Ports of Embarkation

This is a response to the question about Ft. Lauderdale hotels.

We have cruised out of
Philadelphia
Baltimore
Norfolk
Ft. Lauderdale
and Miami

We've arrived in
Tampa
Miami
Ft. Lauderdale
Baltimore

Of those ports I found Baltimore the nicest to embark from-partly
because it is convenient for us to drive to, but also because the
terminal is nice and seems well organized.. What we do is rent a car,
drive up and turn it in at the airport, and get a taxi to the
terminal. This costs us less than paying for parking, plus if it is
bad weather we don't have to worry about digging the car out of a snow
bank or whether it will start or not.

Norfolk would be good I would think if they finished the terminal - we
did our cruise in 2006 before they got the new terminal built.. We
rented a car and drove down, and the car rental guy drove us to the
port and dropped us off. We've been to both Baltimore and Norfolk on
our boat and have lived in both places so we are familiar with them.

Ft. Lauderdale was OK, and convenient, but I don't really like Ft.
Lauderdale as a place to go. We only went once on our boat and
avoided it after that once. The ICW is a disaster in that area. When
we did the cruise ship embarkation, we rented a car and drove down
leisurely and took a hotel with an airport and cruise terminal
shuttle. We unloaded our stuff at the hotel and took the car to the
airport and turned it in and then took the shuttle back to the hotel.
Then we took the port shuttle in the morning.

We've only done Philadelphia once and I'd go back there if there was
an opportunity, although we did get lost trying to turn the car in at
the airport. We have lived in the Philly area.

Miami is kind of a zoo and the port people aren't very nice, but we
have a child and grandchildren that are there, so we like going there
- both the airport and the port are familiar to us and we've flown in,
and gone on our own boat and stayed in the marina near the port. So
it's almost as much like home as Baltimore. We usually stay in a
hotel down in the Perine area of Miami near our kids (we don't usually
stay at their homes), and we drive the bags up to the ship and offload
them, and then turn the car in at the airport. Some of the airport
car rental places (like Dollar) have a free port shuttle.

We disembarked once in Tampa and the hassle caused my husband to say
he was never going cruising again, which he has never said about
Miami. Maybe it is better now than it was then (2007), but I would
never be able to get him to go to Tampa to get on a cruise ship now.

I'd like to try Charleston sometime (we have a child and grandchildren
there, and also have visited there many times by boat and car), but it
is so much easier to get to Baltimore that it probably won't happen.
As far as driving time goes, the NY/NJ terminals are probably also
going to be beyond where we would like to go although my sister lives
in Princeton and a grandchild lives in CT.

Rosalie B. wrote:


We disembarked once in Tampa and the hassle caused my husband to say
he was never going cruising again, which he has never said about
Miami. Maybe it is better now than it was then (2007), but I would
never be able to get him to go to Tampa to get on a cruise ship now.

We cruised out of Tampa last year and will be doing it again in a few
days. We found Tampa and the port to be good to deal with. Last time we
stayed at a hotel that had a shuttle from airport to hotel and then from
hotel to the cruise pier. When we disembarked we had no problem getting
a cab to the airport.

This time we are at a hotel that doesn't have a shuttle, so will be
using taxis. When we disembark we will take a taxi to the airport to
pick up our rental car.

We found Tampa to work very well and the people were very friendly.

What was it that you didn't like about Tampa?

sue

Sue Mullen wrote:



Rosalie B. wrote:


We disembarked once in Tampa and the hassle caused my husband to say
he was never going cruising again, which he has never said about
Miami. Maybe it is better now than it was then (2007), but I would
never be able to get him to go to Tampa to get on a cruise ship now.

We cruised out of Tampa last year and will be doing it again in a few
days. We found Tampa and the port to be good to deal with. Last time we
stayed at a hotel that had a shuttle from airport to hotel and then from
hotel to the cruise pier. When we disembarked we had no problem getting
a cab to the airport.

This time we are at a hotel that doesn't have a shuttle, so will be
using taxis. When we disembark we will take a taxi to the airport to
pick up our rental car.

We found Tampa to work very well and the people were very friendly.

What was it that you didn't like about Tampa?

It was the disembarkation which was totally screwed up by the ship
(not the port necessarily).

