Jillyalex

My take on this situation: I feel safer on a cruise than I do in my own city. On a cruise everyone is vaccinated and wears a mask. At the local grocery store I have no idea if someone is vaccinated (likely not here) and no one except employees is wearing a mask.

There's no charge, you just want to get it scheduled early.
I'd suggest on day 2 or 3 to go to Guest Services and ask for a test so you can get back in to Canada.
They will schedule one for you. Be sure to be on time, as they cannot do tests later if you miss it.

I am from Vancouver area and just got off Ovation last Friday in Seattle. Royal gave us a PCR test at 9:15AM on Thursday. We had the results delivered to our stateroom by 6PM. It was complimentary and very efficient. I commented on it on the post cruise survey and gave them props and requested kindly that they continue to provide the service complimentary for as long as it is needed.

From what I have read of others' reviews, plenty of folks recommend the Crown Plaza LA Harbor Hotel.  A little further down the road is a Doubletree (Hilton).  If you are looking for something a bit more fancy, you can find that in Long Beach which is a short drive away.

Hello Matt,
 
Thank you very much for your links and suggestions :) that's exactly what I'm looking for :) 
 
Have a great day!
 
Jill 

Ahh plantation my backyard... no one ever knows plantation so I just say I live in Ft. Lauderdale...

yes, I know what you mean,  I was born and raised in Fl so I'm familiar with most areas of Fl.  We enjoyed walking around that large shopping area near the hotel and even driving to Dania to do some antique shopping in their antique district.  That area is really nice but a little more crowded than I'm used to.

Yes Mike, the area around the hotel is now called Midtown Plantation.. Very crowded and difficult to drive on University Drive without getting a lot of traffic... Sometimes the Renaissance in plantation has good deals for $100 a night.. So check them out too.

For my January 2016 cruise, I will be in the Best Western Plus (Oceanside Inn) Seabreeze Blvd
The price is "OK" for an (almost) beach front hotel. 

We are taking a chance on an old family resort called Lago Mar. It is right on the beach by the port entrance. I've read decent reviews, but I guess we'll see in 400 days (that's depressing). Has anyone else stayed there?

Thanks,  I will ck it out next time!

We had very good luck staying at the Crowne Plaza.; excellent staff, a decent restaurant in the hotel and good service all the way around.  As a bonus I could see Oasis of the Seas from the hotel when we went to breakfast....  free shuttle from air port and they arranged a shuttle to the port for (I think) about $8 per person. I used the shuttle (All Stars) to get from port to airport when we returned.
 
http://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotels/us/en/fort-lauderdale/fllhi/hoteldetail

I'm a big fan of the Cambria Suites. They typicall offer competitive prices for a large, well-appointed room. The one in FLL offers a free airport shuttle, but charges $10 pp for the port shuttle.

Not that this is particularly helpful to the OP's question, but we have gone out of Port Everglades twice and both times we flew into Orlando and spent the night there.  It was cheaper for the airfare and rental car than the flights to FLL.  Once we returned from FLL, the other from MCO.  Both times we stayed the night at a Disney Vacation Club property so I saved there since I could use my points for the room.  The time we went back from MCO we spent a post cruise night at a DVC property.
 
If you don't mind the drive (and it's an easy one) then it is worth considering given some the pricing in and out of FLL.

I've also stayed in Orlando prior to cruises out of Miami, mainly to add a WDW trip precruise, and you're correct that hotels, flights, and rental cars are much cheaper there. We're doing the same thing next year prior to the Allure.

Good evening.. Thank you for your suggestions :) I appreciate it very much!

Hello everyone..
 
Thanks for your feedback.. I have booked on my own  ( which I usually do ).. not impressed at all with the customer service at Choice Air.. not only price MUCH cheaper on my own booking but couldn't handle the type of service I got.. Both agents I spoke to didn't seem to know how to book the flight I had pre determined.. They put me on hold as they said they were going to "manually" rate the airfare!! Manual? in 2015! Anyways, they couldn't seem to let me know what the advantages would be to book through them so I gave up! 

