Mr. & Mrs Geezer's Excellent (?) Adventure

[Geezer Of The Seas]

Where to begin? Was our first and last HAL cruise. Nieuw Amsterdam is a beautiful ship with a hardworking (and seemingly understaffed) crew in the buffet. Final night, despite the dress code of the day published as casual, I was asked to leave Pinnacle Grille, return to our already packed luggage and and put on slacks. No argument, but I pointed out the dress code of the day (same as day 1) where I did see men wearing shorts in Pinnacle. Host insisted, I politely refused and canceled the reservation (was part of Have It All and I didn't care, no loss). 

The food quality was in our view, a disappointment. There was a lot, I mean a lot of flies in the buffet. Everywhere..........

Embarkation/disembarkation are nicely done and expedient.

Brightline: Great, if you're in Premium, not so much in SMART. Trip home in SMART, 2 hours 10 minutes. A passenger in seat in front of Mrs. Geezer was on the phone from Lauderdale station to 10 minutes out from MCO.............literally, and half the coach knew it. Premium on the way down, they make an announcement regarding electronics and phone usage. SMART, they don't even tell you to read the safety information.

UBER: NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!! Ordered a ride at FLL to hotel, no one ever showed. Easily got a ride from MCO to Longwood  $63 and fees...............and set a world land speed record on SR408 & I-4 in the process. 

And I've come to the conclusion the port area in Lauderdale is one giant hustle. Think we paid more in tips in one night than we did on all 5 cruises combined.

PS: First port call was canceled on 11/4 due to weather, which for the first 2 1/2 days was the worst we ever experienced at sea. First time we had to go to the Bonine. But at least we missed the earthquake yesterday, so there's that. 

 

[WAAAYTOOO]

Thanks for the feedback,  @Geezer Of The Seas.  Very helpful

[Geezer Of The Seas]

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Thanks for the feedback,  @Geezer Of The Seas.  Very helpful

I'm now certain ALL cruise lines source their IT to the same vendor. Cruise director reminded passengers Sunday morning at start of disembarkation to settle their folios if they hadn't, CC users would receive  an e-mail copy 'several' hours after the disembarking, and don't forget to complete the God Almighty post cruise survey. Just as well about the survey, I've got a bunch of axes to grind.

27 hours later, we've received nothing. Calling last night.............well that was a joke, my call was never answered. And that idiot bot on the website is worse than useless.

Suffice it to say, done with HAL!!!! 

[Pattycruise]

On 11/11/2024 at 11:29 AM, Geezer Of The Seas said:

 

UBER: NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!! Ordered a ride at FLL to hotel, no one ever showed. Easily got a ride from MCO to Longwood  $63 and fees...............and set a world land speed record on SR408 & I-4 in the process. 

 

 

I had recently read somewhere when you pick the cheapest Uber there’s a high chance they may not show.  We experienced this in LA.  The app said 5 minutes away, then 10, then “delays“…after 30minutes of this nonsense I think my husband downloaded the app and we had the same issue.  When we finally cancelled the ride and clicked on the more expensive car (almost double the price) it came within 5 minutes. (It was not the same cars involved).

[tonyfsu21]

On 11/11/2024 at 10:29 AM, Geezer Of The Seas said:

Where to begin? Was our first and last HAL cruise. Nieuw Amsterdam is a beautiful ship with a hardworking (and seemingly understaffed) crew in the buffet. Final night, despite the dress code of the day published as casual, I was asked to leave Pinnacle Grille, return to our already packed luggage and and put on slacks. No argument, but I pointed out the dress code of the day (same as day 1) where I did see men wearing shorts in Pinnacle. Host insisted, I politely refused and canceled the reservation (was part of Have It All and I didn't care, no loss). 

The food quality was in our view, a disappointment. There was a lot, I mean a lot of flies in the buffet. Everywhere..........

Embarkation/disembarkation are nicely done and expedient.

Brightline: Great, if you're in Premium, not so much in SMART. Trip home in SMART, 2 hours 10 minutes. A passenger in seat in front of Mrs. Geezer was on the phone from Lauderdale station to 10 minutes out from MCO.............literally, and half the coach knew it. Premium on the way down, they make an announcement regarding electronics and phone usage. SMART, they don't even tell you to read the safety information.

UBER: NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!! Ordered a ride at FLL to hotel, no one ever showed. Easily got a ride from MCO to Longwood  $63 and fees...............and set a world land speed record on SR408 & I-4 in the process. 

And I've come to the conclusion the port area in Lauderdale is one giant hustle. Think we paid more in tips in one night than we did on all 5 cruises combined.

PS: First port call was canceled on 11/4 due to weather, which for the first 2 1/2 days was the worst we ever experienced at sea. First time we had to go to the Bonine. But at least we missed the earthquake yesterday, so there's that. 

 

Do you think the tipping frequency in Fort Lauderdale is different than the rest of the country? I have lived here my entire life and figured it was not so bad especially compared to Vegas or NYC. I suppose we are largely a tourist based economy during the high season so this observation would make sense, I’ve just never noticed it. As far as Uber goes, I use the service from FLL all the time and have never had an issue. I am assuming you just rebooked in the app and another driver was close by because there is no shortage of ride share at that airport.

[Geezer Of The Seas]

15 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

Do you think the tipping frequency in Fort Lauderdale is different than the rest of the country? I have lived here my entire life and figured it was not so bad especially compared to Vegas or NYC. I suppose we are largely a tourist based economy during the high season so this observation would make sense, I’ve just never noticed it. As far as Uber goes, I use the service from FLL all the time and have never had an issue. I am assuming you just rebooked in the app and another driver was close by because there is no shortage of ride share at that airport.

Brightline station not the airport. Cab driver that did come and pick us up(less than 10 minutes after calling) after 40 minutes wait for Uber told us no Uber driver would show for a $5.52 ride of less than 5 miles. And the Uber driver that picked us up from Brightline Orlando to take us home (no problem for a near $70 ride apparently) told us the same thing.

Matter of fact, I asked 2 Uber drivers that dropped fares at Brightline Lauderdale if they could even see our request in the app. One said yes and he couldn't help us. The second one I asked, I offered him $25 to take us 'off the books'. No joy there either. 

Couldn't line up an Uber from Port Everglades to Brightline either. Used a shuttle recommended by Crowne Plaza Hotel to get us from hotel to port and port to Brightline.

[Geezer Of The Seas]

18 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

I had recently read somewhere when you pick the cheapest Uber there’s a high chance they may not show.  We experienced this in LA.  The app said 5 minutes away, then 10, then “delays“…after 30minutes of this nonsense I think my husband downloaded the app and we had the same issue.  When we finally cancelled the ride and clicked on the more expensive car (almost double the price) it came within 5 minutes. (It was not the same cars involved).

What you read is the truth. Same is happening with Lyft. The Uber driver that took us to Brightline Orlando a week ago also drives for Lyft. Similar treatment like Uber drivers receive. We selected Uber XL (Comfort) for all rides. We had 3 pieces of luggage so I knew a compact/subcompact vehicle wouldn't cut it.