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My Solstice cruise journal posted

ottawapuppy

By ottawapuppy,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Shirley C

Shirley C

Posted
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I have posted my journal from our recent cruise on Solstice. The quickie version of it for those who don't want to read the whole thing is: LOVED IT!!!!

 

Got to http://web.me.com/thecruiseguys and click the Celebrity Solstice link on the right hand side.

Click the Read Mike's Journal link.

 

Mike

 

Is there anyway to get this to print out? I tried, but most pages came out blank.

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ottawapuppy

ottawapuppy

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Is there anyway to get this to print out? I tried, but most pages came out blank.

 

It won't print well from the web page (white text on a dark background). Click in the text on the page, hit CTRL and A (at the same time) to select all the text on the page, then CTRL and C to copy the selected text to the clipboard. Open a word processor or Notepad, and hit CTRL and V to paste it. Print from the word processor or Notepad.

 

You will lose the pictures since only the text will paste.

 

Hope this works for you.

Mike

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Shirley C

Shirley C

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THAT WAS A GREAT REVIEW!!! Both you and your partner write such interesting, informative reviews. Kudos to both of you.

 

I have a question about the rental car you took on the last day. Our flight also does not leave until late afternoon. We were thinking about doing one of the shore excursions that drop you at the airport, but we haven't had much luck, or fun, with those in the past. Was it much of a hassle toting your luggage to the rental car place, or finding your way around Ft. Lauderdale/Miami? Sure sounds like renting a car might be the way to go. I never thought of it before -- cheaper too it looks like. Were there lots of taxis waiting to take you to where you had to go to pick up the rental car?

 

Sorry I'm going on and on with my questions.

 

Shirley

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Shirley C

Shirley C

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It won't print well from the web page (white text on a dark background). Click in the text on the page, hit CTRL and A (at the same time) to select all the text on the page, then CTRL and C to copy the selected text to the clipboard. Open a word processor or Notepad, and hit CTRL and V to paste it. Print from the word processor or Notepad.

 

You will lose the pictures since only the text will paste.

 

Hope this works for you.

Mike

 

 

Woked perfectly -- thanks for the help. I work on a computer all day, but am somewhat computer challenged!!

 

Can't wait to hear back re my questions in my earlier post -- thanks for your help.

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ottawapuppy

ottawapuppy

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I have a question about the rental car you took on the last day. Our flight also does not leave until late afternoon. We were thinking about doing one of the shore excursions that drop you at the airport, but we haven't had much luck, or fun, with those in the past. Was it much of a hassle toting your luggage to the rental car place, or finding your way around Ft. Lauderdale/Miami? Sure sounds like renting a car might be the way to go. I never thought of it before -- cheaper too it looks like. Were there lots of taxis waiting to take you to where you had to go to pick up the rental car?

 

Lee has a pretty good sense of direction, he can maneuver around Fort Lauderdale and Miami quite well. We stuck to the main roads and only had the rental car map.

There is supposedly a rental car shuttle that will pick up at the pier (seeing how they drop you off) but we did not have great luck with it this past trip. It did a U-turn just before getting to the pier where Solstice was docked. It was a $12 cab ride to the rental car depot at the airport. There were quite a few ships in port that morning, so we did have to line up for a taxi, but it was less than 5 minutes. There is a dispatcher who is lining up the cabs and assigning them to people in line, so it is pretty efficient.

 

Mike

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Shirley C

Shirley C

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Lee has a pretty good sense of direction, he can maneuver around Fort Lauderdale and Miami quite well. We stuck to the main roads and only had the rental car map.

There is supposedly a rental car shuttle that will pick up at the pier (seeing how they drop you off) but we did not have great luck with it this past trip. It did a U-turn just before getting to the pier where Solstice was docked. It was a $12 cab ride to the rental car depot at the airport. There were quite a few ships in port that morning, so we did have to line up for a taxi, but it was less than 5 minutes. There is a dispatcher who is lining up the cabs and assigning them to people in line, so it is pretty efficient.

 

Mike

 

Hi Mike

 

Thanks for the info -- I definitely going to check it out -- was there a lot to do on your own fairly close?

