hazeleyes46

thank you!!!

thank you everyone!!!

We have never cruised out of Miami and I am trying to get info on the best places to stay and how to get around.

We would be flying in on a Friday for a Saturday cruise.

Would it be cheaper to fly in FLL?

Would it be cheaper to stay in FLL?

How do you go about getting transportation for all things (from airport to hotel and/or FLL to Miami and back)?

Hotel or Airbnb? Which is better?

Sorry but just clueless (and old lol) as we usually drive into port or have taken RCCL transportation.

17 hours ago, mikefromny said:

It appears it is just two of you, not the whole family. If you can afford it I would definitely take the Miami route. We're doing two cruises next year - one just DW and I and one the whole family. The couple only cruise we're doing out of Miami (got lucky with enough Marriott points to stay right by the port for free), but the Airbnb idea is not bad - just make sure you're getting the whole "unit" not just a room to share the common areas and bathroom with others. The second cruise with all the kids is out of NJ - air fare would choke us and what 20 something kid is going to complain about a free cruise with their SO?

 

Aruba & Curacao over Port Canaveral and Nassau any day you can afford it.

Thank you. I think we are leaning towards the Miami port to do something different and try and look for the most economic way to go or maybe we will find money and splurge lol

9 minutes ago, poocher said:

There are many options.  Whichever you are comfortable with.  👍

thank you

40 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

You can get an estimate on the app.

Ok thanks.

2 hours ago, poocher said:

What would transportation to the Airbnb, to the port & back to the airport cost?

not really sure. I wouldn't think an uber could be that much, no? He found an airbnb for $79. 

On 12/18/2022 at 11:46 AM, ARandomTraveler said:

If the airfare and hotel made it so I had to pick the Oasis out of New Jersey, I'd just wait an extra year and take the cruise when I could afford the better vacation. 

It is our 30th anniversary and we try and go every 5 year by ourselves so really don't want to wait an extra year 🙂

28 minutes ago, poocher said:

To me, the advantage of a hotel is airport shuttle (I don’t Uber and would have multiple people & several suitcases) AND SAS picks up from area hotels.  

I agree but it seems it would be cheaper to do a Airbnb, no?

Has anyone stayed at an Airbnb instead?

Thanks everyone. My son recommended staying at an Airbnb for the 1 night as you can get some as low as $79/night.

On 12/17/2022 at 10:14 PM, Mum2Mercury said:

Because you can skip the expense of airfare and night-before hotel, it sounds like Oasis will be considerably less expensive.  How much does this matter to you? 

 

I have no great love of Miami.  It's crowded, and the traffic is crazy.  When we sail out of MIami, we stay overnight in Fort Lauderdale (much cheaper hotel rooms), and it's less than an hour's drive to the port.  

 

Both cruises hit CocoCay, which is a big positive in my mind.  

 

Looking at the other island stops, Harmony seems to have the edge.  Aruba is nice, and Curacao is certainly head and shoulders better than Nassau.  Is the Port Canaveral stop short?  It seems to be on some cruises, and that really affects what you can do.

 

Pros and cons each way.  

No Port Canaveral is 1-9pm but we didn't even get off the ship last time so basically a wasted port.

On 12/17/2022 at 1:44 PM, ARandomTraveler said:

I always have to fly to the port so that never factors into my decision. I always just pick the ship and itinerary that looks best to me, and then I can price shop the hotels and flights to that one place (vs picking the ship based on which port is cheapest to get to).
 

So if it were me with the 2 options you gave, I would hands down choose Harmony out of Miami. I wouldn't even consider the one out of New Jersey. First off - who wants to start a warm Caribbean vacation from a cold location (if given a choice)? Second, the Oasis itinerary is garbage! Cococay is ok, but it's the best option out of the whole itinerary, which isn't saying much. 
 

I just cruised out of a Miami 3 weeks ago. Stayed at the Hampton Inn Miami/brickell-downtown. It's an average hotel, with average prices for that area of Miami ($250-$300/night if you book several months early, but closer to $450/night if you book last minute).

They have free breakfast. It's very close to the free metro-mover. It's about 2 blocks from a CVS, and there's tons of restaurants on the same street as the hotel. Anything closer to south beach is gonna cost you around $1,000/night or more, so to me, $300-ish per night was cheap for the area.

 

I usually have to pay closer to $600/night when I cruise out of Puerto Rico, which is my favorite way to sail the southern Caribbean, and next summer my hotel is $800/night (but that's because I'm going to Singapore and choosing to stay in the Marina Bay Sands).

So it's all relative. I guess if you're used to driving and having that part of the trip be free, $300 might seem like a lot, but I thought it was a bargain, and would much rather pay the $300 and take a better cruise, than pay $0 and take a cold-weather start to Nassau and Cococay. (Of course flights are another cost, but I'm just using the hotel portion for simplicity).

Thank you. End of September so it would still be warm in NJ but MUCH warmer in Miami 🙂

6 minutes ago, Diver2014 said:

If you're cruising out of Miami in Sept of 2023, it'll be nice weather except for the occasional hurricane that comes through.  There are no 'inexpensive' hotels in Miami, even for one night.  If I had to choose, I'd pick something in the Brickell Area.  Close by the port and near the Metromover.  I also like the Intercontinental but it by no means is inexpensive but it's right on the bay and you can see the cruise ships if you're on the bay side high enough up.  But, there's always the Holiday Inn on Biscayne Blvd right near the entrance to the cruise port and just across from Bayfront Marketplace.  And YVE although many have said the rooms are super tiny.  Haven't stayed there myself but have walked past it many times before it was YVE.

