amallison

Uber newbie here. Would Uber XL work for 6 adults or would we do better getting a combinations of regular Uber’s? We’re also traveling from FLL into downtown Miami.

I asked a similar question question regarding ordering from the "regular" kid's menu in the specialty restaurants, and one of the responses I received suggested you order the kid's meals at the time you order your drinks. The indication was getting the kid's meals can take longer to arrive since they come from the regular dining kitchen.

That's a very good idea! Thank you for reminding me of that.

Putting price aside, now you just need to decide do you want a full service hotel or not.

 

 

Just my suggestion and I've done this before. If undecided I book two locations and then revisit it another time. I also check rates and if they go down I get the lower pricing and if they go up I'm protected.

 

Keith

I'm using points so the rates don't bother me, there's not much difference in the point rates. I'm going to discuss with the rest of the crew and see what they think. If they don't answer, I'll decide for us and tell them this is where we'll be. Thank y'all so much. Your help is greatly appreciated!

I've narrowed it down to Conrad and Hampton Inn Brickell.

Thanks guys, I'm leaning towards the Hampton Inn Brickell or the ME Miami. ME seems to be relatively new but also very hip and chic. I'm going to do some more research and I'll let y'all know if I find anything out about it and what we decide.

We have stayed at the Hampton Inn very nice location not far from the port

free breakfast buffet/pool & restaurants close by

Do not think you can go wrong with any of them

 

I would just book the one that you want & tell the others that is where you will be if they choose to book a room there

You will never please everyone ;)

 

JMO

So very true. I’ve already done that on our upcoming cruise, might as well do it on this one too.

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I’m back with more hotel questions, sorry for the bother.

We’re sailing from MIA in June and we’re doing research on hotels. We’re a group of 6, 30something adults who go on Friendcation every 2 years. I suggested several hotels after researching and for whatever reason my friends vetoed them. So, I went off in search of more hotel options.

I’ve got some points with an airline that I’m looking to use since they vetoed 99.9% of the Marriott options and wouldn’t give me an answer on the other ones. I’m almost to the point where I just make the reservations and tell them to deal with it.

Aside from that drama, I’ve currently got a list of 6 hotels that I have enough points for and I’m looking for any insight or thoughts & opinions that the lovely people of CC might have on them. I’ve never been to Miami (except for my very first cruise when I was 12 & we were rebels and flew in the morning of the cruise...even as a 12 year old, that triggered my anxiety) so, I have no idea what I’m looking for as far as areas are concerned other than I want to be close to the port if possible.

Lovely, intelligent, and experience Cruise Critic family please help me! Pros and cons are helpful too.

Here are the options.

Hampton Inn Brickell

Marriott Biscayne Bay

Conrad Miami

ME Miami

W Miami

JW Miami (not the Marquis, that’s one of the ones they wouldn’t answer me on)

I sincerely appreciate all the help y’all have given me in the past and I have no doubt y’all will help me out on this hotel debacle too.

We went ahead and booked Beaux Arts ...same number of points as the Marquis! Thanks for everyone's advice

 

 

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I can’t wait to hear what you think about it. It looks like a beautiful hotel!

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I don’t mean to hijack but does anyone have an opinion they can share on the Courtyard in downtown Miami? We’re cruising in June and are also using Marriott points, it’s the cheapest and that’s the one my hubby wants me to book. I guess he’s figuring that we just need somewhere to sleep for the night. We’ll be out of the room most of the time.

I’ve just heard very mixed reviews of it. Any insight?

Yes, if they order from the kids menu it's free. It used to be that if kids ordered from the specialty menu it was half price, but now that most stuff is ala carte I don't think that exists anymore. The kids menu has typical stuff- burgers, pizza, chicken, mac n cheese, spaghetti. There's also a fruit plate listed as a dessert option on the kids menu- we often asked for that for their appetizer course so they had something besides bread and butter while we had apps.

Awesome! Thank you so much!

It is the same kids menu in every restaurant. Typical kid stuff like pb&j, pizza, burgers, etc.

