tonyfsu21

Anyone experience the new NS casino on the Freedom promenade? If so, how was it? I can only imagine the bar is really crowded with prime + players looking for an easy drink while walking by. I am excited to check it out this Friday and you can bet I will be at that bar and playing every machine in that little casino! 

7 hours ago, JohnK6404 said:

Oh yeah… probably goes without saying… any “pop-up” vendors (the ones that throw a blanket down and pack up and run from the police), will need to be paid in euros! 

Haha. Nope, we don’t roll like that. 

We are less than a month out from Odyssey leaving out of Rome chitty chitty bang bang port (still can’t pronounce that port name). We are spending a full week prior on a sightseeing tour of Milan, Venice and of course Rome. I have every single thing dialed in regarding pre booked tours, fast trains, transportation exc. I do have a cash question though. Yes, I understand it’s subjective but it’s been a bit since I’ve been to Europe. I normally use Amex for every single thing that cost me money and I understand we are not in America and therefore Amex is probably not to be expected to be accepted everywhere in Italy, Greece and Turkey. I will bring a Visa or two as backup but not sure about Euros. I am considering only exchanging $2-300 to Euros in small bills for what amounts to a full 2 week vacation (one of which is on Odyssey). I would get some smaller bills for maybe a coffee, beer or possibly some gelato for the kids. Anyone have an argument to bring more? Gambling $ and crew tip cash taken care of via ship board account. I don’t think tips are a part of the culture in Europe so no need to be concerned as far as I know while on land. 

9 hours ago, FOB said:

My DH (who just carries the bags) has agreed that I can cancel our TA in 2026 from Barcelona to Miami on Brilliance and change it to the TA for Legend (eeeeee slightly excited).

But this means that we get to Fort Lauderdale on 7th November. We already have the Brilliance Miami to San Juan booked which leaves on 16th nov (was going to be a B2B2B)

So I am thinking of Adventure from 7th to 15th Nov out of Fort Lauderdale and then travelling down to Miami - either on 15th or 16th

My question that I need answered is - what is the best way to get from Fort Lauderdale to Miami with no car and no cell service (we are from the UK and wont have any service if not in a wifi area). 
Also where do you recommend staying for the night of 15th to 16th

I know there are loads of folk on here who are from Florida so I thought I would use the local knowledge

Taxi is the best option if you don’t want to wait on a shuttle or transfer which is a colossal waste of time IMO. 

4 hours ago, GatorCruiser said:

I just hope no one craps themselves in the lazy  river like marathoners sometimes do! 

Oh, you can bet the ranch on some floating poopie shutting down the operation on a frequent basis. 

15 hours ago, mac66 said:

Did I miss where in Mexico this is going to be?

Costa Maya which is basically a dumper of a stop. This amusement park will at least make the port a destination. Maybe not everyone’s idea of a destination but certainly a better payoff for that long walk down the pier. Also, I picture the lazy river as anything but lazy. It’s going to be a traffic jam of rafts (some towing beer coolers) all banging into each other and bottle necking at the bars. Despite my negativity, the Tonyfsu21’s will be there! 

The ultra spacious would be a noticeable difference to the standard balcony. I wouldn’t put much weight into Royal up as it’s not likely you will win the upgrade. If you are interested, bid both and see what happens. Back a few years ago it was easier to win these upgrades but the wins are few and far between these days. Good luck. 

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

A lot depends on which ship class.  The aft balconies are nice for almost all of the classes but on the Voyager and Freedom classes there is a lot of metal superstructure that acts as an obstruction.  I still find those rooms to be nice, even with the metal superstructure but some do not care for those rooms because of the "obstructions".

We don’t mind the superstructure either. Next weekend we have #1700: Spacious sunset balcony booked on Freedom. Excited to see the NS casino on the promenade. 

39 minutes ago, YachtChartersFortLauderdal said:

Absolutely love seeing people explore Fort Lauderdale! As a local yacht charter business owner I can’t recommend enough taking the time to dive into our vibrant culture—from the stunning beaches to the lively arts scene and delicious dining spots. There’s truly something here for everyone, whether you’re into relaxing by the water or discovering hidden gems around town. If you’re looking for insider tips or unique experiences, feel free to reach out—happy to help visitors make the most of their time in this amazing city!

Fort Lauderdale is an amazing city. I commute daily to Miami and cant understand why anyone would want to spend time there. I’ve been in bumper to bumper traffic on the 826 more times than I care to talk about. 

Excellent ship. We have sailed her 5+ times since delivery. If you can manage to book a Southern Caribbean route it’s even better! Enjoy 

On 5/12/2025 at 1:16 AM, Cole Thornton said:

Just got off the Harmony and one of the things that I noticed is they are opening the table games later and later as the years go by.  Looks like they are trying to push gamblers to the slots, which probably have a poor return rate for each $100 bet.  The other thing I noticed was the severe lack of waiters and bartenders at 2 pm in the afternoon.  We had to leave the tables to go stand in long lines to fetch our own drinks at the bar with only one bartender on duty to mix drinks.  There were at least several hundred players and zero waiters.  This was unacceptable to most players and several voiced their opinion to the pit boss.  I overheard one pit boss telling a signature player that this wasn’t their concern as the casino is separate from the bar service.  The other thing I wasn’t happy about was the craps table on the non smoking side would not open until 8 pm even on sea days.  The craps table on the smoking side is just inside the casino and is near where everyone gathers just to smoke.  It is the strongest smoke filled area in the casino.  So much for putting a priority on passenger health and safety.  This is lip service only.

