Ronsangel

Robyn, this has been such a great live thread...I have been reading along each day, pretending I was there with you, instead of here in frozen, snowy Ontario! Quick question ... I know you love the Freedom, and can tell by your past cruises that you love the Adventure as well. DH and I are planning a December cruise, and I'm thinking Adventure for some new ports (never been Southern). If you had to choose between Freedom or Adventure...which is your preference? With flight costs to San Juan, I'm thinking we might need to do a B2B ;) That might tip the scalesfor me right there...lol. Any challenges flying into/out of SJ? Anything we should be aware of? I can tell from your review that we have similar cruising styles, so I would appreciate your thoughts!

DH and I are looking at an Alaskan cruise for May or June 2015 and have just stumbled on a great deal from Celebrity. This would be our first Celebrity cruise (previously cruise on RCI, Carnival and Princess) and to be honest, I don't know much about their ships. There are offerings on the Millennium, Solstice and Infinity. Any Celebrity pros have recommendations on the best ship to look at? Also, not certain on the best itinerary for the true "Alaska" experience. Hoping to see as many animals as possible! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you :)

Stingray Sailings with Captain Chip gets our vote. Great company...personal service...they know their stuff! I can't swim and we had high and wavy water the day we went out. Chip made sure he had his eye on me the entire day, and helped me get back into the boat without killing myself. He's a true gentleman.

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We're just off the ship this morning. The yellow vests were for crew drills that were taking place. They were unloading life rafts (the ones in the tubes) and loading new ones, which is why we were docked the other way. Didn't see any USCG inspectors, and customs was normal...long, but normal.

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Awesome - thank you! I see you can buy tickets ahead of time. Any need to do that, or should we just wait and buy on board? Not sure how busy the service is?

And any recommendations for dinner near the DoubleTree our first evening? We will have been traveling all day, so we'll be hungry :)

Those are all great updates...DH and I are traveling on her in 2 weeks! Where is your cabin located? We're 7th deck balcony on the hump. Can't wait to explore the ship! I was wondering about grabbing water at the same time as drinks, so I appreciate your update! Thanks!

Have a great trip!!!!!!

Great - thanks for the suggestions! Is there a water taxi stop right on/near Las Olas?

Hi everyone,

We're 2 weeks away from our cruise, and will be coming into FL a couple of days early to enjoy some time there. We're staying at the DoubleTree Gallery One (thanks to all for that suggestion), and are thinking about spending Friday using the water taxi service, since we have a stop right at our hotel.

My question - which stop(s) should we be sure to get off at? We like browsing shops, good food and interesting surroundings. I'm looking forward to just seeing and exploring FL.

Being Canadian, chain restaurants in the US make us happy since we don't get to them often, so dinner Friday night will likely be at PF Chang's in the mall, but we'll need a Friday lunch spot on the water taxi route, as well as a Thursday dinner spot close to the hotel as we won't get there until around 7pm.

Appreciate any suggestions!

Not sure if RCI is the same, but last year on the Carnival Glory there was an announcement about needing O positive, and that the donor needed to have a valid 'blood donor card'. Within minutes, a dozen people were lined up. They took the first three back to donate, and took names and cabin numbers from the others just in case they needed them. Also, they indicated that you needed to not have had an alcoholic drink in the previous two hours.

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I thought I read that Starbucks drinks weren't included? Glad to hear they are!!

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Thanks for the suggestions all! We will have a full day in FLL the Friday before our cruise as well, and had planned on the water taxi as a thing to do and way to get around. We're staying at the Doubletree Gallery One, so it's nice and convenient. I like the idea of just cabbing down to Las Olas when we get back, as I'm sure we won't spend a ton of time there on the Friday. Didn't realize everything was so close!

DH and I are travelling on the Oasis May 10-17. We have just been advised by our airline that our return flight home has been bumped back to 3:30pm. Any thoughts on what we can do from the time we get off the ship until it's time to be at the airport? We will be using Luggage Valet, so we'll only have our carry-ons with us. I know RCI has excursions you can take, but I've heard they're often cancelled. Anyone had that experience? Thanks!

