Costafox

Understood, but is that a good reason to hate the Quanutm Class?

But I loved Anthem. Much better than Allure which I also did last year

I'm sorry, but seriously?

 

I understand the desire for waterslides, and Promenade versus Esplanade is a fair argument. But ice in SeaPlex? What is wrong with the roller skating? And no "stateroom only" decks? That's how you pick what ship you like? How does that impact your enjoyment of the ship?

 

Seems to me like you're really fishing for reasons to hate Anthem, or you just hate change. Enjoy Indy.

If it were feasible to ice up the seaplex, I think it would be a wonderful addition to a quantum class ship. I would prefer the opportunity to see an ice show than all the roller skating and bumper cars in the world! When we were on Anthem I never did see the seaplex in use, I thought it was a temendous waste of space.

Really???:eek:

 

I would see FAR more similarities between Indy and Anthem!

 

Oasis is not fit for an European market because of the sunshine weather set up - IMHO!

We sailed on the Allure TA last year and found it far too crowded in the bad weather days. I found Anthem to be a much better design for inclement weather sailings.

Thanks, I´ll drop an e mail to my travel agent and ask her to look into it for me, I have copied and pasted the e mail address so I think it´s ok.

Thanks for you help

Gill

I have tried it again but same result - any further suggestions?

Gill

Can anyone help me please?

I have always contacted rcldining@rccl.com to request a table for 2 but my e mail has been returned as undelivered on this occasion.

Does anyone have the correct e mail address?

Many Thanks

Gill

Great. Here are 2 of my favorite dining spots in that area:

Bokampers

Greek Islands Taverna

 

There are 3 good Italian restaurants too:

La Dolce Vita

Lucca

Martaranno's

 

Blue Jean Blues has great entertainment

Thank you for this Sharon, I am now back from my cruise on the Anthem, which was fabulous and can now concentrate on my plans for this trip

Thanks again

Gill

Book ASAP, before you leave if you can. Have a great cruise on Anthem. :)

Have taken your advice and booked Residence Inn this afternoon. Just got my returning flight to sort out now.

Many thanks once again Sharon

Thank you Sharon, that is exactly the kind of feedback that I was looking for. Sorry that I didn´t reply sooner but I am trying to sort myself out for my cruise on Anthem of the Seas, leaving in 4 days!

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is quaint with good restaurants and a nice beach but if you are planning to drive into Fort Lauderdale anytime during the Boat Show (November 5 - 9) parking will most likely be very difficult. If this is your only trip to For Lauderdale I would stay in town because it is so much easier to get around (especially if you don't rent a car every day). Either way, make sure you go to the Boat Show. It's incredible!

Thanks for this info, as inviting as Lauderdale-by-the-sea sounds, we would sooner stay in town.

We are not really beachgoers and as we are lucky enough to live on the coast, the beach is not such a novelty to us as it might be to people who live inland.

We will certainly take your advice and visit the Boat Show so thanks for that

Many Thanks

Gill

Thanks for the comments, I have more or less crossed the Hilton Marina off the list due to location, so now it it between Galleryone and I want to throw the Residence Inn by Marriott into the mix. I understand it is a work in progress and was formerly known as Il Lugano.

As our stay is not until November I am hoping that work will be completed but I will need to speak to them to find out.

Which would you choose?

Gill

If you can manage it budget wise, I would go with Gallery one. It is in a very good area, for the reasons that capriccio above has said. Hilton Marina is ok too, just not as good a location as Gallery one.

 

Are you able to book a rate that is cancellable or fully refundable? Then, if you find something else at a better rate and good location, you can change later.

 

A lot of hotels in popular areas do charge for parking. I find the transportation in Fort Lauderdale to be very good. Would it be possible for your to get by without a rental car? There is a Sun Trolley and water taxi that goes to a lot of places. Even if you took a cab a few times, it would most likely cost less than the car rental/gas, and parking fees. Just an idea.

I think that is a good idea, I think I can get a deal that is cancellable and as you say I can still keep looking around for a better deal.

With regards to the car, we thought we would need it to visit Everglades and Sawgrass Mills and possibly for our transfer to Miami to catch our flight home.

Will give this some thought though

Many thanks

Gill

I hadn't heard of the Intracoastal Yacht Club so I just googled it. Are you aware that it is not in Fort Lauderdale but in Sunny Isles Beach (north Miami)? That's about 16 miles (and 40 minutes by car according to google maps) south of Fort Lauderdale and 11 miles (and 36 minutes) north of Miami Beach. You would definitely need a car but you would spend a large part of your time commuting. I know I wouldn't want to face that on my vacation plus I wasn't reassured by the reviews.

