Lovetocruise2002

I have to agree with @JLMoran here...Maybe even Seaside or Seaview? They are being compared quite closely to OA class ships. Initial reviews were not great but recent reviews have them giving RCI some serious competition. If you want, @monorailmedic is doing a live blog right now on the Seaside. Maybe have a read and see if it interests you. I'm headed on the Seaside too (11 days!!!) so as a fellow OA class fan, I can give you my take on it too when I get back. Here's the link to @monorailmedic's blog: https://www.cruisehabit.com/msc-seaside-live-blog-preamble https://www.cruisehabit.com/msc-seaside-live-blog-day-1-embarkation-day-0 https://www.cruisehabit.com/msc-seaside-live-blog-day-2-sea-day

We've did a taxi to PE last time on Harmony and also when cruising Allure. You just need to tell them, "Port Everglades, Terminal 18". And be on the look out for Harmony of the Seas. You cannot miss her. She is massive. You'll know if you're not getting dropped off in front of her ? However, taxi drivers in FLL are not the greatest, at least not in our experiences. After our last taxi debacle last August, Hubby says we are done with taxis and sticking to Lyft now.

I personally love Renaissance but with my kids we will stay at Hyatt Place 17th street convention centre. Hyatt has larger rooms and they have free wifi and hot breakfast. Valuetrips.com offers really good rates for Hyatt Place but they will not release their 2019 rates until fall. I'm actually waiting on them too because I need a hotel stay for March 2019 in FLL. Also, @tonyfsu21 is going to be your go-to guy for all things FLL. He is from there. About the shuttle, wait for @tiny260 to get back. He has some info. @melski94 might too. Found this too. I have heard about this shuttle service before but have never used them. This might be useful for a large group like yours. https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g34227-d7854560-Reviews-SAS_Transportation_Services-Fort_Lauderdale_Broward_County_Florida.html?m=19905

I second this! I've seen this happen on almost every cruise. Lol. It makes for great entertainment for those of us walking by though....

Is that your Casino Royale level? I seem to remember a post by @CGTLH about that.

Since I am right along in this camp as well, I can also add in that this is a huge draw for me with Royal. IMO, Royal trumps all the others (even if VOOM isn't the greatest on some ships) for Internet simply because it is unlimited once purchased. Hopefully that doesn't not change. Even with MSC, which we just purchased Wi-Fi for yesterday, their package is generous but we will still have to keep an eye on our usage and turn off background refresh etc. I hate to having to watch usage while on vacation so this is where RC has everyone else beat (for now).

We can be friends again ? It sounds like you are having a great time!

If you get the code in your stateroom, it comes as a letter like this:

To expand on this...for DCL at least, this is 100% correct. From September 2017-August 2018, our cruising calendar was wide open for the first time ever. We knew we wanted to do a large family cruise on DCL. As soon as schedules were released, my sisters and I combed through every single sailing for that time period and the lowest rate we found was actually the first week of December. I was slightly surprised at the time as I had long thought that September/October was going to be our best bet. After booking for early December (we booked a year and a half out when schedules were first released), I continued to monitor prices and September/October rates never dropped below our December rate.

Jane, I know you are a huge Disney fan, but the Disney cruises are really over-rated and overpriced. Even at hurricane season! We cruise them 3 times. Twice at the end of August (hurricane season) and once at the beginning of December. The price was crazy all three times! The two times we cruise them in August, I could have probably sailed in a CLS with RC for the same price. The time in December was equivalent to the price of a GS. All three times we were in a standard balcony in DCL. Even activity wise, unless you are a kid, it is not the same as going to Disney world.

Is staying in Fort Lauderdale an option? We are cruising out of Miami next month and staying in FLL. We plan to take Lyft to POM on cruise day. We prefer staying in FLL because it's calmer and just easier to get around without a car. We usually stay on 17th street and there are tons of restaurants, Publix, and Walgreens all within walking distance. If that many hotels are booked in Miami already, it might worth it to stay in Fort Lauderdale to avoid the craziness. If you have a large group, booking a shuttle might be cheaper. @tiny260 has recommended one before but I cannot remember the name, and he might be cruising. I'm sure someone else who knows/remembers will chime in.

Yikes! Glad to hear that all is better now. Tomorrow is cruise day!!

Are you on Twitter or FB? If so, follow James Van Fleet (Royal's Chief Meteorologist). He is really good about posting updates regarding storm systems.

A FB post from Royal's Chief Meteorologist from 4 hrs ago: "Chief Meteorologist James Van Fleet added 4 new photos. 4 hrs · ‪#Hurricane #Beryl (you read that correctly) looks like a mess on satellite, but the core has still found a way to go to Cat 1. Don’t be alarmed by the overnight upgrade, as there is a hostile environment ahead for Beryl. Most data suggests it weakens significantly Royal Caribbean International" Also, a tweet from Harmony captain Johnny: 18hrs ago: "The #harmonyoftheseas are already starting to plan for a back up plan for next cruise. At this moment it looks good for a normal Eastern which include Nassau Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Kitts. Exiting times and never a dull moment in the office ;-)" 21mins ago: "It’s a lot of weather in the Caribbean for the time being, it nothing dramatic coming up next week. #Harmonyoftheseas will be Eastbound and all looks good so far. #sunyskies" I wouldn't worry. The ships are use to dealing with situations like this. I would worry if a hurricane was to hit my port of embarkation/disembarkation. But otherwise, enjoy your cruise. Be flexible to changes in itineraries.

Understandable. But just remember, there are still complimentary areas available (Matt noted it in one of the links above) and even now, activities there are "extra".

Here's a video and a few links by @Matt. Maybe these can help you decide. Even now, the extra activities at Coco Cay all carry an additional charge. I have very mixed feelings about the expansion. Personally, if I wanted to go to a water park, I wouldn't be on a cruise. I also don't want to pay a premium cruise fare for itineraries that include this (if this is the case, which is why I posted this topic to begin with). However, this is a great way for the cruise line to reach out to new cruisers (or even veteran cruisers) who enjoy this sort of thing. I don't even know what the price difference is between full and half day but I would imagine you need to know your family. Is your family an "all day, out in the sun" kind of family? Or would a few hours out there satisfy their curiosity? With the activities that are there, could you imagine spending and entire day there? Those are the questions I would be considering. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/category/category/cococay

@Matt has a blog post on it: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/03/31/spotlight-cococay-beach-bungalows

Safe travels tomorrow!!

Ugh! We can't be blog friends anymore! Cannot stand Claire Danes! JK...We're probably all around the same age...group cruise one day would be fun...high school in the 90s...that is a time I would prefer to forget. lol

I could not agree with this more. Or walking around with a knock off designer handbag....that's the shopaholic in me talking ?

I can find out for you the week before you sail ?

I want to be part of that group too...but I'm just happy to finally make Diamond next month! Hard to plan that far with set vacation times.....

That's the @twangster way of doing things!

Have a great cruise @ellcee!!! It seems like it's been a long time coming! Looking forward to following.

TRUTH!!!! ?