(some photos courtesy of Angela)
My dad's 80th (Chinese) birthday was coming up in July - the entire family planned to celebrate the occasion on a cruise since we all had a nice time on an Emerald Princess Alaska cruise back in 2018. Cruising is a wonderful option for multi-generational families to vacation together. There are activities for all ages and no one needs to cook or clean. Plus, our entire family would be seated at the same table for dinner every night in the main dining room.
FLIGHTS
Kaleb and I booked first class flights to Fort Lauderdale on American Airlines using American Express (Amex) Membership Rewards points. Since I associated my Amex Business Platinum card with the booking, I would get 35% of the redeemed points returned to my account as a benefit. My parents flew a similar itinerary - the four of us would connect in Dallas and be on the same flight to Fort Lauderdale. My brothers would be coming in closer to midnight.
LODGING
Kaleb and I redeemed 4 Hyatt free night certificates for rooms at the Hyatt House Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port for us, my parents, and my brothers' families the night before the cruise. The hotel provided a free airport shuttle, and the shuttle to Port Everglades cost $15 per person, reserved and paid through a third-party electronic kiosk in the Hyatt hotel lobby. The free night certificates were obtained through benefits from having a World of Hyatt credit card.
CRUISE
We booked a 7-night Western Caribbean itinerary on Caribbean Princess that visited Grand Cayman, Honduras, Belize and Cozumel.
A couple of Amex Offers* showed up for "World's Leading Cruise Lines" (which included Princess) - spend $500, get $150 back, and spend $1500, get $400 back. The offers showed up on a few of our Amex cards, so we ended up saving a good amount of money. Because of that, Kaleb and I added Princess Plus to our booking. At the time, it included a drink package, Wi-Fi for one device, and prepaid gratuities. Nowadays, casual dining meals (for fee) in participating restaurants such as Alfredo's or Salty Dog is also included in Princess Plus.
*Amex Offers can be found by logging into your American Express account, selecting a card and scrolling towards the bottom of the page.
Since this cruise was in mid-2022, there was still a requirement for passengers to test negative for Covid within 2 days before embarkation. We were able to schedule a virtual test appointment and do it online using the antigen tests we received from the government.
On with our trip...
Kaleb and I got to the airport very early in the morning for our first flight to Dallas (DFW). Breakfast was served in first class.
In DFW, we stopped by the Capital One Lounge, a benefit of having the Venture X credit card. We didn't stay long; if you are short on time, you can ask the entrance staff for to-go bags that you can fill with a selection of pre-packaged sandwiches, snacks, salads, desserts and beverages. Even though we would be fed on our connecting flight, I appreciated having spare food on hand just in case.
Lately, this lounge has been at capacity, so I recommend managing your wait time by logging into the Capital One app right when your airplane lands (or even earlier if you have wi-fi on board), access the Rewards tab, go to "Lounges" and get on the waitlist (if any) for your desired lounge location.
My parents had a tighter connection than us but made it to the gate before boarding began. 50 minutes is not a lot of time considering how spread out the terminals are in DFW.
A cold lunch was served in first class on the flight to FLL. Warm nuts were the starter, and we chose a mezze dish and a chicken salad as our mains.
We landed in Fort Lauderdale, got our luggage, headed to the hotel shuttle pick-up area, then called the Hyatt to pick us up.
All four rooms were studio suites: comfortable, with kitchen and sitting area.
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That evening, the four of us walked to a ramen place nearby for dinner.
Very late in the night, the rest of the family arrived - now we were all gathered for our cruise vacation!
The next morning, we enjoyed a complimentary breakfast, then rode the shuttle to Port Everglades.
While cruising was halted during the pandemic, Princess used that time to upgrade all of their ships to "MedallionClass" - passengers' room keys were no longer plastic cards, but a wearable medallion that also enabled high-tech amenities on the ship. A plain lanyard for the medallion was provided for free, else you could select other styles for a cost. You can also find Medallion-compatible accessories on Amazon.
The medallions were ordered when guests completed check-in on the app or online. At the time of this sailing, it was free to ship the medallions to your house, but presently, Princess charges $10 per stateroom for shipping. This charge is waived if you have the Princess Plus/Premier package add-on or if you pick up at the port. Having the medallion in advance made the embarkation process quick and we were on the ship in no time.
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| medallion is yours to keep |
We headed to the buffet for lunch as our rooms weren't ready yet. I tested ordering a beverage using the MedallionClass app and after a short while, a server delivered the drink to my table, as my medallion broadcasted an approximate location. But they can't always find you - later in the week at one of the lounges, I ordered a drink through the app and it never arrived, even though it was marked as delivered. It may have been challenging for them to locate me in a crowded area or if I was seated behind a pillar. Since the drink was covered by Princess Plus, I didn't fuss about it and just ordered again later.
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| drink is delivered! |
The medallion's locator function is also used in the "Find Shipmates" tool in the app; it was convenient to know where members of my family were on the ship. This is an opt-in feature, so you'd need to give permission to others to know your location.
