Mitsugirly needs help picking a cruise!

[mitsugirly]

I was just checking Southwest to see if there were any changes in prices, and they opened up a lot of flights and the prices aren't too bad. Might want to check them out.

 

I was able to switch to an earlier flight on our way down, and come home a day earlier and got a $184.00 credit. :)

 

 

OH MY GOSH!!! YOU ARE AN ANGEL!! I was able to find flights that had opened up (and much cheaper now-about 1/2 price) and booked our flights to FLL. :D

 

Everything seemed to fall into place yesterday. We got a notice from SW that we now qualify for the "Companion Pass", which means that my hubby will fly as my companion all next year FOR FREE! Also, we have so many points on our SW card that we will actually probably be flying for free (all of us) using points...for good. :eek:

 

So, we booked all 3 of us to FLL, the munchkin and I used our points and all we had to pay was the mandatory 911 fee thingy-ma-bob that they enforce now and it only cost $16.80 for our tickets there...AND, it's a non-stop flight. WOO HOO...WINNING! :p

 

Now I just gotta find a flight back and it looks like the only thing available for the day we come back is a 9pm non-stop flight. Hmmm. What the heck would I do the entire day waiting for a 9pm flight? :eek: I wonder if any other flights are going to open up for that date.

 

 

This is funny that I have our flight booked and don't even have the cruise booked yet. My planning was just thrown out the door! I'm losing my mind.

 

 

Once again....THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LOOKING OUT FOR ME! You guys on here are the best! :)

[carib1]

Your Welcome!

 

Don't forget you can always book that late flight and hope that an earlier one opens up, no change fees!!!:D

[anewmac]

I Vote BREEZE... only because I would love to cruise with you and we are doing that cruise at that exact time.

 

I was going to mention flying in or out of Orlando. We did that on our return last year and it saved us a TON. The rental car was only $20 for a one way from Miami to Orlando too.

 

Im still searching for flights too.

 

Cant wait to hear what you choose.. pick the breeze, pick the breeze LOL

[smyliecruising]

I vote Breeze as it looks fun for children! I want to take mine on that ship someday. Food chooses are awesome too.

[mitsugirly]

I Vote BREEZE... only because I would love to cruise with you and we are doing that cruise at that exact time.

 

I was going to mention flying in or out of Orlando. We did that on our return last year and it saved us a TON. The rental car was only $20 for a one way from Miami to Orlando too.

 

Im still searching for flights too.

 

Cant wait to hear what you choose.. pick the breeze, pick the breeze LOL

 

 

I have picked the Breeze. :D I have booked my flights :eek:...just gotta book the actual cruise now, but I have purchased all my gift cards and paid for them. So basically cruise and flights are paid for, but ship not booked yet. YIKES! LOL (I'm waiting to hear back from my TA to book). :cool: I'll be on the cruise!

[funinthesun1964]

Air Tran is dead, R.I.P.[emoji26] Well, technically it "merged" with Southwest, but what truly happened was that Southwest sold all of Air Tran's Boeing 717's to Delta, discontinued service to several cities, downsized others, forced a bunch of employees to either "relocate" or lose their job, and in the meantime, fares went up thanks to the reduced capacity in many markets. Here in Atlanta a lot of people despise Southwest because they dismantled Air Tran and, while Southwest has a big presence here, it's more expensive because of the reduced destinations and number of flights.

 

Not meaning to go off course on thread, but just wanted to say that I really do miss Air Tran out of CAK. This airport is five minutes from my house and no long lines or hassles to get through. Love it! Air Tran did have very reasonable prices a few years ago. We were lucky to find reasonably priced fares on Southwest for our Feb. cruise to Ft. Lauderdale...which makes me happy.

 

The return flight, however, we chose Allegiant. :eek: A little worried there as I hear they sometimes cancel at the last minute. If all goes well though, it is a direct flight and we will be home mid afternoon. Wish us luck!

