Brendarudd28

We just stayed at the Hyatt Place in January for both our pre-cruise and post-cruise stays. The hotel itself is VERY nice. We had absolutely no complaints. Breakfast was free and fantastic!

It is just a short walk through the parking lot to get to the Publix grocery store and there are several restaurants there. We ate dinner at the Fort Lauderdale Grill the first night and a sports bar/eatery place much like a Ralphie's or Buffalo Wild Wings the night after the cruise.

We took the shuttle TO the port because the staff said that a taxi is indeed cheaper, but depending on traffic, you could be sitting in the taxi racking up the fare. It was 5 of us at $7 pp which was $35 for the trip TO the port.

When we got off the ship and took a taxi BACK to the hotel it was $12 total for all 5 of us.

You decided. But it's a great place to stay. And book it through valuetrips dot com. MUCH cheaper!

Happy sailing.

So how and when do you know if your airline or departure city does this? Does the airline transport the luggage or carnival? We have family there so our transportation back to the airport is easy but sure would be nice not to have to carry our luggage around.

They will put a piece of paper in with your Fun Times giving you all kinds of information about the program. But I do think that 90% of the airlines do now. I know we've taken both Southwest and Delta and both participate. They will give you a deadline as to when you have to sign up for Luggage Express. Be sure to do it before then. We were travelling with friends and they weren't able to do it because they missed the deadline.

The cruiseline transports your luggage to the airport. They also check you in and print your boarding pass for you. The boarding pass along with your luggage tags will be in your cabin on the last night of your cruise.

We used Luggage Express a couple of years ago on the Freedom. It was super easy and super convenient. But I know at that time not all ships were participating in the program. There used to be a list of ships that participated on the Carnival website, but I can't seem to find it now. That would lead me to believe that they are all up and running now.

One word of advice, figure out all the costs ahead of time. My boyfriend and I each had a bag. We did it and it cost us $20 each. But we flew Delta and were charged $25 each for our bags. That's a total of $90. If we would have just sent both bags under one person it would have only been $80 ($20 LE charge, $25 for first checked bag and $35 for second checked bag). I know it's only $10, but that's one drink on the ship! LOL

You DO NOT have to book your flights through Carnival to participate in the program.

Does anyone know how much the day spa pass is on the magic or dream? I would really love to try the thermo pool..

 

thanks

We were on the Dream last October and they did not offer spa passes by the day. You had to buy them for the whole week. It's $149 for one person or $250 for a "couple" and a "couple" can be any two people.

I've never had a curtain in any of my rooms either, balcony or oceanview. You can go to.... cruise line rooms dot com (no spaces) to view pictures that people have posted of their rooms. You can select the ship you're sailing on and then it'll list down the rooms. If there's no pictures for your specific room, just click on one that's a similar type. Hope that helps.

We found a great spot on the Dream last fall. It was one of those "secret" doors all the way forward. I can't remember whether it was the 7th or 8th deck, but we went out there and there were NO lights anywhere. The ship's bridge is right in front and that's why I think they keep it dark. Anyhow, it was a perfect place to view the night sky. I have to admit though, it did get kind of creepy out there after a while in all that darkness. I mean it was dark enough that I couldn't even see the person I was with standing right next to me. Hope you find a spot like that on your sailing. :)

We were on the Panorama Deck (11264) last year on the Dream. Looking down at the Lanai Deck was actually fun for people watching. I could see plenty of ocean. I don't think the Lanai Deck bothered me one bit. Once you've seen the water churning out from under the boat, it doesn't change.

This was the highest we've been though and the most forward we've ever been. So there was a good deal more motion. However, I felt more motion even low on this ship than I experienced on the other two ships we had been on. It certainly wasn't enough to bother me as I like to be rocked to sleep.

A cove balcony is an experience I would like to try sometime, but for me, the higher the balcony - the better.

I'm reposting my response to the same question on a different thread.

Last Halloween we booked the Hampton Inn's cruise package. It was a little pricey ringing in at $200 for two of us. But we figured that we were likely going to spend $100 on the room anyhow and $50 per person for transporation was almost the cheapest I could find. Renting a car for 2 people really turned out to be the same cost ($45 each way for a rental car) and I didn't want the hassle of driving. I'm on vacation, I'll pay a little extra to have all my worries taken care of.

The hotel contracts with Travelynx and I just can't say enough good things about them. I've posted on a couple other threads here that our cruise was delayed getting back because of a medical emergency that occurred on our last sea day. So we were 2 hours late docking in Port Canaveral. As soon as I turned on my cell phone (before we even docked) Travelynx was calling me to calm my nerves and tell me that there was a driver already waiting for us and would whisk us away to the airport as soon as we got off the ship. We had an 11:30 a.m. flight. Also, you don't have to book a hotel package to utilize Travelynx. You can book them independently. I HIGHLY recommend them and Hampton Inn's cruise package.

Happy cruising! :)

We were on the Inspiration last year during Cinco De Mayo and even stopped in Cozumel that day. I was all jazzed up for some happenings on the island, but there were none. I found out that Cinco De Mayo is a sort of Americanized holiday and they do not celebrate it in Mexico. Bummer. However, on the ship they did have a big Cinco De Mayo party later that night where people showed off all the garb they had bought in Mexico including a sombrero contest.

Thank you RoyalCruz! You rock! :)

Hello fellow cruisers!

We will be taking our first cruise at the end of September. We are coming into FLL two days before our cruise departs to start our vacation early. I've been reading this thread and have gotten a wealth of knowledge. Unfortunately, no one else has asked my questions, so I'll have to do it myself.

1. We have tenatively booked the Bahia Mar. Can anyone tell me whether this is a nice hotel and whether it's close to restaurants and activities? I know that there is a water taxi stop located nearby.

2. Our #2 option was going to be the Pelican Grand Resort. Is this a better choice nice-wise and location-wise? The price is pretty much the same as #1.

3. We would really love to do a charter sportfishing trip. Is there anyone the locals would recommend or maybe steer us away from?

4. We have one other ship in port when we're disembarking on October 3 (not the Oasis). Delta has cancelled the 12:20 p.m. flight and moved us to 11:15 a.m. Will we make it?

Any information you can give would be greatly appreciated! :)