Jedi Jason

We made it to the hotel and got checked in a little before the official check in time of 3:00. The hotel is similar to some Embassy Suites that I have stayed in. The rooms are around a courtyard lobby that has some nice fountains. The rooms have a kitchenette and desk area in the front with the bathroom in the middle and the bedroom in the back. Our room is overlooking the pool area. The rooms are fairly simple in their decor and furnishings. There seems to be mostly stucco type walls as opposed to drywall. Brunch at First Watch near the Orlando airport was a while ago. I had a really nice breakfast burrito that was on the seasonal menu. We had some fish and chips from the bar to hold us over until we go to La Bamba for dinner.

So we didn't expect the kids to have a longer than normal Christmas break due to a teacher in-service they scheduled for the first full week of January. Our original plan was to have an Aunt stay with them at our house but we have since changed plans since they won't be in school to travel to our Aunt in Indianapolis in the hopes our Florida kids could enjoy some winter weather including snow while Mom and Dad relaxed on a warm Caribbean cruise. The travel day to Fort Lauderdale will begin with dropping them off at the airport. We booked unaccompanied minor tickets on Southwest for them. After dropping them off at the airport we will head south towards our hotel. We booked the Sheraton suites Fort Lauderdale at Cypress Creek in the North Fort Lauderdale area. It is peak season in south Florida for hotels so the prices are higher and the selection and pricing has only gotten worse as we approach our cruise. We did book this about three months ago for around $150 a night nonrefundable since we were at or inside our final payment date. We have plans to try out a new to us restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, La Bamba the evening we check into the hotel.

My wife initially suggested this cruise about 10 months ago kind of half joking because the kids would be back in school and the price was really good and there was a promotion that included 4 perks (tips, premium drink package, internet and an OBC). Well I called her bluff and we ended up booking this cruise a couple of days later with Michelle from MEI. It is on Equinox, a five night cruise departing from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale). It ports in Cozumel and then Key West on the way back. We booked a concierge class balcony room. Since we live in the Orlando area we decided to drive down the day before to a hotel we booked so we could be on the ship as early as possible without having the stress of driving down in the early morning hours. Anyway, I plan on sharing photos and a description of what we did each day and am open to any questions about the cruise or ship. More info to follow.

I have stayed in the beach bungalows which are in a different area than the others at Columbus Cove. The price is very good. You are not too far from food and restrooms. Theses are not super close to the shore and there are some chairs in-between the bungalow and the ocean if that matters to you. It is a 30 second or less walk. The most annoying thing is the tram transport in the morning. They won't drop you off at the last tram spot and make you walk through the straw market to get there unless out take a less direct route or walk the entire way from the ship along the shore. A water taxi might be available as an alternate transportation. It is a good price and overall I would recommend it. I am considering the beach cabana at Nellie's Beach though for something different. I have kids that enjoy playing in the sand and water and feel like it may be easier to keep an eye on them from there.

It has been several years since I visited but some of our group did the tubing and ziplining tour. I don't remember if lunch was included. Others in our group did just the cave tubing but I don't think it was the exclusive one with lunch. So, I cant' exactly comment on the difference but I would recommend booking with the cruise line since it is a tender port especially if the prices are reasonable. The cave tubing was fun and unique. I would recommend it. The ziplining was also a lot of fun.

I had a great experience with private journeys on Royal Caribbean and also discovered the link in the cruise planner as well for an upcoming Celebrity cruise. We had a group of 11 that were visiting Roatan for the first time and got a 15 passenger A/C van with English speaking driver and tour guide. They went at our pace and we had a five hour tour that included Iguana farm, monkey and sloth sanctuary and a glass bottom boat tour. They also made stop at a chocolate store and local craft market and provided narration along the route. They saved us time by diverting to a different monkey and sloth location that had less of a wait time. They were able to give us additional time at some places and move along quicker when we had enough time at a location. We were able to combine multiple excursions for what ended up being a better price and a single private excursion than booking multiple excursions it would've take to see all of these things. I would definitely consider this again. It was such a hit with my group that they said I could plan their excursions in the future.

Yes. I agree. I am tempted to put a deposit on it. I pulled the kids for two weeks this school year for cruises. One week each semester. One was a parent teacher conference week in which there was two additional half days besides their usual half day. So the only missed two full days and three half days. The other week is upcoming the result of a change in their Spring Break (normally the first week of March) and wanting to cruise on my son's second real birthday February 29 but he will be 8. We booked that super expensive family friendly cruise line. It will probably be a one and done but we had some inheritance money from my wife's mom and there was a sea day Star Wars theme that we didn't want to miss. I wouldn't normally pay those prices and we enjoy Royal so this is a one off.

@Lovetocruise2002 I was looking over La Bamba's menu and I came across the Mexican pizza. That clinched it for my wife who loves a Mexican pizza. She even eats the one from Taco Bell ? I will have to try the fried ice cream based on your recommendation and for research purposes ?

Just added the Brilliance group cruise October 11, 2020. Looking forward to meet everyone in person.

