Fort Lauderdale Pre and Post Cruise w/Photos: Gallery One/Restaurants/Las Olas

[Host Faith]

After walking for about 10 minutes or so, we passed an intriguing shop. I wanted to go in but wasn't sure if Crystal and Rae wanted to, but when they noticed it they figured right away that I would want to circle back and head in. The shop is called the EVOO market, and if you love to cook or are a foodie, it's a wonderful place!

 

Long tables are lined with various bottles of olive oil from around the world for tasting. There were several varieties of infusions, like white and black truffle, porcini mushroom, rosemary...even bacon! As soon as we entered, the owner, Sultan Khan, greeted us and explained the different varieties of oil. He also pointed us to several flavors of aged balsamic vinegar, which was rich and sweet. We tried the 18-year old balsamic, as well as the strawberry balsamic. Both were delicious!

 

 

We enjoyed ourselves, tasting several types of oil. He mentioned that if you purchased $100 worth of products, he would ship everything to your home for free. Crystal instantly set to work putting her order together. Rae and I bought bottles of water ($1 each), and a loaf of freshly baked bread from the bakery next door (he sells them when the bakery is closed), for $1.25. Delicious bread too!

 

We chatted a bit and told him that we were from the Princeton area. He said, "You know, I used to live right next to Princeton." We asked him where, and he said.....Plainsboro! :eek: Such a small world! Rae and I tell people we live in the Princeton area since they hardly ever know where Plainsboro is (right next to Princeton)! It's amazing that he comes from our hometown. He retired from the corporate world and opened this shop in Ft. Lauderdale, and is loving his life there.

 

It's funny, I kept taking photos of the shop and Sultan was wondering what I was doing. I know I must have looked crazy! I told him I was a blogger and would show some photos on my blog. If you are ever in the area, please do stop by and pick up a bottle of olive oil, or balsamic vinegar, even one of the fabulous cooking salts or beauty products. Sultan was very informative, giving health advice and recommendations based on our preferences.

 

If you Google EVOO Market Fort Lauderdale, you'll find his FB page. A great shop.

[Host Faith]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

 

 

 

I'll be back, Sultan, with more space in my suitcase! :D

 

[Host Faith]

After the market, we strolled back to the car. Crystal wanted to take some of her items in her suitcase to the post office to ship home. She had a whole bag of items that shipped for just $10, which was much less than the extra fee she would have had to pay if she was charged by the airline.

 

For the next hour or so, we pretty much drove around the beach area and Las Olas. We were thinking of parking and taking some photos on the beach, but the Spring Break crowd was out and the beach was very crowded. Apparently the weather kept everyone in when we arrived before our cruise, but the sunshine coaxed the visitors outside on this day! The traffic was stop-and-go.

 

 

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

Around 6 PM, we returned our car to the Enterprise folks, and boarded the shuttle to head to our respective terminals. Since Crystal was on a different airline, she went to Terminal 4, while we went to Terminal 3. We got off first, and were sad to say "so long," to her after spending such an awesome time with her all week! :(

 

The airport terminals were smaller than I expected. There was a console available with a lot of outlets, so I was able to charge my phone and Kindle Fire before boarding.

 

Ok, so the food in FLL...is terrible! In our area, there was one smallish eatery that had a Dunkin Donuts, a Caribbean food place, and a sandwich shop. Rae was smart and got a sandwich. I got a jerk chicken platter....the chicken was shredded into a stew that was sugary sweet and hot at the same time. The flavors didn't make much sense to me. You would have to taste it yourself to understand what I'm talking about (but please don't do it LOL). I love jerk chicken when it's done right, I don't know why I expected it to be like that. I only ate about 5 bites and couldn't finish it.

 

One cool thing; I think they were in a hurry to get us to board, so the back half of the plane boarded by walking outside, and the first half boarded the normal way. We were just behind the wings, so we got to go outside. If anyone had mobility issues or just didn't want to go that way, they were able to board normally. Some people complained, but I thought, "How many times do you have an opportunity to board from outside?!" We loved it. I was in a hurry so I couldn't get clear shots.

 

 

 

Besides that, our flight was uneventful and smooth. Rae and I watched Bethenny Ever After on Bravo on the plane, and the man next to me was watching the Colbert Report. Gotta love JetBlue :D. Our baggage at EWR came quickly, and Wesley (my husband) was at the door when we got to the curb.

