jbmom2120

Check out this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2148919

 

It may help you save some money at Embassy Suites.

I signed up for the Hilton MVP promotion and saved 29%. Appreciate the tip!:D

I signed up for the Hilton MVP promotion and saved $45 for our upcoming stay in April.

This is also our plan for a December cruise out of Houston, I'm interested to know what hotel you used and how it all worked out!

We are booked at the DoubleTree, approx a mile away. They have a selection that provides breakfast. Our flight gets in the night before sailing in the nine o'clock hour.

I will post on this thread again, when we return.

I just love cruise critic. It is so awesome how great you all are to help each other out!

Happy Cruising!!!

Your welcome!

The shuttles run all day. As they fill up they depart. In baggage claim the luggage was handed over to workers right outside the door next to a truck. They put the luggage on the truck and you don't see it again until it arrives in your stateroom. In baggage claim they hand out numbered cards. They call groups to board by number. We had arrived on a 9:30 flight and took the first shuttle at around 11:15. We arrived around 12:15 and boarding was already underway.

Boarded with plenty of time to have a relaxing lunch in the DR. :D

Great to know that the luggage will be taken care of! Yay! Lunch in the DR has always been one of our favorite items for the first day.

We did this last month. We spent 2 nights prior to our cruise by Bush and had a rental car. When we returned the car, we took the rental shuttle to the terminal to pick up the Princess transfer. Just be sure to verify the location you need to go to in order to pick up the Princess transfer. Bush has several terminals, so you want to make sure you go to the right place.

Thank you for your reply. How do I verify which terminal the shuttle will depart from?

There are multiple shuttles. First one probably leaves the airport between 9 and 10 AM.

Thank you!

We are sailing out of Bayport near Houston in early April. We are flying into IAH the night before and staying at a hotel near the airport that has a free shuttle to & from the airport. I am wondering what time the Princess shuttle gets to the airport. Is there more than one shuttle in a day? What time do they leave the airport and head to the cruise port?

(I would like to thank Colo Cruiser for the great suggestion of staying at a hotel at the airport airport and taking the Princess shuttle to the ship. I found the suggestion in an earlier post.)

Boarded the Divina this morning @ 11:45. Very smooth embarkation! :DThey would not allow us to have lunch in the Villa Rosa :eek:, something about a private party for travel agents! The buffet was okay & overall it was enjoyable. Went to customer service to inquire as to the possibility of an upgraded cabin to be closer to our friends that we invited along & were told three different stories! The last person told us to come back after 7pm. We have a balcony cabin with an obstructed view. Our daughter came with us, so three of us to a cabin. The sofa pulls out into what appears to be a queen size bed, when open, it will block access to the balcony. There is not as much closet space as what we are used to on Princess, it's going to be a tight fit with the 3 of us putting clothes away. Our cabin adjoins w/another one & we can hear the neighbors thru the adjoining door. Looking forward to a great week, not going to let the little nicknoids get to us. Here to relax & enjoy. :D

No on the self service laundry but the laundry package is reasonably priced. Can't answer the luggage question.

Thank you for the response. :)

No sense in packing detergent. :p

Hello,

Does the Divina have self service laundry on board?

Does the Divina offer Onboard Airline & Luggage Check-in Service? (something similar to The Princess EZCheck service) This is where the service picks your luggage up from after you have gone thru customs in Miami takes them to the airport & checks them in with your airline for you.

Thanks,

K

Maureencruiser, Thanks for posting the information on the SUPER FAST Red boat!

I enjoyed watching the Divina leave the dock.

One more week & its our turn to board Divina!!! :)

Hi Mike,

We get on the day you get off. We are awaiting your posts. I'm happy that you started this thread, and hope you have a great time. :)

K

Hello Past Divina Cruisers,

Is there another option for lunch on the first day other than the buffet? We would like to enjoy a calmer atmosphere. :)

Princess offers lunch in one of the dining rooms on the first day.

Thanks.

K

jbmom2120, this one would be the Hampton Inn in downtown Miami. It is located near Brickell at 50 SW 12th Street, Miami, Florida. Near places like Mary Brickell Village.

 

http://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/florida/hampton-inn-and-suites-miami-brickell-downtown-MIABVHX/index.html

 

Keith

Keith,

Thank you!

Karen

One that has not been mentioned which based on your post would have been my first choice for you is the Hampton Inn. It is only a couple of miles from the port, includes a very nice breakfast and is near Mary Brickell which will have lot of restaurants, stores and even a supermarket for last minute items. I highly recommend it.

 

Other hotels not in any order include:

 

Intercontinental

Holiday Inn Bayside

Marriott

Hyatt

 

There are others but some might not be in the price range you desire so I have not listed them.

