This was our fourth Caribbean cruise, having previously been on Holland America, Royal Caribbean, and Princess. We also had an Alaskan cruise with NCL, and three Disney 3-day cruises.
My wife and I traveled on the Pearl the week after Thanksgiving. We were originally booked for our anniversary for the last week in October on the sailing that was canceled for maintenance. The cruise line gave us a 25% credit for re-booking; however, the price continued to decline, and the price for new bookings on this cruise became less than what we paid after our credit was applied. After complaining, NCL upgraded us to a mini-suite from a balcony.
We rented a car one way in Orlando and arrived a day early on Saturday. On Sunday we returned the car to the Hertz downtown Miami location and took their shuttle to the ship. The next Sunday we took a cab back to Hertz and rented one way back to Orlando. The total cost for two one-way rentals was about $70, and the cab was $18 including tip, for a total of about $88. If we had driven our own car and parked at the port for $20 a day, we would have paid $140.