Finally we are HERE - Fort Lauderdale

After a long day we are here.  We have to keep reminding ourselves that even though we are tired and hungry and frustrated we know there are so many people who would trade places with us in a heartbeat.

We booked a car for our stay here.  As soon as our flights were changed I went online and modified our booking to reflect one less day (at least we saved some money there). 

I love booking with National (although many do the same) when you arrive you just go to where the cars are and pick what you want.  

So we picked up a Toyota CRV and loaded the bags in.

We are staying at an Airbnb again.  We booked this place for three nights just north of Sunrise Galleria Mall.

Great location, great apartment.  Also the price was the best.  In fact what we paid for three nights was just over what we paid the hotel in Toronto yesterday.

Here is a link to our Airbnb.  Remember if you ever think you may be booking an Airbnb sign up now with this link and save on your first booking.

It is so nice and comfortable.... and right now that bed is looking very comfortable.  We both agree that we need to rest a bit.

We crash for a couple of hours and then around 3 pm we are off to Sawgrass Mall for some shopping. 

The main spot was Target where we bought toiletries for the trip - soap, shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, bug wipes, and some food for breakfast each morning.

We also hit a few stores and picked up a few items, but we did not spend as much as we would of in past years.  The Canadian dollar is so low that it is just to expensive for us when we convert the price.

A quick meal at PF Changs and we are not surprised how hungry we are, we have not eaten in over 13 hours!

Back at the apartment we watch a bit of Netflix and then fall asleep knowing we can sleep in tomorrow.

Florida Trip in Early 2016

Florida... the good and bad about leaving from Florida - Fort Lauderdale to be exact.

We have been sailing out of Fort Lauderdale now for almost two decades.  We have seen it change so much.  But I guess every place has changed!  Sounding my age?

Because of how bad the Canadian Exchange rate is, currently 30% we have to be conscious of what we spend when visiting the US right now.  

One thing we find is the prices have really shot up for hotels.  Especially those around the port. Often it is rare to even find a room under $200 near the port or on the beach.  It was only three years ago that we were getting rooms at the Hyatt or the Sheraton for under a $100.  Well times have changed.

We are heading into Florida two nights prior to the cruise so we were looking for something reasonable. We love coming in early.  We really enjoy spending time here and it really helps to get use to the three hour time change from Vancouver.  

When we were able to secure a rental car with Alamo for $31 a day (thru Priceline) we knew we could venture out of the port area for a hotel.

We have done this regularly lately.  We love the idea of having a car and love the idea of heading out and playing tourist too.  Oh I guess I should add Bernie loves visiting Sawgrass Mills Shopping Mall.

I love Priceline and after bidding quite a few times on a four star in the Weston/Sawgrass area I finally secured the Bonaventure Resort and Spa.  We stayed here in 2009 when it was a Hyatt. Lovely resort and huge!  Here is a link to the hotel.

Best thing is we got it for $84 a night.

So now with hotel and car booked we are all set for Fort Lauderdale.

Trip to South America - Florida

With the trip coming up I wanted to let you know a bit about our pre cruise information and details.  I decided to write this blog before we left so I can link the hotel website, car rental, port details etc.

First we should start with the fact we are flying to Florida from Vancouver, yeah!!!  I can't remember the last time we flew from Vancouver to Florida.  Well I can remember it was when Princess use to do our air and they would put us up in a hotel the night prior for free.  That was like our 1st, 2nd and 3rd Princess cruise, and that was a long time ago.  But back then when Princess organized the flights we use to have to fly East to Toronto or Montreal then South to Florida.  We hated that itinerary, we encountered flight delays and missed connections because of this routing.  Soon we started planning our own flights and with that it was always more economical to fly out of Seattle.

So back to this trip.  

Quite a few months ago we booked this air with United.  We leave at 6:24 am and get into Fort Lauderdale around 5:30 pm, which is really 2:30 our time.  We have a one hour connection in Houston.

We decided to rent a car in Fort Lauderdale cause there are so many trips in port leaving that weekend that hotels were very expensive.  Hotels that we normally pay around $75 a night were asking over $200 a night.  I don't think so....  

So we booked a car for $15 a day thru Priceline and got Alamo, we decided to upgrade to a full size vehicle for a nominal fee since we will spend the next day with our friend Barb and Craig.  

We finally got a hotel that we were able to book thru Priceline about two months ago.  We knew because we had a car we could look further afield.

