RCCL hotel choices in Miami

[abhb]

We booked our air through the cruise line. We were given the choices of the following hotels:

 

Hilton Downtown

4 Points Miami Beach

Marriott-Biscayne

Courtyard by Marriott

Wyndham Airport

 

Which of these would you choose and why? We want something close to shopping for last minutes items that would be easier to purchace than fly with. We wil be getting into Miami in the late evening.

[negc]

We booked our air through the cruise line. We were given the choices of the following hotels:

 

Hilton Downtown

4 Points Miami Beach

Marriott-Biscayne

Courtyard by Marriott

Wyndham Airport

 

Which of these would you choose and why? We want something close to shopping for last minutes items that would be easier to purchace than fly with. We wil be getting into Miami in the late evening.

 

I have stayed at both the Hilton Downtown and the Marriott Biscayne Bay and would recommend either one because of their location and their fantastic views of the cruise ships at the pier. Both are reasonably close to Bayside Marketplace and both offer good food and good service. A covered walkway actually connects the Hilton and the Marriott as well as the Doubletree. I'm not familiar with the other three or their locations but I suspect that none of them may be close to any place where you can readily purchase last minute items. You may need to take a cab from any of them to get what you want or need. If you are paying a per person charge for these hotels through RCI you might check out Priceline as an alternative way of booking. We have booked Marriott and Hilton and last year we paid $65 a night (not a person) for the Hilton. Cabfare to the hotel from the airport is about $20 and fare to the pier from the hotel is less than $10.:) By cabbing it to the cruise terminal on sailing day you can probably get there earlier than if you have to wait for the transfer that RCI may offer. We are usually at the pier around 10:30 and are onboard by 11:30 or noon.

[Z-VILLE CRUISERS]

We made our own reservations for our FOS cruise 2 weeks ago. We made reservations at Contintal Bayside at it was by far the worst hotel or building I have been in. This comes from a guy that referbed condemed houses as a kid with my dad. If the roaches at the front desk don't scare you wait till you see the room. We did not arvie until after 11 pm and had to find another hotel. We would up stuffing 6 people in a room at the Intercontintal 3 blocks away at midnight for $300 a night. Just as a warning, be very careful where you book. The pictures on the web site may be from several years ago. I will stay about anywhere but will never step foot in that place. All, by the way, they would not give us our money back either at the roach hotel.

[negc]

We made our own reservations for our FOS cruise 2 weeks ago. We made reservations at Contintal Bayside at it was by far the worst hotel or building I have been in. This comes from a guy that referbed condemed houses as a kid with my dad. If the roaches at the front desk don't scare you wait till you see the room. We did not arvie until after 11 pm and had to find another hotel. We would up stuffing 6 people in a room at the Intercontintal 3 blocks away at midnight for $300 a night. Just as a warning, be very careful where you book. The pictures on the web site may be from several years ago. I will stay about anywhere but will never step foot in that place. All, by the way, they would not give us our money back either at the roach hotel.

 

Thanks for the warning, but since the hotel you mention wasn't one of the ones under consideration, I don't think it is under consideration. To the best of my knowledge, none of the hotels in question have problems such as you experienced.:rolleyes:

[bilyclub]

I agree. Stay with the high end hotels on Priceline in Miami is a no brainer. The worst place I've gotten is the Hyatt.

[Cruising89143]

We made our own reservations for our FOS cruise 2 weeks ago. We made reservations at Contintal Bayside at it was by far the worst hotel or building I have been in. This comes from a guy that referbed condemed houses as a kid with my dad. If the roaches at the front desk don't scare you wait till you see the room. We did not arvie until after 11 pm and had to find another hotel. We would up stuffing 6 people in a room at the Intercontintal 3 blocks away at midnight for $300 a night. Just as a warning, be very careful where you book. The pictures on the web site may be from several years ago. I will stay about anywhere but will never step foot in that place. All, by the way, they would not give us our money back either at the roach hotel.

 

The outside of that hotel is enough to scare a person away. Too bad it wasn't knocked down like the old Everglades hotel that was next door.

 

To the OP, I really like the Marriott Biscayne Bay. The hotel overlooks the port.

