ptf2009

What ship(s)?

Stayed there many times. Never had issues with the hotel, rooms or staff. Free airport to hotel shuttle and a very good complementary breakfast. Walking distance to some restaurants and stores for last minute items like wine. We used SAS shuttle service to take us from the Hampton to the Port of Miami.

I will check SAS shuttle also..thanks so much for the info!

Hampton In n Airport/North is another close location. They offer a free airport to their hotel. A few restaurants and stores within walking distance.

Thank you. I figured that since we are arriving so late at night, we needed a hotel close to the airport with a free shuttle to the hotel and then shuttle back to the airport next morning to get the QLS or MJS shuttle to POM.

What about Hampton Airport North Cruise Port on 12th? We arriving after 10:00p.m. and then leaving in the morning on a shuttle to port of Miami. So we will be at the hotel for approx. 12 hours. Or does anyone know of a less expensive, very clean hotel?

We will be sure to follow your review because your pre-cruise review is a lot of fun to read! Your writing skills are excellent and your sense of humor is the best I have read on this site!

Have a wonderful time. We are going on NOS in March, so it will be interesting to hear all about your vacation. We've been to the ABC islands and they are beautiful, especially the clear aqua water! If you like the beach we went to Mambo Beach in Curacao and we can't wait to go back!

Happy Cruising:)

Guest services. But one day one there is a kiosk in the middle of the prominade with one or two people working. I suggest you go there first.

Excuse my ignorance, but what are the WOW bands? I mean what purpose do they serve? After reading your "tips" we are looking so forward to going on HOTS in March! However, we will miss not having a pool in the solarium. We enjoyed going there in the evenings when we had the pool to ourselves! And hottubs are not an option.

Happy cruising!

Anyone advocating someone for diversity training is rather too pc for my taste, and would therefore be on my table exclusion list.;)

Totally agree....Most of us are just sick and tired of always having to be "PC," or we are called terrible names. You can't even simply disagree with someone without being called a name.

So if the elderly woman didn't want to sit with dongos or whatever she called them, that's her prerogative and perhaps her loss. In a way, it's kind of funny. Have you noticed that some elderly people don't have a wide "filter" and just say whatever they want?

UUUGGGHH...we have Harmony booked for Sept. '17, but keep going back and forth if we should switch to Allure (alot less expensive for same cabin type), and Allure has Mama Mia. We have been on Oasis already, so now I'm even more uncertain....My DH told me to just leave it with Harmony since it's the newest, etc. etc..., but I'm the one who does all the research and planning.

We went to Mambo Beach when we cruised last month. It's beautiful and we can't wait to go back when we cruise there in March. The water is wonderful, there is some shopping and an ice cream shop....and Starbucks! Also there is a pool! I think it was a 20 dollar taxi ride....not too far away.

It will probably be very hot in Curacoa, so you will want to find a place to swim! We spent our entire time in the water. Happy Cruising!

One more thing...someone told us that they got the best milkshakes there. When we go in March we will check the ice cream shop there, before or after we go in the water. The water is so beautiful that you won't want to get out!

Which beach has nicer facilities -- Mambo or Pirate Bay? We don't plan to eat in the restaurants but we do want a nice relatively quiet beach with clean restrooms/changing rooms, showers, loungers, and umbrellas for shade. Do both beaches have a pool, or only Mambo beach has a pool? We will cruise into Curacao on a Tuesday in January. Will both beaches be equally crowded? Do both beaches back up to the shopping area that I have seen in pictures?

We have never been to Pirate Bay beach, but we did go to Mambo when we were in Curacao for the first time last month. It was so beautiful, that we are looking forward to going back there in March when we cruise. There is a beautiful pool, some shopping and even a Starbucks! It was soooo hot outside that we put our things down on the beach and spent our entire time there in the beautiful water. Hope you have as much fun as we did!

What is a good, cheap reef safe sunscreen? I have searched and searched and a lot that say they are reef safe aren't actually safe. I am scared about spending so much money on sunscreen only to find out that we can't use it while snorkeling. I did find one on Amazon but it's $30 and that just seems like way too much.

I have a very fair complexion and wear a rash guard t-shirt...always when I am in the water and I am fully protected. They come in really nice colors and some that even match your bathing suit! Also, I buy the drugstore sunscreen...you know the kind that is 2 for 5 dollars for my face, neck, and legs. It works! I am free of sunburn and pain! Hope this info helps.

No rust on balcony. Bathrooms do not look like they have been updated. Windjammer chairs and tables look updated.

What about the MDR chairs? They were in really bad condition on the Oct. 8-16 sailing (last one before refurb). We were on the 5th deck with the cream wood/blue chairs....needed to be replaced.

