KWong

I went on Regal Princess over New Year's. Skews older, not that many bells and whistles in terms of activities. Really nice ship if one of your main goals is to relax and not do too much. Not a good ship if you like waterslides, rock walls etc. You definitely have to make your own fun. But if you're ok with that, it is quite enjoyable.

@DublinFC please let us know which hotel you settled on and how your stay was.

For me, I like staying at Hyatt Place 17th street. There are a large cluster of hotels in the area but the combination of free breakfast, large rooms and consistently competitive prices make this my choice. I'm not that fussed with pools though so ymmv with this. 

But the reason I like this area is that everything you need is within walking distance. Even Port Everglades if you wanted to save $10-15. There are various restaurants, a Publix/Dollar Tree for sundries, wine shops, and a TJ Maxx/Ross for "I forgot to pack this item of clothing".

2 hours ago, SLJ said:

Hi everyone! I plan to pre-pay my gratuities, but am wondering if I should tip cash to specific staff on top of that. If so, how much is the norm (ON TOP of the already paid gratuities)?

 

Thanks!

We've also traditionally tipped over and above (and I build it into our travel budget), but to reiterate everyone else it's not necessary to do so.

As for how much over and above... I don't know that there's a "correct" way to do this.

For the stateroom attendant, it ends up being slightly more than what I would tip housekeeping at a hotel.

For the servers, it's a few dollars, per person, per day, and rounding to the nearest 10. For us, a family of four, it works out to a decent amount.

I've brought beach toys onboard in the past. Actually we went to the dollar store after we landed in FLL and got beach toys there.

I always use the dodgy-looking-yet-legit valuetrips site for Fort Lauderdale. Haven't really found any other site that can provide that value for FLL area.

On 3/19/2022 at 11:06 AM, RCARD said:

I tried to get info for Rome, but search defaulted to Barcelona.  Guess they need to work out bugs.  Not sure about competitiveness of rates

This is like searching for Vancouver and getting Montreal hotels. 

On 4/9/2022 at 8:00 PM, smokeybandit said:

Canada's cruise travel website shows the 1 day antigen requirement for boarding a cruise ship.  RC's Vancouver protocols FAQ page still says 2 days for antigen. So there's definitely a conflict

I think the rule of thumb is, when in doubt, assume the stricter protocol (in this case the 1 day requirement) takes precedence.

It's hard to mitigate everything that could happen at self serve stations. Not sure if there is a best practice here.

But I wouldn't mind if they kept some of the pods as crew-service. 

Ran into this same issue when the kids were smaller. I was overly paranoid and rented a car for us because I really didn't trust the other options.

I also didn't trust the baggage folk to treat the car seat with any sense of care so I carried that thing around with me during embarkation day and debarkation day, where we took a taxi to the airport and the driver was NOT happy with me setting that thing up in his car. Understandable, since time = money for them but you gotta keep the kids safe.

On 3/12/2022 at 9:47 AM, Matt said:

Just stayed at the Hyatt House Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port (90 Southwest 18th Avenue, Dania Beach, FL 33004, USA) for the second time in less than six months.

Great location (~10 minute drive at the most to the terminal or airport).

They provide a free shuttle to/from FLL airport. 

Rooms are clean, has kitchens, and the suite set up (dining room table and chairs + living room) are a great value.

I actually prefer the location north of the airport. And there are a bunch of other hotels in the area as well - Matt I think you've reviewed at least 1 or 2 of them?

I really like the fact that the rooms are BIG. Even if you're only there for a night, it's nice for four people to be able to spread out and not feel like you're walking over each other - plenty of time for that when you're onboard and in the staterooms!

Plus the area has a lot of food and amenities in case you've forgotten anything, or need to buy wine.

Would agree that Shoppers is most convenient due to the way-in-advance booking. We've used it for business trips and it's as simple as you'd expect. 
 

To be honest the toughest part is remembering to put a reminder in your calendar to go. 

I believe that Red means that you shouldn't go out on away missions with the captain. 

On 12/21/2021 at 1:57 PM, nick_b said:

What's the vomit comet?

Oddly enough, this was also the nickname for the late night bus in Toronto that people took after the subway closed for the night.

For a budget option, there are bars with beaches in Costa Maya. 

We were supposed to be on this cruise, but canceled back in Sept because we weren't sure about Canada/US travel and when the 5-11 group would start getting vaccines in Canada.

Then to top things off we found out on Wednesday that my daughter was a close contact of a positive case, meaning that she was housebound until this morning. So technically speaking, I would've had to cancel regardless.

(everyone ended up with negative PCR tests)

At the end of the day, I wish I could be there, but I'm glad to hear you're enjoying things though!

Cigar lounge is actually not the worst revenue generating idea. But I'm certain that the cigar smokers would also not want cigarettes disrupting the cigar aroma. 

18 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

The smoking / non smoking areas in the casino is a joke. Like the entire place isn’t going to be filled with smoke in that small of a room? 

Very true. The ventilation on the newer ships do an admirable job of trying to contain the smoke smell, but it doesn't eliminate it - you'll still smell of smoke if you're in there for a while.

The thing about this smoking ban is that we've seen this play out before in restaurants, on planes and even in casinos (in Ontario at least). There will be noise about it for a month or two, and once people get used to the new normal, it dies down. Smokers complain, but they are, by and large, an adaptable bunch, and they'll adjust accordingly.

I think the best way to describe the comedy show is this:

Watch a clip of Jimmy Carr. If that offends you, don't go to the adult show. 

Probably not. But I guess we'll see what they do

Is it bad that one of my first takeaways was that I got annoyed that the author typed "my mom and me"? 

With that said, I felt the article was fair. Maybe a bit biased towards the cruising side, but we got what was probably as neutral a first-hand account as one is going to get. It's probably not going to change how people feel about cruising, but it's also nice to see a story that isn't completely doom and gloom.

Interesting. They mention a northwest location, so I wonder if this will be close to the airport?

I wear a polo/short sleeve button up and slacks/jeans to dinner. I don't mind wearing a tie on formal nights (I'll do it for our generational cruises) but my preference is to not wear one. 
 

I'm probably about average in terms of dress on board, but the main thing you should takeaway is that I wore what was comfortable for me. 

Hate that ferry ride. Never say never but I certainly don't plan to leave the island anymore when we port in Cozumel. 

Might be able to find better prices at the airport duty free tbh. 

Personally I like Samba but you can certainly find better Brazilian steakhouses on land. Same with Chops. 

Hopefully they've resolved their seaweed problem. 

11 hours ago, teddy said:

Having a KTN is where it’s at. 
 

My wife doesn’t think it’s necessary….even after our flight out of Boston a week or so ago when I walked straight through security then got a cup of coffee while waiting for her to show up at the gate…20 minutes later. 

In Toronto, my colleagues and I were headed down to Clearwater Beach for a corporate retreat. I spent about 10 minutes in the Global Entry/NEXUS lanes (including pre-clearing customs) and it felt long. My colleagues took over an hour to get through  and only had about 10-15 minutes before general boarding was called. 
 

I'd known that the KTN was worth the cost before. But after that incident I KNEW that it was the best money I could ever spend on something travel-related.