We were told to be out of our rooms by 8 and we got back from
breakfast 5 minutes late and the beds were already stripped. We went
to wait for our time to leave - we had no schedule of when various
color tags were to be called. We waited in the theatre and had to
listen to CNN on the TV (and they repeat stuff over and over) for two
hours. The ladies room had lines and when you got there, there was no
TP. When our color was finally called (and we were not the last), the
line getting off the ship snaked across and back and up and down
before we could get our bags. Bob and I got separated by the crowds
(and the fact that I moved slower than he did) in the terminal and he
bought a bus ticket to go to the airport before I could tell him that
I had something else in mind..

This was just another instance of the basic screw ups on this ship,
which we did not like.

After we got out of the terminal, the ride to the airport was short,
but we had to get a porter in the airport to figure out how to get
from where the bus dropped us to the car rental place.

Rosalie B. wrote:
Sue Mullen wrote:


Rosalie B. wrote:


We disembarked once in Tampa and the hassle caused my husband to say
he was never going cruising again, which he has never said about
Miami. Maybe it is better now than it was then (2007), but I would
never be able to get him to go to Tampa to get on a cruise ship now.
We cruised out of Tampa last year and will be doing it again in a few
days. We found Tampa and the port to be good to deal with. Last time we
stayed at a hotel that had a shuttle from airport to hotel and then from
hotel to the cruise pier. When we disembarked we had no problem getting
a cab to the airport.

This time we are at a hotel that doesn't have a shuttle, so will be
using taxis. When we disembark we will take a taxi to the airport to
pick up our rental car.

We found Tampa to work very well and the people were very friendly.

What was it that you didn't like about Tampa?

It was the disembarkation which was totally screwed up by the ship
(not the port necessarily).

We were told to be out of our rooms by 8 and we got back from
breakfast 5 minutes late and the beds were already stripped. We went
to wait for our time to leave - we had no schedule of when various
color tags were to be called. We waited in the theatre and had to
listen to CNN on the TV (and they repeat stuff over and over) for two
hours. The ladies room had lines and when you got there, there was no
TP. When our color was finally called (and we were not the last), the
line getting off the ship snaked across and back and up and down
before we could get our bags. Bob and I got separated by the crowds
(and the fact that I moved slower than he did) in the terminal and he
bought a bus ticket to go to the airport before I could tell him that
I had something else in mind..

This was just another instance of the basic screw ups on this ship,
which we did not like.

After we got out of the terminal, the ride to the airport was short,
but we had to get a porter in the airport to figure out how to get
from where the bus dropped us to the car rental place.

Thanks, sounds like typical disembarkation. A real pain, but not a big
deal. Most cruise lines you have to be out of your cabin by 8am, but
they usually don't mind if you leave your carry ons there and they work
around them.

sue

Sue Mullen wrote:



Rosalie B. wrote:
Sue Mullen wrote:


Rosalie B. wrote:


We disembarked once in Tampa and the hassle caused my husband to say
he was never going cruising again, which he has never said about
Miami. Maybe it is better now than it was then (2007), but I would
never be able to get him to go to Tampa to get on a cruise ship now.
We cruised out of Tampa last year and will be doing it again in a few
days. We found Tampa and the port to be good to deal with. Last time we
stayed at a hotel that had a shuttle from airport to hotel and then from
hotel to the cruise pier. When we disembarked we had no problem getting
a cab to the airport.

This time we are at a hotel that doesn't have a shuttle, so will be
using taxis. When we disembark we will take a taxi to the airport to
pick up our rental car.

We found Tampa to work very well and the people were very friendly.

What was it that you didn't like about Tampa?

It was the disembarkation which was totally screwed up by the ship
(not the port necessarily).

We were told to be out of our rooms by 8 and we got back from
breakfast 5 minutes late and the beds were already stripped. We went
to wait for our time to leave - we had no schedule of when various
color tags were to be called. We waited in the theatre and had to
listen to CNN on the TV (and they repeat stuff over and over) for two
hours. The ladies room had lines and when you got there, there was no
TP. When our color was finally called (and we were not the last), the
line getting off the ship snaked across and back and up and down
before we could get our bags. Bob and I got separated by the crowds
(and the fact that I moved slower than he did) in the terminal and he
bought a bus ticket to go to the airport before I could tell him that
I had something else in mind..

This was just another instance of the basic screw ups on this ship,
which we did not like.

After we got out of the terminal, the ride to the airport was short,
but we had to get a porter in the airport to figure out how to get
from where the bus dropped us to the car rental place.

Thanks, sounds like typical disembarkation. A real pain, but not a big
deal. Most cruise lines you have to be out of your cabin by 8am, but
they usually don't mind if you leave your carry ons there and they work
around them.

