Buying Alcohol in Miami

[cruzfiend]

Is there a place to buy alcohol in Miami near Bayside shopping area? We are staying at the Courtyard. Thanks for your info.....

[mondello]

House of Wine and Liquor, and Liquor Downtown are two options in downtown Miami for alcohol purchases. Wine is available at CVS/Walgreens with a better selection at Publix grocery stores.

[cruzfiend]

Thanks, Mondello. Are these stores close to Bayside?

[ger_77]

cruzfiend, we are also booked into the Courtyard in February; will you please come back and let us know your opinions of the hotel and area? We've stayed near Bayside previously, but couldn't get the hotel we originally wanted. I know the CVS Pharmacy is only a couple of blocks away from the Courtyard. If you check google maps, you should be able to find the liquor stores as well.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[cruzfiend]

Thanks, Ger. I'll try that.

[PA2CRUISE]

I remember going to Road Runner liquor in downtown Miami. I think it's just a couple of blocks from the Courtyard Marriott.

 

BTW, I'm staying a night there precruise in a couple of weeks.

[ger_77]

PA2CRUISE: Will you please come back and give your impressions of the hotel? I just looked at cruzfiend and realized he is staying there likely the week before us, so might not be back in time for me to see his posting on the hotel and area. I'm going to go online and check out the location of Road Runner liquor store; we always like to see the different selections that are available.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[cruzfiend]

Par2cruise, when you get back, Could you please post about the hotel and the ship. Thanks.

[PA2CRUISE]

PA2CRUISE: Will you please come back and give your impressions of the hotel? I just looked at cruzfiend and realized he is staying there likely the week before us, so might not be back in time for me to see his posting on the hotel and area. I'm going to go online and check out the location of Road Runner liquor store; we always like to see the different selections that are available.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

 

Par2cruise, when you get back, Could you please post about the hotel and the ship. Thanks.

 

 

I sure will let you know. The only downside is that I will be getting there around 9 pm so I'll miss the free happy hour. But from reading the reviews, it seems like a pretty good hotel and has a good location with lots of stores within walking distance (CVS is just a short block away). Plus, I booked a room for 4 thru LMT and it was $35-$75 cheaper than IC, HI and Bayside Marriott - so for just a precruise stay, I think I got a real good deal. I'm not sure why it's not mentioned more here on CC. But we'll see in a couple of weeks.

[cruzfiend]

I also got 4 rooms on LMT for under $100. Love that website....

[cruisingforthe25th]

Par2cruise, when you get back, Could you please post about the hotel and the ship. Thanks.

 

We stayed at the Courtyard last month. Rooms were very nice. Just finishing renovation. We had a complimentary breakfast, as well as hapy hour. CVS & Walgreens are about 3 blocks away. From the Walgreens, walked about 2 blocks back in the direction of the hotel, and there was a liquor store. As others said, decent selection of wines in CVS.

[cruzfiend]

Thanks for the replies. It's nice having this website with all the info we might need.:)

[cruisegirl29]

Sweet! I'm staying there jan 24-27th... Pre-cruise & pre-marathon! I also booked on lmt about 8 mo ago. Got a decent rate $126 per night which is a steal considering this hotel is the Miami marathon headquarters! Rates are over $350 now! Glad they are almost done with the renovations... Heard it was a bit noisy while the hotel was under construction!

[PA2CRUISE]

I'm back from my 12/1/12 stay at the downtown Courtyard Marriott and as promised, I'm giving a quick review of the hotel.

 

I thought this was a very nice precruise hotel to stay at. The location was excellent, the rooms were very clean, good breakfast (which was free due to hotel construction). And best of all, our room provided an unexpected view of the cruise port :D.

 

We booked a double bed for 4 thru LMT for $114 (direct was $279). When we checked in about 9 pm, the hotel clerk told me she didn't have any double beds and they were booked solid. Are you kidding me??? The other was saying that this is what happens sometimes when you book thru a 3rd party. In the midst of me about to have a fit, the clerk told me they did set aside a King bed with a double sofa pull out. What? Well why didn't you say that in the first place??? It sleeps 4 - that works for us - No problem.

 

After we checked in & got settled, we walked around the downtown area to see what a Saturday night had in store. While we were out, DH decided he was hungry & wanted a quick bite to eat. By now, it was a few minutes after 10 & most quick service places were closed. Most places close around 9 or 10 on Sat nights. We did find a pizza place but the pizza didn't look to good, especially at $5 a slice, so we passed. Had we been a couple hours earlier, there would have been plenty of places to eat. So we decided to walk back to the hotel.

 

We asked the clerk for some pizza take out menus which they obliged. He also reminded us that the hotel restaurant was open - Duh - why didn't we think of that. So we ordered cheesburgers & fries which were pretty good. I think they cost about $8-9 which wasn't too bad at all.

 

They also have a very small convenience store across the street by the rear hotel entrance where the taxis pull in. They seemed to be open pretty late if you just wanted a snack or pop or cigs. There is a CVS just 1 block up from the front of the hotel and I think it's open 24 hours. There is a Walgreens, Ross, Marshalls just a few short blocks from the hotel.