[cb at sea]

Try the Intercontinental. It's a Holiday Inn property, so you'll get your priority points and it's really, really nice! Great service, beautiful rooms, about 5 minutes from port....It's upscale and worth the money!

[Cruising89143]

Try the Intercontinental. It's a Holiday Inn property, so you'll get your priority points and it's really, really nice! Great service, beautiful rooms, about 5 minutes from port....It's upscale and worth the money!

 

The Intercontinental is not one of their choices.

[JBert]

The Intercontinental is not one of their choices.

 

He's just giving a fair waring to the OP. I, too, stayed at the Continental - thought i was going to catch an STD from sleeping in the beds. My wife and I sat on top of the covers until sunrise, and spent the rest of the morning at Denny's until we could board.

[Cruising89143]

He's just giving a fair waring to the OP. I, too, stayed at the Continental - thought i was going to catch an STD from sleeping in the beds. My wife and I sat on top of the covers until sunrise, and spent the rest of the morning at Denny's until we could board.

 

Please go back and read the thread again. I was referring to the post about the Intercontinental. Not the Continental which is why I used the quote feature.

[JBert]

We made our own reservations for our FOS cruise 2 weeks ago. We made reservations at Contintal Bayside at it was by far the worst hotel or building I have been in. This comes from a guy that referbed condemed houses as a kid with my dad. If the roaches at the front desk don't scare you wait till you see the room. We did not arvie until after 11 pm and had to find another hotel. We would up stuffing 6 people in a room at the Intercontintal 3 blocks away at midnight for $300 a night. Just as a warning, be very careful where you book. The pictures on the web site may be from several years ago. I will stay about anywhere but will never step foot in that place. All, by the way, they would not give us our money back either at the roach hotel.

 

 

That's what I was referring to.

[Cruising89143]

That's what I was referring to.

 

 

And this was my reply to the persons quote on the Continental.

 

quote:

The outside of that hotel is enough to scare a person away. Too bad it wasn't knocked down like the old Everglades hotel that was next door.

 

To the OP, I really like the Marriott Biscayne Bay. The hotel overlooks the port.

 

end of quote.

 

Please show me where I stated to the person that they should not have posted this. I think that you have your posts confused. We are talking about two completely different hotels here. The Continental and Intercontinental.

[negc]

That's what I was referring to.

 

If you read all of the posts, you will see that while no one disagrees that the Continental hotel is totally undesirable, and the Intercontinental Hotel is an excellent property, neither of them is on the list that the OP was inquiring about. Warning someone about the Continental would be justified if it was being considered, but it wasn't. Comments about the listed hotels would be more valuable to the OP and less likely to take the thread off track.:rolleyes:

[NorbertsNiece]

We booked our air through the cruise line. We were given the choices of the following hotels:

 

Hilton Downtown

4 Points Miami Beach

Marriott-Biscayne

Courtyard by Marriott

Wyndham Airport

 

Which of these would you choose and why? We want something close to shopping for last minutes items that would be easier to purchace than fly with. We wil be getting into Miami in the late evening.

 

Hi,

Also booked air travel with RCL. Haven't been given a choice of hotel though.... Wyndham Airport.... looks nice enough from their website. Have you thought of checking out www.tripadvisor.com ?

[DEBCAT65]

The outside of that hotel is enough to scare a person away. Too bad it wasn't knocked down like the old Everglades hotel that was next door.

 

To the OP, I really like the Marriott Biscayne Bay. The hotel overlooks the port.

 

 

Just stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay, it is undergoing renevations. We had 5th floor, balcony was closed (which is why we stayed in this hotel). Pool was closed as well. If we wanted to use the pool, we would have to go to the hotel next door. Great view of the bay, but we were not able to see the ship, but we could see a Carnival ship.

 

Next time we go to Miami, will stay at the Holiday Inn which is across from Bayside Marketplace.

 

Deb

[Cruising89143]

Just stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay, it is undergoing renevations. We had 5th floor, balcony was closed (which is why we stayed in this hotel). Pool was closed as well. If we wanted to use the pool, we would have to go to the hotel next door. Great view of the bay, but we were not able to see the ship, but we could see a Carnival ship.

 

Next time we go to Miami, will stay at the Holiday Inn which is across from Bayside Marketplace.

