kelikea

My husband and I were just on the Sky and went to Freeport last week. We took a taxi to the Lucayan Market. Walked around a little bit, there's a free beach access next to the police station. There's a large resort right there also, but it was damaged by a hurricane late last year, and it's closed until repaired. We walked to the beach there in front of the resort, it was nice enough, kind of chilly at that time, so we just took some pictures and left. Caught a taxi and went out further towards the national park. Stopped at a place called Cleveland's Beach Club, great local food and cheap local beer. It's in the village of Mather Town. The beach in front of the restaurant is really nice, very few people, so it's quiet and peaceful. There's a Wyndham resort like 5 minutes walking down the beach, we met people from that resort that came to the restaurant to eat.

Thanks for taking the time to review! I wish I had seen this before I went on the Ecstasy. My husband and I were on the April 14-18 sailing. This was the smallest boat we had been on, regardless of cruise line. We enjoyed not waiting in long lines and it didn't feel very crowded. We loved the location of the Serenity deck, right at the back of the boat. We had a great time and the ship is in great condition, but we would prefer a more mid-sized ship in the future. Before the cruise, we stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Brickell. The hotel gets AMAZING reviews and they deserve it. My husband used points to get us an extremely nice room for free. And it's right next to a train stop that you can use for FREE. The day of the cruise, we got on that, and got off at... hmm... I don't remember the stop, then just took a taxi across the bridge. Might just take a taxi from the hotel, but we wanted to see how we could do it using the train too. Anyways, great cruise overall!

Thank you so much for your review! There really aren't many Ecstasy reviews, and this was wonderful to read. My husband and I will be on the April 14 sailing and we are very exicted. This will be my 10th cruise and my husbands 11th. We've never done a cruise less than a week, or been on a boat this small... but it will probably be a welcome change for us. We've been on big boats and you're waiting in line a lot and it sometimes can feel crowded.

No need for separate names on separate tickets. All they really need is the confirmation number and you're good to go.

Wow, thanks so much for the responses! The train sounds promising, but we'll play it by ear a little bit. My husband may just want to take a taxi and be done with it.

But the step by step instructions for using the Metrorail... much appreciated!

My husband and I will be arriving at MIA around 10:30 pm on April 12. We are staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites Brickell until our cruise on the 14th. What would be the cheapest way to get from the airport to the hotel? If you could walk me through step-by-step on how you would do it, that would be great!

Yes, we're staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites Brickell (downtown) on the 12th-13th. I guess I never considered asking if we can leave our stuff there. My only issue with that is that we'll have to get a taxi to the hotel, drop our stuff off, get another taxi to the beach, then another taxi back to the hotel to shower and get our stuff, and another taxi or Metrorail to the airport.... might be too much. I'd prefer to just go down to the beach and maybe there's a hotel that will hold our luggage.. I don't know.

My husband and I are going to be on the April 14 sailing on the Carnival Ecstasy. When we get back on April 18, our flight out of MIA doesn't leave until 10:15 pm! So we have a ton of time to kill, to say the least. After we get off the boat, we would like to head to Miami Beach and lay around for the day, grab some food, and possibly do a little sightseeing. My question is, where in Miami Beach can we leave our luggage for 9 or so hours? Any place FREE would be awesome. Also, since we'll most likely be laying around at the beach all day, I'd rather not have to sit on a flight all sandy and sweaty from the beach. Is there a place we could shower before we go to the airport? Thanks in advance!

My husband and I were on the Dream this past summer and they were selling the shirts for $10 and after they sold them all, they called everyone with their shirts to dance by the pool. He staff led out in the typical dances they do on cruises. It was great fun!

It's easiest to just bring twist-off bottles. That's what my husband and I do. That way, you can avoid having to bring a bottle opener or pay the corkage fee in the dining room.

As many others have stated, you will find that the weeks in the months of March and the first half of April can be considered Spring Break weeks. Anytime you take a cruise, especially out of Florida, kids will be coming from all over the country with their families. I totally understand your need for maybe not so many kids on a cruise! I am a teacher and as much as I love my kids... I need a break! Luckily our school's Spring Break is the middle of April so it's not the most popular time for other schools to be having Spring Break.

When we cruise out of Miami, we somehow end up flying in the day of. I don't recommend this as you're always risking delayed flights and possibly missing your cruise! This has never happened to my husband and I, but it's just easier to fly in the day before and stay somewhere. In April, we are flying in a day before the April 14th sailing of the Ecstasy. We are staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites - Miami Brickell Downtown. My husband booked it with his Hilton Honors points so it was free. What can be better! It's the #2 hotel for Miami on http://www.tripadvisor.com. It gets really good reviews for their amazing service, beautiful rooms, wonderful breakfast (FREE) spread every day, and one free drink at happy hour in their bar! They are also in a great location, apparently close to many stores, restaurants, and bars. Also close to pharmacy and grocery store if you need to pick up last minute toiletries or wine/water to bring on the boat. They are also apparently very helpful in arranging taxi's or shuttles to the port. You can take the metro from the airport to the hotel (the stop is a block away from hotel) for a little over $2 pp. Can't beat that!

I just got off the Liberty and I can say from first-hand experience, that the Blue Iguana and Guys Burger Joint are there! The burgers are very delicious, almost sinful. Actually that's why I couldn't bring myself to finish it, it is i'm sure filled with an absurd amount of calories. But they are really good! I love the 2.0 upgrades on the Liberty. They added a fun atmosphere to what can be a somewhat bland Lido Deck.