We stayed there a year ago for our Freedom cruise. It was gross. The room we were in was stinky and your shoes stuck to the floor when you walked. There was paint peeling everywhere, the bathroom fixtures were rusty....certainly didn't live up to the Trip Advisor reviews. Because we arrived late and were only there overnight, we didn't ask for another room, so don't know if they're all like that. The area at night seemed sketchy, and we were advised we might want to drive across to the Publix instead of walking. The police caution tape around a balcony at the hotel across from us might have had something to do with that. It's a shame because it's in a BEAUTIFUL location right next to the pier, but it's just not up what we were expecting from the reviews.

Just our experience.

Still following and loving this review. We are sailing on the Oasis on may 10th, and I cannot get enough information on her! Keep it coming...every detail is exciting to me! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience with all of us :)

Great - thanks. I was starting to worry that I used the wrong website!

Since a few people have mentioned tips on how to identify hotels on LMT...I'm confused...when I went into the website, it told me all the hotels. I didn't need to figure anything out. Is that because I joined the club? (For free BTW)

I definitely trust fellow Ontarians more than anyone ;)

Did you like the hotel D&N? Trip Advisor has some mixed reviews, so I always worry...

Thank you all for your feedback! I have just booked the Doubletree Gallery One for less than half the price on their website. Now to start researching things to do in the area (while pretending that I won't just be shopping at the mall!). I will call the hotel in a few days to ensure they have my reservation. Cruise critic members are the BEST travel advisors!

I'm just learning about the Last Minute Travel website, and wondering if anyone here has a) used them and/or b) had any trouble with them?

Their price for the Doubletree Gallery One (and every other hotel I'm looking at) is substantially lower than the hotel sites and even MVP. I'm a bit of a worrier, so just concerned that they may be too good to be true, or that we'll get attitude or the crappiest room from the hotel because we booked through a third party.

Any thoughts?

Hello there. Just noticed you are from London, Ontario. We have good friends from Glencoe, which I believe is not too far from you. Also noticed that you were on the Glory last year, and we were too. We had a great time on the Glory but are also really looking forward to our ocean view balcony on the Oasis, and this review is helping me pass the time until then. :)

Hi CruzCrazy - yes, Glencoe is very close to us. Small world :) Have you been up here to visit? We were on the Glory last summer. It was our first Carnival cruise after being told for years that we wouldn't enjoy it by friends and travel agents. It was low cost and driveable for us (9 hours to Boston port which we were willing to do), so we thought we'd give it a try. We had a great time! Prefer RC just a little more, but would certainly cruise with them again. We're 72 days away from our balcony...this review is really helping me feel prepared! Enjoy your cruise!! :)

I'm following too!! DH and I are traveling on the Oasis May 10....so excited. We booked an oceanview balcony because we love staring at the water for hours and were afraid we wouldn't see it much otherwise with all the activities we will be doing!! Can't wait to read the rest of your awesome review! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us :)

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions! Out of curiosity...since we're Canadian, we actually enjoy doing some 'mall shopping' while we're in the US (trust me, the difference in prices and selection makes it worth it!). I'm looking at the Galleria Mall, and the Gallery One Doubletree hotel with interest. Any thoughts on this option? Does it take us too far from the action of Ft Lauderdale? We love PF Chang's, so the idea of chain restaurants being the options available does not bother us.

nhraformula00 - maybe our paths will cross on the giant ship :) Have you signed up for the Meet and Mingle? Ever been on the Oasis before? This will be a first for us!

Hi everyone,

My husband and I will be travelling to FLL May 8, arriving around 5pm in preparation for our May 10 cruise on the Oasis. Any suggestions on things to do the evening of the 8th and all day on the 9th? We do enjoy shopping, eating, walking along the waterfront/beach, seeing the sites. I know there are several threads on here for FLL, but I've confused myself looking through all the posts!

Also happy to have suggestions on a hotel in a good central location to activities (requisites: nice, clean, safe....$150-$250/night range)....and any favorite restaurants you may have.

Thank you in advance for advice and help. This will be our first time spending any time in FLL.