What to do in Miami for 6 hours

[smg669]

We're sailing on Valor from March 6th - 18th.

 

Our return flight to Toronto leaves late (7:15pm). I'm assuming we'll be off the ship by around 11 am or so. That leaves around 6 hours to fill before we have to be at the airport, right?

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for me, my wife, our two little girls (and our luggage) to occupy our time before our flight? Miami airport is nice, but not THAT nice.

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

S

[crisp1]

I'd take one of the post cruise excursions. Everglades, city tour etc. They'll put you and your bags on an air coditioned bus, and after the tour get you to the airport with plenty of time. Then at the airport, there's a restuarant on top of the hotel next to the pool, where you can relax until your flight

[Pianogrl]

We did the Everglades tour & it was fantastic.....quite a unique experience! This was also the only excursion we booked through Carnival. Our buses were waiting for us, luggage was taken care of & the airport drop was easy & in plenty of time. Definately consider this choice.

Have an awesome cruise!

[wigginout66]

I don't know if there is an excursion to Miami Beach, but worth a trip. The causeway right across from the cruise ships leads to the southern portion of Miami Beach. Lot's of nice restaurants, shops and the deco buildings are great to see.

[kellygirl719]

Hello,

 

One year we had a long wait before our flight as well... you can always buy tickets to the Miami Seaquarium. I think Carnival might even be able to get you a discount (they might classify it as an excursion). Here is their website: http://www.miamiseaquarium.com. It's been a while since I've been there but I'm pretty sure they even have a place to store you luggage for you while you visit...

 

Hope this helps!

[MyImagination]

Here is the link of post cruise exursions w/airport transfers

 

http://www.carnival.com/ShoreExcursionsSearchResults.aspx?region=CE&portcode=MIA&portname=Miami%2c+FL

[staylor]

There is a list printed at the airport that has alot of options. It says...if you have 4 hours..then has a list of suggestions ......then 6 hours..then suggestions... so on and so forth....there are alot of options to choose from. I think people run into that alot in Miami. I can't remember most of it....We went to Bayside Marketplace.

[CruiseFever]

We're sailing on Valor from March 6th - 18th.

 

Our return flight to Toronto leaves late (7:15pm). I'm assuming we'll be off the ship by around 11 am or so. That leaves around 6 hours to fill before we have to be at the airport, right?

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for me, my wife, our two little girls (and our luggage) to occupy our time before our flight? Miami airport is nice, but not THAT nice.

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

S

 

The Everglades and city tour are nice but will probably get you to the airport earlier than you want to be. The nice thing about those is that they give you something to do with your luggage while you're killing time.

 

A similar option which might be more suited to your schedule would be to hire a private carrier for the day. Many will pick you up as their last fare from the port and then hang on to you, showing you the Everglades, the beach, shopping..your choice at your pace. They drive cargo vans with plenty of space for 6 or so people and their luggage. Check the Cruise Critic "Ask a Cruise Question" or "First Time Cruisers" boards for more information on this and other Ground Transportation options. The last cost I heard was $55 for up to 5 hours but I might be remembering that wrong. I'll try to verify that.

 

The classic option which I see talked about but don't read a lot of reports about after it's done is the notion of renting a hotel room for the day to drop your luggage in. It's called a "Day Room" and rates vary from hotel to hotel..for the hotels that do it. If you were able to make that work then a whole new world of options is before you.

 

Get a room at a South Beach hotel and you'll be wanting to get off the ship as soon as possible to take a cab for the short ride there. Between the beach, shopping or simply the architecture throw in a lunch on Ocean Blvd and you'll have your day filled for sure.

 

Another popular destination is Bayside Marketplace in downtown Miami. I look at it as more of a pre-cruise place but we did it post-cruise last December and it worked out great for us. If you've not done the harbor cruise featuring Star Island it's a "you gotta do it once" thing like the Seaquarium listed above.

 

Here's more information on Miamim (Downtown and South Beach) and Ground Transportation

[smg669]

The Everglades and city tour are nice but will probably get you to the airport earlier than you want to be. The nice thing about those is that they give you something to do with your luggage while you're killing time.