 

 

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If they order from the kids menu is it free? I have heard that but since we’ve never had kids cruise with us before, I’m not sure.

Can anyone answer the question about kids menus in the specialty restaurants?

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Just got off the Pearl yesterday, and although I didn't have any kids cruising with me, I was aware of some kid-friendly activities that were going on:

- There was a recurring family dodge ball event held up on the sport court. I was up there playing basketball on one side of the court and saw several families with kids and adults playing together and they seemed like they all had gotten to know each other by name. The dodge balls are just a step above round pillows, so it's safe enough for even the smallest kid.

- Early evenings they had family karaoke before the adult karaoke started.

- Watch your daily program and participate in the family / kid-friendly activities and you'll do fine.

I was glad to see there weren't any parents behaving badly, bringing kids to late-night adult-themed venues.

Family dodgeball!!! Everybody in our crew will love that!

Get a guidebook from your library on your ports and read it with the kids...let them decide what they want to see/do....the guidebook is very helpful with DIY stuff...and it's much cheaper than booking "tours"! None of your ports are too difficult to navigate on your own, if you do your research!

 

I would advise against too much advanced info..it takes away the element of surprise and discovery! Let them be "WOWED" by this new experience!

Why in the world do I always forget about guidebooks at the library?!? That’s a great idea! Thank you so much.

We have cruise NCL over 20 times now and probably Roatan is our favorite or near our favorite port, for kids as well as adults. Yes, a trip to the beach if nothing else is fun but like KitKat suggested Boddens or Rony's would be a great adventure for the kids. Rony will let you decide and personalize your excursion. I think Bodden will as well. Belize city: my opinion, do what you are planning, stay on the ship.

 

The kids should love the kids camp. I know our great granddaughter, who has cruised NCL three times loves it. Most other kids we have spoken with on the ships have as well.

 

As for meals, I think you have made wise choices. I am glad you are not booking Le Bistro. It is fun and a wonderful experience but not for kids as you seem to realize. Unless the kids are accustom to truly upscale dining at home Le Bistro is too formal, too slow and just not what kids enjoy. I don't think it is fair to parents, the kids or other diners to expose kids to a quiet formal dining experience at their age. Again, let me say, not all kids, some handle it well. I am gerneralizing.

Led Bistro just didn’t look like something they would enjoy and since this is their first cruise we want to gear stuff around them. Glad to know we made a good choice in skipping that one.

I'm confused. Can you even get to Belize City from Harvest Caye?

It’s not going to Harvest Caye. We’re on a “variation” cruise and are going to Belize City instead of Harvest Caye.

64 days now!!! Pearl out of NOLA on December 23rd!!! Then 226 until the one after that!

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It might be a little chilly getting there but the weather in the Caribbean in December is fabulous!

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After many years of trying to convince the hubby, we’re finally taking the kids (7 year old son & 8 year old daughter) on their first cruise for Christmas this year out of NOLA on the Pearl! They’re super excited because they’ve been asking for years to go with us.

Since it’s their first cruise they kind of just wanted to explore the ports and not book excursions which is completely different for me & I’m not really sure what to do with myself. I did convince them to do Playa Mia on Christmas Day & have that booked. I also made reservations at Tropicante in Costa Maya because we all really enjoy the beach. I’m 99.9% sure that we’ll end up staying on the ship in Belize City and enjoying the pool & exploring the ship. Roatan is the oddball, I have no idea what there is to do in port there and they didn’t want to book anything. Any suggestions near port?

Since we’ve always done adults only cruises, the whole figuring out what to do with your kids thing is completely new.

I’m excited to see the Pearl after her renovations in the spring. I have a family member that sailed the Panama Canal on her in April & said she’s absolutely beautiful.

For those of you who have sailed on the Pearl recently, was there anything going on on the ship that we should make sure to do for the kids to enjoy? Any shows that you think they would like? Any areas on the ship that we should make sure to take them to? Anything cool?!?

We’re definitely signing them up for Splash Academy because they stayed at one of Disney’s kids clubs back in May & absolutely loved it so they want to try a kids club on a ship.

