Saturngrl

I love Concierge! Pre-embarkation priority check and boarding, embarkation day lunch in the MDR, welcome blanc d blanc wine and fruit in your stateroom and pre-disembarkation lounge with coffee and pastries...plus the better location on board ship. It's a winner to me.

I just called Sandals and they confirmed they are closed until December 16th. I then emailed The Verandah and have requested reservations for two day passes for our cruise next month. No swim up bar, but it has great reviews. :cool:

Some people check in at their assigned times. Some like to arrive about 12:30 to avoid the initial rush and start with lunch. Personally, I'm with the other posters who like to arrive early, board early and enjoy not being rushed. It's all a matter of personal preference.

I have always sailed Concierge and love having the luxury of an assigned disembarkation lounge. I have not experienced crowds there and appreciate the coffee/juice/etc. offered by the cruiseline before we depart. I am also looking forward to the new Embarkation Luncheon for Concierge level passengers in the MDR.

I will be on the same cruise as you. Should be interesting to see if they do this! I love the Lawn Club Grill!

I prefer the Silhouette for the Lawn Club Grill and love Concierge class! In addition to the perks listed above, Concierge also gets its own pre-departure lounge with coffee and pastries on the day of debarkation. Once on board, you will be asked if you would like to purchase a multi-night specialty dining package. This is a great way to try the specialty restaurants for approximately 25-30% less than full price for each restaurant. I LOVE the Lawn Club Grill, QSine and Tuscan Grille! I am also willing to pay extra to have lunch at Sushi on 5 and at the Porch....it's all great!

I prefer working with my TA, who is wonderful! She always finds us the best deals and provides little perks you cannot get online or with the cruise line.

My top choices are the Lawn Club Grill, QSine and lunch at the Porch. All are specialty, for fee, restaurants but have great food and awesome service!

It is a perfect solution, given the circumstances. Everyone can decide for themselves the best option given their own personal situation. Excellent job by the cruise line.

Agreed! Anyone who books a cruise during hurricane season needs to accept the risk that Mother Nature will hamper their plans. Personally, I would never book a cruise during June- mid November for that reason.

Oh boy, my spell check on my phone last night was crazy. I apologize for the misspellings in my previous post.

U am so dorry! I con fused Lk. Ida with the Lake Roy Resort. So glad you changed your plans! Have a blessed day and fabulous cruise!

You have been a great help to us. Just booked Lake Ida Beach Resort in Winter Haven. Do you know anything about this place? They are cabins and the reviews look ok.

 

Thank you very much for all your help. I am printing it all out.

I live in Winter Haven and know the Lake Ida Beach Resort very well. The owners are very nice people. It's a mom and pop type of resort located on a lake adjacent to Cypress Gardens Boulevard. It features kitchenettes, suite-style accommodations and has screened porches overlooking the lake. An IHOP is within walking distance and there are lots of restaurants along CGB.

An alternative to getting to Ft. Lauderdale from that location is to take Hwy. 27 south to Lake Wales. Exit to State Road 60 heading east to the Florida Turnpike. The Turnpike (toll road) will take you to the exit for Port Everglades. If you want to avoid tolls, Hwy. 60 will take you to I-95 South, which will also take you to Port Everglades.

Enjoy your cruise!

We are sailing out of Port Everglades 11/19/17 and I just pre-paid my reservation at PnG. Their prices are now $12 a day, an increase from the previous $8.99 a day. Has anyone else had this experience? I have used them in the past and was very satisfied with their service in comparison the price of parking at the port. Now, the $3 a day savings doesn't seem to be worth it.

Thoughts?

We arrive at the port early and board as soon as they allow. We then head to lunch and then to a bar to relax until the staterooms are ready. It's then off to the stateroom. First, we wipe everything down with antibiotic wipes, then unpack our carry-ons. We review the daily schedule, head to the spa for their specials and then explore the ship until Muster. Early to Muster, then back to our balcony with a drink in hand for sailaway!

Aqua Class gets access to Blu for almost every meal but embarkation lunch. Concierge class doesn't get access to Blu, Luminae or Michael's Club---the embarkation lunch in MDR is the little bone thrown to them. Thus, it makes no sense to me to open up the MDR at embarkation to anyone but Concierge.

Great info, thank you! I'm traveling with friends and we're all in our 40's and 50's, two to a room. I am looking into car service from hotel to port and from port to EWR. Dial 7 seems to be a favorite on this blog.

Will keep perusing threads on this site and discuss with my TA. Thank you all!

Our group of four will sail the Celebrity Summit from Cape Liberty in April 2018. We will fly in the day before the cruise and fly out the afternoon after the cruise. Questions for pre-cruise planning:

1. What hotels near the airport/cruise port offer free shuttle from the airport to hotel?

2. Aside from Embassy Suites in Elizabeth ($20 shuttle), are there any hotels that offer free shuttle to the cruise port? Or, should I hire a car?

Thank you for any info you may provide.

In Cozumel, we love Mr. Sancho's Beach Club! It's a 10 minute taxi ride from the cruise terminal. The keys to full enjoyment are:

1. Advance reservations on their website

2. Arrive early in the day to ensure great seating and schedule massages, horseback riding, beachfront lounges....

3. Be ready to tip each wonderful server....the service there is fantastic!

4. Leave at least one hour before your ship is due to sail...the lines at the pier are VERY long.

Can't wait to go back there....have fun!

To help my roommate and me easily find our cabin (and keep others from confusing ours with theirs), I always, tastefully, decorate my cabin door with magnetic signs. It's a great visual cue to us when we've had a few cocktails. :cool:

You hit this one on the button. Not sure about your worst, but the art folks are some of the highest paid on the ship (in many cases they make as much as the captain) and they only work sea days to a great extent, on port days they can pretty much go anyplace they like. They are only responsible to the people they work for who are not on the ship.

 

The fact that they are selling a product which is a huge rip-off is inconsequential. They just have to learn to live with that.

You raise an excellent point! My other favorite job would be Sommelier in Cellar Masters....anyone for a nice Cabernet Sauvignon?

Best job: Park West Art Auctioneer....limited hours with lots of happy interactions.

Worst job: Deckhand/Painter....that's a really tough job!

Fun thread!

In addition to the other mentioned perks, the priority check-in is a plus. The big thing for me is the pre-disembarkation lounge reserved for Concierge passengers. They offer coffee, juice and pastry (if memory serves) for you while you wait for your group number to be called. I loved this perk the last time we sailed the Silhouette...it lessens the pain of disembarkation.

On my last cruise on the Silly, I was at the gym at 6:00 and it got crowded fairly quickly. It's a beautiful facility. My only complaint is the elipticals face starboard, which made for a nauseating ride in rough seas on a sea day. It was great to see the sun rise as I exercised!

Another vote for Mr. Sancho's Beach Club! Make a reservation on their website to ensure space for you. My friends and I went there this past February and LOVE this resort! We reserved a Cabana for two, plus 3 additional all-inclusives. We arrived early in the morning, received two cabanas a large table, upgraded to one-hour massages (the BEST ever!), went horseback riding through the mangrove and on the beach and ate/drank to our please at the swim up bar in the pool. Can't wait to go back there!

The Lawn Club Grill is wonderful! I also love QSine and the Porch. May I suggest you look into purchasing a multi-night specialty dining package? They usually offer them online and will certainly offer packages when you board the ship. The packages will save you money and you will enjoy the best of what the Silhouette offers!