No I wasn´t aware of that - so that knocks that one off the list!

Many thanks for your help - the reviews I saw were very hit and miss but I was really wanting a second opinion.

Gill

I could do with a little help please.

We are arriving in Fort Lauderdale on board Allure of the Seas on 6th November following her Transatlantic crossing and I hear that there is a huge boat show there at this time so accommodation seems to be at a premium.

We really wanted to stay at The Pillars, but they are fully booked and we particularly wanted to stay on the Intracostal. Our choices look like being the Hilton Marina or Galleryone, which are both pushing the budget for us. Another option is the Intracostal Yacht Club.

Has anyone got any other suggestions or comments on our above options. We would like somewhere that is fairly central, the Hilton and Galleryone are very expensive for parking but the Yacht Club has free parking. We are staying for 5 nights and want to go tothe Everglades and Sawgrass Mills but won´t necessarily need a car for all of our stay. We fly out from Miami on 11th and I´m not sure if we should keep the car to drive there or get a transfer and not have the worry of the car.

This will be our first visit to Fort Lauderdale and I am going in circles, so I could use some knowledgeable assistance please

Kind Regards

Gill

Unfortunately this is a common problem that has been going on for years for those of us who do not have a USD Credit Card. I now open my account with a GBP Credit Card but use USD Travellers Cheques to pay off my account and so the very small amount left from the last evening is minor when they convert at their awful rate.

I always give them an inprint of my UK credit card on boarding, however towards the end of the cruise I visit guest services and pay off the balance in cash.

I always pay a bit extra to cover the last day and they will either bill me for an insignificant amount or credit me back any positive balance to my credit card.

The information in this thread is great.

 

I've also been doing a great deal of homework on excursions, including 2 different couples that did variations on this same itinerary last year and the year before.

 

The one work of caution both of them shared - separately - was to avoid private tours. They only took RCI-sanctioned tours...as they had been told firsthand by people who were duped by local "tour-guides" who were scam artists and also the risk of being led into bad areas of some of these cities. They also indicated that at least one of the trains into Rome has a record of more than 50 muggings a year onboard.

 

Bottom line...they both said most of the time things will be fine no matter where you go and with whom...but there are plenty of stories of people being led into problem areas and even extorted for money to lead them back into good areas.

 

Unless someone can verify with solid references that an independent guide person or company is legit...buyer beware. That's the advice we are passing on after reading plenty of horror stories online and getting the 2 couples to share their own experiences.

With regard to private tours - just do your research and homework diligently and you will be fine.

Check out the ports of call threads on here and look for personal recommendations and you won´t go far wrong

Thank you for yet another wonderful blog Linda - this is a trip on our bucket list so have found your expèriences fascinating and you have given us some great ideas for excursions - it has been very moving to read your story xx

Bootleg Beatles on the Navigator TA - they were unbelieveable

Really loving your review - you are really whetting our appetite for our Transatlantic cruise on Allure next year - we will have 10 sea days in all to make the most of all the facilities offered

We are booked through a US agent and have got the discount and we were also able to buy next cruise certificates on board our last cruise which means we only had to pay a deposit of €100 pp - we have had a price drop of nearly $1100 on the two cabins that we have booked

They are currently on the Adventure TA that we are on and that ends in Southampton tomorrow. They arrive nightly at the cocktail hour for diamond and up C&A members in the imperial lounge. They arrive and stand for everyone to see their bizarre outfits and then proceed to parade around the venue before taking a seat. They obviously love the attention, we see them daily as they are on the same deck as us.

 

They have arrived as Maharajas on 2 occasions with head dresses.

They sat with us at one of the Cocktail Parties that we were invited to on our TA on the Adventure a few years ago.

I was dying to ask them if I could have a photo of us but I couldn't pluck up the courage!

Thank you for sharing your trip with us all - it looks like you are having a wonderful trip so far.

Can´t wait for more information as we have a long wait until our TA on Allure in October 2015

We saw Tony Tillman on our last cruise and agreed that he was the best vocalist we have seen out of all our cruises - he was really very good

I believe he sang the part of Sammy Davis Jr in the original rat pack tribute show in Las Vegas

Have a great trip

I usually register my credit card with them but pay the bill in cash the last night - all last night purchases will then go on the card but I know that I am not going to get ripped up with a big bill at a bad rate of exchange

I have never been on an oasis class ship but have just moved from deck 14 ocean view to deck 12 ocean view as I had worries about noise issues from the pool/sports deck