Bayside Marketplace...how close to port??

[goat rancher]

We are coming in on a redeye flight and trying to decide how to handle the time between our arrival and when the cruiseport opens for departures...

ONLINE, it states that Bayside Marketplace is within walking distance...

Three questions:

By "within walking distance" do they mean for a marathon runner with no baggage, or do they mean a reasonable distance to walk with luggage, even if your ship may be midway down the row?

Is it SAFE to walk that route...ie. are there good sidewalks and crosswalks?

Is anything OPEN over there before 10 am??Or any good place to sit and watch the boats go by??

 

We are trying to debate whether to

a) stick around at the airport for another hour or so after landing and have a leisurely breakfast (IF there are food facilities outside the security areas)

b) pick up food AT the airport and then take taxi to the port

c) pick up food AT the airport and then be dropped off at Bayside, then WALK to the port

d) take taxi TO Bayside and hope something is open, then WALK to the port

 

We really don't want to go "far afield" to get breakfast, since we will be dead tired from working the whole day before and catching the redeye:eek::eek:...

 

Thanks for any input!!

[BlueHerons]

We are trying to debate whether to

a) stick around at the airport for another hour or so after landing and have a leisurely breakfast (IF there are food facilities outside the security areas)

b) pick up food AT the airport and then take taxi to the port

c) pick up food AT the airport and then be dropped off at Bayside, then WALK to the port

d) take taxi TO Bayside and hope something is open, then WALK to the port

 

We really don't want to go "far afield" to get breakfast, since we will be dead tired from working the whole day before and catching the redeye:eek::eek:...

 

Thanks for any input!!

 

You cannot walk to port if you would like to be alive on your cruise.

 

I can't think of any breakfast places open at Bayside. I'd just hit a Shoney's or something on the way to port.

[goat rancher]

Thanks...that's good to know (don't want to be road pizza or beat up!!:eek:)

but what's a "Shoney's"???

[Lois R]

We are coming in on a redeye flight and trying to decide how to handle the time between our arrival and when the cruiseport opens for departures...

ONLINE, it states that Bayside Marketplace is within walking distance...

Three questions:

By "within walking distance" do they mean for a marathon runner with no baggage, or do they mean a reasonable distance to walk with luggage, even if your ship may be midway down the row?

Is it SAFE to walk that route...ie. are there good sidewalks and crosswalks?

Is anything OPEN over there before 10 am??Or any good place to sit and watch the boats go by??

 

We are trying to debate whether to

a) stick around at the airport for another hour or so after landing and have a leisurely breakfast (IF there are food facilities outside the security areas)

b) pick up food AT the airport and then take taxi to the port

c) pick up food AT the airport and then be dropped off at Bayside, then WALK to the port

d) take taxi TO Bayside and hope something is open, then WALK to the port

 

We really don't want to go "far afield" to get breakfast, since we will be dead tired from working the whole day before and catching the redeye:eek::eek:...

 

Thanks for any input!!

 

Hi:) I thought there were a couple of places that serve

breakfast at Bayside:confused: .....it says on their website they open

at 10:00am.

As for the distance....its close but not close enough

to walk to the ship with luggage and flying all night.

You have to go over a bridge too.

Have your breakfast, relax and a cab ride will only be

about 10 bucks to the port.

But I would not attempt to walk there.

 

Have a great cruise:)

[Lois R]

Its a national chain..they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner....24/7.

You are in California?,....maybe they are not out west. Not sure what you would have in that genre.....

They make a great strawberry cream pie:D

[floridacruiser63]

Thanks...that's good to know (don't want to be road pizza or beat up!!:eek:)

but what's a "Shoney's"???

Hi,

Shoney's is a 24/7 restaurant chain, but I do not recall seeing one down here in the Miami area.

Walking from Bayside to the Port of Miami is definitely not recommended. You have to go over the bridge to get to the port, however a taxi would only cost aprox. $10 - $12 per ride - not per person.

There is a Latin American Cafe in Bayside and they serve breakfast. I do not know what time they open.

[eandj]

What time are you actually arriving at MIA?

 

Yes, there are about 3 restaurants open for early breakfast at Bayside. Don't remember their names, but have been to the one on the water. Think they are open around 8, before everything else opens up. Call Bayside and ask for the specifics.

 

Personally, I would take my time at the airport, have a breakfast there. Then cab to the pier. If you're going to be too tired to enjoy Bayside, just skip it and go straight to the pier around 11:00. Otherwise, you'll be lugging your bags on and off cabs and at the restaurant.

 

have a great time!