[mitsugirly]

Not meaning to go off course on thread, but just wanted to say that I really do miss Air Tran out of CAK. This airport is five minutes from my house and no long lines or hassles to get through. Love it! Air Tran did have very reasonable prices a few years ago. We were lucky to find reasonably priced fares on Southwest for our Feb. cruise to Ft. Lauderdale...which makes me happy.

 

The return flight, however, we chose Allegiant. :eek: A little worried there as I hear they sometimes cancel at the last minute. If all goes well though, it is a direct flight and we will be home mid afternoon. Wish us luck!

 

I have yet to fly with Allegiant. Every time I check them out, I think "wow, look at those low prices" and think I'll give them a try. Then I get worried after hearing about the cancellations they do and bad experiences. I'm pretty easy going myself and think the flight itself would be fine and I could deal with it, but if they canceled...YIKES!

 

We got lucky this time around and Southwest approved us for the "Companion pass" and my husband will be flying everywhere for free and we have a SW Business card that racks up the points (enough to keep the SW Companion) probably for life. I think we will all be flying free for good with this card. I feel like we just hit the jackpot. :D

[funinthesun1964]

I have yet to fly with Allegiant. Every time I check them out, I think "wow, look at those low prices" and think I'll give them a try. Then I get worried after hearing about the cancellations they do and bad experiences. I'm pretty easy going myself and think the flight itself would be fine and I could deal with it, but if they canceled...YIKES!

 

We got lucky this time around and Southwest approved us for the "Companion pass" and my husband will be flying everywhere for free and we have a SW Business card that racks up the points (enough to keep the SW Companion) probably for life. I think we will all be flying free for good with this card. I feel like we just hit the jackpot. :D

 

I'm a bit nervous myself with the Allegiant flight, but then I thought....if they cancel, we will be stuck in Ft. Lauderdale in February rather than coming back to Ohio, how bad could it be? LOL! Our trip insurance would kick in and get us back home, maybe not until the next day, but I don't think I would mind!

 

The business card thing sounds like a great deal. Did you have to do anything special to be approved for the companion pass? Or would it be approved normally? I think I'm going to have to check into that!

[Jamman54]

I have picked the Breeze. :D I have booked my flights :eek:...just gotta book the actual cruise now, but I have purchased all my gift cards and paid for them. So basically cruise and flights are paid for, but ship not booked yet. YIKES! LOL (I'm waiting to hear back from my TA to book). :cool: I'll be on the cruise!

 

GREAT choice!! We approve!!! :D Time for you to get your folders and spreadsheets in order!!! :D

[mitsugirly]

I'm a bit nervous myself with the Allegiant flight, but then I thought....if they cancel, we will be stuck in Ft. Lauderdale in February rather than coming back to Ohio, how bad could it be? LOL! Our trip insurance would kick in and get us back home, maybe not until the next day, but I don't think I would mind!

 

The business card thing sounds like a great deal. Did you have to do anything special to be approved for the companion pass? Or would it be approved normally? I think I'm going to have to check into that!

 

 

Yea, I wouldn't mind being "stuck" in FLL instead of coming back to cold Ohio either. Actually, we just might have to do this anyhow since there's only 1 flight available for the day we return (at 9:40pm that night). I'm debating if I want to take that flight or just spend the night and return the following day.

 

For the companion pass, you just need to get 110,000 points to be qualified for it. If you get the SW Business card, it gives you 50,000 points to start. Once you reach 110,000 points, you qualify for the companion pass and it's good for the rest of that qualifying year, plus the next. So, we just got the card and qualified and will be able to use it the rest of this year (I know only a few more weeks) and all of next year. (Of course the ideal thing would be to qualify in January, then you'd have it for 2 years). However, every time you get another 110,000 points, you qualify again. We can rack up 110,000 in 2-3 weeks on the card, so in essence, that means we should qualify for life...well, unless they stop the program. :p With the points you earn, the qualifying person will fly for free. (We fly about 3 times a year, so I'll use the points for me and my daughter to fly for free and the hubby is the companion). Win-win situation if you have a business and can earn those points to take advantage of the program. :)

[mitsugirly]

GREAT choice!! We approve!!! :D Time for you to get your folders and spreadsheets in order!!! :D

 

:D I have officially started my "research". :p This will have 2 new ports for me so I'm excited and need suggestions. :)

[Boscodog]

Yea, I wouldn't mind being "stuck" in FLL instead of coming back to cold Ohio either. Actually, we just might have to do this anyhow since there's only 1 flight available for the day we return (at 9:40pm that night). I'm debating if I want to take that flight or just spend the night and return the following day.