I can't agree with that, at least they kept much of what makes Royal themselves ,but adding the split middle and aquatheather. I've always said WOW the 4 times I've seen on in person. I've sailed 3 times, but the 4th time was watching Oasis leave Port Everglades from the rocks the day before we boarded Allure. I couldn't help but say WOW.

The interior of the Oasis class ships are beautiful and you feel so special being on them.

Also the solstice class Celebrity ships are gorgeous and very elegant...even the women's bathrooms!!:) They should have been called the Elegant class!

Couldn't agree more. We kept saying we felt like we were on the set of "The Munsters" or the "Addams Family"! :D

It must be the sister ship of Carnival Freedom....so dark and depressing!

Hi all!

 

I don't know how I thought of this topic, but it'd be cool to see your opinions on it. In your opinion, what are some of the ugliest cruise ships?

 

To me, the NCL Epic is hands down the winner. But I'm not a fan of Carnival's Fantasy class.

 

Royal's ships are pretty nice, but if I had to pick one, it would probably be Majesty. I don't like the no balcony look and it looks a little smooshed :D

Thanks for asking...the ugliest shipwe have been on was Carnival's Freedom. It was sooo dark and gloomy on the inside and decorated terribly that all we wanted to do was spend time outside. We have opted out of going on any more Carnival ships.

[ATTACH]398309[/ATTACH] slides look great. All signage is up but they are closed. [ATTACH]398310[/ATTACH]

Thanks for the update info. Please tell me they replaced the chairs and tables in both the Windjammer and the MDRooms....they were in terrible shape when we were on the ship the first week of Oct.

Our couch in the cabin was also blue, so maybe they did change the couches/sofas to orange. Thank goodness they changed the carpeting in the cabins...but how about the bathrooms and all the rust on the balconies?

I could be wrong (my memory isn't what it used to be), but I could swear that I heard on both Liberty and Majesty of the seas that if you're still on board after 9am the last day you're considered a consecutive cruiser.

 

Surely that's an exaggeration, no? I mean there are people who checked luggage who aren't even ALLOWED TO GET IN LINE until 9:45, 10:00, 10:15!

 

If I don't have any checked luggage and don't have a plane to catch, if I sleep in the last morning (i.e. 9, 9:15), take a leisurely shower, sit on the deck and drink a couple cups of coffee before saundering off the ship between, say, 10:30 and 10:45 are they really going to give me trouble?

 

Hope this made sense

DTXCF

You will probably hear a knock on your door by 8:00a.m. "signaling" you to get up and out so that the crew can get your room ready for the next passenger. There really isn't much relaxing on the last day.....sorry.

What kind of upgrades do they do to the staterooms in dry dock?

We just got off AOS. Hopefully they will replace all the chairs in the WJ and in the dining rooms. Also, the balconies need a lot of work to remove the rust. And the bathrooms need updated. Otherwise, it was in pretty good shape...just showed a lot of wear in the common areas. You just can't beat that southern itinerary!

We are booked for Oasis of the Seas and used a TA but have only put down small deposit on 4 cabins. I heave read different threads about using TA. Some say a TA cannot give better deals than the cruiseline but I have read that some people get perks from their TA such as OBC or specialty dining voucher. Would love to know any perks received for those that have used a TA. Mine has not offered anything.

Thanks!

Try looking at different dot.com sites or big box stores' travel sections. You will see OBS and sometimes really good group rates. We've saved lots of money on group rates and additional OBC. Happy cruising!

We will be disembarking our next cruise from the Port of Miami on a Sunday and are trying to figure out if we can make a 12:30 flight out of FLL.

 

We are totally fine doing a self-disembark and jumping into a cab as soon as the ship is cleared.

 

Just want to make sure this is a reasonable planning decision or if there's a lot of risk here.

 

Thanks in advance for any feedback/advice.

We are going to be doing the same thing in March. What transportation service are you going to use? Let me know how it works out.

Why would you keep going there? On our 8-28 sailing it was crowded. We grabbed a drink & left. We never went back.

Same with us....we walked in, got our glass of wine and went to dinner.

oooohhhh...this is not good news...what deck is your cabin? We will be on deck 7 in a couple of weeks. That vibrating really bothers me and keeps me awake at night!

So if there is no Diamond lounge, will we get 6 drink coupons loaded on our sea pass? That is fine with us because the Diamond lounge was always so crowded. We just got our glass of wine and walked out and to dinner we went!

And I'm not willing.

It's not worth it to us either. We have tried all the specialty restaurants and each time they have gotten worse, so we have no desire to pay when you can get a nice meal in the MDR. We aren't "foodies" and we don't go on cruises for the food....but as they say to each his own