Florissouri

C: None of the above.

I would choose LaQuinta Inn - FLL Airport using the Promo Code: H O M E D L (without the spaces) for a significant discount.

I would easily spend more than $58 to avoid sitting on a bus for 30 hours! :eek:

You'd spend $58 just on food for two days.

Just think how much the Amtrak fare would be if it wasn't subsidized by the Federal Government.

I get $9.95/day for FLL to LAX at end of April & no drop off charge, not sure where you are booking to, but it works for other cities too. Try the links here: http://www.rentalcodes.com/oneway.html .

The rates for same dates are like $196/day using carrentals.com.

That's the post Spring Break program I spoke of above in which the rates are dirt cheap as long as you drop the car outside of Florida and from one corporate owned facility to another.

The problem is that program is only in effect for rentals starting the Monday after Easter to about June 1st, but is cut off as soon as they meet their quota of cars.

I would bring back plank walking and hand Carnivalphobics a map.

Would you make Arnie Donnie walk the plank?

If you were CEO would you live in St Louis?

1. Really get out there and publicize the changes that have happened post-Triumph. So many potential cruisers have an "anyone but Carnival" mentality because of the sound bites they have heard on the news a year ago. Carnival has invested in hundreds of millions in new equipment and has a new CEO, so they should use that to devise a very clever PR strategy to address the lingering aftertaste of the media circus from last year.

I don't think Carnival really wants to publicize all of the changes such as suspending retirement benefits for crew members in order to cut costs.

And I don't think this is very clever PR...

Donald also disputed a CNN report regarding the Triumph and called a lawsuit by passengers against the company "frivolous."

What "you people" should experience is the crepe station on NCL ships. They will make you a crepe with your choice of fillings and toppings. They make making a fresh crepe look easy while you watch.

I'd definitely consider an increase in fare to bring back some of what has been lost.

 

One thing would be for darn sure. No ship would have a faded "funship funnel" (cough-Victory-cough). Your company's icon should not have dull/faded paint.

 

I'd consider a Fantasy Class ship to sail from San Juan to Dominica, Grenada, Antigua, Martinique, etc... Where Valor doesn't go.

What "you people" don't understand about modern day cruising is it's not about cruising. It's about ancillary revenues from gambling, alcohol, gift shops, excursions and those terribly annoying photographers. It's like Las Vegas where they draw people with entertainment, cheap buffets and low price hotel rooms so they can get gamblers.

People here often shoot me down for saying I like the "napoleons" served on the buffet. They are better than the Bitter and Blanc and Warm Chocolate Melting cake! :p

Warm chocolate melting cake is like crack. I've been know to not pay the rent so I can take another cruise to get some.

I would appoint myself as the hotel director of ice cream and all problems would be solved. :D

I'm sorry, but Hotel Director is a very important position on a cruise ship and you have to actually know how to assemble a Taylor Soft Serve Ice Cream machine and instruct others on its proper use. ;)

You've captured it! I've been trying to pin down how to describe the cheesecake on all ships we've sailed. Jello-No-Bake exactly!

A better description of cheesecake on cruise ships would be "No Cheese Cheesecake" because Jello No-Bake Cheesecake actually has texture to it.

I would hire teams of cruise "mystery shoppers" and have each ship in the fleet "shopped" once a month, more if needed, to evaluate the Carnival product from the perspective of the guest to ensure product quality fleet-wide.

 

And yes, I am available to volunteer! ;)

In order to do that, though, you actually have to live near a port. You couldn't live in say St Louis and make that work.

Anyway...You take San Diego and I'll volunteer for Ft Lauderdale.

I would enjoy living in South Florida so I could set aside a few hours each week to walk onto a ship in port unannounced and have lunch at the buffet on Lido Deck.

This would give me an opportunity to chat with guests and employees to ask where they're from and what they like or dislike about cruising on Carnival.

I would schedule not only occasional staff meetings onboard the ships, but Board of Directors meetings as well in the unused conference rooms. I've heard they even have caterers in house.

Then I would stroll over to Swirls and see how good the soft serve ice cream is.

Has anybody else noticed this? They look great, but, are tasteless. Am I grabbing the wrong desserts from the buffet? Is this just a European (or somewhere else) thing? Maybe I eat way too many Milky Ways...lol.

No, it's hard to find a desert that tastes as good as it looks on a cruise ship. You would think something like Mango Moose Cake will burst with flavor, but it's a bland as it can be. Jello No-Bake Cheesecake is better than what passes for cheesecake on a cruise ship.

what does h o m e d l stand for?

s a v i n g s.

Pig Patty or Pig Party? :rolleyes:

When it comes to a variety of hot vegetables either on the buffet or in the MDR Carnival is horrible. If she likes cold salads she'll be OK, but whoever writes the menus at Carnival must hate vegetables.

We plan on renting a car post cruise from PE to Myrtle Beach,SC.Which company that allows one way rental out of state, is closest to the port. Thanks

What month?

Just about all rental car companies in Florida offer dirt cheap rates, unlimited miles and no drop charge if you drop the car outside the state of Florida after Spring Break is over for rentals starting the day after Easter and running up to June 1st or so. You'll need to book it in advance because once they get enough bookings to reduce the surplus of cars they shut it off.

Our ship sails on St Patricks day. With a name like Kelleys Landing we thought it might be a festive place for dinner on the 16 th. Any opinions for a fun reasonable place? Thought we would have happy hour and watch the ships sail first then go there for dinner. The menu looks great. Something for everyone.

Kelly's Landing is a seafood restaurant, not an Irish Pub. Instead you might go to Waxy O'Connor's Irish Pub across 17th Street from the Embassy Suites.

There's not much of anything immediately around the Crowne Plaza other than Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza and Lester's Diner about 1/3 of a mile west on Highway 84 (Marina Mile). You'd be better off to get over to 17th Street as BH has suggested. It's a little bit of a hike even on S. Miami, so you might walk over to that area and then take a taxi back.

Their port shuttle used to be $8 per person, but a taxi from there is only $12-$15.

You might also check the 2 BR/2 BA Trio next door at Hyatt House. They have a sleeper sofa in the parlor and a full size kitchen.

Nice place, good breakfast and decent location across Stirling Road from Oakwood Plaza Mall where you will find a number of restaurants and a K-Mart that has a good selection of popular wines.

HA! Just used the last one I had to book a cruise for Feb. Guess I'll call my Diamond Desk, and see if they will give me the double OBC. (I'm not holding my breath for that, but you never know?) ;)

 

"SKY"

Hey...We should get other tuba players together that cruise and have a "Cruisin' Tuba Christmas!"

http://www.tubachristmas.com/

The discussion was about the Hilton at the airport -- that is being closed and demolished as part of the runway expansion project. Earlier poster (ibfishing2) initially confused it with the Hilton Marina.

Who's on first?

We stayed at the Hilton in September. I also was concerned because of the mixed reviews.

We reserved a room with a view of the intercostal waterway. We did have difficulty getting what we reserved, but we insisted. They showed us 3 rooms before a wonderful Bellman "Joel" came to our rescue and we found the perfect room. The customer service at check-in was not a very nice experience, but once Joel entered the picture, everything was great.

The hotel was nice and we noted no problems that other posters stated that they had and we stayed there for 2 nights. We didn't eat there, so we have no idea about the food.

You're confusing the Hilton Marina with the Hilton FLL Airport. The OP is asking about the Hilton Airport.

Are you talking about before or after your cruise? Either March 30th or April 1st is the last day the Hilton will be open before it is demolished.