Of course you are right, Don. Some lines have eliminated smoking COMPLETELY on the ship but I have never cruised on any of those lines. Since I started cruising when I was still a smoker and I gained most of my seniority while still smoking I have just stuck with the smoking lines even though they are slowly but surely eliminating the areas where smokers can engage. I guess they will eventually squeeze them all out but I will remain an advocate for smokers' rights.
 
Glad the rest of you were paying more attention than me on St. Maarten. I truly don't recall any casinos but as I said b4, I wasn't looking for them, either.

I passed by three casinos when walking along the entire Front Street. One was Rouge et Noir Casino, and another was nearly across the street from it. These two were somewhat in the middle of the length of the street, going to the left after getting off the water taxi. The third was way down at the far end (closest to the cruise ship piers).

There is at least one casino in St. Marten. I do remember one by the beach, but it wasn't on the beach; it was nearby. I can't give you any details, though, as I didn't stop in, only drove by.

I have been to St. Maarten a number of times. I cannot remember any casinos on the island but I'm probably wrong. I rarely gamble off the ship. One exception that I made was once on Antigua. There is a casino right next to the cruise ship terminal where my husband and I went one afternoon just before getting back on the ship. We played Blackjack and I won a nice little stack of cash. When we got back to the ship and I mentioned to one of the casino dealers that I had been gambling at that casino on shore they laughed and said that I was the FIRST person they had EVER heard that had WON money there....they said people usually LOSE there. I counted myself lucky and never went back to that little casino again !
 
I think you are probably talking about Maho beach. That's the beach on the French side where the airplanes come in low right over the beach. Actually, I have never been to Maho beach...so I can't tell you if there is a casino there or not, but we have it on our agenda to go there on our trip in May on the Freedom. I guess I will find out then.
 
It has been my experience that casinos on most of the Caribbean islands are usually old, dark, dank and a little on the sleazy side. There is one shining example of a very nice island casino and that is on Curacao (my FAVORITE island !) in the area where they renovated the old fortress and put in shops, restaurants and yes, a casino. Of course, I cannot recall the name of that little casino or the name of that little development but it very nice...somewhat large by Caribbean island standards and bright, clean and very cool (good air conditioning, I mean....). ...and then there is the very beautiful casino at Paradise Island in Nassau....absolutely beautiful...but that's practically in the US so I don't really count that one. Aruba has some beautiful casinos in their high end resorts and Bonaire has a couple. San Juan has some but they are typically very small. For the most part, the casinos on other islands aren't very appealing and we tend to steer clear.
 
The casino on the Oasis class ships are very big as ship casinos go. Probably the only casino bigger than that on a ship (that I have been on, anyway) was on the NCL Epic...and even it wasn't that much bigger. OF course, you are correct...there are parts of the casino that are "non smoking" but you really cannot get away from the smoke even in the non smoking sections. It's just something you have to deal with if you're going to be a cruise ship gambler !

Well, Jill....even though I sound like a complainer, the truth is, I am not, either...in my heart-of-hearts. I think an increase in complaining and the increasing overall lack of patience with foolishness and poor service IS a function of age...without a doubt. I find myself LESS tolerant of stupid people and bad service as I get older... But with all of that said, and reflecting on the number of bitchy posts that I have made over the past couple of days, I truly do still believe in Royal Caribbean. Perhaps I just don't want to start "dating" a new cruise line. Starting over again would be...well...a nightmare. Who knows.
 
Bottom line - you are not going to find a more fascinating, interesting and BUSY ship than an Oasis class ship. They are in a class of their own - the really BIG class. Many people do NOT like the size and overall "feel" of the really big ships b/c they don't think the big ships have that "intimate cruise" feel...whatever that means. Some believe it is more like being on a big, floating city than a cruise ship. I think these must primarily be people who sailed during the era of the Titanic who are used to the aristocratic snootieness associated with cruising. JUST KIDDING ! I am not one of those people. I LOVE the big ships. I think you will, too. I hope that all of this pre-cruise angst doesn't spoil the anticipation for you....b/c IMO, the anticipation of a cruise almost always actually exceeds the excitement of the cruise itself. I LOVE all of the planning and checking and researching and evaluating and imagining. It's almost anti-climactic (sp??) when you GET to the actual cruise part b/c it's over so quickly !
 