The Oasis 2022 March 13 cruise looks like fun especially with all the other families booked. My kids (private) school moved their Spring Break a week after years of being the same week. There is rumor they are moving it again, if so I might have to join this one as it doesn't currently line up with this year's spring break but it could if they shift it a week like they have considered.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was definitely interested in the hotel suggestions and area indicated but the price was not favorable. We have enjoyed Embassy Suites at other locations as several suggested. I believe it is high season and we are there on Friday, January 3. So some people may still be there on Christmas break. Therefore, the prices are higher than normal. We ended up booking the Marriott North Fort Lauderdale which is within 10 miles of the port/airport. It is a four star property per Priceline and has free parking and internet and doesn't charge a resort fee. We got it for about $150.including taxes nonrefundable rate via Marriott website for being a rewards member. Still deciding on the restaurant recommendations but I am leaning towards La Bamba! My wife already vetoed the waffle house so still looking for a breakfast place the morning (Saturday) of the cruise.

We will probably settle on something near airport or as far north as West Palm since we have family in West Palm and the Fort Lauderdale area. Based on my hotel research I am leaning towards north Fort Lauderdale area. When your taste is Ritz Carlton but you only want to pay Days Inn prices it's hard to decide. Hoping for something slightly upscale at a moderate price but I realize it is peak season.

I am only staying one night LOL but thanks for all the recommendations. I definitely have lots of options for future trips as well.

A cultural experience LOL I will look into the dinner show it sounds interesting.

I will be driving my own car and parking at the port so yes I have lots of options.

@Lovetocruise2002 Do you have a favorite from there or it's all good? Thanks I see you replied already before I posted this.

It is just my wife and I for a Friday night stay. We like a hotel considered at least a 3 star preferably with breakfast and parking. We have had good experience with Embassy suites so I guess that would be something like what we are looking for. For dining, we are pretty easy going. We live in Orlando and would like to try something new to us. We will probably be staying within 30 minutes from the port/airport but would be willing to drive for the right restaurant. We would like to try something that is local or a small local chain. I was just looking for people's favorites. I am sure there are some great options from this group.

My next cruise goes out of Port Everglades. I will be driving down from Orlando the day prior. I am looking for any hotel recommendations for a one night stay. It would be the first weekend in January. I am also interested in any restaurant recommendations. I know @Lovetocruise2002 has a favorite restaurant. We have cousins that live in the area and we are trying to meet them for dinner the night before the cruise but they don't really have any suggestions since they have a need to stay in hotels in the area and they are not located close to the port area. Please let me know what hotels or restaurants you like and why. What menu item do you have to get every time?

normally it is because you are logged into the reservation on another device or browser

It worked pretty well including notification just a couple of weeks ago. The one quirk is I would have missed messages that it wouldn't display. If you are not on the ship's WIFI which is free for using the app. I had an occasional message that didn't come through. However, I got the notifications almost always from the app for an upcoming event or reservation as well as notification of a new chat message. I would get them on my iPhone and or apple watch. Naturally I did not get any when I was off the ship but they did not queue up and save them to be delivered when I returned. They would be listed as an unread message count but you could never view them. Overall, it was really good especially with the notifications but there was the occasional missed message that was never delivered.

Yes get the travel agent to resolve your issues for all the reasons already mentioned. You can still transfer to an agent and let them deal with the issues instead of you.

I have used them before as well. I have gone on one of their excursions and also cancelled in advance of my cruise one of their excursions that I had made a deposit for and gotten a refund minus a small PayPal processing fee. I would be comfortable using them again.

@ncnickel and @WhiteSoxFan I have been on Edge and it was amazing. You will love it. I was able to get one of the 3 night preview sailings when she was brand new before her first official maiden voyage. It just went to Nassau which I have visited numerous times so I never set foot off the ship so I could enjoy the experience. We stayed in an infinite verandah room and we enjoyed it. It had some differences to balcony room on a Royal ship. Anyway, if you have any questions or want me to describe anything further let me know. The recent Celebrity cruise review that Kathy posted recently is very good info about a Celebrity cruise in general but I could answer specific questions or provide my experience specifically about Edge.

Thanks for the amazing review. I agree with almost everything in your comparison of Royal to Celebrity. I am also a diamond member with Royal so therefore an elite member on Celebrity. We did an Edge 3 night preview sailing when she was brand new. I highly recommend her. I love not having to check out pool towels and the buffet is so much better than the wind jammer. On Royal I tend to go to the buffet mostly for breakfast only (not necessarily by my choice) and get tired of the same thing everyday and the same undercooked scrambled eggs and the tasteless soggy, overly chewy pancakes and waffles. So, when traveling as a couple we have begun to equally consider or prefer Celebrity based on our Edge experience. We booked a 5 night Cozumel and Key West cruise for early January on Equinox. However, when traveling with the kids or extended family and friends the wider range of activities and amenities on Royal seem to make more sense. Celebrity seems to be a great option for more of an upscale relaxing cruise vacation. I think the umbrella and binoculars are for guests in concierge and up or at least balcony and up.

I have found some good deals off peak and also some last minute deals as well as (FL) resident rates. I booked a cruise on Equinox for this upcoming January about 11 months prior. They were including all four perks and the base price was good so we decided to upgrade from our usual verandah room to concierge class. I have seen a lower price but not with the perks included and especially after the perks were added. My wife likes her celebrity perks so who am I to argue? I do get the promotional emails from Celebrity for cruise deals and I have seen some good prices on a variety of room categories and not just inside rooms on last minute deals. I have to admit that some of them are intriguing especially if you aren't super particular about the ship or itinerary. Granted they aren't offering deals on Edge but almost every other ship has an occasional deal. The resident rate (FL) emails haven't blown me away in part because it doesn't include any perks but there are sometimes some good options.