We have the SDP from the Free At Sea promotion & have booked Moderno, Cagney’s, Teppanyaki, and La Cucina. They’ll be tagging along to all of them except for Moderno. I have read on the forums before that kids can order off of the kids menu at specialty restaurants and it’s free, is that correct? I’m working on our budget and want to make sure I’m figuring that in correctly. Also, what exactly is on the kids menu? I know it’s all stuff that kids enjoy, heck if I let them eat mac & cheese every night I’m pretty sure they (as in the kids) would crown me Mom Of The Year while all of the adults shook their fingers at me. ;) I’m just wanting to let them know what the options are going to be and that sort of thing. I figure if there’s not something they want, we can just take them up to the buffet afterwards but want to give them some idea of what to expect.

Should we have them watch some YouTube videos of ship tours or maybe see if we can find any from a kids perspective of a cruise so they’re kind of prepared?

Also, if you’re sailing on the Pearl on the December 23rd sailing, I should probably apologize for the loud mouth people from Mississippi who love each other like crazy & love to have a good time even more! We’re sailing with 22 (roughly) of our family members, 13 adults & 9 kids.

I’m looking forward to exploring the Pearl & spending time with the family!!!

Sorry for the novel, I’m just super excited & all over the place tonight. I’ve been reading reviews like crazy as I do before every cruise and I swear that just makes my OCD need to plan that much more. My only saving grace for them not to want to plan anything firm is that we have another cruise in June on the Getaway that I’m researching & planning for!

Thanks to everybody who does reviews and shares their thoughts after getting through the post-cruise depression, your reviews keep me grounded!!!

Ash

La Mar over at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel is great! Also a great happy hour type deal going on Friday nights. Beautiful setting.

Quinto La Huella which is in the East Hotel over at Brickell Citi Centre. Beautiful setting.

Toro Toro is great for Tapas and that's at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Bazar Mar which is very seafood heavy and pricey.

The Arketet by Aficionodos.

I just feel the need to say GO GATORS!!!!!!

If you have enough points for the top option (I assume your list is in descending order of points required) and are willing to use them I say just go for it.

 

While the property is more than adequate the location of the Marriott Biscayne Bay is not as desirable as the other two.

The JW Marriott on Brickell Ave is closer to a wider rage of restaurants and shops than the Marquis.

But the Marquis will give you commanding views of Downtown and the Port, especially if you splurge for the Beaux Arts floors.

 

So if the points difference between "premium" (JW Marriott on Brickell) or "luxury" (Marquis or Beaux Arts) is acceptable to you, spend them and don't look back.

Surprisingly, it's only a 5,000 point difference between the JW on Brickell and the Marquis or Beaux Arts. The Marquis and Beaux Arts charge a $20 fee per day but that's not really a big deal.

We're sailing on the Getaway from Miami in June with some friends. I have Marriott points that I'm going to use for our pre-cruise stay and I've narrowed it down to 4 options and I'm looking for opinions of those who have stayed at the properties and can tell me which you prefer.

Our options are Hotel Beaux Arts (top floors of the JW Marriott Marquis), JW Marriott Marquis Miami, JW Marriott Miami, & the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay.

We've never been to Miami and haven't stayed in any of these hotels but I've read reviews until I'm blue in the face and cannot decide which one to stay at.

Any opinions?

I'm having the same issue. We have 2 upcoming cruises booked. It shows up on our June 2018 cruise but not on our December 2017 cruise. It is on our confirmation but not on the NCL website. Our TA did call NCL and confirm it's there but it's still strange.

I guess if it doesn't show up, I'll just ask about it when we check in and show them the confirmation.

Maya Chan is sold out on the day we'll be there next June and they have a long wait list. We're looking for other AI options for 6 adults. If you had to choose what would be your second choice after Maya Chan?

log in to ncl and click on vacation summary and go all the way down past map. It should show the perks and which passengers they are assigned to.

Thank you! I had to email my TA because it shows up on one cruise but not the other. She's trying to get it fixed now!