tonyfsu21

There was a place to grab a bite in the Solarium on Freedom in April 2016.  I thought that was park Cafe.  Whatever it was it was pretty good.

I remember reading when doing my research that it was renovated a few years ago so maybe it went by a different name?  It looked newer and fresh, compared to others in the surrounding area, when we were there in August.  It was also one of the only ones in that area that did not have a bed bug report! lol.

Consider the way they act until now I will not be surprise that they will have multiple version for the program and each representative will have a different answer .
Seems to be that the compartmentalization in the Royal Casino  organization is better than any intelligence agencies   , no one have really the full picture.

Yes, I saw it too.  Unfortunately nobody at Club Royale even knows about it yet....the customer representatives anyway.
i guess we’ll have more waiting to find out details.  Shouldn’t surprise anyone.

If Royal runs me off it will be because of 2 things, primarily.
#1 - Non-refundable option ONLY for suites.  I book mostly (but not exclusively) suites and I do not like the fact that I only have non-refundable options now.  I don't buy their lame explanation that suite customers hog up all of their suites and then cancel at the last minute.  Yes, I did (when I still could) book a lot of suites and sometimes cancel but it was NEVER last minute and let's face it - Royal has never had to worry about booking their suites.  They are always the first to go.  With suite prices getting so incredibly ridiculous (particularly for star class suites) I can see that they MAY have some trouble keeping those sold but they still manage to sell them all out, even at the ridiculous price that they are now asking.  So think of something else, Royal.  Your explanation doesn't hold water.
#2 - The casino rate has either gone away or has become so restrictive (cannot book more than 1 year out) that it's virtually useless.  This has been the one thing that kept me around.  If it's gone, I will have no reason to remain exclusive to Royal.  NCL has always had a competitive casino program and it seems to be getting more favorable as Royal's seems to be waning.  To be brutally honest, I don't find the difference in service and overall product to be that much different between any of the big, mass market cruise lines.  I will go wherever I get the best deal.  That has always been Royal but maybe not for much longer. 

Yes, there is a suites area on Coco Cay.  It has cabanas (for a price, of course), bathrooms, bar and an upgraded buffet.
Better or worse ? Hard to answer.  Different.  It is much smaller than the area on Labadee but the amenities are also much closer.  The biggest down side (if you consider it to be a down side) is the fact that the Suites area on Coco Cay is not really adjacent to the swimming area.  You have to leave the Suites area and walk a short distance down to the water.  For me, this is not a problem.  I don't go in the water anyway but for those who have small children who want to allow the children to swim while the adults remain in their suites area lounger...not so much.
I haven't been to Coco Cay in a few years so I'm not sure if they still do it, but the suites cabanas on Coco Cay used to include a bottle of sparkling wine (I hesitate to call it champage.  It is not).  This was a subject of discussion on another recent thread.  I have no idea if the cabana still includes the sparkling wine or not...but it did a few years ago !

I just got off the Allure in October and I'm a cigar smoker, and i agree with everything @tonyfsu21 says above as well as what everyone says above.
I didn't like sitting down on deck 15 where all of the cigarette smokers were sitting (Sounds strange, I know) you are not under the stars and you are sitting with 50-75 other loud, drunk smokers, so go directly up one deck to 16 by the mast bar and there are ash trays available and tables with stools to sit at, the bar was usually closed when I went to smoke my cigar, usually around 9-9:30pm, but you are under the stars a with a nice breeze, my wife would usually even stay with me, with the breeze the smoke didn't bother her. By the end of the week there were 5-6 of us cigar smokers all congregated to the same spot.
There was one night that we got asked to leave by security, but that was due high winds and safety concerns, not anything to do with the cigars.