While ordering drinks at the bar, I noticed the point-of-service station was populated with photos and names of the medallions nearby. The bartender would find you via your photo/name and charge the drink to your account.
Once the rooms were ready, we headed there to relax before dinner. Our medallions were automatically detected by the cabin door and it unlocked by itself! It was very convenient to not need a key card, especially when you have two drinks in hand.
Due to my Elite status on Princess, a complimentary mini-bar was set up. But since we already had a drink package with Princess Plus, we would end up taking some of it ashore in Roatan and the rest packed in our luggage going home.
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We had a large table set up for 11 in the main dining room, served by the same waiters every night. The food was typical Princess - simple elegance with good flavor. Here are some examples of the selections that we enjoyed throughout the week:
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The following day was at sea; afternoon tea was offered in the main dining room. Scones were very popular, requiring keeping a lookout for the server carrying the coveted tray.
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It was also formal night, so we took the opportunity to take some family photos, which turned out really nice.
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All of the excursions this week were booked through Princess. We had a very early start in Grand Cayman, so Kaleb and I ordered a simple breakfast using the room service hang tags that you leave outside of your cabin door before going to bed. The tray was delivered right on time.
Guests were divided into groups and assigned a minibus for the tour. Scenic stops included Seven Mile Beach, "Hell", the turtle center, Stingray City, and a rum cake store.
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Kaleb and I had already kissed the stingrays on a previous cruise. It was amusing to watch the rest of my family get up close and personal with these slippery fish.
Overall, this excursion was worthwhile, especially if you have never visited Grand Cayman before as it covers all the bases.
The next day, Caribbean Princess docked in Roatan, Honduras, specifically Mahogany Bay. Allen's family went ziplining while the rest of us rented a cabana for the day. Maximum occupancy was 6; wristbands were handed out and checked at the beach entrance of the cabana area, but no fuss was made about Abby as she was the only kid among us.
Our wristbands included the aerial tram to the beach area, perhaps saving 10 minutes of walking.
The cabana was rustic, but had air conditioning, a mini fridge stocked with some drinks, a few snacks and access to a hammock, two cushy beach chairs and a variety of floaties. Staff was also there to take food orders (self-pay).
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We had brought our own snorkeling gear and explored the netted area in front of the beach as well as the open water at the end of the pier on the left side. There were more fish and coral in the open area, though the water got a little choppy as the afternoon went on.
I thought it was worth it to get the cabana, especially for a larger group. The air conditioning was nice to retreat to when we needed a break.
The following day, Caribbean Princess arrived in Belize. Kaleb and I had never been here, so it was a first for the entire group. We did an excursion that included a boat ride on the Belize River, a simple lunch and a visit to the Altun Ha ruins. It was a nice outing.
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| monkeys in the trees |
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| lunch |
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| one of the restored structures we could climb |
Since today was my dad's actual birthday, we celebrated with a specialty dinner at Crown Grill.
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| happy birthday! |
The next port was Cozumel. We embarked on a shore excursion to Kun Che Park, where Mayan culture was on display. Guests received a Mayan blessing, watched a Mayan ball game, sampled Mayan foods, then enjoyed lunch accompanied by Mayan entertainment.
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On our last day (at sea), we participated in activities around the ship, including a paper airplane challenge. Young participants always delight the audience and end up winning a prize!
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| last night of multiple desserts |
In summary, this cruise was perfectly suited for a multi-generational family get-together. There was plenty of variety on board, from the food to the activities. The excursions we went on were well organized and the content worthwhile. The one complaint we had was the hot and humid weather, but that was unavoidable while traveling to the Caribbean in the summer, restricted by school vacation days.
Though our cruise ended, we still had one more excursion. We booked an independent airport transfer that included a visit to Everglades Holiday Park. The van was easy to find outside the terminal. It towed a luggage trailer where all our belongings were locked inside during the entire tour.
We saw a lot of alligators on our airboat ride!
Baby alligator:
Afterwards, we wandered around their little zoo, held a baby alligator and watched a Gator Boys show.
If you have a late flight home, doing this transfer plus Everglades attraction is a fun way to pass the time.
Then it was off to the FLL airport where we split up into different terminals as some were flying Southwest and the rest on American. The terminals were far away from each other and were not connected airside, so Edmund's family opted to go to their terminal versus joining us for dinner at Kafe Kalik, covered by multiple Priority Passes.
The meal was tasty. All we paid in the end was gratuities. These days, most Priority Passes no longer include restaurants.
Then we went to our different gates. Kaleb and I now had niece Alison and nephew Brandon under our wing, staying with us for two more weeks. More adventures ahead with the kids...stay tuned!
(Missed reading about my 50th birthday trip to Las Vegas? Click here! Don't miss a single update! Click here to subscribe and have the latest delivered straight into your inbox...opt out anytime.)
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Getting excited reading about these trips and want to go? Contact me at kat (at) yellowdogtravel (d0t) com with your ideas and I can help you plan it! Or if you've already put a deposit on a cruise through the cruise line, contact me to get more information on transferring the reservation to me to get bonuses like extra onboard credit or gifts. I have lots of happy repeat clients - references always available.
Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
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