alg7334

Does anyone know the cost of an UberX between the port of Miami and Miami International Airport? I have tried several times to do a dummy booking but it will only give me the cost for larger vehicles.... not the X, and I will not need the larger car. Sorry.... i realize I should start a new thread over on the Florida page but thought maybe I'd get a quicker answer here....

The fare estimator online is showing $13-17 for UberX, $25-33 for UberXL and $30-39 for LUX.

I just got off the Carnival Sensation 4 night cruise to Cozumel Thurs 5/19 - Mon 5/23. Highly recommend this short fun itinerary! I wanted to provide some quick info on transportation to and from the FLL airport based on my most recent experience.

My flight landed in FLL on Thursday at about 10:45 a.m. I did not make any arrangements for transportation in advance because I planned to use Uber. As I was walking over to the ground transportation area to get ready to call for an Uber, I saw a small booth that said "Welcome Carnival Guests". I stopped by to ask about the Carnival Transportation. They told me it was $31 one way and would be leaving in a few minutes. It would be an air conditioned bus with no other stops direct to the cruise port. Great! Even better, they said I could charge it to my onboard account by just providing my confirmation number so I didn't have to use any cash or credit card right there. Sold!

All sounded good but a few minutes quickly turned into a 45 minute wait.... The shuttle didn't arrive until 11:30 a.m. My boarding time was 11:30 a.m. and I was meeting friends so I was disappointed I'd miss the boarding photo. It was about a 35 minute drive from the FLL airport to the cruise port. The buses drop off on a little side area and there are luggage handlers right there for you to give your luggage to. As long as you don't mind the transportation being SLOW, it was affordable, safe, convenient and easy. And you didn't need a reservation in advance.

For my return trip, I booked a flight that was cutting it close. My flight was leaving FLL at 10:50 a.m. (boarding time 10:20 a.m.) so it was essential that I was one of the first off the boat. I headed downstairs at 7:30 a.m. to get in line and was about the 20th person in line. I was off the boat and threw customers by about 8:11 a.m. I called an Uber when I got outside, it took 3 minutes for him to arrive and a quick easy 34 minutes from the cruise port to FLL. There is an express lane going that way. The total cost of the fare was $33.37. I was threw security and at a table for breakfast by 9 a.m. This is an even better deal if you have more than 1 person with you because it's so affordable.

Uber is now allowed in the port - I saw previously they were not. I did ask the driver and he said they are all cleared.

Overall I recommend taking Uber instead of Carnival provided transportation, renting a car or a cab. It's quick, easy, affordable, there is always one available and it's safe.

Let me know if you have questions.

I just got off the Carnival Sensation 4 night cruise to Cozumel Thurs 5/19 - Mon 5/23. Highly recommend this short fun itinerary! I wanted to provide some quick info on transportation to and from the FLL airport based on my most recent experience.

My flight landed in FLL on Thursday at about 10:45 a.m. I did not make any arrangements for transportation in advance because I planned to use Uber. As I was walking over to the ground transportation area to get ready to call for an Uber, I saw a small booth that said "Welcome Carnival Guests". I stopped by to ask about the Carnival Transportation. They told me it was $31 one way and would be leaving in a few minutes. It would be an air conditioned bus with no other stops direct to the cruise port. Great! Even better, they said I could charge it to my onboard account by just providing my confirmation number so I didn't have to use any cash or credit card right there. Sold!

All sounded good but a few minutes quickly turned into a 45 minute wait.... The shuttle didn't arrive until 11:30 a.m. My boarding time was 11:30 a.m. and I was meeting friends so I was disappointed I'd miss the boarding photo. It was about a 35 minute drive from the FLL airport to the cruise port. The buses drop off on a little side area and there are luggage handlers right there for you to give your luggage to. As long as you don't mind the transportation being SLOW, it was affordable, safe, convenient and easy. And you didn't need a reservation in advance.