 

That's it for our experience before and after our cruise in Fort Lauderdale. We had a great time and really enjoyed the city. Looking forward to going back again this fall.

 

Feel free to ask questions if you have any, I'll help if I can. I'll be checking back on this thread often. :)

[ilovecraig929]

AMAZING REVIEW!!!!! I am headed to Fort Lauderdale in a couple of weeks so this was great! Also, even though I don't (at the moment) have a cruise planned I'm headed now to devour all of your reviews because you're an amazing writer! very entertaining! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

[Host Faith]

AMAZING REVIEW!!!!! I am headed to Fort Lauderdale in a couple of weeks so this was great! Also, even though I don't (at the moment) have a cruise planned I'm headed now to devour all of your reviews because you're an amazing writer! very entertaining! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

 

Hi Shannon! Thank you so much, it's my pleasure to share the reviews and photos. You're so lucky to be headed to Fort Lauderdale so soon, enjoy your trip!:)

[ilovecraig929]

I'm going so that I can attend the cruise conference 'Cruise3Sixty'. I've been working with a travel agent because I'm trying to break into the business myself, (I mean really, PLANNING CRUISES and getting paid for it, YES, Please!) So she hooked me up with this conference which sounds exciting and I plan to learn a lot!

 

Downside is I'm truthfully not a fan of the beach...I know, I know...I mostly only like to see a beach if I'm driving past it to get onto a ship :p but my hubby and little boy decided to come with me so I've been trying to think of fun places we can go at night and eat, etc so your review ROCKED MY SOCKS. (after the fort lauderdale part I started from the beginning to read the whole thing and I'm about half way through and OH YEAH, my employer has gotten zero work from me since I discovered your reviews, hahaha). but the liberty has been on my radar as a possible cruise for the end of this year so I'm loving learning as much as I can about it!

 

Side note, as part of the conference I'm supposed to be able to tour the Oasis of the seas and have lunch on board so I'll take lots of pics and share them and hopefully give you a glimpse of what awaits you on the allure!

[Azulann]

Chrytal,

 

Thank you for your photo review of pre and post cruise.

I will be staying at the Gallery One for my pre curise later this year. Now I know I made the right choice.

 

Your pictures of the menu and food is very informative.

In fact I am getting hungry for some fresh seafood. Love your style of writing,

your enthusiam comes through.:)

 

thanks again and enjoy your next cruise.

[Gypsy2]

Pictures were awesome, what type of camera do you use?

[Sinppu]

This was a great review! We have an Allure cruise coming up in October and I've been pondering if we should stay in Ft. Lauderdale and not in Miami pre-cruise. Miami hotels are sooo expensive :eek:

 

This showed me brilliantly that there are plenty of things to see, do and EAT in Ft. Lauderdale :D

 

Thanks Chrystal!

[JamesEM]

Thanks for sharing...............

[Host Faith]

Chrytal,

 

Thank you for your photo review of pre and post cruise.

I will be staying at the Gallery One for my pre curise later this year. Now I know I made the right choice.

 

Your pictures of the menu and food is very informative.

In fact I am getting hungry for some fresh seafood. Love your style of writing,

your enthusiam comes through.:)

 

thanks again and enjoy your next cruise.

 

Great choice with the Gallery One! Every time I look at that photo of the blackened chicken salad, I crave it. :D I'm glad you like the review, thank you for reading and happy cruising to you!

[Host Faith]

Pictures were awesome, what type of camera do you use?

 

Thank you! I used a Canon Powershot ELPH 100.

[Host Faith]

This was a great review! We have an Allure cruise coming up in October and I've been pondering if we should stay in Ft. Lauderdale and not in Miami pre-cruise. Miami hotels are sooo expensive :eek:

 

This showed me brilliantly that there are plenty of things to see, do and EAT in Ft. Lauderdale :D

 

Thanks Chrystal!

 

My pleasure! I know, Miami hotels are pricey. We're thinking of spending one night in Miami (so we can say we've stayed there), and one night in Fort Lauderdale before our next cruise. There's plenty to do in Fort Lauderdale though. We missed the water taxi, I always wanted to try that, so maybe next time. The restaurants there are great and the beach looked really nice. Have fun on your cruise! :)

[Host Faith]

Thanks for sharing...............

 

You're welcome :)

[BlueHerons]

Chrystal, thank you so much for the kind words!

 

I absolutely LOVE the Surfcomber! It feels like a really expensive resort. I haven't stayed there since it was the Doubletree but I cannot imagine it has fallen off at all since I walk by it all the time.

