Walking to port of Miami - NCL Term B

[Riverdome]

Booked room at the InterContinental thinking we could walk to the port. Now that I'm looking at a map I'm not 100% sure. We're in our early 30s and can handle a walk but would like to know what we are in for. Are we talking walkway or the shoulder on the side of the road?

 

thanks

[JohninDC]

Walkway on the side of the road which will be filled with cars, busses and trucks. From the IC it will be about a mile walk for you to avoid a $10-12 cab ride -- not for me now or when I was your age. Good luck! :)

[setsail]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1535063

[FLAHAM]

IC to terminal B is a good 2 miles or more. Nearest point on shore to terminal B is 1.6 miles.

[Eng23]

It's a long walk especially dragging luggage with you. You will also be walking uphill so to speak to cross the bridge going into the port. If it's hot & humid you will be miserable. Is it impossible to do? No it is not. Myself, I prefer to take a cab $10 is that much. One other point to consider, there is a ton of heavy construction going on in the port area for a new vehicle tunnel so you may find the sidewalk come to an abrupt end. Good luck in your decision and have a nice cruise!

Edited January 30, 2012 by Eng23

[dmwnc1959]

Do yourself a huge favor and take a taxi. It'll take 12 minutes and cost $10-15, as opposed to an hour long walk through and across traffic lanes.

 

Thread with pictures

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1469228

 

Edited January 30, 2012 by dmwnc1959

[dmwnc1959]

On a side note, I stayed at the Intercontinental Nov. 28th and here is a review and some pictures of the hotel and my room:

 

 

Review:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=31470309&postcount=26

[fireofficer5]

The port of miami has sidewalks everywhere.

My last cruise I rode my bicycle with a trailer that had my luggage.

Its a long walk. There is a concrete wall on the bridge seoerating the walkers from traffic.

[dmwnc1959]

The port of miami has sidewalks everywhere.

My last cruise I rode my bicycle with a trailer that had my luggage.

Its a long walk. There is a concrete wall on the bridge seoerating the walkers from traffic.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess the OP isn't packing a bike with trailer. ;)

 

Here's a view Port Blvd and the bridge heading into Dodge Island. At Bayside you cross Biscayne Blvd at Port Blvd (there's a stop light and cross walk) over to the American Airlines Arena side of the street then head up Port Blvd with the arena to your left, accessing the guarded walkway that crosses the Port Blvd bridge. In the first picture below you would be crossing the street from right to left then head up Port Blvd alongside the arena

 

 

 

 

Once you get to the TOP of this brindge here is the view looking towards the cruise ships. You can see the Norwegian Epic (just barely) all the way at the end.

 

 

And a zoom in to the ships showing the Norwegian Epic way on the end...

 

Edited January 31, 2012 by dmwnc1959

[nhraformula00]

all that to save 10$:eek:

[smplyblessed619]

Yeah, I'd definitely be looking to shuttle or taxi...nice pics though!!

[dmwnc1959]

Yeah, I'd definitely be looking to shuttle or taxi...nice pics though!!

 

THANKS for the comments on the pictures.

 

Just to clarify I took the ship pictures I posted above from the Port Blvd Bridge when I was on a 'turn-around day' during a B2B cruise on the Celebrity Millennium and walked from the RCI Terminals to Bayside. The walk took about 30 minutes at a decent pace. Add to that the amount of time it would take to get from the IC hotel to Bayside (10-15 minutes) and the added distance from the end of the bridge on Dodge Island to the NCL terminals where the OP was thinking of walking, and you have a solid HOUR of walking, with luggage. NO THANKS.

