Flymia

YVE is right on Biscayne, some of the rooms will have nice views. Its a great location, easy walk to Bayside, easy walk to metromover station, and you can even walk to Brickell.

Courtyard is a good location too, near by metromover station in Knight Center/Miami Town. Easy walk to Brickell right across the bridge. All in all not a huge difference between the two location wise, both are very close to the port and have tons of options in walking/metromover distance.

Thanks for the advice all, did not find any compasses for this itinerary anywhere. Will see if they know when I call today and ask about changing to traditional dinning.

MIA is about 22 miles from Ft. Lauderdale. Uber is fine. Should be in the $40.00 range for an Uber X, if you have large bags you might need an Uber XL that will be closer to $80.00

Its way to early to book flights, you are close to a year out. I assuming "sitting" break is spring break?

Any way to figure out which nights will be formal night? We have two sea days, day 4 and day 7. I presume there would not be a formal night the last night on Day 7. My guess is day 4 and 6?

That's really close. I hate worrying about getting off the ship early, but if you can be in a cab/car by 8:30-8:45am it should be fine. An Uber is risky, last time I requested an Uber at Port Everglades took the guy 20mins to get to pick me up.

Great location. There are places to eat right in the hotel that has a small mall in it. I would reccomend taking a quick Uber ride or free metromover ride into more of the heart of Downtown and Brickell. Tons of great food and drink options near by if you take a quick uber or metromover ride.

1. Is uber a good choice from ft lauderdale to pom? If I'm checking correctly is looks to be about $30 for uberx which sounds like a good price. Can't seem to see how far it is or how long it would take.

Yes Uber is a good choice anywhere in the FTL and Miami area. It should be around $30-$40. It all depends on the current pricing. It is possible that a surge is in place and it goes up a lot, but that usually only happens during big events, and busy holiday weekends and almost always in the evening and night. Depends on what time you leave and what day of the week it is for the ride time. On a weekend it would be about 45mins. Weekday cloud be closer to an 60-90mins. Yes, you can take Uber from POM to FLL. Should be around the same cost.

Its a brand new hotel. The geographical location is good, but its in a middle spot IMO. Its right on Biscayne Blvd but up by 36th street there is not much there. The Midtown development is very close by, but there are train tracks in between the Midtown area and the hotel. The walk to midtown is ok, I would not recommend it at night though. A $5.50 Uber ride will take you to tons of options for restaurants and shops. Lots of good options for dinner in the area, but again, not walking from your hotel to there. But once you are in the areas with the shops and restaurants walk all you want. Also a pretty quick ride to Downtown/Brickell and Miami Beach.

 

Please don't believe there's nothing to see between Orlando and Miami. You can find the old Florida if you look for it, and it's worth the effort.

I guess the OP could take US-27 down and drive thru the small cities and towns, make a stop by Lake Okeechobee. But when I think old Florida I think more about towns Orlando and north. St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach, Mt. Dora, Lake City, with the exception of Key West.

The issue with OP plan is not much time with 3-4 days in Orlando. It would best to get down to Miami area earlier than later to explore all it has to offer.

Thanks - I have booked the Surfcomber.

Good choice. Coconut Grove is a great area, but four a visitor South Beach is almost always the way to go.

Given the amount of days between 3-4 in Orlando and 3-4 in Miami honestly I would not worry much about doing a scenic drive down to Miami. If you want to visit the Space Center then head over there the morning you leave to Miami, and take the drive from there down. You could do part of it on A1A to make it more scenic, but also much longer. If you stick with the fastest route, you can have breakfast in Orlando and lunch in Miami taking the Florida Turnpike.

In Miami I suggest making sure to visit Everglades National Park, and if you enjoy the water (and have not done it before) a snorkeling trip in Biscayne National Park. It will be cheaper and just as good as any snorkeling excursion on the cruise. You could also look to do this from one of the Keys. Unfortunately, you don't have enough time to check out Key West.

Other things in Miami are are worth a look: Miami Science Museum will be opening next month. Zoo Miami is one of the larger and best zoos in the country. If you like Railroads are all the Gold Coast Railroad Museum is pretty good. Of course in Miami there is Ocean Drive, Lincoln Road, Little Havana, Wynwood if you enjoy art. Make sure to take a boat tour around Biscayne Bay as well. Head to Key Biscayne and take a tour of the Cape Florida Lighthouse.

As for anything to stop at between Orlando and Miami other than the Space Center (which is not exactly on the way), you could stop by West Palm Beach for lunch or dinner depending on when you are passing by. Head over the bridge into the extremely fancy/wealthy area. If you are passing by during the day a drive around the island and looking at all the estates is interesting.

As for the Keys, the Keys are not far from Miami, but they are a long set of islands. You can easily do some of the Northern Keys in a day. The drive is nice, there are some places to stop by and see on the way as well.

Contact whoever booked your cruise to change dining. If late traditional is not open, ask to get on the wait list.

 

There will likely be 2 formal nights.

