Hi Jonathan, I remember those lines too! Steve dropped me off with the girls and all the luggage and took the rental car back to Hertz. It took him less than 15 minutes and in that time we hadn't moved an inch on those sidewalks in front of the terminal! What a mess with all the construction going on! Our family was right next to Judy's and it was a huge relief when the porter finally came and took our stuff away! We were lucky enough to snag a boarding card 3 and I also waited a long time in the Kids Club line. In hindsight we could have just waited and done it at the Club once we were on the boat. But I didn't know that then! You live and learn, I guess
Beth
I never realized you were right there too! AND you got ahead of me!!
You know, I don't think we did wrong by waiting in line. Thinking back on it, it was the one line worth the wait. There wasn't really a lot to do in the terminal anyway. I think the crash coarse was the frustrating part really.
Boy oh Boy you have been busy!
GREAT set of updates! Your ealry morning on the beach was just beautiful but I canNOT imagine how tired you all must have been! Seriously!!!
Port Canaveral is great how you can go and look around like that at al the ships. Port Everglades stinks, it is like a prison or something, you can't even get anywhere near the ships, let alone in the complex without going through security. And there are no restaurants or anywhere to watch (well there is a park and a hotel but nothing accessible in the mornign like that.
IHOP looks yummy, it's been way too long since we've had a nice IHOP breakfast (or dinner for that matter, teehee). Breakfast at the hotel was so crazy I think I only had a couple of pastries.
I'm still behind Jen. I could have sworn you were going to drag yours out a little longer.
My goal is to get something out every Thursday morning at least. I hope you don't mind I may need to "steal" a picture or two from you to round out a story.
One thing: IHOP was forgettable.. lol I'll trade you my IHOP for you hotel?! I think if the terminal didn't look so good, I wouldn't bother getting there earlier. That one in Fort Lauderdale is just a Sam's Club warehouse looking bad.
Yep the line out front = a little nutty! It was weird, with shuttles dropping off in the middle, and when the line finally started moving there were many groups who were not, so we were kindof timidly moving forward looking around like, "The line's moving, let's go..we aren't cutting..I swear!" LOL! Each and every
DCL cruise we have been on over the last 4 years has been different getting into that terminal.
And speaking of lines, yeah the kids club deal, that is the worst I've ever seen it. In my previous cruises they did not wait so long to open up that line..so it never got so bad. By the time we noticed it, it was already so long I decided we wanted no part of it!
Anyway, awesome update! So looking forward to more, keep the memories alive for us!
All I know is you and Ron were there one moment and then the next one: GONE!
I talked to a porter later when we got off and he had told me that the previous week the ship was held up. Plus I don't know if you remembered but our cruise was the one they switch about 40% of the crew for Dream training so that could have been a cause.
Great updates! WOW! That motel! There are no words!
Question - If you could give other newbies one important tip about your terminal arrival and check in, what would it be? (Aside from getting there early, that is.)
Initially, I would have said nothing. But then this reminded me about something I forgot to tell in the terminal. I will put it in the next update. One thing though:
It is better to have one larger peice of luggage (with wheels) to drag around than a bunch of small bags. I had on me, a back pak (laptop and stuff), a Nike duffel(day clothes), a soft cooler on wheels, a small red bag(aka the money bag and paperwork), and another small bag with meds and such. I would have rather had just put everything in one large bag and rolled it around with us. By the time you get one the ship, its about noon. You eat for about 45 mins to an hour. 1:30 they open the rooms up so dragging one case vs a bunch of little ones is totally tolerable.
One other thing, have your camera ready when you start to board. There is something about your thoughts on the gangway on the way up that could be captured by a quick picture!
IMO, registering the kids was worth it to me. Not having to wait in line on the ship is awesome. But when you do wait in a line on a ship, things tend to move at the speed of a snail. Not fun.
What a great update!! What an amazing morning...
I can not imagine how tired you must have been by the time you got on the ship!! Can't wait for the next installment.
We were tired which probably caused a fight or two that probably wouldn't have happened. I think once we got on the ship, all things became good because although I had read about the ship a lot, there was something to learn and see. That part was keeping us up. I don't think we went to bed 'till about 11:30 or so that night iirc.