[goat rancher]

Nope, no Shoney's out here .. "Denny's" would be our closest equivalent.... (Actually...out here it might receive mixed reviews..not for the food, but for the name...sounds too much like "Chonies"....spanish slang for underwear:eek: (lol)

Thanks everyone for all the tips....it really does help, since we haven't been to this port or city before. I haven't even been east of Chicago....:p

[goat rancher]

p.s. or maybe I'm just pronouncing it wrong?? Is the h in "Shoney's" silent...as in "sonny's"?? I'll google it to see how close it is to port...Also will contact Bayside...but definately will take a taxi either way...

[Lois R]

p.s. or maybe I'm just pronouncing it wrong?? Is the h in "Shoney's" silent...as in "sonny's"?? I'll google it to see how close it is to port...Also will contact Bayside...but definately will take a taxi either way...

 

Hi, its pronounced like the word show. 2nd syllable is like

knees. ....but spelled Shoney's;) not undies:D

[SailingDeanna]

We went to Bayside on 9/27 the morning of our cruise. We were looking for breakfast. There is a donut stand but they don't open until 10. And then it takes 30 minutes for the grease to warm up, etc. We wanted to head to the port at 10:30 a.m. So that wasn't an option.

 

We walked further down the marketplace and found a food court. There was one place to have breakfast there and I don't recommend it.

 

I did not try to find a sit down restaurant. I'm sure some of those are open. But we were looking for something quicker because we wanted to get to the ship.

 

You can't walk to the port from there. But there are plenty of taxis always available from Bayside for under $10 incl tip.

 

If it were me, I'd eat at the airport. Plenty of place there to eat. Then take a cab to the port. They started boarding the Liberty quite early when I was boarding. Probably by 11 a.m.

[goat rancher]

Thanks for the tip Deanna....I think we'll just take our time at the airport then and leisurely head to the port after breakfast.....

[BlueHerons]

Thanks for the tip Deanna....I think we'll just take our time at the airport then and leisurely head to the port after breakfast.....

 

The only problem with that is that you have to exit security before you pick up your luggage.

 

You'd either have to exit security, get your luggage, then get back through security with all of your luggage if they will even let you back in or have breakfast while your luggage spins on the carosel.

[goat rancher]

Are there ANY restaurants/cafes that are in the lobbystreetside area of MIA (ie. BEFORE you would have to go back through security to get to them?)...

Where is the "Top of the Port" restaurant?...before (hopefully) or after security...

We definately don't want to leave our suitcases on the carousel...don't mind carting them around with us...

BUT we don't want to leave the "secure" area and find NO FOOD :eek: and no way to get back past security again....

At this rate we may pack donuts in the carryon for morning...and ask for coffee on the plane TO GO:rolleyes:

What a pain...

BUT....as soon as we board the ship all this hassle will be forgotten

[mdbowl300]

Are there ANY restaurants/cafes that are in the lobbystreetside area of MIA (ie. BEFORE you would have to go back through security to get to them?)...

Where is the "Top of the Port" restaurant?...before (hopefully) or after security...

We definately don't want to leave our suitcases on the carousel...don't mind carting them around with us...

BUT we don't want to leave the "secure" area and find NO FOOD :eek: and no way to get back past security again....

At this rate we may pack donuts in the carryon for morning...and ask for coffee on the plane TO GO:rolleyes:

What a pain...

BUT....as soon as we board the ship all this hassle will be forgotten

 

Check out this website. It looks like Top of the Port Restaurent is before security.

 

Take a look.

 

Just to clairfy it cost about $25 (per ride) for a cab from airport. $10 from Bayside. It looks like you have already decide not to go to bayside and probabably a good thing.

 

I am pretty sure my wife and I ate at Chilli's Too last year and it is before security. You will have choices to eat.

 

 

http://www.miami-airport.com/html/restaurant_and_shops_maps.html

[SailingDeanna]

We were at the Miami airport a few weeks ago. There were restaurants after security in the area of airport check-in. I don't remember any restaurants where the luggage carousel is located. There could have been some and I just didn't notice. Many of the people in my group ate muffins, cinnamon rolls, etc. on the day of our departure. There was a Chili's in that area and I'm not sure it was open. We were near the Airtran check in counter.

 

If you want a nice sit down meal, then I wouldn't do the airport. If you just want muffins, rolls, etc. then I'd do the airport.

 

You haven't mentioned what time your airplane arrives. That makes a big difference too.

[goat rancher]

Thanks mdbowl and Deanna.....

 

Our plane gets in around 6:20 am.....