Thanks for the suggestion - looks great!  And we had enough Hilton points that I could book for points + cash, with the cash portion being only $14.67!  Can't beat that deal!!  :)

You will be very happy w/ Jimbos. The vibe is relaxed, food is great and the boats go by all day & night while you dine. As far as other seafood recommendations close by I would mention rustic inn 1000% if you like crabs! Pirate Republic (yes it sounds gimmicky but it’s got some great seafood on the menu and it’s situated on the New River @ a water taxi stop. 

Huge thank you tony!   This helps a lot!  It certainly narrowed us down which we needed because I was feeling a bit overwhelmed!   Jane

Hello- Local here. Sounds like your looking for the Fort Lauderdale experience & money does not appear to be a factor. My suggestions would be:
1. Marriott Harbor Beach
2. Hilton Fort Laud Beach
3. W Hotel Fort Laud Beach
4. Atlantic Hotel Fort Laud Beach (Botique Hotel).
5. Ritz Carlton Fort Laud Beach.
*** Don’t concern yourself too much w/ shuttle service exc as just about everything (including the port) in Fort Laud is 15 min away via Taxi or Uber. Any of the choices above will give you the full beach, restaurant, pool, 4-5 star resort experience. If you have any questions let me know. I live 1 minute from the Port & know the area like the back of my hand.
 
 
Jane-
I have a couple options for you for Fri:
1. Riverside Hotel (las olas blvd): historical Hotel that is located directly on Las Olas where u can easily access all the dining exc right out the front door. Also, the water taxi stop on the new river is a short walk. Cons: older hotel “historical”. I believe it was renovated not so long ago but I haven’t seen for myself. There is a pool area located close to the new river which is nice. 
2. Hilton Marina- for a quick one night stay before a cruise my parents always come into town and stay here. Pros: water taxi stop right outside under 17th street bridge. Nice resort style pool. If you have HHonors status try to book a high floor looking South and you can watch your ship come into the port. Also, you can easily take the water taxi to the las olas stop or a short Uber ride. Cons: just your same old ordinary and cookie cutter Hilton Hotel. Nothing too special here but it does offer a good location close to port, short walk to dining, water taxi exc.
 
Sat after your cruise:
1. Marriot Harbor beach is a great choice to get the full beach & resort experience. In fact it’s so great that we SoFL folks actually pay to join the beach club and use the pool + facilities! 
2. I would also recommend the resorts listed in my previous post for you as they are located on A1A and most have private beach access across the street. I am not very familiar with the Westin but I drive by it all the time and it seems to be in a great location. Not so sure about B ocean Hotel if your considering that...
 
***** note- Uber to Pirate Republic (great Brazilian influenced menu on the new river) and take the water taxi through the new river where the captain will give you a tour of all the famous peoples homes exc. 
Dining recommendations:
Franco & Vinny’s Pizza Shack- Local favorite Italian (very casual).
Cafe Vico- Great Italian food (you will thank me later)
Chima Las Olas (Brazilian steak house). Quite an experience.
Le Tub (Hollywood beach): google it, Oprah made it famous.
Jimbos Sand Bar: Tiki hut vibe & excellent food especially the blackened shrimp or mahi tacos.
Rustic Inn: Garlic crab out of this world. 
 
Please let me know if you have any other questions as I am sure I can help.
- Tony 
 

Thanks to all for the input.   Tony, I think you just added a day to our trip with that Garlic Crab suggestion.
 

I believe Matt was referring to the Morikami museum in Boca Raton. This museum would be about a 1/2 hr car ride (on the weekend) from FLL airport and/or East Fort Lauderdale. If your children are younger I highly recommend the discovery science museum in downtown Fort Lauderdale. As far as getting around, if you stick to East Fort Lauderdale (17th street corridor or the beach area) you will find that Uber is sufficient. With the exception of the Morikami museum in Boca everything you need will be close enough to walk or a very short Uber ride. And if you decide to stay in a hotel on A1A Fort Lauderdale beach you will have the luxury of a beautiful beach just steps from your hotel. Since March is the height of Spring Break you will no doubt pay a premium to be on the beach. I do have some alternative suggestions if you rent a car and decide not to stay on the beach or 17th street:
1. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
2. Margaritaville Hotel Hollywood
 

No, as Tiny mentioned, there is only the interior climbing thing next to Sabor, not the netting system like Harmony has.  To my knowledge, Harmony is the only ship that has this netting system.

