Breakfast in Miami?...(and lunch)

[elsieflat]

Hello

We are taking a very early flight to Miami Int'l, and don't fancy the in-flight food (turkey sandwiches for breakfast.......ugh! :eek: ). I was just wondering if there are any eating places in the Port of Miami, after the porter takes your luggage, or would we be better off eating breakfast at Miami airport before taking the transfer to the port?

 

Regarding lunch on embarkation day, I understand that there will be food available on the Lido deck. Is this just like buffet sandwiches, snacks, etc. or can you get other food, (e.g. is the fish 'n' chip bar open?), or is the dining room open for lunch on embarkation day?

[buddyjo143]

The port at Miami is just the port. Your best bet is to eat at the airport or pack a hearty snack yourself.

 

While the dining room is not open on embarkation day, the grill will be grilling and the buffet lines and specialty buffet areas will be in full swing.

 

You won't be limited to sandwiches unless that is what you like.:rolleyes:

[elsieflat]

Thanks Joanne, I would hate to miss breakfast! :eek:

 

Buffet lunch sounds good......forget the sandwiches! :p

[buddyjo143]

Thanks Joanne, I would hate to miss breakfast! :eek:

 

Buffet lunch sounds good......forget the sandwiches! :p

 

I usually start with pizza for lunch on the first day and work my way up from there. ;)

[KruznKel]

Hello

We are taking a very early flight to Miami Int'l, and don't fancy the in-flight food (turkey sandwiches for breakfast.......ugh! :eek: ). I was just wondering if there are any eating places in the Port of Miami, after the porter takes your luggage, or would we be better off eating breakfast at Miami airport before taking the transfer to the port?

 

Regarding lunch on embarkation day, I understand that there will be food available on the Lido deck. Is this just like buffet sandwiches, snacks, etc. or can you get other food, (e.g. is the fish 'n' chip bar open?), or is the dining room open for lunch on embarkation day?

 

Dunno what ship you will be on.. but the buffet is HOT and COLD food everything you could want.. plus the grill and fish & chips if you are on a Conquest class..;) You will not go hungry either way!!!

[Conrycol]

Don't eat anything before u get on the boat:eek: . You'll have more than enough food when u get on:D .

[elsieflat]

We will be on the Carnival Valor - so yes, Conquest class. :)

 

Down to single digits now....sailing away on May 18 2008 :D

 

Thanks for your responses

[elsieflat]

Don't eat anything before u get on the boat:eek: . You'll have more than enough food when u get on:D .

 

I cannot wait that long for breakfast :eek: - leaving home at 4am, very early flight, lousy in-flight food, arriving Miami at breakfast time, must eat! :)

 

I don't eat big meals (I think that might change once on ship, after hearing about the wonderful delights awaiting me :D) but I cannot miss a meal, I would surely die of hunger! ;)

[Ang in Miami]

It's been a while since I've been in the Miami airport since I live here now and haven't given a single thought to leaving Miami to go anywhere, but I believe there is a Cuban chain restaurant, La Carretta, inside the airport. It's not my favorite place in all the choices of Cuban cuisine in this city, but you can't go wrong with a little Cuban breakfast, afterall, you're in Miami so take advantage of what this multinational city has to offer! Try some ham croquetta, or ham and cheese empanada, meat pastries, or if you've got a sweet tooth, try some of the sweet pastries. These Cuban bakery items are delicious. I usually pick up something from the sidewalk window of my local Cuban cafe every morning. That would get you through to lunch on the ship.

[elsieflat]

Cuban breakfast?...Never considered that, but might give it a try. Your posting made me think to look at the airport's web site, yes La Carretta is there. There is also a bagel bakery, that would suit me as well, just to keep me going until lunch time.....it will be a matter of which place I see first :D

 

Thanks for the info.

[Ang in Miami]

You're welcome. If LaCarretta isn't too far out of the way, perhaps give it a try. Afterall, you're in Miami which is as close to Cuba as you're going to get for yet a long time to come (well..unless you're not a US citizen, they you're free to go there anytime)! You can get a bagel anywhere, any day. :D

[eandj]

There are more than a few restaurants serving breakfast in the airport. No prob there.