I rarely wait on a server while gambling, it’s a waste of time. It’s easier to just go to the bar. If they were trying to push gamblers to the slots then they would have already removed the tables and replaced that valuable real estate with machines. Pissing away $100 at the table is no different than sticking it in the machine. Gambling either way. 

9 hours ago, Sludog said:

Maya Key was great and wife and son really loved it. Spent most of the time in the pool area but we explored the whole island as well. Decent food offing and cheap beers but mixed drinks were a little expensive.  We would definitely book again. We heard this is only bookable on cruise ships excursions and cannot book third party once at the port. Is this true? 

I heard the same thing but never really bothered to check. We have always booked through RC. 

3 hours ago, Traveling Mike said:

I am wondering if the type of cabin you have has something to do with getting your bags early.  

I have had the same experience across the board from suites to balconies. I would say it’s just good luck but we are D+ cruisers and have many cruises under our belts with the same results. I will test this again with Freedom over Memorial Day weekend. Perhaps I jinxed it? 

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

The porters themselves have a very limited role in getting your bags on the ship. They load them up, then move the full carts to a staging area. Then the longshoremen put them on the ship in random order, then they're unloaded and sorted by RC crew, then delivered.

There are so many variables as to when your bag even gets to your deck, none the less your cabin.

The porters are more likely to have a role in your bags getting on last (like the rental car shuttle drop off point at Terminal 5 in PC, since those carts must fill up the slowest) than first.

I must have really good luck then. The casino says “hold my beer”…

35 minutes ago, Matt said:

I have no @twangster level data to back this up, but I feel like luggage delivery has been pretty quick, where we have it within an hour or two of 

I’m just going to continue tipping the porter well and getting my luggage on that magic cart because it seems to be working. Even the RCBlog boss himself is not getting luggage at 1pm sharp.

5 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

YMMV 

"Near our cabin" has varied from right outside our door to all the way forward when we had an aft-facing stateroom.

Again, YMMV.

The only times we got our luggage particularly LATE were the times we tipped the MOST per bag. 

Haha. Well there goes my theory. 

41 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

This varies by ship/port. On our last 4 Wonders over the past 13 months or so, our luggage has been either by our door or down the hall (for us to grab) when cabins are available at 1:00.

3:00 would be very late for me.

EDIT: And FWIW, we do tip the porters a few bucks for our 2 suitcases but my theory has always been that getting to the port very early (which I know @tonyfsu21 does as well) was the reason we always have our luggage first thing.

 

True. That might be a better reason we get the luggage so quickly. It’s hard to imagine the $20 tip carries much weight once the porter tosses the bags into the carrier (unless there is a magic carrier for the generous tips?). 

I can’t confirm the impact on luggage delivery point to point but in my experiences a generous tip to the porter might be the trick. I always have my luggage waiting for me in the hallway by 1:00pm (suite or no suite). Believe it or not, a $20 bill gets the porters attention. 

On 3/20/2025 at 3:54 PM, JustMeJoe said:

 

Same here, but it's for $150 FP.  Not enough to get me to CA .

Yep, I think at this point there’s no amount of free play that could get me to go to California.

4 hours ago, SaveTheSharks said:

Thanks for the replies all. I was hoping to see if anyone had first-hand experiences using the shuttle.

If it's actually reliable and efficient, I don't see the need to spend for an Uber/Taxi if I don't need to. I've also seen the Taxi line on debarkation, and it's nuts.

Trust me, the taxi line is a walk in the park in comparison to waiting on one of those “free” shuttles. The small amount of money for ride share is well spent. 

5 hours ago, AveryCutcheon said:

Oh, I also have some information about this service, hope it helps you:
Avis offers a free shuttle service between the car rental office at 2520 Miami Rd and the Port Everglades marinas.
The front desk is open from 8:00am to 6:00pm Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm Saturday, and 8:00am to 2:00pm Sunday.

FYI- This Avis car rental facility is located steps from the Port Entry. It’s easier to just get in a taxi or Uber and not wait for the shuttle service. The $15 price is worth avoiding a potential delay waiting on a shuttle (or people to fill up a shuttle). 

4 hours ago, DublinFC said:

So how do I get credit for gambling in the casino?  If someone could break it down like "gambling on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship for dummies" that would be awesome.  Do I need to register first?  Is my seapass card needed?  Help! lol

 

The reason I am asking is 1. I would like to get the benefits from gambling in the casino 2. I did a little on Harmony, but we used cash, and I never saw anything regarding signing up or points.  I am wondering where I went wrong.

Just insert your seapass card into the machine and make sure it recognizes you. After that, insert money, money and more money until you reach desired point level (hopefully you win some along the way). 

Maya Key is a day well spent IMO. I’ve snorkeled on the Jolly Roger with some positive and negative experiences (human feces in the water: obvious sewage dump). I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend a day spent on the ship relaxing by the pool with a Kraken Colada (or two). 

So it has been reported that the dining line up for Star is identical to Icon with the exception of the supper club. I was hoping for some different concepts on the newest ship. I recall hearing pier 7 was going to be replaced with a different venue but it does not look like that’s the case. 

43 minutes ago, billdauterive said:

How much is the taxi ride and are taxis easy to get back from there?  I'm looking for ideas other than just the Swinging Lady (both of them).

Normally we book the Blue Bay Resort through RC as an excursion. I have never taken a cab to this place.