I booked the cruise myself, don't remember ever getting an option for what dinning plan to use. Guess I need to call RC.

Hi all, I have only sailed RC once before, that was this January on a 4 night out of FTL. Will be on Independence at the end of May and had a few general questions regarding the MDR on this type of trip. Last time I cruised out of Europe was in 2007, so its been some time.

1. I see online that I am listed as anytime dinning, I would prefer to just have the late seating. Its just my wife and I, and I think an opportunity to meet some people from around the world would be nice, the last time I sailed out of Europe It was four of us at a table of 8 and we really enjoyed having other people there to discuss the day/topics etc.. How do I go about changing from anytime to scheduled late seating.

2. How many formal nights on a 7-night cruise? I am guessing one? Now the last two cruises I have done were short Bahamas and Mexico cruises, so formal wear was the vast minority. I still bring a suit, and might not wear a tie, but I presume its a bit more formal on a cruise leaving from Europe?

Thanks for any help.

Depends on size of party and luggage but Uberx and Uberxl are always options. The mentioned shuttles services above are good as well.

Any car can fit that, even a fit. I have had small cars to F-150s and Suburbans in Uberx. I travel a lot in groups of 4 with 4 carry on bags, never have I once had an issue with 4 people and 4 bags (carry on size) for an Uberx.

Looking online it seems like the texting Uber has ended. If your phone can go to the internet, (not an app) just browse the internet you might be able to do it there as well.

If you go non-stop 3.5 hours from Disney area to Miami is very doable. Speed limit is 70mph, you won't get a ticket for anything under 81mph 100%. If you are going 80 you will still be passed by cars.

Just keep in mind that in June it is extremely busy and hot in Disneyworld. As long as you are aware of how busy it will be and hot, then enjoy. Make sure to look up the tips, get the fast passes etc..

Also, make a choice on whether you want to drive in the day of the cruise or maybe drive in the afternoon before. While the drive can be done in about 3.5-4 hours that does not include dropping off the car and getting to the port nor the potential for traffic. If you drive down the day you cruise leaves, make sure to give yourself some extra time.

Try to book a hotel with a shuttle bus, you will save time and money. The Disney resorts, which are all great have their own interior transit system, but might of the hotels near the Disney Springs area in the Lake Bunea Vista area have shuttle buses to all the parks too. I highly suggest looking for something close to Disney Springs. Its a great place to get dinner and entertainment at night.

There should be no issues. I never used it out of or in Port of Miami, but I have for Port Everglades, which is a larger and more confusing port with more security. Port Miami is simple, right next to downtown, no issues.

I will say FLL will be worse, more low cost carriers and more domestic flights. I used to fly the Sunday after Thanksgiving often, once 4 years in a row, and I never had horrible time with lines. But this flying was done from MIA always. Just get there earlier incase security lines are long.

If you can fit into a taxi, use an Uber, you won't get scammed. Taxis are horrible in South Florida.

Some rooms in the Intercontinental, Holiday Inn POM (higher floors better) and Double Tree Biscayne Bay. Not all rooms of course.

If you are going after June, you'll be able to use the new Brightline Rail.

Miami service starts in September, not June. PB-FTL will be starting in June.

If you are going after September the Brightline will be a good option. If you don't mind waking up earlier and taking a bit longer time the Tri-Rail takes you to MIA and from there you can grab an Uber or Taxi.

It depends. FLL is often the cheaper airport, but you have to factor in the travel cost of FLL to Miami and Port Miami to FLL. If its a small group Uber is the best way to do it. FLL to Miami and back from the Port to FLL will cost around $40.00 each way. Where MIA-Miami Port Miami-MIA in an Uber is about $15.00 each way. So you would want to find a flight that is at least $100 cheaper than the MIA option to chose FLL over MIA.

If you need to take anything larger than a normal Uber that price savings needs to go higher. Also keep in the mind the extra time. But you will have more choices non-stop to FLL than to MIA.

As for hotels, a quick search will show many, the Downtown Miami and Brickell area are right next to the port. Any hotel in that area is fine to go with location wise. The popular ones are Intercontinental, Hampton Inn Brickell, Holiday Inn Port Miami, Marriott Biscayne Bay etc.. Many others too like W Miami, East Miami, Langford, and we can go on and on. Tons of choices of hotels near the port in a good walkable area of town.

All three are good. Intercontinental is a class above to the two, Hampton nicer than Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn the cheapest lowest "star" rating. You will be fine with either of the three. If you care about comfort chose the Intercontinental, if you care about price, use the Holiday Inn, if you want something in the middle the Hampton.

 

Any "must-dos" while in Miami?

 

 

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Depends on what you like to do and what you have done before. November is a great time to check out the Everglades, you will need a car or book a tour with transport to do that. One night of Cuban food or the very least some form of food from Latin America is a must. I would say to check out Bayside in the late afternoon and catch a 1 hour tour boat around Biscayne Bay. Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive are also must. Though don't get a meal on Ocean Drive. Its basically like eating in Times Square in NYC. If you like art at all Wynwood is another very popular spot.