 

A similar option which might be more suited to your schedule would be to hire a private carrier for the day. Many will pick you up as their last fare from the port and then hang on to you, showing you the Everglades, the beach, shopping..your choice at your pace. They drive cargo vans with plenty of space for 6 or so people and their luggage. The last cost I heard was $55 for up to 5 hours but I might be remembering that wrong. I'll try to verify that.

 

You've made an excellent point about the excursions - they all seem to be designed to get the whole group to the airport in time for a flight of 3 - 4 pm - which means they probably arrive at the airport at noon or 1pm.

 

I'd really appreciate it if you could verify that rate info for hiring a van for the day. Sounds like a potentially great idea.

 

Maybe it would be just as cheap to rent a car for the day - something that would pick me up at the port and allow me to drop off at the airport.

 

Hmmm.

 

S

[CruiseFever]

Actually that is probably what I would do. I like having control over where we are and when, that would surely do it and provide a place for our luggage while we do whatever we want.

 

I have not personally rented a car out of Miami, Fort Lauderdale yes, but not Miami so hopefully someone can chime in with some recommendations and tips on car rental in your situation who has done it. I know from reading here that some car rental companies pick up at the pier and some do not so thats an important factor to be sure.

 

Also, it looks like that might be a more cost efficient way to go. I verified on company that will do the private tour out of the Port of Miami for $65 for up to 4 hours, still not a bad deal but I think you can beat it renting. You probably won't feel obligated to tip yourself ;)

[Marge M]

We rented a van from Alamo which had lots of room for luggage. They will pick you up at the pier (the porter who assisted us with our luggage took us to the right spot to wait for the Alamo shuttle) for free. We dropped off the van at Fort Lauderdale Airport, but their location in Miami also serves the Miami airport, so when you are done with the vehicle they will then shuttle you to the airport. It is free but we did tip the driver, as he helped with our luggage. Hope this helps. You can probably get a van for the day for about $55-$65.

 

I much prefer driving and being able to do things on our own. We had a lot of fun walking down Ocean Drive and checking out the Art Deco district. The beach is right there too! :) This would probably be a lot cheaper than doing an excursion for all 4 of you.

[robsvacation]

I never have much energy the last day (as a non-US citizen I'm up at 6AM on the last day to go to immigration) Rent a car for the day, have them pick you up and leave the bags in the trunk. Go to a beach club and rest. Another option is to book a dayroom at a hotel. The Hilton at Miami airport would be a resort if not for the plane noise. It's surrounded on 3 sides by a man-made lake, the pool is pretty nice and the shuttle to the airport is free.

[smg669]

Well, there have been a lot of good ideas given here.

 

My two faves:

 

1: Rent a van for the day. I guess I should call the local Alamo office directly to confirm that they will pick me up at the pier?

 

2: Day Room at a Hotel: Interesting thought. I called the Hilton airport and they had a standard room available, but their day room rate is US$95 for 9am - 5pm. A little pricey. Anyone know of a place with a cheaper day room rate?

 

S

[Cruisegirl6]

I live in the Ft. Lauderdale area, I have to say nothing lol just kidding....lets just say watch where you go......And Miami International is a busy congested awful airport. I have traveled so much so am able to compare airports.

 

I have to suggest since you have children Parrot Jungle or Monkey Jungle or even the Miami Metro Zoo. If you rent a car you can do that and drop the car at the pier. Everglades National Park I think is in Ft. Lauderdale area not the Miami area. :)

[Marge M]

Alamo has a shuttle pickup come to the pier every 20 min or so--just ask someone where to find the bus stop for it. It'll be to your far left right next to the big parking lot as you're leaving the building. We liked the shuttle mainly because we didn't think all 4 of us plus luggage would fit into a taxi--and it was free! We didn't have to drive to the airport, since Alamo's office is located off-site. They'll just shuttle you there from the office. The map they give you is decent and we found it easy to get around.

 

I didn't feel unsafe in the Miami area, but then again I am from the DC area ;) My daughter and I did run into an interesting character in a public restroom along the beach, though, so if I went again I'd stick to using restaurant or hotel restrooms.