rcuised

Fort Lauderdale wins my vote. Is it that it is only 5 miles from my condo? Or is it that it is so easy to get in and out? Or is it that it is so close to Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport? Maybe all of the above!

I always use an agent. My daughter is one of the best! Her expertise, professionalism and personal service are second to none!

I would suggest you google "port of miami to fll shuttle". You will find a number of options there which you can explore. (I have a condo in FLL but I also live in Michigan.)

I ALWAYS RECOMMEND travel insurance to all my clients. Case in point: Early this past January I booked a client on the February 12th sailing of Celebrity’s Eclipse out of Miami. After much discussion with my client, he declined travel insurance. He paid for the cruise in full. Six days later, he called to tell me his brother (and business partner) had died in his sleep and he needed to cancel his cruise. He was in the 50% penalty window and was going to lose a lot of money. I recommended to him that he could still purchase a “cancel for any reason” policy and, if he did within 7 days of his original payment, he could cancel and not lose as much money. I bought the policy for my client and he ended up losing only $500 (after cost of policy premium) instead of the $1000 he would have lost without the insurance. A cancellation like this, in a case where the cruise was booked direct or online, would have resulted in him losing a lot more money than he did.

And then you hear the sad story of the couple who booked their cruise themselves online and did their own air arrangements. Seems that the day before the cruise, the wife realized that their olane was to land in Miami the day of their cruise departure at 11:50 PM instead of 11:50 AM and the airline would do nothing to accomodate them. Since they did not want to miss their cruise (which left Miami at 5:00 PM), they had to book one way air to Miami less than 24 hours before their cruise which added another $2,000.00 to the cost of their vacation. Ouch! Had they used an agent, this probably would not have happened.

Great review Andi! My wife and I have be Solsticized 5 times so far, having been on the Solstice (twice), Equinox (twice) and the Silhouette. Also have been on Galaxy and Constellation. I always try to steer my clients to Celebrity because it is a consistently excellent product at a moderate price. Today I just booked us on Oceania's Riviera. We have siled Oceania twice and i want to see what their new ship is all about. I got a great price from a great agent (me)!

JoBowl, let me give you two examples of why you would be better off using a travel agent (TA) who is really your advocate and ombudsman, not just a seller of a product. I recently booked a nice older couple on Oceania’s Rivieria for 10 glorious nights in the Mediterranean. They booked a concierge-class (C4) cabin and roundtrip air through Oceania. They got a fabulous deal. However, due to my relationship with Oceania (and our volume of bookings with them), Oceania contact me and asked, if the couple were a bit flexible and would move their booking to the same-itinerary cruise 3 weeks earlier, Oceania would upgrade them to a penthouse (PH1) cabin at no extra charge. Needless to say, my clients were ecstatic and jumped at the offer. (This type upgrade is usually not offered to people who book single cabins direct.) Second example where a TA is extremely valuable: Early this past January I booked a client on the February 12th sailing of Celebrity’s Eclipse out of Miami. After much discussion with my client, he declined travel insurance. He paid for the cruise in full. Six days later, he called to tell me his brother (and business partner) had died in his sleep and he needed to cancel his cruise. He was in the 50% penalty window and was going to lose a lot of money. I recommended to him that he could still purchase a “cancel for any reason” policy and, if he did within 7 days of his original payment, he could cancel and not lose as much money. I bought the policy for my client and he ended up losing only $500 (after cost of policy premium) instead of the $1000 he would have lost without the insurance. A cancellation like this, in a case where the cruise was booked direct or online, would have resulted in him losing a lot more money than he did. TA’s have access to information the average consumer doesn’t and their knowledge and expertise doesn’t come at a premium cost. Yes, for the average, simple black and white booking you can do it online or direct with the cruiseline. But how do you know this “average booking” won’t encounter unexpected problems which require some expertise to correct?

Ok. So the big question is if you can get the same great price for your travel through an agent as you can doing itself yourself online, and you get great service and a lot of experience, why would you not use an agent? What have been your experiences using agents vs. doing it yourself and what do you see as the value in using an agent???

Jan, You are absolutely correct. It's like driving without wearing your seat belt and being pulled over by a police officer and given a ticket. There are no good reasons not to do something which, while may be somewhat inconvienent at the time, could eventually save your life.

The Great Lakes Division of the American Cancer Society is holding it's first Relay For Life @ Sea on the Caribbean princess on April 6-13, 2013. We will be having a mini-relay, luminaria ceremony, workshops, etc on this special cruise.

Well there is a new class of dogs known as "therapy dogs". I have a friend (a nurse) who got tired of paying $150 in order to have her dog fly on an airplane with her in an under-the-seat carrier. She went to her doctor-boss and had him write a prescription for her "therapy dog". He stated that the nurse was extremely apprehensive about flying and needed the comfort of her dog to calm her down. He stated that my friend was extremely allergic to all medications she has previously tried to treat such anxiety. And now not only does her Yorkie fly free, she keeps her pet on her lap and plays with her during the flights! Well, the same can be done on cruise ships...with a doctor's prescription, Welcome to my world! LOL

Thanks, Jason. It's good to be here!

Well I have been on 57 cruises over the last 32 years and, I must admit: When it came time to participate in the emergency drill, I usually found that was the best time to unpack my suitcases and relax. My wife and I would just hole ourselves up in our cabin, shut the deadbolt and be as quiet as we could be. Only once did someone come knocking at our door. And that was because, stupid me, I left my cabin keycard in the slot in the doorlock! However, since the Costa Concordia incident, the cruiselines have become much more vigilent. Case in point: The elderly couple that were put off the Seabourn Sojourn because the woman was too ill to attend! Read this article and beware; If you don't attend, your cruise may be cut short...very short!

Love Oceania. Been on Nautica and Insignia and great service, food, everything!

But that is the great thing about cruising. If it turns out that you feel "cramped" by your friends, today's ships are so large you can "lose yourself" and only see them when you want to. I have cruised with a lot of friends and have had a variety of experiences with (and without) them. We have met some of our best friends on a cruise ship. We have been friends now over 10 years and have cruised and vacationed (Land and sea) with them numerour times.