Dania Beach Hurricane-Cruise-Key West 1/06 (part 1)

Off for a fabulous 12 days in South Florida, the Western Caribbean, and Key West.

I will start on the last day, so the kids can read about the coaster first, then move on while the adults enjoy sailing the high seas.

On my way to Ft Lauderdale airport, I hit Boomers. I had about 9 minutes to spare, so I did one lap on the DB Hurricane. Great Ride. Next time I am in town, I will do the RAD for $10. No stomach turning drops, but good fast fun. I was the only guy on the ride, in the last seat. 9/10. The rest of the place is a stinker.

Anyway, after arriving one night early for the cruise, We boarded the RCC 'Enchantment of the Seas'. This ship was just stretched in October, and was only on about 6 cruises before we got on. Literally a new ship. The ship overall was magnificent. It even had a climbing wall and 4 in 1 bungee.

And a casino, a splash pool, 6 hot tubs, 2 outdoor pools, and an indoor salt water pool. The food was great, the drinks were fat, and the lounges were entertaining. We booked last minute, but the inside cabin was actually nice, with a giant mirror in place of a small window, which suited this seafaring gigalow just fine.

The closet was huge, with room to unpack everything, and the tv had movie channels, and I got to see Batman Returns, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Tootsie in English and Spanish. We could have skipped Tootsie. All the cable channels have no commercials. The ESPN SP could have been a tad better. Who the hell watches soccer non stop?

During the Steelers-Broncos game, one bar was overrun with over 100 people wearing black and gold during the game. Go Steelers. This was my first cruise, and I am hooked. The service provided was outstanding. There is absolutely no theme park that can match the customer service. 10/10.

After 2 days, we stopped in Ocho Rios, Jamacia. No excursions, so we hit "Island Village", Jamacia's first theme park. Not really any rides, more like Universal's City Walk. They had a beautiful small beach, movie theatres, shops, and food galore. And locals wearing big hats selling 'stuff'.

After time on the beach and blue water, we hit Margaritaville. This place was bangin'. Even had a great waterslide on the roof that landed in the pool with a swim up bar, and a rooftop jacuzzi. Beach volleybal, and great fajitas. 9/10. *** Edited 2/14/2006 4:47:22 AM UTC by Agent Johnson***

Wow, Jamrock and the Dania Beach Hurricane in one trip? Absolutely fantastic.

I was expecting that coaster to be like on the beach, and instead it was hanging over I-95. How could you pass it up?

I've been there twice in the past few years and logged about 70 laps on the coaster. It is really a great ride with one or two great moments in between a bunch of good ones. Smooth, good speed, loads of airtime- it's a top 10 ride to me. A bit out of the way but worth the drive.

And yeah, I also was expecting it to be close to the beach instead of the highway.

I'm hitting this coaster in July...I'm fairly excited. Thanks for the report.

Its pretty easy to spot. When you exit, you go right for the Hard Rock Casino, coming in my TR part 2, or right for Boomers. Its like $6.25 per ride, or $100 for a RAD coaster only. They have a Skyscraper, and 2 beautiful golf courses.

But with all there is to do in South Florida, mini-golf wouldn't even be on my list.

We Did the Hurricane as well, followed by a beautiful 7-day Princess cruise to St Thomas, St. Maartan and Pricess Cays, That was Feb 2003.

Our Carnival "Imagination" 5-day in 2004 took us to Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman.

Our Carnival "Celebration" 5-day in 2002 took us to Cozumel and Calica.

The next one should take us to Hawaii... thats the plan anyway!

*** Edited 2/18/2006 7:37:19 AM UTC by john peck***

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Agent Johnson said:
Its like $6.25 per ride, or $100 for a RAD coaster only.

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YIKES! I think you mean $10 for a RAD ;)