but what they look at is not just your bid, but what they can get for the cabin you are in, so it is the value of the whole chain not just your bid.

If you watch the video I linked you’ll see the white tents, use those as reference points. Not sure if you can get directly to the one that seems to be located closer to the bow end of the ship, but they are the easiest guides to look for. If you look around the 5 min point it looks like your taxi should be able to get you close.

We will get to the terminal a little before 11am I expect. It looks like Divina got there on time today (terminal C confirmed), so hopefully no delays getting people off and zeroed out.

…you are not alone… fortunately breakfast service started at 6am here so we will go down soon for that, and then repack where necessary to get ready to leave later this morning. We ate from a local Cuban restaurant last night, the ambiance was a bit lacking so we brought it back to our room, but the food was great.

As Jamie has said, don’t worry, it only has 3 questions and 2 of them only matter if you say yes to the first one, so it will only take a few seconds to complete when you get there if it is needed.

I’ve done that walk a few times and I’d swear it is well over 15 miles 🙂 … it is one of the reasons I always avoid connecting flights thru Miami. I was amazed at the short walk we had with our international flight as I’ve only ever flown to Miami from Dallas before. Glad the hotel was ready though as that must have been a relief after the airport…

Welcome to Miami! It is a great weekend, warm with a little breeze.

Hope your flight tomorrow is as smooth as ours was today. Currently relaxing in our hotel after an obligatory visit to a nearby Publix for a sub 🙂

Sounds like almost everything that could delay you, did… Hope it calms down from here onwards. We had a smooth flight from the UK today, left on time and had a comfortable flight on Virgin Atlantic in Premium Economy. We actually landed almost an hour early and bags were out reasonably quickly. Used the MIA Mover and MetroRail to get to Brickell. Can’t beat paying $2.25 each in total, and with our hotel less than 100yds from the station it made a lot of sense.

Yes, but only once you are onboard. Even with a package you cannot make specific reservations for a date/time before you board. The MDR is automatic, you do not need to request it. Depending on which experience you book you will either be assigned a sitting or you will have access to anytime dining. There is an alcohol-free package available which includes soda, but not a specific soda package. You will be able to purchase that once you have made your reservation. If you are booking Bella then your cabin can be assigned anywhere from almost immediately onwards ,there are no fixed time periods for this.... You will usually begin to receive invitations to bid after you've made your final payment. Buffet is open for all meal times and also has a limited late service up to 1am. You can get breakfast in the MDR every day, not just sea days.

Packing almost complete, flying Virgin Atlantic to Miami in the morning, looking forward to a change in the weather 🙂

YC looks to be sold out as well. Just putting last few things in bags then we head to the airport in the morning. ... next stop, Miami... 🙂

If you want a preview, take look at this video, it shows the whole process of boarding in YC at Terminal C... Don't let anyone take your luggage before you get to the white YC tents as they will get special tags applied there to ensure rapid delivery.

We really should do something similar, but our standard travel load is 2 x checked bags typically around 40lb and one or two carry-on depending on need. Shorter trips we cut down to just the one checked bag.

Yes, that was a change from the original itinerary. I think we will be OK as the port schedule is showing this for Tuesday: Not so sure about Horizon Unless both are out of action to allow for the repairs...

That is true for today, but on our cruise next week Carnival Horizon is due to arrive the same day, an hour ahead of us... Guess we will have to wait and see for now...

Looks like Divina is due to dock at Ocho Rios tomorrow on her current cruise so we will get an early indication of how they are handling the damage to the dock...

It will be interesting to see what difference there are between the European and US versions of the YC menus. In Europe at least, we had food that easily matched if not exceeded Luminae, especially the steak. ... but as ever these things can be variable from ship to ship and cruise to cruise...

Thanks for the 'heads-up' Jim, like Jamie, if we have to miss a port on this itinerary, this is the one we'd miss the least, but hope it gets sorted quickly if only for the sake of the locals who depend on the tourism.

That's exactly how we ended up in YC on Divina last June, and then booked this cruise while we were onboard. First few people we met in the YC were also recent converts from Celebrity, so there is something of a trend there... Been looking forward to this cruise since then, so we'll see you onboard in a few days...

Time to get your thread going so we can move the YC stuff over there and let Jamie continue without the distractions 🙂 I would offer, but I think 3 live threads will be a bit too much for one cruise... @JamieLogical soon as you've settled in and picked a preferred bar, let us know so we can meet up if you want. Hope the rest of your preparations go to plan and we look forward to seeing you both onboard.

For a cruise that is always my preferred option, especially with somewhere like Venice as I can't think of any other route where I've had quite so many delays, diversions and just plain interesting landings 🙂

Are there any workable flights to other airports close to Marghera? I worked in Mestre for a couple of years and regularly commuted from Heathrow, while Marco Polo was the preferred airport, it often suffered from fog, so many times I would land elsewhere in the area.

I am waiting with interest to see if the room service pizza selection has been changed for the US based departures. Typically Italians do not put pepperoni on pizza but they do normally have these two options... TOSCANA - Tomato, mozzarella, sausage and pecorino cheese shavings added after the cooking CALABRESE - Tomato, mozzarella, spicy salami, sweet peppers Just to add to the confusion, peperoni (only one 'p') translates as 'bell peppers' in Italian 🙂