ccheng64

The after Thanksgiving Regal I booked is now on a flash sale. Cheapest balcony is only $400 on TA website, $200 cheaper than I paid. I don't think I will ever book Princess more than 30 days in advance.

I prefer firm bed. I never found Princess bed uncomfortable although I heard some passengers complained about the bed being too firm. I am taking Regal in November and I hope the bed will be firm and suportive. I never really like pillow top. For me pillow top will make my body sink down and I don't like it. A 2" inch memory foam inside the mattress top layer is enough for me.

Do the pastries and sandwiches served in the $10 royal tea event available in international cafe or HC? I was googling the pictures of the food served in the royal tea event and I think those scones and sandwiches seem a bit ordinary to me. Maybe they taste better than they look? If this is the case then I don't mind spending $10 for the experience.

Princess's free afternoon tea in MDR is just mediocre to me.

I love British afternoon tea. The best one I had so far was in Butchart Garden (Victoria, BC). Great view, great tea, great food but bad price.

Artificial sugar is bad becsuse it changes the environment of the digestion system. I no longer use refined sugar which has zero nutrition benefit. Now I use natural palm sugar in my cooking instead. Sometimes sugar is essential to cooking because it adds a layer of flavor.

I don't have a sweet tooth so I prefer my coffee drink unsweetened or slightly sweetened. I hope Regal can customize my coffee drinks (no syrup) for me when I take the Easter Caribbean cruise in Nov.

I chose anytime dining on all of my past Princess cruises and I was asked for my cabin number many times.

I think Princess was trying to make sure those who signed up tradition dining didn't come to anytime dining room because they missed their time slot or they didn't want to dine in the assigned table. I think it was a good thing that Princess asked for cabin number. I wouldn't want to see tradition dining passengers occupying anytime dining room. There was usually some wait time before getting seated in the anytime dining room.

Why are you spending two nights at the Miami airport? It is a dismal place to be and it really isn't a safe place to walk around.

We don’t intend to walk around a lot in MIA. We will only walk between Sheraton and the train station\ car rental center. It is just a short walk across the street.

Thursday - We arrive at 10:45pm and then we will check in and rest in the hotel for the night.

Friday - We plan to take the express bus from MIA to South Beach (30 min ride?) and return at late night. We will use the 25cent bus loop and walk around in South Beach. Last time when we visited, we had to pay for parking everywhere and be aware of the parking time. I think using public transportation will be easier this time.

Saturday - If we don’t get a rental car then we will use light rail & bus to tour around in Miami. We plan to visit downtown Miami, water front, Coconut Grove and Little Havana. Then we leave Miami to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday night.

I am researching the Tri Rail system too. Our plan is to fly in MIA on Thursday night and spend Thursday and Friday night in Miami. Then we will travel to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday night for the Sunday embarkation from Port of Everglades.

Thursday and Friday night: we stay at Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel & Executive Meeting Center (right next to MIA car rental canter and Tri Rail airport station)

Saturday night: we stay at Homewood Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel (very close to Tri Rail FLL station, 0.4 mile walking distance to the hotel)

Luggage: 26" luggage x 1 + 18" carry on X 2 (we are both physically fit adults)

We currently have two options regarding the transportation plan.

Option 1: Take the 9:42p Tri Rail to FLL and arrive at 10:22pm on Saturday. Walk 0.4 mile to the hotel. On Sunday morning, we take taxi to cruise terminal (hotel front desk said $12-$20 depends on traffic) or take hotel cruise shuttle ($10 pp)

Option 2: Alamo one-way car rental from MIA to FLL. I booked from Costco which is around $70 for a compact. After check out on Saturday, we walk to MIA car rental center to pick up our car. Drive around in Miami and then head to our hotel near FLL on Saturday night. The hotel has free parking. On Sunday morning, we return car to Alamo FLL and get a free shuttle ride to the cruise terminal. (is Alamo FLL cruise shuttle easy to get on right away?)

Which one makes more sense in terms of saving money and time and no hassle? I appreciate any comments. Thank you.

What is the typical price range for a cheapest balcony for a 7 nights Eastern Caribbean cruise departuring between Thanksgiving and Christmas assuming there is a flash sale?

There are so many ships in Caribbean during the low season and it seems it is hard for the cruiselines to fill up the ships before the final payment day?

Thanks.

Hi p-mori1!

May I ask a few questions too? We will be flying into Montreal in the early morning and we plan to buy the 747 express $9 bus pass to go to our hotel near old town(W Montreal). I was reading the bus 747 website and it says the machine onboard only accepts coins. I also remember you mentioned the transit system ticket machine does not take US credit cards either. Does that mean we better have Canadian dollar in hand to buy the ticket at the airport before boarding on the bus?

We will be arriving on an early Thursday morning in October. We are buying the day pass so I think we will utilize the subway and visit downtown and other parts of the city on the same day first. On Friday, we just walk around old town and water front and relax. Is it a good idea to visit downtown\other parts on Thursday and then visit old town on Friday in terms of street activities?

From the map I assume the entire old town is in walking distance from W hotel? Is mid Oct too cold to rent a bike to ride around? I especially want to bike in the university district and old town.

On Saturday morning, we will walk to VIA and take the first train to Quebec city to board our cruise. How reliable is VIA? Does it usually departure on time?

Thank you!