gail-s

After I asked I started pricing out trips on both NCL and RCL and was shocked that the "same" trip on RCL was much higher, even before adding in the drink and dinner package. And on the newer/bigger ships, the rooms list as being smaller. We had a suite for 3 of our last 4 cruises and just had a balcony on Allure. I walked in and was like "OMG it's a closet". I knocked the soap dispenser off the wall trying to wash my hair and I'm not a big person. It's nuts.

This thread was great, thanks for sharing. We've bounced back and forth between NCL and RCL but haven't been on NCL since 2015. In the last year we've done Enchantment, Freedom and Allure of the Seas. We liked each ship for different reasons. Since the last 2 trips were basically the same ports we enjoyed the larger Allure over Freedom. (I'm going somewhere with this, trust me) My daughter came with us on 2 trips to Bermuda on the Dawn when she was younger. We'd like to take her on a cruise next summer when she finishes her degree. She'll be 23. She loved the pictures I showed her of Allure so I'm considering an Oasis class ship for the trip, however, I agree, NCL does some thing better than RCL (specifically dining and packages) For those who've been on an Oasis class, is there an NCL ship that you think would have a similar feel, vibe, range of activities? We're thinking of a Caribbean cruise, so that definitely narrows down the list of trips for us. Thanks!

We're combining two trips so we will be staying over on the Gulf Coast by Venice and then driving over to Miami for our cruise. It looks like a 3+ hour drive so we're tossing around the idea of driving over a day early and spending the night in Miami. For those who have done it, are we better off crossing over to Fort Lauderdale on 75 or staying south through the reserve on 41? On either route, is there anything interesting to do along the way? anywhere that we should definitely stop and check out? Last trip we stayed at the Intercontinental, wanting to be close to the port. This trip I don't really care but I also don't want to break the bank. Any nice hotels or interesting places to stay that you'd recommend? Granted this could go either way, staying in Fort Lauderdale if we go that route or south of Miami if we go the other.

It's definitely too far to walk unless you're up for a really long walk down a very busy road. We took the shuttle and it was fine. Hopped on the petite train and took a tour of the area. It was all very nice. Had some lunch by the harbor then took the shuttle back again.

We stopped into John Bull in January and they were the same as all of the brick and mortar Rolex dealers in the states. They had a few you could look at but nothing you could purchase. The waiting list for Rolexes is quite long. Stores have very little say in what Rolex sends them and most have a list of preferred customers waiting for one. Unfortunately you have places like Jomashop that somehow get them and then sell them for a mark up. We also found the price of the pre-owned Rolexes on board to be higher than what we felt they were worth. Most were also quite gaudy and not what we were looking for. Also, side note, we'd been to Nassau a few times and this last time the street John Bull is on felt sketch AF. I could not wait to get away from there. I now understand why so many people stay on the ship when they go there.

Our first cruise was a junior suite on the aft of the ship. Huge balcony, loved it. Second was an aft balcony, bigger ship, still good. Third we booked last minute and landed in the last balcony available which was a handicap room - twice the size of a regular balcony. Next cruise, we were travelling with my parents who always get a balcony room so we got the one next to them - with our 9 year old. Smallest room we'd ever sailed in. I almost lost my mind. The next trip we took with them (on NCL) we got a family suite with a balcony, included concierge, butler, wifi, drinks, dining it all. We were totally hooked. Since we've been back to RCL we royal up'd to an owner's suite which was fabulous and just had a grand suite for a quickie 3 night cruise. While I could do a jr suite or a balcony again if there was a reason, if I can I'll choose not to. We spend time in our room and on our balcony. We enjoy the extra space. We like the extra treatment. Suite lounge was vacant on our last cruise so we had the whole thing to ourselves to watch the football playoff games. Getting on and off the ship took minutes instead of hours. Smooth and fast. Our concierge booked our dining for us at the specialty restaurants and was just the sweetest thing. I'm with the OP. Completely spoiled with no desire to go back. We have to pay $$$$ to fly into ports because RCL doesn't sail from where we are, so we're not cruising every other month like some people are. For us a cruise is an event and we treat it as such.