For my return trip, I booked a flight that was cutting it close. My flight was leaving FLL at 10:50 a.m. (boarding time 10:20 a.m.) so it was essential that I was one of the first off the boat. I headed downstairs at 7:30 a.m. to get in line and was about the 20th person in line. I was off the boat and threw customers by about 8:11 a.m. I called an Uber when I got outside, it took 3 minutes for him to arrive and a quick easy 34 minutes from the cruise port to FLL. There is an express lane going that way. The total cost of the fare was $33.37. I was threw security and at a table for breakfast by 9 a.m. This is an even better deal if you have more than 1 person with you because it's so affordable.

Uber is now allowed in the port - I saw previously they were not. I did ask the driver and he said they are all cleared.

Overall I recommend taking Uber instead of Carnival provided transportation, renting a car or a cab. It's quick, easy, affordable, there is always one available and it's safe.

Let me know if you have questions.

Best most thorough review I've read - thank you!

The only thing that would have made this review better is if you showed us a picture of your smiling face in one of the pictures :)

Everyone thank you so much for sharing your feedback about solo cruising!! I feel really excited about it now and much less worried. I think I'm going to book! Thanks again :)

Hi there- I did my first ever cruise last year as a solo on the Breakaway (highly recommended). It was honestly one of the funnest exepriences of my life and I have had some great travel experiences in the past. I wrote a pretty extensive review about my experiences here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1891038. Hope this helps!

Thanks for sharing your great review! It was very helpful!

alg, I'm a 36-year-old single female, just got off my first solo cruise on the Breakaway, and I had a blast! Thanks to the Studio Cabins, I think NCL is doing a much better job catering to solo travelers now. I met people through the daily Solo Travelers meeting, the CC roll call and just hanging out around the ship! I could do my own thing when I wanted to, but also had people I could have dinner and do some of the entertainment stuff with if I wanted to.

 

There were moments I felt a little awkward, but they were few and far between, honestly. Of course, I've always been single, lived alone for 10+ years, moved halfway across the country and back by myself, so I am very comfortable being solo.

 

I really want to write a review of my solo travel experience when my workload allows me enough time!

 

P.S. Another way to "meet" people? Get randomly chosen for the on-board Dancing with the Stars competition that will be rebroadcast on TV over and over again during your cruise ;)

Thank you so much! Your perspective is very helpful :)

What ship are you thinking of booking? I would love to invite you to our Halloween Cruise on the Getaway October 25-November 1st! I'm also cruising solo this year! (First time for me) So I'm anxious as to what I'll be doing. But I have yet to think I'll be lonely! =)

Whatever cruise you decide to sail on, I hope it's a blast and your best vacation, EVER!

This might be a sign!!! I was seriously thinking about that cruise because Halloween is my absolute favorite and my bday is around that time too! I will definitely email you if I end up booking that one! :)

Recently divorced, went on the cruise anyway! I "advertised" on my roll call that I was looking for dinner companions, etc. I wound up joining two different groups for private tours, and hung out with those people for many hours on the cruise. We even won the Quest as a group!

 

I only ate by myself one night in the MDR. If I hadn't already made other plans, I asked to be seated with others when I showed up, and it worked every night except one.

 

I have my next cruise booked for January, and am looking forward to another good solo experience. There is a solo cruising board on CC which will give you some good tips.

 

Delawarealan

Thanks for sharing this information - I'm recently divorced too (still in the process actually) but don't want to give up cruising! This was helpful to hear from you.

Thanks everyone - this is very helpful!

Has anyone done a solo cruise before on any of the NCL ships? If so I'd love to get your thoughts on if you had a great time or if you ended up feeling lonely. Was it easy to make friends or find people to have dinner with?

I'm 30 years old from CT and don't have a special someone right now but love to cruise so I don't want to let the lack of someone to go with stop me from doing something I enjoy! I just worry a bit about being trapped for 7 days if I start to regret the decision once onboard. Would love your candid thoughts.

about how far away from the dolphin area do the observers stand? I want to be sure that my companion who is not doing the swim will still be able to see me well!