It will all work out. I'm sure they will get you the early dining slot that you want. Are you doing regular dining or My Time Dining (MTD) ? To be honest, there is absolutely no difference for me...I always do MTD at 5:30 every night anyway. I might as well be in the regular dining early seating group. Creatures of habit. That's just what we do.
 
The casino on the Oasis is very nice. As with all of the cruise casinos it is THE smokiest place on the ship so that's always a big negative...but I am a former smoker and a militant smoker's rights advocate so I just ignore it. Second hand smoke is an overblown issue anyway, right ? :) The current Casino hostesses on the Oasis are excellent....WAY better than the one they used to have - UGH. Go see them right away and they will help you get into Club Royale. Remember - throw the big cash around - in and out with big $$$

I can sense your frustration...and to be honest, if it was me, I would be furious. To have been willing to make reservations back in Dec. but prevented from doing that b/c they were implementing DD and NOW be told that the early dining is full ??? Hmmm... you are way more understanding than I would be. As I recall, you are going on the Oasis in October ?? I am very surprised that all of the early dining times are filled for MTD. Hopefully they will shuffle things around and get you the times you want. Not to be snooty about it, but if you are paying the BIG BUCKS for a gold card they should make it a POINT to get you what you want. Why should you be stuck in the Coastal Kitchen ? You don't even know if you will LIKE the Coastal Kitchen for goodness sakes !
 
As a general rule, we ALWAYS book the very earliest dining time that they offer so that we can get dining OUT of the way. Nothing more annoying than being in the middle of a winning streak in the casino and having to get up to go EAT ! LOL Also, with the first "shift" they have not yet had time to get "behind" and so you are in and out quickly. Kinda like taking the first possible doctor's appointment time...nothing has yet gone wrong to screw up the entire day's schedule !
 
It is rather like the keystone cops - the mess that RCI is making with this whole DD on the Oasis class ships. It's kind of embarrassing, to be honest. When we were on the Oasis in Jan. it was somewhat understandable that they had not yet implemented this Dynamic Disaster (DD)(and I could NOT have been happier about still having the rotating menus !) but it's STILL not implemented YET and they don't even know if it will be implemented by October ? Whoever is in charge of this public relations fiasco should be FIRED immediately. You simply canNOT advertise something so prominently and then keep delaying and delaying its implementation. The same thing goes for this disaster of a new casino program. Delay after delay. Nobody knows what's going on. No one can answer a question. Customers simply do not know what to expect and that is a complete calamity from a public relations standpoint. It completely ruins the professional "brand" that RCI has enjoyed...up until recently. It is the OPPOSITE of classy. It's novice and amateur.
 
Oh well. Hang in there. Hopefully they will find you a place to sit somewhere, at some time with some kind of menu.

As Stephanie said, the program is undergoing a complete switch-o, change-o. For the past few years, the RCCL Club Royale VIP program has been great. Free drinks in the casino, cash rebates, stateroom discounts, waiving of the 5% convenience fee, perpetual qualification (no re-qualification required)....but I expect all of that to change fairly significantly with the induction of the new tier-based system. If it works like the NCL program (and I will assume that it will be modeled after the NCL system since everything else that RCCL is changing seems to be following along with NCL's innovations) then I expect most all of these perks will be available only to the highest tier levels...which, by the way, I will never be !
 
I guess we'll just have to wait and see. They certainly aren't telling us anything. It's probably going to be one of those great RCCL "surprises" where they waive the big red banner in one hand, telling us all that we're SOOO lucky to be getting this GREAT NEW PROGRAM, while with the other hand, they are taking benefits and perks away, hoping we won't notice.
 
So...bottom line...the program is pretty good right now, but I look for all of that to change very soon.

Great idea Matt!!.. I will talk to the Concierge in the Lounge! I'm sure all will be good :) I'm going to post what you said about the Casino.. I just won a cruise from Carnival all paid for exept taxes :) so I am curious if RC does things like that .. PS I also had free drinks! Can't get better than that! 
 
Cheers, Jill