 

For the companion pass, you just need to get 110,000 points to be qualified for it. If you get the SW Business card, it gives you 50,000 points to start. Once you reach 110,000 points, you qualify for the companion pass and it's good for the rest of that qualifying year, plus the next. So, we just got the card and qualified and will be able to use it the rest of this year (I know only a few more weeks) and all of next year. (Of course the ideal thing would be to qualify in January, then you'd have it for 2 years). However, every time you get another 110,000 points, you qualify again. We can rack up 110,000 in 2-3 weeks on the card, so in essence, that means we should qualify for life...well, unless they stop the program. :p With the points you earn, the qualifying person will fly for free. (We fly about 3 times a year, so I'll use the points for me and my daughter to fly for free and the hubby is the companion). Win-win situation if you have a business and can earn those points to take advantage of the program. :)

 

Just curious, how do you rack up 110,000 points in 2-3 weeks?

[mitsugirly]

Just curious, how do you rack up 110,000 points in 2-3 weeks?

 

We have a business. :)

[tandemcruzr]

You've updated your avatar. I really liked the one where she was running/jumping. Hope y'all have a wonderful cruise. :)

[peymas]

OH MY GOSH!!! YOU ARE AN ANGEL!! I was able to find flights that had opened up (and much cheaper now-about 1/2 price) and booked our flights to FLL. :D

 

Everything seemed to fall into place yesterday. We got a notice from SW that we now qualify for the "Companion Pass", which means that my hubby will fly as my companion all next year FOR FREE! Also, we have so many points on our SW card that we will actually probably be flying for free (all of us) using points...for good. :eek:

 

So, we booked all 3 of us to FLL, the munchkin and I used our points and all we had to pay was the mandatory 911 fee thingy-ma-bob that they enforce now and it only cost $16.80 for our tickets there...AND, it's a non-stop flight. WOO HOO...WINNING! :p

 

Now I just gotta find a flight back and it looks like the only thing available for the day we come back is a 9pm non-stop flight. Hmmm. What the heck would I do the entire day waiting for a 9pm flight? :eek: I wonder if any other flights are going to open up for that date.

 

 

This is funny that I have our flight booked and don't even have the cruise booked yet. My planning was just thrown out the door! I'm losing my mind.

 

 

Once again....THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LOOKING OUT FOR ME! You guys on here are the best! :)

 

We have the same problem. Booked a flight there and three months later I was seeing so many sold outs that I went ahead and booked a 9:30 p.m. flight home. I think we may get a day room or use the water taxi all day pass or both. I looked and the one for 10:20 in the a.m. opened up, but I'm afraid that we won't make the flight in time if something goes wrong on debarkation. We got off of the Magic on Dec. 5 and didn't get of of the ship and in our car on the way home until noon.

 

I know if we can do self debark (which I'm not sure we can) we would probably make it, but what happens if we miss it????

 

BTW I will be looking forward to your next review. Love to read them and as I've told you before they have helped me greatly in planning our cruises. I guess I missed the choice you made. I will have to go back and read.

[mitsugirly]

You've updated your avatar. I really liked the one where she was running/jumping. Hope y'all have a wonderful cruise. :)

 

I know I did too, but really like this Bermuda one with the crystal light blue water too. I just thought I would change it up.