We are game for whatever there is to eat....muffins vs. light breakfast...

since for US that will be about 3:20 am on our "internal clocks":p...We can wait for something heavier till we get onboard...

Plus we want to "eat up" a little time this way too...grab a newspaper, some coffee, slowly eat....

[SailingDeanna]

Wow! That is an early arrival. That would be a long time at the airport. Maybe someone from Miami can give you a better idea of a nice breakfast area near the port. Bayside is a nice and relaxing place that early in the morning. You can also see the ships from there which would get you more excited. Maybe someone knows which sit down restaurants are available at Bayside. I just don't recommend the food court area. It didn't seem like much was going on before 10 a.m. though.

[mdbowl300]

That is early. You will probably find limited options on the eating until 8am or 9am. Still enough time to eat.

 

Bayside is a very relaxing place and will not have to much of a crowd in the morning. But I am pretty sure you do not want to go their. My guess is you will be tired and, most importantly carrying a decent amount of luggage. You do not want to tote those around.

 

Relax, grab a bite at the airport, and leave for the port around 10 or 11am. The taxi ride is about $25 per ride.

 

Hopefully by noon you will be on the Lido deck eating and having your first DOD....

 

Have a great trip.

[Pumbaamd]

Take a cab to the Holiday Inn exactly across the street from Bayside. They have a small restaurant that serves breakfast. You don't have to stay there to eat there. We've stayed there. After breakfast, walk across the street to Bayside to just look around or shop. Don't be in a huge hurry to get to the port. Relax and enjoy Bayside a bit.

Have a great cruise!

Rick and Deirdra

[goat rancher]

Wow...this has been great....thank you all for all the info....

I've been looking all around online trying to get some hints, and I got the best ones right here:D

[goat rancher]

:)Well we survived our redeye flight to Miami....

We took a taxi to a hotel in Miami Beach...Courtyard by Marriott Miami Beach-Oceanfront. Cost was $32 to get there...checked luggage with porters so we didn't have to lug it around...had a nice buffet breakfast there...walked the boardwalk and the beach which is right there....and then relaxed/fell asleep on very comfortable loungers, "serenaded" by relaxing music by their pool until it was time to go to the port. The taxi driver that took us there offered to pick us up when we were ready...cost us $24 to get from there to the port....He also threw in a bonus...Since it was on the way, he drove us slowly through South Beach and gave us a narrated tour.....

This sure was a nice relaxing way to take up the time in the morning and a wonderful rest after the all night killer flight!!

[BlueHerons]

:)Well we survived our redeye flight to Miami....

We took a taxi to a hotel in Miami Beach...Courtyard by Marriott Miami Beach-Oceanfront. Cost was $32 to get there...checked luggage with porters so we didn't have to lug it around...had a nice buffet breakfast there...walked the boardwalk and the beach which is right there....and then relaxed/fell asleep on very comfortable loungers, "serenaded" by relaxing music by their pool until it was time to go to the port. The taxi driver that took us there offered to pick us up when we were ready...cost us $24 to get from there to the port....He also threw in a bonus...Since it was on the way, he drove us slowly through South Beach and gave us a narrated tour.....

This sure was a nice relaxing way to take up the time in the morning and a wonderful rest after the all night killer flight!!

 

What an awsome morning!

 

Out of curiousity, what made you pick the CbyM? There are tons of uber lux hotels where you could have done the same thing. Personally, I'd be at The Setai or The Victor in South Beach:D

 

Hope you are having a great cruise!

[goat rancher]

Hi........no special reason for picking that particular hotel.......had an AAA guidebook to Miami.....this was listed as being along the beach...had a buffet.......that's all we needed to know....Plus we called and made sure we could just check our bags in with their porters while we were there........We really made this decision at the last minute before we left Los Angeles.....If we were really "IN" to it, we could have gone through the list of all hotels along the boardwalk, and maybe picked a fancier one, but the beach was right there, the buffet was nice...so it definately fulfilled what we needed and beat sticking it out at the airport for hours...I just like the answer that there is indeed SOMETHING to do that isn't TOO energetic after a redeye flight that gives you a chance to relax and unwind before the cruiseport opens....because up to that point, we were resigned to hanging out at the terminal and dieing of terminal boredom:p

[BlueHerons]

...I just like the answer that there is indeed SOMETHING to do that isn't TOO energetic after a redeye flight that gives you a chance to relax and unwind before the cruiseport opens....because up to that point, we were resigned to hanging out at the terminal and dieing of terminal boredom:p

 

I personally think your idea is genius! Good call!

 

It is so nice to see someone get out of Bayside and see a bit of Miami!