Saturday January 17, 2015

Hmmm what to do today.  We sleep in!  It is 9:30 when we wake, and I think our bodies have finally adjusted totally to the time change.  We dress and head out for breakfast and head to a diner that is nearby called Lesters on 136^th Street.  Food/service and it’s ease of location fit perfectly.

We have decided to head back to Sawgrass to check out a few more stores since yesterday we didn’t have much time and plus both of us are looking for some more sandals.

Boy the mall is much busier today than it was yesterday, it is hard to find parking. 

First stop is Starbucks and we chat with a lovely lady who just came off a cruise who lives near Ottawa.  She is not looking forward to returning home and the cold weather.

We did manage to find some shoes and even some clothes, but after two hours here we are ready to leave.

I really need to get a pedicure before we get on so we managed to walk just down the street to the Nail Bar and pampered myself, and even Bernie got a pedicure which he loved.

We are hungry now, we haven’t eaten since breakfast and Bernie wants to go back to Smokey Bones for some ribs.  We know that there is one on University Blvd not too far from here.  We arrive shortly after 7 and we have to wait about 15 minutes for a table. 

We are sat and we order some drinks and share a salad and an entrée.  One thing we notice is serving sizes in the United States are huge and we often are full when sharing a meal. 

The food was great, service was lacking but it was crazy busy.  We toss around the idea of heading out to something else but both of us agree we are tired.  I think this jet lag and traveling from the North West is getting to us.  Another good night sleep and maybe a nice bath beforehand and we will be good to go tomorrow. 

You can tell we are both excited to get on board the Royal tomorrow.  Bernie is currently moving things around in his suitcase and making room for his new items.  Our friends Paul and Yvonne arrive later tonight from Edmonton and are staying at our hotel too.  We hope to meet up with them for breakfast, but if not we will meet them on the ship.

Also I don’t think I mentioned the other night, but the hockey arena is nearby and whenever the Florida Panthers play the away team stays at this hotel.  On Thursday night the Colorado Avalanche stayed here and saw many of the players the next morning.  Tonight the Panthers are playing the Edmonton Oilers and we are hoping to see some of the players in the lobby tomorrow.  Bernie is joking around saying he slept with the players from the Avalanche and the Oilers… yeah he gets around.

Friday January 16 – Day in Fort Lauderdale.

When we awake we discuss changing rooms.  Bernie heads down and sees that Denise Miller is working again and she informs us that she will have a quieter room for us at 1 pm. Great!  

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast buffet in the hotel for $16.95 for the full breakfast.  Food was good, service was good too but it is nothing special but it fits the needs and is great for families.

Our game plan is now to get a coffee and I see that there is a Starbucks not too far and we agree to just walk there cause we need to stretch our legs a bit.  And the coffee hits the right buttons and I needed that caffeine to keep me going for the shopping we are doing next.

We actually we are not doing too much shopping today just picking up the essentials we need for the trip.  Often when we go for longer voyages like we are doing we pick up most of our toiletries here instead of lugging them from home so we save on weight.  So we bought things like shampoo/conditioner (mainly cause I like my own but the ship provides some) laundry detergent so we can do some loads on the ship.  Face cream, sun screen, lotion, wine, duck tape (to secure the bag) and we bought some Valentine treats since we will be on for Valentine’s day we thought it would be nice to get some treats for the crew.

Back at the hotel by 1 pm and Denise has arranged a move to room 704 which is at the end of the hallway and right away we notice how much quieter it is.  We both need a nap and I think we are trying to get use to the three hour time change too.  So let the vacation really begin, we are napping.

Tonight we are doing something extra special, we are heading out to see The Lion King and Broward Center for Performing Arts.  We bought these tickets a while ago when we knew we would be here for a few nights and saw that they had the touring show here.  But first we head to dinner off of 17th Street at Carrabbas Italian restaurant and it was very good.

The reason for coming over to 17th street is so we can get to Total Wine and buy some champagne.  Bernie picked up three bottles of the De Margerie Champagne he likes.  His sisters Karen and Brenda sent him money for his birthday and this is what he spent it on.  He will be enjoying them on the ship very soon.