It wasn't typical for us. Every other time it has been much easier
and nicer.

This was the only ship that we have been on to date (10 other cruises)
that we could not wait in our cabins and use our own bathroom (and
control what we watched on TV) until we were called. Also it was the
only time when we had to wait so long to get off the ship and the only
time when we didn't have some kind of schedule so that we knew
approximately how long it would be.. We have never had a flight to
catch after the disembarkation, so it wasn't that.

Rosalie B. wrote:
Sue Mullen wrote:

Rosalie B. wrote:

We found Tampa to work very well and the people were very friendly.

What was it that you didn't like about Tampa?

It was the disembarkation which was totally screwed up by the ship
(not the port necessarily).

We were told to be out of our rooms by 8 and we got back from
breakfast 5 minutes late and the beds were already stripped. We went
to wait for our time to leave - we had no schedule of when various
color tags were to be called. We waited in the theatre and had to
listen to CNN on the TV (and they repeat stuff over and over) for two
hours. The ladies room had lines and when you got there, there was no
TP. When our color was finally called (and we were not the last), the
line getting off the ship snaked across and back and up and down
before we could get our bags. Bob and I got separated by the crowds
(and the fact that I moved slower than he did) in the terminal and he
bought a bus ticket to go to the airport before I could tell him that
I had something else in mind..

This was just another instance of the basic screw ups on this ship,
which we did not like.

After we got out of the terminal, the ride to the airport was short,
but we had to get a porter in the airport to figure out how to get
from where the bus dropped us to the car rental place.

We just got off the Grandeur last Thursday. The night before
disembarkation we were given a paper telling us what time each color
would be disembarking, what lounge to be in and to be there shortly
before our color would be called. The only issue we had that morning was
that at a little after 7am there was a huge line waiting to get into the
dining room for breakfast. The restrooms were a bit more busy then
normal, but no long lines or waiting time.

When we got downstairs our luggage was all together and our porter took
us through customs and then to the shuttle van we were using. When the
shuttle van dropped us off at the airport, he told us how to get to the
car rental place and the signs inside the terminal were easy to follow.
Since all our luggage has wheels, we did not use a porter at the airport.

We will be writing a review later in the week and will give more details
then.

sue

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:25:35 -0500, Sue Mullen
wrote:

Sounds like they have their act together more now. I think our
disembarkation in Tampa was their first at that port.

Rosalie B. wrote:
Sue Mullen wrote:

Rosalie B. wrote:

We found Tampa to work very well and the people were very friendly.

What was it that you didn't like about Tampa?

It was the disembarkation which was totally screwed up by the ship
(not the port necessarily).

We were told to be out of our rooms by 8 and we got back from
breakfast 5 minutes late and the beds were already stripped. We went
to wait for our time to leave - we had no schedule of when various
color tags were to be called. We waited in the theatre and had to
listen to CNN on the TV (and they repeat stuff over and over) for two
hours. The ladies room had lines and when you got there, there was no
TP. When our color was finally called (and we were not the last), the
line getting off the ship snaked across and back and up and down
before we could get our bags. Bob and I got separated by the crowds
(and the fact that I moved slower than he did) in the terminal and he
bought a bus ticket to go to the airport before I could tell him that
I had something else in mind..

This was just another instance of the basic screw ups on this ship,
which we did not like.

After we got out of the terminal, the ride to the airport was short,
but we had to get a porter in the airport to figure out how to get
from where the bus dropped us to the car rental place.

We just got off the Grandeur last Thursday. The night before
disembarkation we were given a paper telling us what time each color
would be disembarking, what lounge to be in and to be there shortly
before our color would be called. The only issue we had that morning was
that at a little after 7am there was a huge line waiting to get into the
dining room for breakfast. The restrooms were a bit more busy then
normal, but no long lines or waiting time.

When we got downstairs our luggage was all together and our porter took
us through customs and then to the shuttle van we were using. When the
shuttle van dropped us off at the airport, he told us how to get to the
car rental place and the signs inside the terminal were easy to follow.
Since all our luggage has wheels, we did not use a porter at the airport.

We will be writing a review later in the week and will give more details
then.

sue

wrote:
On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:25:35 -0500, Sue Mullen
wrote:

Sounds like they have their act together more now. I think our
disembarkation in Tampa was their first at that port.

That would explain a lot!

sue - back to unpacking, laundry, bills, computer stuff etc.