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Flying in to Miami the day before cruise...

Dee777

By Dee777,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Dee777

Dee777

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We learned from past experience that arriving the night before a cruise is an absolute MUST for us, coming from the snowy and unpredictable wintry Canadian prairies. We will be flying into Miami on February 12 and require a hotel room for that night. I was thinking that a three star would suffice, preferably close to the ship!!! Does anyone have any suggestions for me? As I am not familiar with Miami this would be a terrific help. Thank you in advance for your assistance!

 

Dee

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habby

habby

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We learned from past experience that arriving the night before a cruise is an absolute MUST for us, coming from the snowy and unpredictable wintry Canadian prairies. We will be flying into Miami on February 12 and require a hotel room for that night. I was thinking that a three star would suffice, preferably close to the ship!!! Does anyone have any suggestions for me? As I am not familiar with Miami this would be a terrific help. Thank you in advance for your assistance!

 

Dee

We've always stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. Right across the street from Bayside Marketplace, an outdoor mall that has shopping, restaurants, lounges and free entertainment. There's also a Walgreen's and CVS just a couple of blocks away for those last minute thiings we always forget. And you can see the ships from your room if you have a view of the port! Transportation to the port will cost anywhere from $5-10 per person.

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nobody000

nobody000

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My vote goes for the Holiday Inn also with the Bayside across the street.

 

And a anther is the Biscayne Bay Marriott. It was such a nice and clean place.

 

Both you will have to get a taxi to the ship but they are really nice places for good deals.

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halos

halos

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And a anther is the Biscayne Bay Marriott. It was such a nice and clean place.

.

 

That's where we usually stay.

On my next cruise, this month we are staing at a little boutique hotel (Hotel Urbano)...only 3 miles from the port.

My DD is a revenue manager for hotels and I go where I can get a discount :D. I'll be sure to take notes on this Hotel Urbano for future reference for posters here...but as it stands right now, the Biscayne Bay Marriott is my favorite hotel in Miami when cruising.

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JohninDC

JohninDC

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Depends upon what you want, your budget and arrival time. Early arrival, want to see the famous beach, dining & nightlife (and have the $$ to pay for it!:eek:), then head to Miami Beach. Check Blue Heron's blog for suggestions: http://blueheronsmiamiinformation.blogspot.com/

Want to be close to the ship - and maybe see them from your room in the morning? :confused: Then look downtown at the Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, Marriott and Doubletree. A taxi to any downtown hotel from MIA will run about $26 and another $10 -12 will get you to the port the next morning.

Arriving late and just want a clean room and dinner - then look at hotels near MIA in the Blue Lagoon area (Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites and others). ;) Shopping and dining within walking distance and free airport shuttles. A taxi to POM will run under $30 (including tip) or you can arrange for shuttle service for about $10 each. Good luck! :)

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okgirl

okgirl

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We've always stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. Right across the street from Bayside Marketplace, an outdoor mall that has shopping, restaurants, lounges and free entertainment. There's also a Walgreen's and CVS just a couple of blocks away for those last minute thiings we always forget. And you can see the ships from your room if you have a view of the port! Transportation to the port will cost anywhere from $5-10 per person.

 

That's where I always stay too...It's a little more $$ than others, but I think worth the extra for the location. I love Bayside Marketplace, once I get to the hotel I'm truly on vacation.

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firefly333

firefly333

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Intercontinental which is on lastminutetravel a lot, is on the same side as Bayside Market, right on the water. No shuttle or breakfast, so the price isnt THAT good. Its easy to walk to Bayside, a little further than across the street, you have to walk past all that park stuff to get there. 500 more yards?

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stargate fan

stargate fan

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We learned from past experience that arriving the night before a cruise is an absolute MUST for us, coming from the snowy and unpredictable wintry Canadian prairies. We will be flying into Miami on February 12 and require a hotel room for that night. I was thinking that a three star would suffice, preferably close to the ship!!! Does anyone have any suggestions for me? As I am not familiar with Miami this would be a terrific help. Thank you in advance for your assistance!

 

Dee

 

Our first time out of Miami, we flew in the day of the cruise. Never again. (We come from snowy and unpredictable wintry northern New England).

 

The second time we sailed out of Miami, we stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay. Great hotel with an incredible view of the port. But-far away from anything so we spent a lot of $$ on taxis.

 

The third and fourth times, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. It is directly across the street from the Bayside Marketplace. http://www.baysidemarketplace.com/ There are lots of shops to peruse and restaurants for dining. HIPOM is also very close to the port so I was able to watch the ships come in. We saw shuttle buses and taxis drive over the bridge to the ships to pick up disembarking passengers. Getting to the port was just a few minute taxi ride. I think it cost us $10.