 

MTV used to headquarter there the two or three years the VMAs were in Miami and P Diddy used to throw his parties at their pool. It's right next door to The Delano so make sure around 4PM you throw on your sarong and heels and head over to their pool bar for mojitos!

 

The Surfcomber is probably my favorite of the moderate hotels in South Beach. Since so many SB hotels are so swank, moderate is luxury anywhere else.

[Host Faith]

Chrystal, thank you so much for the kind words!

 

I absolutely LOVE the Surfcomber! It feels like a really expensive resort. I haven't stayed there since it was the Doubletree but I cannot imagine it has fallen off at all since I walk by it all the time.

 

MTV used to headquarter there the two or three years the VMAs were in Miami and P Diddy used to throw his parties at their pool. It's right next door to The Delano so make sure around 4PM you throw on your sarong and heels and head over to their pool bar for mojitos!

 

The Surfcomber is probably my favorite of the moderate hotels in South Beach. Since so many SB hotels are so swank, moderate is luxury anywhere else.

 

Sounds perfect! That's exactly what I was going for, I'm glad to hear we made the right choice. It was the first place I booked, but I kept second-guessing myself, revisiting the other hotels in the area. Now I really can't wait! Thank you again :D

[BlueHerons]

This was a great review! We have an Allure cruise coming up in October and I've been pondering if we should stay in Ft. Lauderdale and not in Miami pre-cruise. Miami hotels are sooo expensive :eek:

 

This showed me brilliantly that there are plenty of things to see, do and EAT in Ft. Lauderdale :D

 

Thanks Chrystal!

 

Your dates are over the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show and Fort Lauderdale hotels will be very expensive. I would take a look at the Small Superior Lodgings in Hollywood Beach. Don't miss the boat show!

[Sinppu]

Your dates are over the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show and Fort Lauderdale hotels will be very expensive. I would take a look at the Small Superior Lodgings in Hollywood Beach. Don't miss the boat show!

 

Great, thanks for the tip! I've booked and pre-paid our hotel already, I was early and got a good price (although we are almost in Pompano Beach).

[Tickled2Trvl]

Thank you Chrystal,

I have to join the chorus with a big thanks for bringing back some great memories we have of FLL. We flew in two days early for our cruise and totally enjoyed our time, the water taxi was great and the only problem we had with food....is having the time to experience it all. Your photos were great and EVOO...I'm coming.

[Host Faith]

Thank you Chrystal,

I have to join the chorus with a big thanks for bringing back some great memories we have of FLL. We flew in two days early for our cruise and totally enjoyed our time, the water taxi was great and the only problem we had with food....is having the time to experience it all. Your photos were great and EVOO...I'm coming.

 

My pleasure! I'm glad you enjoyed the review :). I agree, it's tough making time to get to everything! I'm trying to decide which restaurant to visit when we have our rental car for the day after sailing the Allure. We're going to spend two nights in Miami Beach this time since we've always wanted to go there. It's tough because my husband will be with me and we have to pick just ONE restaurant for that afternoon. I want him to see each place we visited! :eek: Leaning toward Mango's...

 

Love the EVOO market, can't wait to stop there again.

[Host Faith]

Good morning everyone! My friend Rae surprised me for my birthday last week. I was eyeing one of the belts in the Las Olas Boutique after our cruise, but I didn't buy it. She actually called them to order a belt, and have them ship it to her so she could give it to me as a gift. :)

 

It's gaudy and I love it, lol. Here's a pic. Please pardon the photo quality, I took it with my phone:

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

Hi Everyone! Still planning our Allure cruise, and I think I'm closer to finishing our plans. We're definitely staying at the Surfcomber in Miami Beach for the two nights before the cruise. We're looking at the following restaurants in the area. I wanted to get a taste of the different influences in Miami's food scene (Cuban/Argentinian) a couple times. Plus we're big seafood lovers. Does anyone have any feedback for any of these:

 

Puerto Sagua- lunch

The Dining Room- dinner

Front Porch Cafe- breakfast

La Sandwicherie- lunch (take with us to the beach)

A Fish Called Avalon- dinner

 

We're thinking of doing an Art Deco Walking tour as well. For the rest of the time, I think we'll wander around and see what we find. Very excited. Any advice for our time in South Beach? Thanks in advance.

[Shatima]

I loved it. Thanks for sharing:D