 

Here are more picture of the ships lined up at Dodge Island, both on my initial embarkation day and on my turn-around day. It gives you another idea of just how far it is from the RCI terminals to the NCL terminal and the length of Dodge Island:

 

Nov. 28, 2011

 

 

Dec. 3, 2011

 

Edited February 1, 2012 by dmwnc1959

[nbsjcruiser]

We saw a couple walking to the pier one time when we were heading over there by cab. Dragging suitcases behind them they looked, well, odd (trying to be polite here). First thought that came to my head was, if they couldn't afford the $10 for a cab ride they should have stayed home. I'm all for saving money, trust me, but there's things that even I won't do and if I'm saying that, you can take it to the bank.

Edited February 1, 2012 by nbsjcruiser

[elcuchio24]

DW and I love walking whenever/whereever we get a chance. This is not one of those spots. Spring the $8 for a cabbie, the IC doorman will swing one right up for you. Make sure to get a port view room, well worth the $20 upgrade!:)

[drocks99]

For religious reasons I can't take a cab or bus on the Sabbath so I'd like to know if it is indeed possible to book a hotel nearby and walk. I'll try and keep my luggage light and on wheels. Again, I'm not trying to save money but am traveling with a friend who doesnt drive so I wanted to be respectful if possible. Thanks for anh replies

[Keith1010]

For religious reasons I can't take a cab or bus on the Sabbath so I'd like to know if it is indeed possible to book a hotel nearby and walk. I'll try and keep my luggage light and on wheels. Again, I'm not trying to save money but am traveling with a friend who doesnt drive so I wanted to be respectful if possible. Thanks for anh replies

 

You can. Some will say no but you really can.

 

My wife and I are avid walkers. During our pre cruise stay we walk often from a hotel that is not as close as the ones I am going to list for you over the bridge to the terminal. I normally do not recommend it for embarkation day but in your case it is very doable. The bridge is quite safe. There is a large barrier between the pedestrian walkway and the actual roadway.

 

Hotels that are relatively close are the Intercontinental and the Holiday Inn Bayside. The intercontinental is a little closer so try to go with that.

 

You will walk on the left side of the bridge and when you get to the end the terminal area that you will want to go to is on the left. It is about a mile walk from the hotel.

 

Be sure to take luggage you can pull and if it is a hot day wear appropriate clothing.

 

I am one who is adverse to risk and who is very safety conscious.

 

The walkway is very safe.

 

Keith

[TravelDiva88]

For religious reasons I can't take a cab or bus on the Sabbath so I'd like to know if it is indeed possible to book a hotel nearby and walk. I'll try and keep my luggage light and on wheels. Again, I'm not trying to save money but am traveling with a friend who doesnt drive so I wanted to be respectful if possible. Thanks for anh replies

 

It's absolutely walkable

 

The MetroMover might be able to save you a fair bit of walking. It does not have a conductor, and it automatically stops at each station, so it's rather akin to a Shabbat elevator. There is no fee to ride the Metromover, and it does not require a passcard to enter.

 

If the metromover is an option, you will want to take it from the station nearest the Intercontinental (I believe it's Bayside) and transfer to the Omni loop at the College station. From there take the Omni loop the the Freedom Tower station.

 

From freedom tower station it's about a 45 minute walk at a slow-to-moderate pace up and over the bridge, along the sidewalk, down to Terminal B.

 

 

We just did the walk with one rolling suitcase and one backpack each, and we saw many others doing "the walk" to and from the ships going both ways. From the time we left our hotel to the time we got to the terminal (including our time on the metromover) was around 1.5 hours.

Edited December 9, 2013 by TravelDiva88

[royalcruz]

For religious reasons I can't take a cab or bus on the Sabbath so I'd like to know if it is indeed possible to book a hotel nearby and walk. I'll try and keep my luggage light and on wheels. Again, I'm not trying to save money but am traveling with a friend who doesnt drive so I wanted to be respectful if possible. Thanks for anh replies

 

Is there a shabbat eruv along that route that would allow your friend to schlep luggage? We just avoid Saturday sailings.

[TravelDiva88]

Is there a shabbat eruv along that route that would allow your friend to schlep luggage? We just avoid Saturday sailings.

