We stayed one night prior to cruising...at the Ramada Inn Airport/Cruiseport. we paid $115 before tax and booked directly though the hotel. They had a free airport and cruiseport shuttle which we found to be great. The hotel was fine for one night. Old but clean. The room was very large. We had a room on the first floor in the back facing the parking lot...don't know how comfortable I would have felt in that location without my husband. If I were traveling with other women or children I would ask to be near the font desk. Has an ok pool area...but we didn't use it. We booked the cruise shuttle for 11am and it went smooth. Had free breakfast too.
On our return we stayed over one more night because we couldn't get flights late enough. I knew we would end up having the majority of Sunday left so I decided to find a nicer hotel that the Ramada. I played around on priceline and ended up with the Bahia Mar Yacht Hotel for $145 ($175 with taxes). Boy was I glad I did that. We hopped in a cab from the port (around $10 with tip) and pulled up to this beautiful location! A lovely way to end our trip...I think it would have been depressing to get off that beautiful ship and go to that old run down hotel for the day and night. We checked in and were upgraded to a balcony room. We ate, got settled and decided to take a water taxi ($12 each for all day with on and off privileges). It was only about 2 so we spent the day slowly riding the water taxi through the canals getting a tour of the huge private yachts and mega mansions. We stopped at Las Olas Blvd. and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Hopped back on the water taxi and as we were headed back to the hotel we saw the Lirica all lit up...it was magical! We got back to our room just in time to see it from our balcony...slowly pulling out for it's next voyage. The room was great. huge bathroom, comfy beds, beautiful view. They offer a personal car service to the airport for $20 for up to 4 people. It was worth every penny!
Drinks: we aren't big drinkers but thought the prices were very good. My husband got the beer tickets and they lasted the whole trip.
Smoking: we are not smokers and I am very sensitive to the smell...I was concerned with this being a European line that there would be smoke everywhere but that wasn't the case. I learned to steer clear of the Lord Nelson Pub which was a smokers paradise. All of the other public areas were fine...no problems.
Captains welcome and farewell receptions: they were held in two locations...Lord nelson Pub and the Lirica Lounge...we didn't know where to go so we went to the pub...big mistake...Smokey and crowded...and the captain was at the other location...the farewell night we went to the Lirica Lounge early and waited outside the door...got very crowded but we were glad we went about 20 minutes early...got great seats.
Cruise Pictures: we took a bunch of pictures with the ships photographer (on formal nights) but only ended up buying 2. they were expensive (like on most ships) they also had a "your cruise in review" dvd that was great if you were involved with activities...they show it on the TV throughout your trip and you can see if you are in it.
Onboard shops: We found the main gift shop to have great prices on souvenirs. We bought heavy Lirica mugs for around $6...which anywhere else's could have easily been $12-15. They had specials on evening bags, pareos, hats, purses, jewelry, etc...different each day...kind of like a sidewalk sale.
Kids: there were some kids onboard and they seemed to be having a good time. I didn't check the kids club in detail. The kids mixed with the adults and it worked. We will bring ours next time.
Dress: there were three formal nights which we loved...we like dressing up. The other nights were listed as casual...there was a mix. Some women were more dressed in fun, billowy, colorful cruise wear...others were more conservative. Shorts and caps are not allowed in the dining room for dinner. I wore sundresses or light pants with pretty tops and felt totally comfortable. My husband wore kakis or cargo pants and camp shirts and looked good too. He didn't bring a tux...just a suit and a sportcoat.
Mailing: the front desk will mail your postcards...$1 each and charge it to your account.
Tipping: we choose to do the automatic tipping of $12pp a day. It seemed fair (even cheap) for the amount of service we received and for the amount of people it was being split by. We did give a little extra to our waiter and busboy as we really liked them and the went out of their way to be helpful. We also left a thank you note and a small additional tip (as well as a bottle of champagne we won) for our two room stewards.
Bingo: we love bingo but only played a couple of times...it was $10 for 3 boards. They had it two times a day. loved hearing them cal the numbers in all 5 languages!!
Calling home: We used our cell phones in Cozumel (scared to see the bill) because we forgot to do it in town. In Costa Rica we called from inside the cruise terminal...you buy a calling card...$5 for 15 minutes I think...it worked well. In Columbia we also called from the terminal...was just as cheap and they had small private cubicles.
Weather: Breezy and chilly in Ft. Lauderdale but great while on the ship. The ports were hot and muggy. I really wished I had brought a light cotton shirt with sleeves because after a day or so my shoulders had enough sun. I searched in port for a shirt but ended up wearing one of my husbands and rolling up the sleeves. I would recommend a pool cover-up with light sleeves. I don't ever burn (olive skin) and I ALWAYS wear sunscreen...but I did burn a bit on this trip. BRING and WEAR lots of SUNSCREEN!! and a hat!
Waterproof Carrier: at the hiking store we got a waterproof carrier that you wear around your neck for about $5 and used it at all the ports. it fit our money, cruise card and IDs...next time we will get one large enough to fit our passports as well. We ended up putting them in plastic baggies to protect them. It would have been nice to keep them with us even in the water.
whew...I think that's it.
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