wolft927

Has Anyone seen Pedro Serra Lately? 

Also try the Hilton Blue Lagoon, free airport shuttle and also has a nice pool. Prices are reasonable, got a 1 bedroom Suite with Large balcony for about $280, believe standard room was about $150

7 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

No. They usually have an all-aboard time of 11:00 or 11:30 PM and reopen the island around 8:00 AM. The employees who live on the island need to have time to clean, sleep, etc.

 

I figured as much, and also this would leave opportunity for bad things to happen. 

We are Haven cruisers trying the YC for the first time in September. What drove us to try the YC was several things:

1 An actual pool deck. Most Havens have a very small pool in the courtyard area. You do have the upper sun deck with hot tubs, but doesnt feel the same.

2 The YC grill poolside. Love this option for quick brekfast and lunches. 

3 Live entertainment in the YC lounge at night. Most Haven lounges does not offer this. 

4 Changing YC Menu. Not saying we dont love the Haven Menu, but will be fun to see different options every night. 

5 PRICE! So, Wife and I are rarely in the cabin, so being able to snag a YC interior suite with the same access to the YC for all in $3200 plus $200 onboard credit was a no brainer. Now, this does mean that I will need to venture outside on the morning to enjoy arriving into each port but honestly doesnt bother me. 

 my question would be during an overnight stay can you come and go throughout the night onto the island?

So we only do 7 night cruises due to work schedules so for us the Haven does not get boring. We use our two specialty dining and the remaining dinners are usually in the Haven. Filet and lobster tails, Pork Chops, Crab Cakes, Prime Rib ( which they always make me eat lobster tails with it lol) and the last night is a toss up usually lol. 

We never eat lunch in the Haven but have on multiple occasions have had the Caesar Wrap Poolside in the Haven which is fantastic. We prefer lunch at the Local, but occasionally will eat lunch at the buffet if its not insanely packed.

Breakfast hands down is always the Haven or even having it delivered to out suite. Nothing takes care of a night of over indulging of alcohol like Steak and eggs.     

Now we are trying out first MSC cruise on the Seascape in the Yacht club in September, so will see how we like the changing menu. 

7 hours ago, Zyzygy said:

In 2022 Hurricane Ian crossed Florida from the west, headed northeast over Orlando. 
 

Even so, the Coast Guard closed Port Everglades for a day. 
 

Coast Guard procedures call for great care in ports handling cruise ships, because the ships are now so vertical that they may be exposed to considerable wind from the side. Procedures also call for complete sonar scanning of the bottom of a port to detect any debris that may have blown into the water, before a port can be reopened. 
 

I spent an extra day onboard waiting for Port Everglades to be reopened, even though Fort Lauderdale airport never closed. 
 

Cruisers during hurricane season.may want to check the Coast Guard webpage for their home port to stay informed about the port’s status. 

We had a cruise in 22 canceled from port Canaveral due to same hurricane. Was supposed to be on 9 night on the getaway and Tuesday we got canceled for the Thursday sailing. We ended up booking a cruise on the symphony of the seas for Saturday out of Miami. This is the risk booking in hurricane season but after all the years of cruising this time of year was the first that ever got concealed 

On 4/27/2024 at 5:15 PM, roddy good boy said:

I don’t really like the Haven lunch menu, so sometimes we’ll go to the Manhattan, O’Sheeans or even buffet for lunch. My children are no longer teens, and don’t often vacation with us now,  but they really didn’t care for the haven lunch.

We rarely eat lunch in the Haven, not saying it’s bad but we never want a real heavy lunch. But as far as dinner goes we have never had an issue with the menus not changing. 2 specialty dining plus 5 dinners in Haven never eat the same meal twice unless of course we want to. By the way the pork chops in the Haven are the best I ever had 

You can reserve for more then in your stateroom but don’t remember on the site what was the max number, I want to say it was 6

Wow, but higher then mine, hopefully they drop a bit 

On 4/22/2024 at 9:25 AM, cotton4 said:

Hello Wolft927,I'm from Charlotte and will be taking your advice and booking Hilton, now I'm just waiting on airfare to drop

We got our airfare for I believe $325PP for non stop flights. When are you cruiseing?