 

We have the same problem. Booked a flight there and three months later I was seeing so many sold outs that I went ahead and booked a 9:30 p.m. flight home. I think we may get a day room or use the water taxi all day pass or both. I looked and the one for 10:20 in the a.m. opened up, but I'm afraid that we won't make the flight in time if something goes wrong on debarkation. We got off of the Magic on Dec. 5 and didn't get of of the ship and in our car on the way home until noon.

 

I know if we can do self debark (which I'm not sure we can) we would probably make it, but what happens if we miss it????

 

BTW I will be looking forward to your next review. Love to read them and as I've told you before they have helped me greatly in planning our cruises. I guess I missed the choice you made. I will have to go back and read.

 

What exactly do you do for all those hours? Like I don't even know what I would do with my luggage other than hanging out around the airport. :confused: I know they don't allow you to check in your luggage until ?3? hours before your flight or something like that. :(

[peymas]

I have been looking since I made that reservation to come home. I hope to use the luggage valet and send my bags on to the airport from the ship. I will only have one small bag to mess with. I won't be sending my electronics on without me! haha We have never seen any of Fort Lauderdale and I was looking at the water taxi for most of the day. You can hop on and off at any of the stops and shop and eat, etc. I really hate to spend the day at the Rodeway but it would be nice to have that option in case of bad weather and not wanting to ride the water taxi in the rain. We will be there on March 17 and I can't make up my mind what to do. I reallllly hate to spend more money and 6 1/2 hours on an airplane or in an airport for a 3 hour nonstop. I would rather spend the money taking a look at Fort Lauderdale.

[mitsugirly]

I have been looking since I made that reservation to come home. I hope to use the luggage valet and send my bags on to the airport from the ship. I will only have one small bag to mess with. I won't be sending my electronics on without me! haha We have never seen any of Fort Lauderdale and I was looking at the water taxi for most of the day. You can hop on and off at any of the stops and shop and eat, etc. I really hate to spend the day at the Rodeway but it would be nice to have that option in case of bad weather and not wanting to ride the water taxi in the rain. We will be there on March 17 and I can't make up my mind what to do. I reallllly hate to spend more money and 6 1/2 hours on an airplane or in an airport for a 3 hour nonstop. I would rather spend the money taking a look at Fort Lauderdale.

 

Tell me more about this valet service. Who is it with? Cost?

 

I just remembered that sometimes the ships also offer sponsored tours before and after a cruise. Maybe I'll check into something like that too just to kill time. :cool:

[peymas]

The ship will give you the information. They know who has flights, etc. I have never used it, but you can pay $20 pp to send your bags to the airport. They will check you in and I think give you your boarding passes. I have already paid for early bird on SW so they will do my boarding pass. We will not see our luggage again until we get to St. Louis. Hopefully they will be on the carousel for us to get! ha

 

I was told by someone to check myself in because you don't know when the ship people will check you in and might not get a very good boarding number. So that is why I bought early bird for our return flight.

 

Did you check out the watertaxi.com site to read about where the taxi will take you? I thought it sounded like fun. It gets good reviews on trip advisor also. Not sure how Sakari sp???will like it. I think a day room at Rodeway is about $60. I haven't made a reservation yet.

 

There is information on Carnival site about luggage valet and the ships and airlines you can use it on.

 

Woops it is called luggage express when you do a search on the site. The Breeze has it and these airlines.

AirTran

Delta

American Airlines

US Airways

United

Jet Blue (Fort Lauderdale International Airport only)

Southwest

 

BTW we loved the Breeze. (especially the Guy's Burger joint)

Edited December 23, 2015 by peymas

[peymas]

I actually just read through the express luggage info. Note that if you are going to do a post cruise excursion through the ship you can't use the express program. I wonder why you can't?? Doesn't make sense.

[mitsugirly]

The ship will give you the information. They know who has flights, etc. I have never used it, but you can pay $20 pp to send your bags to the airport. They will check you in and I think give you your boarding passes. I have already paid for early bird on SW so they will do my boarding pass. We will not see our luggage again until we get to St. Louis. Hopefully they will be on the carousel for us to get! ha

 

I was told by someone to check myself in because you don't know when the ship people will check you in and might not get a very good boarding number. So that is why I bought early bird for our return flight.