 

Deb

 

I spoke with a manager at the Marriott a few weeks back and was told that over half the rooms were complete. Also, we always get a bay view without the balcony as the condo that is next door does not get in the way of the view of those rooms. We won't be using the pool but thanks for the heads up on that.

[DEBCAT65]

I spoke with a manager at the Marriott a few weeks back and was told that over half the rooms were complete. Also, we always get a bay view without the balcony as the condo that is next door does not get in the way of the view of those rooms. We won't be using the pool but thanks for the heads up on that.

They told us that our room was one of the recently renovated rooms, but the balcony was not complete yet. The room was very nice.

 

Debbi

[negc]

They told us that our room was one of the recently renovated rooms, but the balcony was not complete yet. The room was very nice.

 

Debbi

Try the Hilton which is next to the Marriott but doesn't have its view blocked by that condo. We had a corner room with a wall of floor to ceiling windows looking out at the harbor. Since Hilton took this over from Radisson many, if not all, of the rooms have been extensively refurbished. Very nice and we got it on Priceline for $65 a night, which made it even better. Took the free People Mover to Bayside during the day and a cheap cab ride back to the hotel in the evening. Cab to the pier is under $10.

[Ginnylou]

Stayed at the Wyndham Airport in late July and I was not happy with it. While the rooms were nice, there was an ant problem in the hall and some rooms, the hotel rest. is expensive and there is not anything close by. The pool was nice and the people at the front desk were helpful. They do have access to printing boarding passes but it was difficult getting guests to share the computers. Guests were typing reports, teens playing games, etc. In July there was construction going on at the main entrance area.

[jmraggs]

Try the Hilton which is next to the Marriott but doesn't have its view blocked by that condo. We had a corner room with a wall of floor to ceiling windows looking out at the harbor. Since Hilton took this over from Radisson many, if not all, of the rooms have been extensively refurbished. Very nice and we got it on Priceline for $65 a night, which made it even better. Took the free People Mover to Bayside during the day and a cheap cab ride back to the hotel in the evening. Cab to the pier is under $10.

 

Was the $65 a "name your own rate" or was it one of the regular rates through Priceline and how early did you book it?. I have never used Priceline and was thinking about it for our next cruise out of Miami.

 

We would have a car, so do you know if they let you leave your car in their lot for free (if they even have one) while you're on a cruise if you stayed there?

[negc]

Was the $65 a "name your own rate" or was it one of the regular rates through Priceline and how early did you book it?. I have never used Priceline and was thinking about it for our next cruise out of Miami.

 

We would have a car, so do you know if they let you leave your car in their lot for free (if they even have one) while you're on a cruise if you stayed there?

 

It was a "bid" or as you refer to it a 'name your own rate' and I have done it several times as much as several months in advance and as close as a few weeks. Several years ago I bid $40 a night and got the Marriott Biscayne Bay and in October, 2006 for the Freedom C&A members cruise, I got the Hyatt Regency Downtown for $115 a night. There are only a limited number of hotels that you can get if you bid 3 or 4 star in the downtown Miami area and all of them are IMHO, more than acceptable. I think it is well worth it.

None of the downtown hotels, to my knowledge, will let you leave your car for free while you are on your cruise and the parking fees are probably higher than you will pay to park at the pier. If you want free parking you may have to limit your hotel selection to those near Miami International Airport.:(

[jmraggs]

It was a "bid" or as you refer to it a 'name your own rate' and I have done it several times as much as several months in advance and as close as a few weeks. Several years ago I bid $40 a night and got the Marriott Biscayne Bay and in October, 2006 for the Freedom C&A members cruise, I got the Hyatt Regency Downtown for $115 a night. There are only a limited number of hotels that you can get if you bid 3 or 4 star in the downtown Miami area and all of them are IMHO, more than acceptable. I think it is well worth it.

None of the downtown hotels, to my knowledge, will let you leave your car for free while you are on your cruise and the parking fees are probably higher than you will pay to park at the pier. If you want free parking you may have to limit your hotel selection to those near Miami International Airport.:(

 

I kind of figured that, but I guess I just wanted to hear it from someone that has been there. Parking in Miami like any other big city is limited and expensive! I was trying to forgo the $200 parking garage bill I'll have at the port, but I guess I am SOL.