Susan in Maine

We want to go to Grand Lucayan Resort when in Freeport. Should we pay them or is it easy to do on our own? What is the fee at the resort and what is included? Thanks!

I appreciate all your help.

If I bring a bottle of wine in my carry-on luggage (only doing carry-on) when boarding the Victory - what's going to happen to my wine? Will I get to drink it? BTW - I'm over 21 - WAYYYYYY over 21.

They didn't spend any of the money they were planning to spend in ports or on board for the most part.

 

Hotel rooms in NYC this weekend are under $100.

 

You can spend a nominal amount in NYC and have a lot of fun. Things like the Staten Island Ferry and Metropolitan Museum of Art are free not to mention a zillion other things you can do.

The Met is NOT free, and neither is the Ferry. EVERYTHING in NYC is very expensive- a one way subway ride is up to $2.75 per person.

During April a friend and I are looking to take a four day cruise from Port Canaveral. Our choices are the Victory or Enchantment. I've been on several cruises - this will be her first. The only Carnival cruise I was on was in 1998, and I wasn't impressed. Generally I've sailed on RCCl or Princess.

Opinions on this cruise? Carnival has bigger cabins, and is cheaper. I've had 6 cruises on RCCL and loved them. Is it worth the smaller cabins and extra money to sail on the Enchantment? BTW, we're in our 50's, and not party animals. Just looking for a relaxing get-away-from-the-family.

Thanks!

Susan in Maine

During April a friend and I are looking to take a four day cruise from Port Canaveral. Our choices are the Victory or Enchantment. I've been on several cruises - this will be her first. The only Carnival cruise I was on was in 1998, and I wasn't impressed. Generally I've sailed on RCCl or Princess.

Opinions on this cruise? Carnival has bigger cabins, and is cheaper. I've had 6 cruises on RCCL and loved them. BTW, we're in our 50's, and not party animals. Just looking for a relaxing get-away-from-the-family.

Thanks!

Susan in Maine

Wow! What a helpful post! I'm going to be printing it out and taking it with me.

 

Am I to understand that once we get checked in, we will be taking a shuttle to the ship itself?

 

My plan was to leave the hotel no later than 10AM. Thanks for confirming that's a good time.

 

I don't know what my GPS is going to say. I'll plug in the address to the hotel in the next couple of days and see where it's planning on taking us. I will check back if I have any questions.

 

I haven't been on CruiseCritic for a couple of years - I'm remembering what a great resource you all are!

 

Susan in Maine

We are driving from Maine, staying at Country Inn & Suites. After talking it over with my parents, we decided that parking at the pier was the best choice for us. I have a GPS and am used to driving in both Boston and NYC, so I'm not concerned about the driving.

 

My parents have cruised several times before, so they are familiar with the drill. I've booked them a Handicapped cabin, and we have a 6PM dining time, so we're all good.

 

At this point they can't handle driving to the airport, flying somewhere, hotel, shuttle to ship, etc. so we're pretty much stuck with sailing from drivable ports.

My family of four, consisting of my parents, my daughter and myself, is cruising on Feb 1 for a 9 day cruise.

 

I'd like input on the shuttle from the hotel vs driving and parking myself. A little background: My parents are 80, and my father is both legally blind and seriously hearing impaired. He also gets VERY anxious when traveling.

 

From what I can tell, it would cost us at least $140 round trip for the shuttle, and approximately $190 for parking. I don't mind the driving at all - and frequently drive from Maine to Manhattan by myself.

 

So - is it worth saving the $50 or so to take a shuttle from a hotel?

 

Thanks!

We stayed there last Friday night January 26th. The room was great, and breakfast pre-cruise worked out very well.

 

However, a couple of qualifying issues:

 

Bahama Breeze is a VERY busy restaurant, especially on the weekends. At 6:30 on a Friday night, we would have had to wait 90 minutes or more for dinner. It's also noisy. This is fine if you're a party animal, but was a bit much for my family after traveling all day. We ended up doing take-out, and eating in our suite was great

 

Second issue is the transportation. There is only ONE van, and if you're traveling with a group, this can be a problem. There were five of us, and another group at the hotel of five or six. Because of that, they could only take one group at a time. Because the other people got a call into the hotel first, we ended up paying for a taxi to the airport. They were just picking up the first group at 9:45, and we would have had to wait for the van to go to the airport, and come back to pick us up.

 

I probably would still use the hotel, but the issue with the van really bothered us.

 

And thanks everyone for all their great contributions!

 

If you have any other questions, just ask!

Thanks for everyone's help.

I just changed my reservation from The Hampton Inn Airport/Westshore to Chase Suites. What's more, I saved $40 and got a great two bedroom suite to boot!

I really appreciate all the input from everyone, especially you Cracker Ken!

Susan in Maine

We are booked into the Hampton Inn Airport/Westshore on Laurel Street for the night before our Jan 27th cruise.

We've got two rooms for 4 adults and one child

For about the same money I can get the two bedroom suite at Chase Suites. We won't have a vehicle, and my parents are in their mid-70's, and my father is legally blind.

Which will be a better choice and more convenient? Also, we're sailing while there is a big festival in town.

Thanks!

PS: This is a GREAT thread - thanks for all the hard work!

Ken -

 

Thanks so much for the help. I feel much better about the hotel.

 

Is Gasparilla Children's Day just as crazy? It's scheduled for the 20th. If not, I may just reschedule my cruise.

 

We're traveling with my parents - my father is 73, blind and wears hearing aids in both ears. He tends to get pretty tense. My schedule is pretty flexible, so if the week before isn't crazy, it could be easier to just to earlier.

 

And Ken, you've done a wonderful thing with your posts in this thread. It's a big help to so many of us. Thank you!

Ken -

 

We are sailing on the Legend of the Seas on January 27, 2007. I've just found out that it's the same day as Gasparilla. (which explains why so many hotels are already full!) We're flying in the day before. Is it going to be tough for us to get around? I'm looking at the Hampton Inn Airport/Westshore on W. Laurel Street.

 

And I'm sorry for not remembering, even tho I've read the whole thread, but are there any restaurants in the area?

 

Thanks!