Thank you very much 🙂

9 minutes ago, dada2199cc said:

 

I cruise MOSTLY out of MIA, always fly in the night before, always book near downtown (midway between airport and cruise port) and always take Uber and it's not expensive.

Thank you 🙂

25 minutes ago, MightyMike said:

Many (if not most) of the hotels have a shuttle to the port. Even if they don't, there are plenty of other options available. Easy.

 

Hotels aren't inexpensive there. Seems they aren't inexpensive anywhere now.

 

Harmony has the better itinerary, hands down. I don't even get off the boat in Nassau anymore.

 

What time of year are you sailing? It can get cold on the first and last days of NJ sailings.

Thank you. Oasis is the beginning of September, Harmony end of September.

Deciding on 2 different cruises. 

1-Oasis of the Seas from NJ--Port Canaveral, Cococay and Nassau

Pros-can drive to Port so no airfare and hotel

Cons--been on ship twice and Nassau multiple times

2-Harmony of the Seas from Miami--Cococay, Aruba and Curacao

Pros--never been on Harmony (even though I know it is an Oasis class), Miami, Aruba and Curacao

Cons--will have the extra expense of airfare and hotel

Question--never been to Miami so are there hotels that shuttle to the port and are they inexpensive for just 1 night to come in the day before?

22 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

We had the Starboard side on Allure on the deck just under deck 12- 11729 and were extremely happy with it.  Felt more private than the more inside cabins and less noise, and at the time (2014) we were just outside the "secret balcony" on deck 11 which sadly was turned into cabins.  And the view to the wake was of course awesome as was the "in your face" Aqua Theater performances which we saw several times: Yours will be right next to the control booth portside.  And with just the sheers drawn you can't see into the cabin in daytime.

 

Nice, thank you 🙂

1 minute ago, cruiselvr04 said:

We’re trying one 3 from the aft in February on Allure.  I know I won’t like the no privacy issue but the DH wanted to save some money and try it. Noise won’t bother us unless it’s noisy before 8 a.m. but we don’t usually go to bed before midnight anyway.  In the small cabins I get a bit claustrophobic with the curtains closed.  I do like the idea that near the aft I can at least get a glimpse of the ocean but CP would be quieter. 

CP has music at certain times too and if you open the door you hear the music by the pool so it is not always quiet. I am thinking that after a certain time Boardwalk is quiet too and we don't plan to spend our entire trip in the room (just the 2 of us and when dh is napping, I will go find a drink and people watch lol). 

20 minutes ago, renza said:

Privacy for napping, napping naked, sex, watching TV, getting out of shower to get ready at the desk for dinner. Privacy for going on balcony in PJs or my bathing suit. Privacy for everything except just sitting with clothes on. No thanks

Gotcha. The inner curtain worked fine for everything honestly as I don't need that much privacy for some things. Just the shower and intimacy lol. 

How about some new questions for the Newlywed Show too? Same questions and games for probably at least a decade or so. The best part of all of these things are the different people participating but RCCL seems to have the same shows and things every.single.cruise for years and years and years. 

On 11/12/2022 at 5:07 PM, renza said:

Never will do a boardwalk or Central Park again. Zero privacy, can’t do anything without closing drapes. Oasis class doesn’t have much space looking at the ocean. I go on a cruise to wake up each morning looking at a Port and looking at the ocean on sea days. The last thing I want is to be on a cruise looking at other balconies looking at me. Even if I don’t use my balcony much I can keep my drapes open and get a view. 

Yeah I get that if you want all ocean views. We have had the CP balcony and honestly have always had the drapes open except for changing so not sure what else I would need the privacy for.

On 11/11/2022 at 9:22 PM, Sunshine3601 said:

We had 10325 and had a decent view of aquatheater and the sea.

We probably won't book another one of these as I like to keep my drapes open all the time.  

We have had the CP balcony and always had the drapes open except for changing so I don't see that much of an issue.

On 11/11/2022 at 8:00 PM, broadwaybaby123 said:

I was on Deck 14 over the Boardwalk last month.  Noise was an issue, as the Aqua Theater was right outside our cabin and we could hear the Aqua 80's show every night.  

 

Storage was an issue as well.  We had 4 traveling with us, and while the cabin sleeps 4, it definitely doesn't have storage for 4!

 

The Abyss was our FAVORITE attraction on the ship, and we didn't mind having it in our view.  We would often say that we could take the "expressway" down to wherever we needed to go!  It's REALLY not that scary if you want to try it.  They basically give you a toboggan made of carpet to slide on, and the turns actually slow you down.  I went on it 7 times, my niece went on it about 15 times, and each of my parents went once (even my Mom, who's afraid of heights loved it!).

Thanks 🙂  I am thinking we won't be in the cabin that much while the shows are going on. My family did the Abyss last cruise and yes, I was afraid to try it. Maybe next time lol

On 11/11/2022 at 6:55 PM, Ashland said:

Abyss blocked the views. I booked when Harmony was first released long before we knew about the Abyss. We felt the cabin was small, lack of privacy and noisy. We tried to like this category as it was new to us but we won't book again on Oasis class.

Ahh ok. We have had the Central Park rooms which are exactly the same room with a different view and loved it. We also love the Oasis class so I am thinking this might be good for us.