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Shirley C

Shirley C

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Since you two really seem like you know what you are doing, I thought I would pose this question to you -- how hard are the ports to do on your own? Is there lots near where the ship docks? Since it's such a short cruise, we don't want to spend a lot of time on ship shore excursions.

 

Thanks.

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ottawapuppy

ottawapuppy

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Since you two really seem like you know what you are doing, I thought I would pose this question to you -- how hard are the ports to do on your own? Is there lots near where the ship docks? Since it's such a short cruise, we don't want to spend a lot of time on ship shore excursions.

 

In San Juan, it is totally easy to just walk off the ship into the Old City. There is lots to see without going on an excursion. You can see the pier from much of the Old City, so you can't get too lost. The fort is kind of cool.

 

In St. Maarten, you can just jump into a taxi and have them bring you somewhere, like the beach or Marigot on the French side. You stay quite late into the evening, so there is lots of time to get back to the ship. We love Orient Beach on the French side.

 

In Tortola, the stop is quite short. This would be the place to book an excursion, there is not much to do in the town by the pier. Though, there are taxi drivers at the end of the pier that can take you somewhere. I'd feel better on a ship's excursion here. Make sure to be up on deck for the sailaway from Tortola. It is a stunning view!

 

Mike

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Shirley C

Shirley C

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In San Juan, it is totally easy to just walk off the ship into the Old City. There is lots to see without going on an excursion. You can see the pier from much of the Old City, so you can't get too lost. The fort is kind of cool.

 

In St. Maarten, you can just jump into a taxi and have them bring you somewhere, like the beach or Marigot on the French side. You stay quite late into the evening, so there is lots of time to get back to the ship. We love Orient Beach on the French side.

 

In Tortola, the stop is quite short. This would be the place to book an excursion, there is not much to do in the town by the pier. Though, there are taxi drivers at the end of the pier that can take you somewhere. I'd feel better on a ship's excursion here. Make sure to be up on deck for the sailaway from Tortola. It is a stunning view!

 

Mike

 

Thanks Mike, that's a great help. We sort of feel that the ship is our destination this cruise!

 

Shirley

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ottawapuppy

ottawapuppy

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Thanks so much for all the work you put into your blog, reviews and photos!! They're great!! We're going to sail Solstice again in May (we were on the 2 night pre-inaugural last year), and now I'm 're-excited'!

Thanks again.

 

That's cool, you know what to look forward to on the ship. We got to go on the two day pre-inaugural on Liberty of the Seas a few years ago. It was so much fun!

 

Mike

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Schplinky

Schplinky

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Lee has a pretty good sense of direction, he can maneuver around Fort Lauderdale and Miami quite well. We stuck to the main roads and only had the rental car map.

 

I do find Fort Lauderdale particularly easy, given the generally grid-like streets and all. The only hard part is knowing where NW becomes NE.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Shirley C

Shirley C

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I have a question about renting a car when the cruise is over -- did you rent one from an airport location? I know you said you took a cab to pick it up, but I wasn't sure where you picked it up from. Can you check your luggage in early at the airport, or did you just keep it in the rental until you checked in later on in the day?

 

thanks.

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ottawapuppy

ottawapuppy

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I have a question about renting a car when the cruise is over -- did you rent one from an airport location? I know you said you took a cab to pick it up, but I wasn't sure where you picked it up from. Can you check your luggage in early at the airport, or did you just keep it in the rental until you checked in later on in the day?

 

thanks.

 

The rental car depot is at the airport. There is shuttle from the rental car place to drop you off at the port, and there is supposedly one that picks you up. We took a cab so we wouldn't have to wait.

 

You can NOT check luggage in early in Fort Lauderdale. The airline won't even talk to you unless it is less than 3 (?) hours before your flight. You will have to keep luggage in the rental car.

 

Mike

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Schplinky

Schplinky

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You can NOT check luggage in early in Fort Lauderdale. The airline won't even talk to you unless it is less than 3 (?) hours before your flight. You will have to keep luggage in the rental car.

 

Mike

 

I think it's 4 hours but Mike is right they are generally firm about not allowing early check-in. That's why we rent a car in these cases. It's a secure place to lock your stuff.

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spav01

spav01

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As a local, thought I'd let you know that the dividing line between NE and NW in Miami is Miami Avenue, and in Fort Lauderdale is Andrews Avenue. Looking forward to reading your journal

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