mom2mybugs

We did cocoa beach shuttle and they were great. If you are staying on-site at Disney I would get there as early as you can and enjoy relaxing at the pool! Jane

HELP TONY! ok... spent hours today on this lol and can't make a decision. What I want for the Saturday before my March freedom cruise (embark on Sunday) is a more central hotel. I want to do the yellow water taxi and be close to restaurants and things to do. I can't figure out the best location. Ideally I'd love to walk to the water taxi. Is there a hotel near there that is easy to get to Las olas bld... should I be near there? Are there other things we should do as tourists? And is the Blvd or the Las olas riverfront better to be near? We get in very early and have all day... ideally if love an outdoor pool if the weather is good. I'm not worried about being close to the port as we will taxi or uber no problem. On the Saturday night after the cruise I want oceanfront resortish. I want to cry getting off the boat and park on the beach one more day lol. Which resort is the best for that? I think I had narrowed down to westin or Hilton but is there better or is one of these better? I would seriously live local input. Because we could only do the 6 day cruise, I really want to enjoy lauderdale...I've never been and I'm not sure when I will get back. Also is spring break brutal in terms of craziness or has the 80s spring breaks moved elsewhere lol? THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP! Jane

As long as she finds some girls to hang with, she is good. They just wander up and down the ship anyway lol. We will be on freedom in March and spring break is a great time for lots of teens (she will have just turned 15) so she is pumped! Actually she is pushing for a Mediterranean cruise/ somewhere is Europe... sigh..... need to stop paying for 2 kids in college so I can travel lol! Jane

Thanks so much! I didn't even consider the price of the shuttle to Canaveral! Now my husband upped the ante and brought up the whole should we do Europe for the destination or just Caribbean for the getaway. Then I started looking at celebrity.... argh.... head is spinning. I thought my teen would be all over going on the oasis class too and she says smaller is fine. I think I will have to wait on this sale... too many choices! Jane

Ok... so the black Friday bug had bit and I'm dreaming cruises for March 2019. We could get a nice western cruise on adventure, but by then will have been on freedom twice and adventure once (pre refurb) and I'm not sure if it will feel old. For 1000 more we could do an allure or oasis cruise (eastern). Here is my question. Allure out of Miami is 125 per person less than oasis out of port Canaveral. That adds up to 375 for 3 of us. Can someone tell me their opinions of the differences between the two ships. I have never done an oasis class before. The destinations are a wash (labadee and San Juan vs nassau and st Thomas) so it should come down to oasis being worth 400 more. Also would the plane cost out of Chicago make them even with the different airports (Miami more than canaveral?) Jane

We are doing chefs table the week before...I will let you know how it is! I was really really hoping for cyber sales on the refreshment pkg (for my teen) or the coffee card. I can't tell if the excursions went down for our sailing or not! We really check out during the cruise so im not planning on the voom pkg unless my teen pays for it! Jane

Joe... nothing I've seen is on sale for my freedom cruise. Frustrated! Jane

That's why we did adventure out of San juan... to do the 7 nighter in southern. However, the long flight rtc makes it so we can only do a summer trip, not spring break so im not thinking we will get there any time soon. Jane

I'm loving this blog. I sail in March on the 6 day freedom cruise! I can't wait to get back on this ship I sailed in March 2016! My husband hasn't been on freedom so i can't wait to have him read this and see how much fun we are going to have! Jane

Ok...i need a scorecard lol. Just when I thought I knew where the ships were.....

We did the dolphins in cozumel and it was great! The pictures are ridiculously priced and you can talk them down a bit but they came out great. It was a once in a lifetime but we had a great day. Did the dolphins and then stayed at the nature park awhile and then hit senior frogs on the way back. I've never been to Falmouth so can't compare specifically but Cozumel was worth it. Jane

This sounds amazing! Jane

Ok...i really have to get out to California again. We honeymoons in San Fran but were not beer drinkers them and I'm pretty sure they didn't have this ice cream! Jane

How is it different from sabor? Jane

So glad you had an amazing trip. Loved catching your scopes! I think if we ever do oasis class we will definitely spend the money for an ocean balcony... it seems worth it so my hubby doesn't feel like he is in a shopping mall! I really enjoyed Costa maya...we went and saw the Mayan ruins, came back and hooked a ride to the beach. We had beautiful views, free chairs and actually didn't get harassed. I can't remember if we did the shuttle or it was a taxi, but we were in a closed minivan and didn't get hollered at! We may have gotten lucky?! I find sweet drink fatigue to be very real (found myself buying beer even though I was trying to get my drink pkg worth) but patron and pineapple juice sounds amazing! Thanks for all the insights... hope the emergency wasn't too bad. Have your started planning the next cruise yet? Jane

We have very good friends in San Clemente and I will have to mention these. A peanut butter stout sounds absolutely amazing! Jane

is that because you are sad at the rc selection or sad at my lack of ipa appreciation lol? Jane

Again... wish you were cruising the week earlier! Sounds like we could definitely drink the same beer lol! Jane

I have yet to figure out their calculations on sales! I'm now going with "the odds favor the house" mentality like I did with casinos! Hope you get some answers. Jane

Would be a fun trip! Beer is so tricky... you are right about size, etc. I wish they could increase the beer selection...but I guess people are so picky about types etc that it would be a challenge for storage. For Example I hate anything hoppy (yuck i hate ipas!) but love stouts and wheat beers. But obviously rc isn't gonna store these just in hopes I drink them lol. But a couple more choices sure would be nice! Jane

Drink prices other than signature specialty drinks have seemed to me the same. A glass of certain wine at vintages will cost you the same at mdr or another bar. Some of the offerings might be different, but generally there is always a less expensive red and white available. And yes, the price covers appetizers, 1 entree (at some restaurants more, but at chops 1), sides and desserts. Jane

I'm finding it interesting that many people who are claiming "personal preference not to drink" are also saying that they will buy a drink or two. Its not that there aren't some that don't drink at all, but i see people that are just going to buy one or two drinks a day and are trying to claim the exemption. That to me is cheating as much as the sharing. It's ok to do this because royal is making you buy a 2nd drink pkg? I hope people either step up and buy the 2nd drink pkg or don't buy either pkg, but don't claim the exemption simply because royal is going to make money off of you. Hope this makes sense. I wasn't a fan of the switch but people were abusing like crazy so I get the decision for rc to align with the industry. Please understand I am NOT accusing people that don't legitimately drink of being stupid for claiming the exemption. I just would like people to think about why they're claiming the exemption... because abuse of rules is partly why the original rule changed! Jane

I'm echoing this. I wouldn't spend the money on an excursion when this is a phenomenal walking tour. There is beautiful architecture, churches, restaurants, ships and bars etc all within walking distance of the ship. I just couldn't take enough pictures of all the amazing buildings. It truly is one of my favorite ports and one of the cheapest! Can't wait to go back! Jane

I laughed, I cried! I think we need to chip in to send you on anther cruise. You managed to find all the humor and fun of the cruise... and to be able to ignore the bad! Start planning your next one...it gets you through that first week when you actually have to make your own meals lol. Jane

We went to the frogs in cozumel...we enjoyed it but it was definitely overpriced! I assume nassau would be equally expensive. Jane