 

Did you check out the watertaxi.com site to read about where the taxi will take you? I thought it sounded like fun. It gets good reviews on trip advisor also. Not sure how Sakari sp???will like it. I think a day room at Rodeway is about $60. I haven't made a reservation yet.

 

****edit**** I just looked at the website and seen that it is in FLL. So, obviously would have to get transportation there. Duh. LOL It's late, I'm tired. I'm waiting on Santa to arrive so I can go to sleep. I hear the fat boy will need help this year.

 

There is information on Carnival site about luggage valet and the ships and airlines you can use it on.

 

Woops it is called luggage express when you do a search on the site. The Breeze has it and these airlines.

AirTran

Delta

American Airlines

US Airways

United

Jet Blue (Fort Lauderdale International Airport only)

Southwest

 

BTW we loved the Breeze. (especially the Guy's Burger joint)

 

We always pay for the Early Bird check in for our flight home as well since we are always on the ship at that time and don't want to have to pay for internet just for that.

 

I haven't checked out the water taxi yet. Where do you catch it at? Would you have to take a taxi to get to it or is it within walking distance? I wasn't even aware of it until you brought it up. I'll definitely check it out, but not sure what it does/goes to.

 

I actually just read through the express luggage info. Note that if you are going to do a post cruise excursion through the ship you can't use the express program. I wonder why you can't?? Doesn't make sense.

 

Well that makes no sense. What do they expect you to do with your luggage if you are going on a post cruise excursion with the ship? :confused:

Edited December 25, 2015 by mitsugirly

[peymas]

Since you are on the Breeze coming back to Miami where does the transport take you? To the airport in Fort Lauderdale? Would you have any other choices? I know we are coming back to Fort Lauderdale port. I think it is too far for us to walk to the water taxi, so we will have to take a cab. The nearest to the port is on 17th St. under the bridge.

 

I have been thinking about the luggage thing. I think I read that you take your luggage with you and they hold it for you for the ship excursions. After the excursion, they take you to the airport. Maybe someone who has done this can help. I just plan to send my two larger pieces of luggage on to the airport from the ship using the luggage valet. It is luggage valet with Royal and luggage express with Carnival.

 

I really hope the weather is nice for the day so we can do the water taxi thing and making stops to shop and eat and getting back on another route. The safest thing to do would be to get a day room and just use the pool and room to relax, but I really would like to see the sights in Lauderdale. Doing both would add another expense. $60 for a day room and around $50 for the water taxi for the day. Check out the route and do a search for water taxi. I read on trip advisor I think too.

[chris153]

I have picked the Breeze. :D I have booked my flights :eek:...just gotta book the actual cruise now, but I have purchased all my gift cards and paid for them. So basically cruise and flights are paid for, but ship not booked yet. YIKES! LOL (I'm waiting to hear back from my TA to book). :cool: I'll be on the cruise!

 

Was hoping you would pick the Breeze. We are on that cruise also. I read all your reviews and they have helped me so much with cruise planning. Hopefully we will bump into you. I will look for your daughter in the water.

[smyliecruising]

The Breeze has all the bells and whistles with a fun waterworks. And the longer the better. I would choose the breeze over the Sunshine because it was built to be a big ship and the sunshine was refurbished and redesigned. But I really want to try them all!

[mitsugirly]

Was hoping you would pick the Breeze. We are on that cruise also. I read all your reviews and they have helped me so much with cruise planning. Hopefully we will bump into you. I will look for your daughter in the water.

 

I'm pretty sure you will see her in the water or on the water slides. She has to be drug out of the water once she gets in. Hoping for good weather....:D

 

The Breeze has all the bells and whistles with a fun waterworks. And the longer the better. I would choose the breeze over the Sunshine because it was built to be a big ship and the sunshine was refurbished and redesigned. But I really want to try them all!

 

Yep, we picked the Breeze and she is booked. Some day I'll try the Sunshine as well. :p