Our 16 year old daughter and her friend who was 17 at the time both shared the pull out couch in the living room, but i will say both are petite. Depends on the size. 

We were in the 2 bedroom and depending of the size of the people the second bed can sleep two. Also, we were in the Aft facing Haven and the couch in the living room slept two as well. Dont forget the second bedroom also has a bunk that comes out of the ceiling. 

Odds are they are in the Haven

Typically thats what I do, Never choose my seat till a few days out, and always pay for luggage at the airport. 

Staff such as Butlers want the YC suites to go higher in price as typically if you can afford a $14k suite for a week their chances of getting much better tip then say a person who paid $5k for the week. 

🙊

15 hours ago, cellfree said:

We were “very” pleasantly surprised by the amount of storage in the Interior Cabin on the Seashore. Do not know if the same is true of the other Classes of Ships. Upon returning home I did book an Interior on Seascape. Hoping not too many people read this positive report of the Interior Cabin, there are few and they go quickly!

We are sailing MSC for the First time in September, we typically do Haven with NCL, but for $3200 all in for a YC interior it was a no brainer to give it a try. Your right they do go fast, we booked over a year out. We were going to try and sneak a Interior YC cruise during the summer but they are all sold out. 

As far as Port of Miami close to port, expect at minimum to spend between $250 to $300 per night. Also, if driving in add another $40 for parking most likely. 

15 minutes ago, bajathree said:

If you aren't looking for or are interested in the beach then I would choose Orlando....they have much better hotels and resorts to choose from in Orlando....more to do and better restaurant choices.  Other than the beach and only so so hotel choices there really isn't much in Port Canaveral.

I agree! If being on or by the beach is not a concern, go farther inland and you can get better resorts/hotels for a better price. We love the beach so when sailing out of Port Canaveral we always stay at the Best Western Hotel right on the beach. A Junior suite with ocean front Balcony was about $250 to $300. We love waking up early for embarkation morning and watching the parade of ships pass by entering Port Canaveral. 

Getting to the ship we typically will do a shuttle from the hotel, as long as we can get the first one which is usually 10am. Leaving, we always grab a cab as we like to get to the airport and relax and enjoy our final vacation drinks at the airport. Cabs are super easy to get at port of miami even when there are 7 or 8 ships in. 

New years cruises are all different depending on the line. RCCL, Carnival, NCL, will all have multiple parties at one time. Largest will be the one on deck usually weather permitting. There are usually smaller parties in the lounges that are much more relaxed. Years ago it was party hard out on deck, now honestly we avoid holiday cruises lol

We have stayed in Cocoa Beach several times, and our go to is the Best Western right on the beach. You can usualy snag an ocean front junior suite with balcony for about $250 to $300 a night. Very close to the port free safe parking and lots to do including the beach. 

3 hours ago, Corby114 said:

Most hotels in the Blue Lagoon neighborhood have shuttle service to the Port of Miami for a fee per person. The hotel price is also more affordable instead of staying in the downtown Miami area where prices are higher, especially during the winter high season.

I agree, we have stayed downtown and have paid usually about 300 for the standard room plus parking. We are flying in this time and are staying at the Hilton Blue lagoon which has free shuttle from airport and believe the shuttle to the port is 14 pp. we got a 1 bedroom suite with balcony over looking the lagoon for less then a basic downtown room. 

We sailed last year on the Norwegian Joy in April during Spring Break with a 16 and 17 year old. I will say, there were a ton of kids but we also expected that. 1st and last cruise we would do again during any school break including summer. Wife and I typically cruise anywhere from September to February when schools are in session. Alot less kids and also prices are cheaper.