There is a huge dock that the participants go down to get to the dolphin area. Regular guests are not allowed down there and it's close enough to watch the interactions but not so close you can see anyone's face. I bet if you asked the people who run the interactions though they'd let your companion stand on the dock near you.

How crowded does Chankanaan get when there are seven ships in port?

I can't say for sure but there were 5 other ships when we were there and it was not crowded.

This is for alg7334 or mitsugirly:

 

What is the depth of the water where the Jesus statue is located? How deep in general is the water for the scuba excursions at Chankanaab?

The statue is about 15 - 20 feet deep. The snuba and intro to dive excursions go about 20 feet deep, no more than that.

We will be swimming..just not snorkeling.. Just wondering if there are other options for just a nice beach? We have been to Nachi & not sure about Mr. Sanchos.. We intend to take our girls there (Chankanaab) when we go back but this time we are w/o kids. Just wondering if it is worth the admit price for us?

It was just my husband and I when we went (no kids) and we thought it was totally worth it. It gave us options - there were more things to do if you want to and if you just want to beach bum, that's ok too!

Are these rates one way or round trip? The rate for the Mayan Ruins is $60. If we take a taxi out there, have the cabbie wait for us, then come back, will it all cost $60 or $120?

Pretty sure it's one way. Also, I read that people really shouldn't try to do the ruins on their own because it can be complicated to get there and difficult to get back to the ship on time. This is the one excursion you really should think about booking through the ship. If you're late, they'll wait for you if you are on a ship excursion (this happened on our cruise 2 weeks ago - the ruins group was 45 minutes late). If you did it on your own and were late they'd leave without you and you'd have to fly to the next port to meet the ship.

I just posted them from 2 weeks ago for a 5 day western Caribbean on the Pearl - see my signature. Hope that helps!

Great review. I read with interest the part where you indicated there were steps for the final trail down to the falls at Santo Limon. When we were there in '06 there were only three spots on the whole trail that had steps. The rest was a treacherous mix of mud, rocks, roots and steep drop-offs. :eek: The trek down was tricky, at best. The trek back up was downright scary, and thoroughly exhausting. Really glad to know that it has improved so much.

Yikes! Sounds scary!!

Thank you so much for your thorough review. We will likely end up there. I would like to try the Snuba since I love to snorkel.

Snuba is great! I did it in Bermdua and loved it. I highly recommend giving it a try! :)

How easy would it be to go around on an electric scooter? My father in law has some mobility issues..

I think he would be ok. The animal encounter area and sea lion show are on a boardwalk near the pool. There are ramps. The replica area is a dirt path but very flat and clean of rocks and such, so he should be ok there. The beach would probably be the only place he'd have trouble.

@alg7334 Quick point of clarification: is what you're calling the "Lagoon" the same as the "Inlet Swimming Area" on the map as opposed to the pond-like area labeled as "Chankanaab Lagoon" on the map?

Good catch! I am probably confusing the two. There was another pond-like body of water that no one was in - I think that was probably the lagoon and was just to look at. Sorry for the confusion!!

If you're going for the dolphins, at least you know it includes your admission to the rest of the park. :D Have a great time.

Mitsugirly - you inspired me to write this review! I couldn't find anything on Chankanaab until I came across your review and it was because of your detail that I decided to go. So thank you for helping me find such a wonderful place to spend the day!!!

P.S. Also I'm sure you noticed, I borrowed a picture of food from you..... hope you don't mind! I ordered the mexican plate based on your recommendation but forgot to take a picture. :D

I was on NCL so we docked at the main pier Punta Langosta, right in the center of town. That is a bit further from the Carnival and Royal piers so there would be price different of a few bucks.

Thank you. I was seeing if it would be cheaper for me to book Dolphin Discovery on my own. This helps!

 

And the rate is a flat rate based on the number of people. For example' date=' if a destination cost $12 for 1-4 people, that's the total fare and it can be split if 2-4 people were in the cab, right?[/quote']

 

Dolphin Discovery will definitely be cheaper on your own! Yes it's a flat rate based on the number of people in your party.