CruiserBruce

Every night with have 5 to 7 entrees...a beef, a chicken or a pork, or both, a pasta, a seafood, frequently 2, a vegetarian dish, maybe one other. The menus don't lean much...they tend to take a "one of each of these categories " path. As to craft beers, they can offer a local beer or 4 or 5 if the ship is in any area for a while. But cans or bottles. Rarely on tap.

Check visitlauderdale.com. It lists all the FLL hotels with their amenities, like shuttles. As discussed here frequently, it is recommended to not worry too much about shuttles. Taxis and Ubers are plentiful, and the distances are fairly short, so not expensive.

Knowing where you are flying to would be required to give you a solid answer. If you are flying to the US, you need to clear US Immigration and Customs, which can take extra time. I would want to be in the airport well before 8am if flying to the US.

4 adults and 5 bags will likely require a van or SUV taxi, which may require waiting for the next to arrive. If you split into two taxis, I doubt there will be much, if any wait.

Yes...other than potentially dragging bags. We did it with carry ons, very easy. Its less than a 3 block walk from the station to the hotel.

I understand your initial reservation was booked far in advance. Even pre-Covid, trying to book in June for this summer was not easy.

It would be an Immigration issue, not Customs. If you do a search on this board, the West Coast Departures board, or the Canada (Pacific) board, you will find various threads on the topic. The "won't get off the ship" solution for this and visa requirements sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Typically the country gets passenger lists in advance, and requires the cruise line refuse boarding to anyone that doesn't meet entry rules. I don't think a criminal background check is part of the situation, tho.

Music Walk is only on the Pinnacle class ships.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Might it rain in November? Definitely. The Canal is in a tropical rain forest, and requires a lot of water to make the locks work. So rain is a definite possibility. Would I avoid November? Absolutely not. We have seen brief showers, and heavy downpours that lasted an hour or two. The transit is an 8 to 10 hour process....very unlikely rain would impact much of your transit. One of the number one questions here is "what side of the ship?" Doesn't matter. With the exception of being in the Canal, most sailing will be far from land, and mostly at night. When approaching a port, there will usually be land on both sides of the ship.

That is up to the Captain. Either side of the ship can be to the dock. The view on both sides can be interesting in SF and Victoria. Seattle has pretty nice views if at Pier 66, not so much at Pier 91. Never been to Astoria.

You will be too far from the coast to see anything other than a faint smudge on the horizon, the vast majority of the time. By the way, southbound, port side faces land.

It can vary every year. That is why I tend to Google search for the historic averages, and can adapt up or down a reasonable number of degrees. Better than anecdotal info.

The mentions here have said only the traveler pays for HIA. The solo doesn't pay two HIA costs.

I thought the daily specials were going away with this remodel of the menu.

Seas can be rough any where, any time. Its not like one can say "at this location, or at this time, it is NEVER rough". If you have an issue with motion, you need to be prepared every time you are on a ship.

She could have her hair done on the ship.

You will have no problem making the 1:45 flight. If I were going to take the 9:45 flight the next day, we have done a full day tour (Rome in Limo), ending at the Hilton FCO, which is attached to the airport, as you will want to be at the airport shortly after 7am.

Take a look at Google Maps...there are a good number of restaurants in the area. Can't answer on the shopping mall.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! There are a number. Who have you cruised with in the past?

That doesn't sound like an overnight in port. If you were sailing, the casino would open.

@kangforpres states they experienced one. Not sure if it was a unplanned overnight stop or not. I think I heard a charter did it once.

And an overnight at HMC is more rare than casinos open in port!

Monsters? I was interested...not so much now!!😃😀😄

The hotel sounds high because HAL frequently charges per person for what is typically charged for two people. Hard to equate that additional money to the transfers. MANY hotels in the US offer breakfast as included in room rate, although definitely not all. Far higher percentage offer breakfast in other countries.

If it opens, it will open pretty quickly...usually less than 30 minutes.