 

Back in November, we walked to the Intercontinental just to see what all the hoop-la was about. It was a much farther walk from the Bayside than HIPOM and it was in a very dark area. We actually felt a little uncomfortable because the area was so deserted-we were the only ones walking around outside the hotel. We were never alone walking to and from the HIPOM. Maybe it's fine during the day, but we would not walk the Intercontinental area at night again.

 

Just my opinion. HIPOM is the perfect location.

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firefly333

firefly333

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Back in November, we walked to the Intercontinental just to see what all the hoop-la was about. It was a much farther walk from the Bayside than HIPOM and it was in a very dark area. We actually felt a little uncomfortable because the area was so deserted-we were the only ones walking around outside the hotel. We were never alone walking to and from the HIPOM. Maybe it's fine during the day, but we would not walk the Intercontinental area at night again.

 

Just my opinion. HIPOM is the perfect location.

 

500 yards one way or another isnt that big of a deal.. dark area?? Its on the ocean .. how is this a darker area?? Yes, it was all the way past a park to walk past further .. but for $84 .. $96 with fees and taxes, thats why we stayed at Intercontinental. I wouldnt pay extra to stay 500 yards closer to Bayside.

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stargate fan

stargate fan

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500 yards one way or another isnt that big of a deal.. dark area?? Its on the ocean .. how is this a darker area?? Yes, it was all the way past a park to walk past further .. but for $84 .. $96 with fees and taxes, thats why we stayed at Intercontinental. I wouldnt pay extra to stay 500 yards closer to Bayside.

 

We walked to the Intercontinental from the HIPOM. It was late, around 10 pm. As we got closer to the IC, there were no people, the street/parking area parallel to the front entrance was deserted, the street perpendicular to the front entrance was deserted. I'm not talking about the ocean. As soon as we got closer to HIPOM and the Bayside Marketplace, there were lots of people milling about. We were not comfortable walking around the IC at all, and would rather pay more to feel safer walking around an area at night.

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tbrenk1973

tbrenk1973

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That's where we usually stay.

On my next cruise, this month we are staing at a little boutique hotel (Hotel Urbano)...only 3 miles from the port.

My DD is a revenue manager for hotels and I go where I can get a discount :D. I'll be sure to take notes on this Hotel Urbano for future reference for posters here...but as it stands right now, the Biscayne Bay Marriott is my favorite hotel in Miami when cruising.

 

We are staying at Urbano as well in April for pur pre cruise. I got a great rate. I will be anxious to hear how your stay was.

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Shelbyjane56

Shelbyjane56

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We always fly in 2 days early and stay at the intercontinental as we love being up high at night seeing What is going on. The fact it is free Is icing on the cake. We always check out bay market and feel safe. How ever we sail in late spring or in july so it is late when it gets dark. Our next time will be may 14. Like some have said the food can be expensive. We go to some places. We want to try. However we all eat far to much when cruising so we go early to relax more than anything. They do have a pool up high. Enjoy your cruise! They do have breakfast at ic it runs between 20 to 25 each person for the breakfast buffet and they have Starbucks of course. But we don't care for bitter coffee

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firefly333

firefly333

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Like some have said the food can be expensive. We go to some places.

 

If you cross the street from IC toward the side streets that come into the area, near the Starbucks, there is a chicken chain that is one of my favorites. they cook the chicken on a grill island style and have declicious bananas. I got the 1/4 chicken and rice and beans, and hmm, and its only about $5ish.

 

I think its called Pollo Tropical or something like that .. we saw it in Jamaica too. I love their chicken. Better than hooters, where I had the wings.. over at Bayside. Wish I had found the chicken place earlier and noticed the name when I got off the bus.

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firefly333

firefly333

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Intercontinental is much nicer than the Holliday Inn,and if you are afraid to walk:confused:,there are plenty of taxis for maybe 3$ to go one block.I have stayed in both.

 

I know, I cant believe how much fuss some are making over about a one block difference. Not even a long block to me.

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BlueC5Kitten

BlueC5Kitten

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We've always stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. Right across the street from Bayside Marketplace, an outdoor mall that has shopping, restaurants, lounges and free entertainment. There's also a Walgreen's and CVS just a couple of blocks away for those last minute thiings we always forget. And you can see the ships from your room if you have a view of the port! Transportation to the port will cost anywhere from $5-10 per person.

 

iagree.gif That's where I stayed both times I sailed from Miami!

 

Happy Cruising!

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