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

Found this on CC so unless it's been removed recently it should be there.

Well said, Tony.  It is all voodoo and they really do not let anyone know what the truth about "points" is.  That is why I ALWAYS say, the MOST important thing you can do is be noticed...regardless of how much money or how long you are there.  As a rule, we have poorer playback results on the larger ships than we do on the smaller ships even though our playing habits are always the same.  I feel positive that this is b/c there are so many more players on the big ships and they just don't notice or track you as closely as they do in the more intimate casinos.  Being friendly with the management and tipping well will get you noticed.  Sorry if that sounds crass, but I believe it to be the truth.
Another thing that they do NOT advertise well is the fact that so many are eligible for casino rates.  Most people have no idea that they are eligible for a casino rate.  As @bobburd said, unless you get an email or some other kind of offer, you just would have no way of knowing.  My advice to ANYone who EVER plays in the casino - big spenders or otherwise - is ALWAYS call Club Royale FIRST when you are thinking of booking a cruise.  The worst that can happen is they tell you that there are no offers for you.  You MAY be very pleasantly surprised, as we were, the first time we did this, that you are eligible for a very NICE casino discount. 
They have changed the way they calculate casino rates YET AGAIN but quite honestly, I think the "new" way is really the best.  They now allow you to take EVERY discount to which you are entitled (C&A balcony, senior, state, military...whatever it happens to be PLUS whatever the current booking incentive is (BOGO 50% ,etc.)) and THEN they give you a casino discount on top of all of that.
We are sailing on Allure next week (Thanksgiving week).  We received an email offer (sounds like the same one @bobburd got) for a complimentary inside guarantee room (Z GTY) and had Michelle Cunningham, our MEI TA book it for us.  All that we owed were taxes, port fees and grats (total of $415.96).  After a number of weeks we were assigned an inside way up at the front of the ship.  TERRIBLE location and I decided to see what we could do to upgrade.   After a couple of days and MANY emails back and forth (and MUCH time on the phone for Michelle, no doubt), Michelle was able to upgrade us from that awful forward inside room to a D1 hump balcony for $278 !!  This is what the discount looked like:  $226 C&A balcony discount, $944 BOGO50, $251 Senior discount, $2299 casino discount.  So, for a $3998 D1 cabin, we were discounted $3720 for a balance of only $278 (plus the original taxes, port fees and grats, which brought the TOTAL total to $693.96).  I think this was a heck of a deal and the tribute ALL goes to Michelle and the Club Royale agent.  I have no idea how they did it but it was a wonderful deal.
This is even more amazing when you realize that this was basically a $-0- commission sale for Michelle.  What a TA !
 

We'll be on Allure for Thanksgiving this year.  First time for Thanksgiving.

Haha. You guessed it. I got Gator street cred though since my wife went to UF

No.  I only saw Powerade.  Gatorade is available in powder form.  Easy to carry on and make your own.  I've have two big cans at home and some small individual packets I travel with.   You can pour those directly into bottled water to make it into Gatorade.  

We were in a GS on Harmony.  Waited till 1pm.  Got on board at 10:45am.  Headed to do WJ recon.  Then straight to CK for lunch and waited in the Suite Lounge till 1pm.  Lovely way to start.  Take me back....

Only the Star Class suites get immediate access to their cabins but with a Crown Loft you will be able to go into the Suites Lounge and wait.  It is a very nice place to wait if you can't go to your cabin !!

Have a great time, Tony and good luck in the casino !!

Definitely not 2 weeks.  Usually within the last week.

In May we received our email exactly 7 days prior to our Harmony cruise. Hopefully you will have Raj and Mohammed. They are amazing!