The embarkation lunches aren't the best, but you'll be able to fill up on something before you get into your room, unpack and later head on to dinner.

Have a great time.

[turtlegirl2]

Ang, do you recommend any good Cuban restaurants in the downtown area we can dine at the night before our cruise? Love cuban food and we don't get it much in Kansas LOL! :D

[Ang in Miami]

Dinner...hummm, that's going to be a little bit of a tough one for me. My personal dining experience downtown is pretty much limited to the lunch time hours. Part of my job where I work calls for me to run the B&B portion and during dinner time, I am busy on the yacht doing the pre-prep for the next day, so I rarely (as in almost never) get the opportunity to dine out for dinner, unfortunately. My favorite Cuban establishments downtown (El Cacique and Emily's on Flagler Street) are not open for dinner, but that doesn't mean there aren't any; it just means I can't say I've eaten at so-and-so for dinner downtown and can tell you whether it was any good or not. I do know that Bayside has a couple, or maybe a few, Cuban places, but I've not eaten there. And I understand Bongo's has a Cuban fare, but I've not eaten there either. I'm sure confident that other CC members can comment as I'm sure there are lots of folks here who have frequented these places for dinner.

 

If you are not limited to the walking area of downtown and don't mind taking a cab (or perhaps you have a rental car), I can recommend Versailles in Little Havana (just on the outskirts of the downtown area, really) which is not far from downtown at all, but it's not within walking distance either. I have eaten there several years ago before I fully developed my affection for cooking and before I had any idea I'd ever live here and love this city so much. So, I probably didn't fully appreciate where I was. I do recall the food was excellent, and the restaurant was crowded, but not to the point of having to wait for a table; it was just "full". It's where the Cubans, themselves, dine. It's authentic.

 

I've not had anything at La Carretta that I would say was really good. However, a croquetta is a croquetta...hard to mess that up - they are pretty much the same everywhere. And...the ham croquetta are the best - the chicken, not so good.

 

I'm sorry I couldn't give you a more definitive answer, but I'm hoping someone else can comment on what's open for dinner and within walking distance downtown.

 

By the way, IF you do venture out to Versailles, I highly recommend you bring back a box of pastries for breakfast the next morning. Their Cuban pastries are some of the best!

[turtlegirl2]

Good tips none-the-less! Thanks for the info Ang! Will see if any other cc'ers have ideas for us and then see how adventurous we feel after a day of flying! We are staying at the Hilton downtown so we will probably need a cab to get anywhere.

 

BTW, life on a yacht sounds great! :cool:

[Ang in Miami]

BTW, life on a yacht sounds great! :cool:

 

It's a LOT of work - a floating hotel and then some - but I absolutely LOVE what I do and we strive to give the best service we can!

 

And I sacrifice a lot to do it - I take only ONE long weekend (a total 4 days!) off each year - Columbus Day Regatta in Miami - we take NO charters that weekend. Instead, we play and feel obligated to serve no one on those four days. :) I look forward to it every year. However, last year it was a tiny bit of work...blew out a bank of batteries that ran the generator and had to come home a day early with dinghy in tow since it takes 110 power to operate the crane to lift the dinghy on to the flybridge storage. :( (confession: it was my fault - I forgot to water that battery once, thinking it was a sealed battery - the previous one was - but that one wasn't; then again, since when is the chef's job to maintain the engine systems?) :) Well, I had the boat out....makes me responsible, I guess!

 

All other times, we live up to our motto..."Escape to Sanctuary...where it's all about you..." and it really is! For the first time in my life, I love job! :D :D

 

I watch the cruise ships, right out my back door, leave every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and on rare occasion a Tuesday or Thursday during the week, and sometimes wish I were on one.... Sometimes, we've followed one out guessing where each was heading as it took its turn at the last marker out to sea.