 

Forgive my rudimentary Jewish knowledge, but wouldn't an eruv be a moot point as many of the items in the luggage would only be used after the Sabbath

Edited December 9, 2013 by TravelDiva88

[fishywood]

Forgive my rudimentary Jewish knowledge, but wouldn't an eruv be a moot point as many of the items in the luggage would only be used after the Sabbath

 

Without an eruv an Orthodox Jew cannot carry anything: not their luggage, nor even money or credit cards in their pockets. And there is no eruv in the downtown Miami area.

 

While I personally am not very observant, I know many who are strictly observant of the Sabbath and do cruise. It is considered permissible to be on a moving ship on the Sabbath as long as one has already boarded before sundown Friday night. But even if there is an eruv around the port it is all but unthinkable to embark on the Sabbath: it would be an enormous violation of the work proscription rules to participate in the check-in process--especially having one's photograph taken. And would the cruiseline allow them to miss the muster drill for religious reasons?

 

So while it is in fact walkable from a downtown hotel to the port, I think the question is moot unless drocks99's friend's Sabbath obervance does not go any further than not riding in a vehicle.

Edited December 10, 2013 by fishywood

[royalcruz]

Fishywood, what's the problem with attending the muster drill on Shabbat? I can understand it being a problem if a Jewish person swipes the ship card or writes (as in staff checking the name off the list), but is there something else you are thinking of that wouldn't pass muster?

 

In any case, there are plenty of sailings that don't leave or return on Shabbat. Fort Lauderdale has lots of Sunday to Sunday cruises.

[Oh away I go!]

We stayed at the same hotel and took a cab to the pier. I feel it is too far to walk with luggage as well. Saving $15 is not worth it to me :eek:

Edited December 10, 2013 by Oh away I go!

[fishywood]

Fishywood, what's the problem with attending the muster drill on Shabbat? I can understand it being a problem if a Jewish person swipes the ship card or writes (as in staff checking the name off the list), but is there something else you are thinking of that wouldn't pass muster?

 

Actually I did give the muster issue some thought before writing my last post:

 

1. If the drill is conducted on the outside deck (as on HAL) they would be outside the perimiter of the quasi-eruv created by the ship's interior door frames. So someone else would have to carry their card for them and check in with the muster captain for them. Which may be an issue if any crew member asked them questions or gave them instructions. More to that point would be if:

 

2. ...they were on one of the few ships that still requires bringing the life jackets to the drill. If the drill was held inside the ship they could carry the life jacket with them. But attending the drill with the knowledge and anticipation that a crewmember at work (even if the crewmember is not Jewish) would be instructing them when and how to practice putting on the life jacket constitues abetting the violation of the Sabbath.

 

I concluded that the muster drill issue was an extension of what I found from a quick search of 'getting photographed on the Sabbath': while merely having one's photo taken is not a violation, following the photographer's instruction to "stand here and look into the camera" is. Maybe I will call one of my mom's friends who is Orthodox and I know used to cruise regularly with her husband to see if what I wrote actually makes any sense.

 

(And I should probably leave this one alone--but there is the thorny issue of an Orthodox man potentially taking orders from a female officer. Though I imagine that any Jewish man so fervently rooted in the Dark Ages has never given a thought to cruising)

Edited December 10, 2013 by fishywood

[TravelDiva88]

We stayed at the same hotel and took a cab to the pier. I feel it is too far to walk with luggage as well. Saving $15 is not worth it to me :eek:

 

If you notice, the OP is not doing it to save $15, but due to religious reasons.

[Oh away I go!]

My answer was to the original poster:

 

Riverdome

"Booked room at the InterContinental thinking we could walk to the port. Now that I'm looking at a map I'm not 100% sure. We're in our early 30s and can handle a walk but would like to know what we are in for. Are we talking walkway or the shoulder on the side of the road?”

 

The post about religious reasons is a different person...

 

Hard to follow - I agree...