We won a bid at the Sheraton Suites Fort Lauderdale at Cypress Creek.  It is about a 12 minute drive from the pier.  We got it for $90 a night and that includes Wifi, and free parking and the rooms are very large with numerous amenities.

We have never stayed at this hotel before and I am sure it will do the trick for the two nights we are in Fort Lauderdale.

The next day Craig found an Everglades tour for just the four of us.  Everglades Safari Park is the company and we are going on a one hour private air boat ride for $250 total.

After the tour we will get some lunch and then head to a local Target to pick up some sundries that we will need for the long voyage.  We decided to not pack so many of the toilitries, but to buy then when we get there.  The list includes; moisturizer, shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, hair mousse, bars of soap, wine and whatever else we feel the need we can't live without.

A nap will probably be in order and then evening will be a lovely night out with our friends to celebrate a wonderful Valentines Day.  Don't know yet where we are going but will post where we end up.

For embarkation day we will probably head to the pier and drop off our bags then head back out to meet up with a friend who is a comedian on board and will be getting off the Crown and then getting on the Ruby (sad we won't see him perform) but glad we will get to see him.  

We may look at trying to fit in a pedicure too this day.

We will take the car back to the airport and then catch Alamo's free shuttle back to the pier.  We are not in a rush to get on, I am okay with waiting till 2 or 3 to board.  Plus we will have 49 days to be on board so we can wait.

I hope you stay tuned to follow our adventures.  

And check out my Facebook Fan Page for more details and personal answers to your questions.  Cruising Princess Cruiseline With Vickie Page

Jan 26, Florida aka Turn Around Day

We are docked before 7 am, and since our clocks go back an hour to coincide with Florida time we get an extra hour of sleep, but what it is sleep.  In fact I think I hardly slept all night, woke every hour.  For some reason my brain just wouldn’t shut off, don’t even know why since really what do I need to think about while I am on vacation!

We decided to do wash on turn around day, I know we get free laundry service but we really wanted to do some a fresh load and do it in bulk and get it really clean.  I will state that laundry was $2 for washing and $2 for drying, it sure has gone up since we use to do wash.  We got a roll of quarters from the casino.

We dress and head down to the dining room for breakfast where I enjoy the crunchy French toast, one of my favorites.

Today we have made plans to meet up with Alice and take a taxi (since darn it we are at pier 21 which is quite a hike to the exit) to the Publix mall where Alice and I get pedicures and Bernie heads out to get supplies at the Publix, the regular stuff, toothpaste, sunscreen, etc.  Then he restocks on some champagne and wine.  We then head to Starbucks and it is packed, did I tell you there are 8 ships in port!  Yup 8!  It is crazy! 

The next great thing about today is we are going to see Larry and Amy today.  We met them in 2008 when we sailed together on the Emerald, since then we have sailed with them once more and they have come to Vancouver too.  We had a lovely lunch together and got caught up and they were so nice to drive us back to pier 21. 

It was around 2:30 when we were dropped off and it was still crazy busy – what is going on!   When we first got on it was crazy and again today and it is late!  They are lined up out the door for security, we thankfully show our in transit cards and we are lead to the outer line where we can by pass the couple hundred waiting.  A few dirty looks but we really don’t care.  Once we get thru security it takes no time but all the areas are very busy!  

We get on board and see some familiar faces.  We lug our stuff back to the cabin where we meet Efren our new cabin steward who just got on board.  He told us he left the Philippines twenty hours earlier and he is on board right away and off and running.  He is super friendly and we tell him we are still having issues with our pillows and he quickly rectifies it with a pillow that is a dream.  We give him a good tip and we are both relieved to know we will be taken care of very well the next twenty days.

The Muster Drill is going on and I head up to the sun deck to relax and take some shots of the 7 other ships in port.  After the drill the people start filling up the decks and the band starts up and the party begins!

We dance, we say hi to familiar faces, we grab a drink, and let the party begin.

Tonight we head back up to Skywalkers, we hardly even got up here last cruise but tonight we join with Bill and Cathy and Sue and Mike for a drink and some catch up.  Dinner tonight is at 7:30 with Elda and Nathanlian again but our table has grown to 7 now.

I have the spring rolls to start, the broth soup with tortellini, and then the cheese and leek quiche for my entrée, and surprise surprise I had dessert the cheesecake.  All was very very good but I am so full and very very tired and we head back to the cabin to get some sleep.