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Anyone bring a bicycle to ride in port?


kurtp13
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I have a small folding bicycle (Brompton) and plan on bringing it on an upcoming RCCL cruise.   My itinerary is US port heavy so one day is in Miami.   I can't wait to cycle in South Beach.   Anyone else bring a bike?   Any tips?

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If your main reason for bringing a bike is to cycle in South Beach, I’d consider just renting a bike for the day there. There are several renting places in the area. I don’t know if you’re familiar with where the port of Miami is located and where South Beach is, but it’s not like you can easily open your folding bike when you get off the ship and just start pedaling. You could most likely find a way to do so, but it will be challenging.

 

Unfortunately, most cities in the US are not as cyclist friendly as in other parts of the world, so you may want to check the other ports of call that you’ll be visiting to see how viable it will be to use your bike at those. I’d hate for you to haul your bike, maybe pay extra fees, only to learn that you won’t be be able to use it as much as you’d like. 

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I'm not sure if you meant the route would be tricky or the assembly would delay me.   But I thought I would show you a folding demo of me with a Brompton.    Unfolding is nearly as quick but I didn't have a convenient video.  I'm determined to ride my own bike but may Uber to or from the South Beach area is too much trouble to get to.  

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As cruising cockroach mentioned, make sure your ship will allow you to bring your bike. I was onboard a ship once, and someone was told they could not bring their bike on the ship (he was right behind me in line). RIding bike on the ship is frowned upon (not saying you would do it, but I'm sure someone has tried) since there are so many people. 

 

I hope you can bring your own.  Good Luck!

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Great bike. I have never seen one like that? Curious, have you ever done a bike and barge trip? If so, with which company and how did you like it. My sister and I have been discussing the possibility of taking one next year.

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hi2you

I love my Brompton bike.   I found some manufacturer videos on folding and unfolding to give you a better view.   Owners are a little cult like (in a good way).   Check out also the Brompton World Championship videos.   I was in one race in Richmond, VA that was held on the UCI course.   

 

3 hours ago, hi2you said:

Great bike. I have never seen one like that? Curious, have you ever done a bike and barge trip? If so, with which company and how did you like it. My sister and I have been discussing the possibility of taking one next year.

I ride in so many more places then I ever used to.   And I don't have to think much about whether it might be worth taking.   It's super easy so why not.   When I travel occasionally for work, I can now do something healthy that's not boring.   It can allow me to see parts of an area than I might not have before.   

 

I have not done a bike and barge.   This might be fun and you wouldn't have to manage the bike when you're not using it.    No storage or bag handling.   I don't see a river cruise in my immediate future.   Maybe later.   

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On 3/19/2019 at 6:35 PM, kurtp13 said:

hi2you

I love my Brompton bike.   I found some manufacturer videos on folding and unfolding to give you a better view.   Owners are a little cult like (in a good way).   Check out also the Brompton World Championship videos.   I was in one race in Richmond, VA that was held on the UCI course.   

 

I ride in so many more places then I ever used to.   And I don't have to think much about whether it might be worth taking.   It's super easy so why not.   When I travel occasionally for work, I can now do something healthy that's not boring.   It can allow me to see parts of an area than I might not have before.   

 

I have not done a bike and barge.   This might be fun and you wouldn't have to manage the bike when you're not using it.    No storage or bag handling.   I don't see a river cruise in my immediate future.   Maybe later.   

Happy Riding. Soon the trails will be open again for spring/summer biking. Wooohoooo!

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  • 1 month later...

I had no problem bringing my fat tire mtb on a Norwegian cruise to Bermuda in 2016. I called ahead to inquire about bringing the bike on the ship, and to my surprise it was no big deal at all. 

IMG_3924.JPG

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  • 1 month later...
On 5/4/2019 at 6:36 AM, NYrunner said:

I had no problem bringing my fat tire mtb on a Norwegian cruise to Bermuda in 2016. I called ahead to inquire about bringing the bike on the ship, and to my surprise it was no big deal at all. 

Where did you keep It?    RCCL will let you bring a bicycle but it has to be kept in your cabin.    I would worry about the cabin steward tripping over a full size bike.   I wouldn't want them to get injured.

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  • 2 months later...
On 6/5/2019 at 10:56 PM, kurtp13 said:

Where did you keep It?    RCCL will let you bring a bicycle but it has to be kept in your cabin.    I would worry about the cabin steward tripping over a full size bike.   I wouldn't want them to get injured.

 

I kept it in our cabin (inside cabin) and just leaned it up against the wall. One of my concerns was that the bike might be in the way of the cabin steward, but it really didn't take up much space. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I forgot to mention that this trip with the bike was a success.  I found it easy to get off the ship and ride in Charleston,  Port Canaveral and Miami. Charleston was easiest.  Just off the ship and go.  Port Canaveral required some walking from the road down an embankment to a bike path right in the port area.  The road in and out was not busy at the times I was out but I could see it being harder at peak times.  Miami port to South beach was not hard at all.  It was an easy route to the bridge from the port area and then a comfortable trip north to 15th street, then east to Miami beach.    I took an Uber back to the port only to save time back to the ship.  The traffic on the MacArthur Parkway made the trip back almost as long.  I wouldn't recommend the MacArthur Parkway based on my view of it.  Pretty fast and distracted traffic.  Here is a photo of my bike on Grandeur of the seas.    I asked if I could get a little closer to the Centrum before taking it so no one would get upset.  A crew member took the shot of me.  He was fascinated with the bike and wanted to order one.  

20190330_092652.jpg

20190330_092640.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

I've brought my 20" Citizen Miami on several NCL cruises. When not in use I put it under the bed in my cabin. I usually take it out and ride in what ever port we are in (Central America & Europe). So far it's always been sunny when I ride. I do also ride with a GoPro on my helmet and now carry an extra spare tire and change kit. Although when I did pop a tire in Colombia it was 15,000 Columbian Pesos to have the tube, tire and labor ($5.16 USD) plus the shop had free PW protected WiFi available.

 

I've purchased 4 folding bikes for around $110 each off of Craigslist. I left a bike at my relatives home in Europe as it would be more expensive to ship it back to the US then to leave it for when I return to Europe.

 

The only line that has a complete ban on bicycles is Holland America (go figure)...

Edited by WYB!
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