We got to the theater an hour before and parked in the lot right across the street from the theater ($12 flat rate) and then had drinks in the lounge prior (ouch $11 for a small glass of wine – and served in plastic).  We had great seat and the show was AMAZING!  

What a great night!

Jan 15 Travel Day

Our flight on United was at 7:30 so this gave us enough time to head down and check in and then grab a bit to eat.  With one quick stop in Houston for an hour and a half and then on to Fort Lauderdale.

All flights were on time; however we did run into an issue.

When we got our bags we noticed one had been ripped open at the seam. Looks like one of the machines got a hold of it and it tore.  So we took the bag to baggage services and right away they filled out a claim form, taped it up for us and told us to present it at the counter in Vancouver for a list of places that can fix it.  We are not sure if they will fix or give us money but at least they are going to fix.  

The bags are just under three years old and we do travel a lot with them but it is disappointing but we always say it could be worse.  It could have been totally ripped open with all my items strolling down the luggage carousel.  Trust me I have seen this.  We will pick up some duck tape in Florida so we can use the bags and for our flight home we will get them to put suitcase in bag to ensure nothing more happens.

We then proceeded to the rental car counter.  We had arranged a reservation thru Advantage Rental Cars ahead of time.  We noticed prices were crazy this weekend, and not surprising with so many ships in this weekend and it being a long weekend in the States we settled on Advantage.  I had read on line ahead of time many issues people had with Advantage, especially with all the added charges. Now we are use to the added charges like added fees for location, taxes, etc.  But boy oh boy was this check in ever a pain.  

The guy tried to sell us everything, we kept telling him no.  No to insurance, no again to added insurance, no to gas, no to replacement, no!  He just didn’t want to take no for an answer and kept warning us of what “could” happen.  Sure we got a great deal ($111 for three night for a full size) but we are wondering if maybe we should of went with one of the big names and paid two and a half times? 

We did get a nice car and we walked around and made very detailed notes of any previous marks and even video tapped the entire walk around to ensure we did not miss anything.  Note we also video the walk around after we return the car to make sure they don’t try and ding us for something we didn’t do.  And something tells me with this rental car company I may be glad I did. 

After leaving the airport we were on our way to the hotel.  We booked a hotel near Sawgrass Mills Mall.  We knew with having a car we could go further out and away from the port.  Plus hotels near the port were CRAZY expensive.  

Hotels we normally stayed at for no more than $75-$100 a night are going for $200 - $250 a night.  So we booked the Double Tree By HiltonSunrise at Sawgrass Mills and the price was right.  They also include free parking (I believe they also have the option of leaving your car while you cruise but you are such a distance from the port, not sure it would be a good option). 

Unfortunately our GPS had other ideas and kept sending us South towards Miami and I knew that was not the right way so after about a half hour of arguing with it (yes I did have a few words with Tom Tom you piece of ……!)  I decided to go with my instincts and my amazing sense of direction! Yeah I do have a great sense of direction and know my way around quite easily one trait I was born with, why do you think I am bus driver by trade.  So we overrode the GPS and headed North West and found the hotel with no real problems.

So this was number three of frustrating things, suitcase tear, rental car and now GPS.  When we walked into the hotel we met with Denise Miller the night manager that day and we breathed a big sigh and she quickly made our night brighter.   The hotel is full and we were given room 414 which seemed like a great room but we were concerned with all the noise that would come with being so close to the elevators and ice machine and housekeeping closet.  But tonight it will do just fine. 

Denise made us even happier when she gave us two free drinks in the lounge… I really like this hotel!  And also two coupons for 20% off in the restaurant. 

We took advantage of that complimentary drink right away and met a lovely couple from England who is sailing on a Blue Jazz cruise on Sunday. 

And around 11:30 we were tucked into bed and quickly feel asleep, well Bernie did, I was restless.  I kept hearing all the sounds from the elevator, and guest out in the halls.  Also new surroundings kept me tossing and turning but in the end I did get some sleep, but I think we will need to change rooms for the next two nights.