We were on Freedom over MLK weekend and stopped in Nassau. People from Blue Lagoon were all over asking if you wanted to take an excursion both at the port and over on Paradise Island. We didn't, so I don't know if once you told them you were on RCL they would say they couldn't take you or not. I highly doubt it since there were so many of them trying to drum up business. With any excursion you're taking a chance. Most of the boats were very sketchy, even the water taxis. The life jackets looked like the'd sink before you ever got them on.

Just off the Freedom 3 night cruise and night 2 was "Dress to Impress". There were many people in long dresses, whole families dressed up. Take advantage of it and get some pictures taken. It's fun.

Ship - Freedom of the Seas Deck - 10 Stateroom # - 1564 Stateroom Category – Grand Suite Starboard or Port Side - Port Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – We found the room to be very quiet. No noise from the solarium above or other guests in the area. Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – No obtructions. The sides are made of steel instead of plexiglass because of the hot tub above. The flooring was bubbling up a bit in places. Probably time for it to be serviced or replaced. Nothing horrible, just something I noticed. Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - This room is under the port side hot tub in the solarium. As a result, the balcony stick out farther than the ones to either side of it. As a result, there are 2 lounge chairs, 2 regular chairs and a table there. This is not the room for you if you want to sunbathe on your balcony because the hot tub sticks out much farther than the balcony itself. We found it enjoyable. Was wind a problem? - no If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - n/a Any specific problems with this cabin? - The bathroom is large, with a tub instead of a shower stall. The tub itself is very high off the floor. The bottom of the tub probably sits a good 6-8" off the floor. The lip of the tub that you have to step over was well above my knee and I'm 5'8". So you had to climb into and out of the shower. I could easily touch the ceiling in the shower while washing my hair. I would assume someone 6' or taller would find this shower almost unusable as you would be hitting the ceiling often. The toilet also appeared to be much higher than a regular toilet. My toes reached the ground if I sat on it but not a flat foot. Any other comments? - This room was very nice. Lots of storage. 2 American plugs on the desk next to the bed as well as 2 European ones. There was a side table with drawers and a light on each side of the king sized bed. The light switches are a bit odd and we were constantly turning them all on an off trying to remember which ones controlled which lights. It made no sense. It is located toward the front of the ship, but heading toward the middle. It was a very stable location. We didn't notice the motion much and it was blowing 30-35 when we left Nassau. If you book this room, or another suite, take advantage of the suite lounge. There was hardly anyone there when we went in. Snacks and free drinks before dinner. Cindy was the concierge on our trip and she was wonderfully sweet. She booked our dinner reservations for us before we got on board which was a big help. Playmakers was packed for the playoff football games so we'd go up to the suite lounge and watch the games there. There is also an outside seating area attached to the lounge just for suite guests.

There's definitely one in Nassau. We plan on stopping there on our next cruise. https://www.bahamaslocal.com/showlisting/3793/Harley_Davidson_of_Nassau.html Related but different port - have you ever been to the Harley Dealership in Miami? I know there's one to the north and one to the south. Wondering which is better.

Has anyone used Sixt Car Rental in Miami? We're going to be staying at the Intercontinental the night before our trip, flying into MIA. Husband wanted to stop into the Harley Dealer which is about 30 minutes north of where we're staying. I was considering renting a car from the airport, driving to the dealership, then cruising through Miami Beach before eventually making it to the hotel. The Sixt company had a desk right at the Intercontinental, so that would be the easiest place to return the car to. Any thoughts on this or experiences using them? I can get a 3 series for $80/ day but sort of miffed that their Mustang is $400/day but Hertz offers the same thing for $100.

Ages ago we got off the ship early and nothing was open yet, so we decided to rent a scooter and go exploring. We had fun, but ended up in some pretty sketchy places we were happy we got out of unscathed. One wrong turn and you go from a main-ish street to tarpaper shacks. We're considering walking around this time or just hopping a taxi/shuttle over to walk around Atlantis for a bit, then get back on the ship.

We did the Dig tour ages ago when it first opened as well as an excursions from the Explorer. I've got most of it on video 'somewhere'. It was a lot of fun. We're not big water park people so I don't see us doing it again this trip.