 

When I got up in the morning, looked out the window and I was pleasantly surprised to see that we can see our ship (and another one) from the window. What a great way to start your day. In all the reviews that I read no one ever said that you can see the port. We were in room 1120. However, it looks like a building was recently torn down in the front of the hotel, this is probably why you can see the port. I would imagine if they constructed a tall building there, it would take away the view.

 

The hotel staff was very friendly, the people at the desk always greeted you when you walked past. The waiter in the restaurant was very friendly and chatted with us a bit. When we checked out, the desk staff hailed a cab but our luggage for 4 ppl wouldn't fit in one cab so he was nice enough to call for a taxi van for us. I think the taxi only cost $8 to get to the port.

 

I tried to post some pics but I'm not sure how to do it. I somehow forgot to take pics of the hotel room but I do have some shots of the room views. Here's my link and I hope it works:

 

http://ejcourtyardmarriott.shutterfly.com/pictures#editPictures:albumId=19

[travelpeon]

Thanks for the review!

 

Marriott also has a Look No Further Best Rate Guarantee which may price match 3rd party prices + additional 25% off. Plenty of details here: http://www.marriott.com/hotel-prices/faqs.mi

[Willman]

Thanks for the info - we will be staying there in April. I never thought their would be much view of any water, so I am surprised there is a port view. I will be real happy if we get that view.

 

Question - did they post any information about a port shuttle for $5 pp. If so what time(s) did it leave? Also, did you park a cat at the hotel?

[cruisegirl29]

Great review! Staying there jan 25-27... Also the Miami marathon headquarters!

[PA2CRUISE]

Thanks for the info - we will be staying there in April. I never thought their would be much view of any water, so I am surprised there is a port view. I will be real happy if we get that view.

 

Question - did they post any information about a port shuttle for $5 pp. If so what time(s) did it leave? Also, did you park a cat at the hotel?

 

 

Willman, I've read that they have a shuttle to the port for $5 but no one ever told me and I never asked because I wanted to leave for the port early and hate waiting for a shuttle to fill up. But it would have been cheaper to catch a taxi van for the 4 of us anyway as the taxi was under $10.

 

We did not have a car, we came in from FLL and used QLS for a private van.

[ger_77]

.

 

We did not have a car, we came in from FLL and used QLS for a private van.

 

What was your opinion of QLS transportation? We've booked them for our airport-hotel, hotel-port, x 2 for 6 of us in February. They seem very accommodating on the phone.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

Gerry

[miamiyogi]

While we were out, DH decided he was hungry & wanted a quick bite to eat. By now, it was a few minutes after 10 & most quick service places were closed. Most places close around 9 or 10 on Sat nights. We did find a pizza place but the pizza didn't look to good, especially at $5 a slice, so we passed. Had we been a couple hours earlier, there would have been plenty of places to eat. So we decided to walk back to the hotel.

 

First and foremost THANK YOU for an excellent review.

 

The few fast food options in downtown close early. If you would have walked one block west and made a right you would have run into an area that has 7 restaurants, one of them being Filling Station for fantastic burgers.

 

One block west and up would've taken you to Knight Center Metromover station, which could have taken you to Mary Brickell Village, again tons of quick options there including the very tasty Power Pizza (a local chain).

 

Glad you liked the Courtyard. I wish you would've enjoyed downtown a little more.

 

CHEERS!

 

Yogi

[PA2CRUISE]

What was your opinion of QLS transportation? We've booked them for our airport-hotel, hotel-port, x 2 for 6 of us in February. They seem very accommodating on the phone.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

Gerry

 

 

This was our 1st time using QLS and we were satisfied with their service. We called them as we were gathering our luggage and they were there within 5-10 minutes. Our driver asked several times if we wanted to stop at a store for anything (which we didn't need to stop) and he told us about some sites along the way. He even went around the American Airlines arena several times so that my SIL can get a good pic of the lighted signs on the arena for her son. He was very friendly.

 

Our flight was scheduled to come in at 8:15 pm so using SAS was out of the question since they stop service at 8 pm. Also we looked into private car services with several companies but since there were 4 adults, I was concerned about the amount of luggage we were carrying would not be able to fit into a sedan. I also didn't want the hassle of shared van service because I didn't have to wait for a van to fill and certainly didn't want to go to a gazillion hotels dropping people off. So we opted for a private van service. The cost was $75 plus $15 tip (which was the best price I seen from a reputable transportation company). I'm pretty sure that their website doesn't specify private van service, I learned of it thru emailing QLS with varies questions and they advised me of this option. QLS requires a credit card on file for reservation. Their terms of agreement stated they would charge our cc 2 days before pick up but I checked my cc and they had not charged it yet. But when I called them to pick us up, I asked dispatch if the payment would go automatically be charged. She stated that we can either pay with the credit card on file or cash to the driver. The driver told me it was $80 bucks but I informed him my receipt said $75 plus his $15 tip was automatically added and to charge my cc. I'm not sure if he was trying to get over or what. Either way, I always keep my receipts when traveling as ppl are always trying to dupe the tourist. I actually could have come out better by paying the $80 and giving him a smaller tip, but I thought he deserved the $15 tip. I would use them again.