 

Do check out the Hampton Inn though. I think you will be pleased.

 

Keith

Hi Keith, would this be the Hampton Inn Miami-Coconut Grove/Coral Gables?

You stayed there after we did the last time. If memory serves we were there last in January of 2012. I had decided I was tired of staying at just OK places and want to stay in a more comfortable room.

You almost ended up in La Perla , a slum known for drug dealers hanging out there. Not a place you want to go at night.

It was one of those places where you just knew you didn't belong. A few months after we got back, we saw a little clip of it on a travel show that warned people to stay out of that area. Of course we have those areas here as well. :eek: I'm just happy that we pay close attention to our surroundings and remove ourselves from bad ones. :)

Is the year correct on your countdown clocks, it is showing 2015, yet the countdown is showing 2 months. Where is the cruise headed?

Hello, we have stayed at this hotel several times. We have never had a problem there. The last time we were there was in April 2012. They have always treated us nice. The price is right for just spending a night before a cruise. They have allowed us to leave our luggage in a locked room, after we checked out, so that we could go exploring. I would be interested in knowing when the last time erniesband was at Le Consulat. That may change my mind about staying there in the future. We have walked around this area and have not had any issues. We walked to the beach and spent part of the day there, .not experiencing any issues.

We have taken the bus into OSJ & have walked around quite a bit and never had any problems.

There are two places that I didn't care for in San Juan, the first place was when we stayed at the Caribe Hilton. We walked to the Subway sandwich shop around the corner. The doors on the Subway were locked and we had to ring the doorbell to get in. We did not feel comfortable walking around that part of town at that point and went back to the hotel. The second place that made us uneasy, was when we were walking from El Morro to San Cristobal and dropped down into a neighborhood southeast of El Morro that bordered the ocean. We immediately turned around and took the regular road. There were plenty of trolleys and cars driving that road (Norzagaray St), so we felt safe.

Enjoy your time there and have a great cruise.

I have enjoyed the tips. I finally got thru the last of the posts today! :p

I recently purchased the luggage tag protectors from Cruise Critic. http://www.cruisecritic.com/store/product.cfm?ID=46 They weren't very expensive ($2.95usd each or four for $9.50usd). In the past I had the tags laminated as my printer's ink smudges when it gets wet. They arrived in the same week that I ordered them.

Instead of getting a water bottle with a filter, I bring along Rubbermaid 20oz water bottles and add packets of True Lemon or True Lime to the water. The packets contain crystallized lemon and lime. 1 packet is equivalent to 1 large lemon or lime wedge. They are calorie free, sugar free, gluten free and have no preservatives. I find them to be delicious and they help if you encounter strong chlorine in water, such as at airports. The packets can be ordered online or found in many grocery stores. My local Walmart carries them now. In my grocery store and @ Walmart, they can be found on the baking isle, other stores stock them on the beverage isle by the Crystal Light packets.

Once on board the ship, I get a fresh lemon or lime wedge from the buffet and fill my water bottles up with ice and water.

Happy sailing everyone! :)

Lester's Diner on S.R 84 is open 24 hrs. It's close to the airport and port.

Thank you!!! :)

Hello,

My DH & I will be arriving into FLL at 6am the day our ship departs. Do you have any suggestions as what we could do for the morning, while we are waiting for the proper time to board the ship? (We will have our luggage)

Thank you! :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/faq.php?faq=vb3_reading_posting#faq_acronyms

 

Karen - try this link. It should take you to a page of acronyms & what they mean here on CC.

 

-Rose

Thank you Rose!! I tried to find it earlier, but must have been in the wrong place. :confused: I need to get to know the site better. Could spend 24 hours a day and not get to it all.

I appreciate your help.

Just My Humble Opinion :)

LOL, thank you! :p

You best get on it. I see you have three cruises in the next 6 months. If they are all less than 7 days, that will get you $150 OBC or about a 4% return. If they are all 14 days or longer they you get $750 or a 20% return.

 

Throw in the dividends and it is a great return

Thank you so much for your information on the stock. :) We just bought 100 shares today from my 401K. We are going to look into purchasing another 100 shares under my DH's name to get credit when we book a second cabin to take the DS & DD along.

On a different note, we will be arriving in Fort Lauderdale at 5:30am on the day the ship departs. (In the past, we have always arrived a day early.) Do you know how early we can arrive at the port? If we purchase the transfers thru Princess, will they pick us up at 5:30am & what will they do with us for the morning?

One more question, is there a list on Cruise Critic that describes what all the abbreviations that different people use mean? I have figured out several of them, just would like to be accurately decipher them all. ;) I have not figured out JMHO yet.

I really appreciate the knowledge that everyone shares here. Thank you all so much.

Karen