We went from a Jr Suite to an Owner's Suite on a Royal Up bid after we had made our final payment. We were not charged for the higher gratuities.

When we were on Enchantment in Europe over the summer there were no night time pool parties either. Just the movies and even those were scarcely attended. I think most people were exhausted from their day and went to bed early.

I would never buy another royal Caribbean gift card. I had one and tried to apply it to my cruise and they gave me 100 different excuses why it couldn’t be used.

We did it on the Enchantment and loved it. Had great people with us and the staff were personable and fun. We're discussing doing it again on our next cruise, but I want to see if the menu changes at all. We booked the first day. One of the waiters grabbed us in the Schooner Bar and I think we got her discount.

Freedom is also at Cococay on 1/13.

We stayed in the owners suite just behind the bridge on our trip. It was fabulous. The room was absolutely huge. Gigantic bathroom with a tub and a shower. Big sectional to sit on and relax. The balcony was large enough for 2 loungers and 2 chairs with a table. We bid up from a Junior Suite so it was a no-brainer for us. Plus we got the suite perks that we wouldn't have gotten in the JS.

We were in an Owners Suite on Enchantment over the summer and loved it. Our concierge was just okay, I've had better on other cruiselines. She was difficult to find and often confused about what was going on. We had the earliest boarding time scheduled, 11:30 but we got to the port early. We were on the ship at 10:30 wandering around, had it mostly to ourselves. The staff know what room numbers are suites. You could see them perk up a bit when you said your number. They were VERY attentive and helpful and friendly. We had a night we didn't make dinner reservations but when we got to the front of the line for the main dining room we were seated at a window immediately. No waiting. We only went to the suite lounge once, the first day to check it out. It was small but the snacks were nice. We had the drink package so we met friends in the Schooner Bar instead of going to the lounge before dinner. Getting off the ship was a bit of a cluster because the concierge told us one thing and wrote something different on the paper she left in our cabin. We were able to get off very easy once we found her though. Walked right off, got our luggage and hopped in the waiting taxi. We used Chops just about every morning for breakfast. The staff there were great. I can't stand buffets so it was wonderful to not have to go to the WJ. I had asked in advance and the concierge arranged a tour of the bridge for us. I think she can also arrange behind the scenes tours for you if you'd like. There was something in the email I got from her before the trip. We didn't use room service and probably should have. I kept forgetting we could.

I was on the same trip as Cynbeth and we love Enchantment. She's older and smaller so it's easier to get around. There is only 1 specialty restaurant on board, Chops. It's open for dinner. In the morning suite guests use it for breakfast. The main dining room is open for breakfast lunch and dinner on sea days I believe. You can check in the app and it will show when it's open on each day. I wasn't a fan of the windjammer, but that's just me. There is a small mexican kiosk just outside the windjammer on the Port side. I was never up there when it was open so I can't say how it was. There is also a small cafe in the solarium where you can get sandwiches and pizza. They are open for lunch and later at night. We were in a suite so I can't answer about the number of outlets. I brought a cruise approved extension cord that had several outlets and usb ports on it so we used that most of the time. There were kids events going on every day, many in the main lobby of the ship. Hope you have fun!

Nope. We were checking bags. You need to look for the sign as soon as you get into the airport. There’s only one place where you get into the line.

We got into the line before we checked our bags I believe.

I wasn’t even sure if we were going to use it because when we walked through the door it didn’t seem packed. As soon as we got through the checkpoint though things got tied up. Thankfully we were able to slip into the line next to us for the fast pass and bypass the very long lines of people checking their bags. You just need to keep your eyes open when you enter the terminal for the correct line. When we were there (flying delta) it was over to the left.

The sticky at the top of this page is overwhelming, I understand you asking the question. When I was picking my hotels I ended up making a list of all of the ones that were listed as 4/5* via Amex or AAA and looking at those. In the end I went with the W through Amex because we got perks being members with Marriott and Amex. Reasonable? Probably not, but it was an American style 4* hotel in the center of Rome. Easy walking to everywhere we wanted to go (except the Vatican) Granted, a cheeseburger and fries from room service were $35 so keep that in mind if you're thinking about eating there.