seaserenity

I already know about Larry's limos, but has anyone had a good experience with other limo services to the Port of Miami from Ft. Lauderdale?  How much extra do they cost for extras like a bottle of sparkling wine?

6 hours ago, bigbeergut said:

 

The Hyatt Place on 17th May be the best place for you, but don’t fall for the shuttle scam in these areas.  If there are two people that would be $18 and you could easily due Uber and probably a taxi without waiting for a shuttle.  The same advice applies for the ride to the port from the hotel.  Uber or a taxi will be quicker and cheaper without the hassle of waiting for the shuttle. Uber or taxi are even cheaper if you have more than two.  As far as the sofa bed is concerned, it’s as good or bad as any other sofa bed.  There isn’t any magic to make the sofa bed better at the Hyatt or on the ship.  Also check your bill in the morning at the Hyatt for shuttle charges or overnight parking.  It’s been my experience that they routinely add the charges even if you don’t park or use the shuttle.

I didn't know the age of this hotel, so I thought maybe someone would have first hand experience of the comfort level of the sofa bed...there would be 4 adults staying in one suite and I don't want anyone to have a bad back going into the cruise....good to know about double checking the morning check-out bill, I will do that.

Thanks everyone for your input!  It's been years since I was here for a cruise and didn't remember anything about the area.  I did run across some info which surprised me--Hyatt Place on 17th will be offering a free breakfast only for its members as of Nov. 1, and Embassy Suites charges $9 p/p for an airport shuttle....yikes.  Luckily it's easy to sign up for the Hyatt membership when you book, so far that's my #1 choice.  From the boards cruisers seem to like the hotel and its location.  Anyone try using the sofa bed?  Is it comfortable?

My family will be arriving at FLL airport on a Friday evening in March (arriving from different cities) and would like to have dinner together at a restaurant we can easily walk to.  What hotels are close to various restaurants within walking distance?

"Q" is the bar b que venue on deck 7. :cool:

so you sign up at the BBQ venue? is there a desk or something?

What's the best way to go about sharing cab fare to Dreams? I am taking the Nov. 1 Carnival Freedom and will be there Nov. 4. I will be traveling solo this trip, so I want to make safe travel decisions. So far no takers on the roll call. Any suggestions?

From Oranjestad to the high rise hotels on Palm Beach including the Occidental is $11 each way. Add an additional $3 each way on Sunday or a national holiday.

 

Taxis are perfectly safe. If you find someone willing to share the taxi and split the cost with you they can hold up to a maximum of 5 people.

Thank you, Arubalisa, that is good news all the way around. Now to find someone to share the cab ride with!

Thinking of getting a day pass to the Occidental resort for my beach day--how much is the cab fare? Also, I will be traveling solo, how safe is it to cab here as a single woman? Thanks for the info!

Sorry everyone- I haven't been back on this board for a few days. Here are some more details:

 

We booked the pass on this website:

http://www.caribbeandaypass.com

You have to wait for them to email you a voucher and then bring the voucher directly to the hotel. Once at the front desk at the hotel, there were no issues whatsoever. They gave us a wristband and off we went.

 

Someone wrote above that you can just really go to any hotel and have access to the beach. This is true, BUT... it was so nice to have access to both the beach and pool. The pool was gorgeous and very tropical. Lots of chairs both in the sun and in the shade. There was an exercise class going on in the pool and everyone joined in. Then a quick few steps to the swim-up bar right there in the pool was cool. Also nice to have access to chairs and palapas (shade!). Then there were the unlimited food and drinks. Not to mention nice restrooms, and other little extras.

 

The food on the buffet was great. Breakfast had EVERYTHING you could ever want. We had eaten a small breakfast on the ship before getting off, and sorry that we did. We ended up having a second breakfast at the hotel. Lunch was also a wide variety including stuff for the kiddies in your group (chik fingers, etc). There was pasta, breads desserts, side dishes. All better than the buffets on the ship.

 

For those looking for beach activities, there were all sorts of attractions within steps. Parasailing, tubing, etc. were available (not for free! lol) Also, nice concrete boardwalk allowed you to take long walk in either direction and see all the other hotels and resorts.

 

As the afternoon went on, we realized that we had to get back to the ship soon and we were really sad that we didn't have a few more hours. We had such a nice time that we are exploring going back next year for a few days.

Thanks for the info and link. I see on this web site that they offer transportation--did you use them as well or just take a cab? If you took a cab, how much did were you charged? Looks like a gorgeous beach, and I love AI resorts. Thanks!

Just got back from our cruise and used Courtney Taylor tours in Jamaica. Service was personable and great, very informative--I've been to Jamaica 4 times and still learned new information about the country. Would not hesitate to recommend his company.