Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay

[Willbcruisin]

HI,

We are a family of 3 looking for a good, SAFE, pre-cruise hotel. My daughter is 12 and I would like a pool or beach as we will be arriving Fort Laud early and are looking to stay in miami area. Has anyone stayed @ Marriott Biscayne Bay?

We will be arriving 12/09/2005 for RCCL departing the 10th,05.

Any info you can provide me with I appreciate! Did I mention this is our FIRST cruise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank You

[TrentS]

It's an okay hotel, about 20 years old and nothing special, but it does have a great view of the port if you can get one of the the SE view rooms. The hotel itself is safe, but the area surrounding it is not. It's okay as long as you don't walk around in the area at night.

 

If you want a nice, newer beachfront hotel that you may enjoy more try the South Beach Marriott. It's only a few years old, and about 15 minutes from the Port... http://marriott.com/property/propertypage.mi?marshaCode=MIAMB

[MIsharona]

ok i have a question we cant get in the marroitt south beach. what would be the next best thing? not too far and on the ocean for a post cruise night? thanks

[TrentS]

You might try Loews South Beach... http://www.loewshotels.com/hotels/miamibeach/default.asp

 

or the Royal Palm Crown Plaza... http://www.royalpalmcp.crowneplaza.com/

 

Also direct oceanfront but more pricey is the Ritz-Carlton South Beach... http://www.ritzcarlton.com/resorts/south_beach/default.html

 

And while not directly ON the ocean, the brand new and quite spectacular Hotel Victor is on Ocean Drive, right across the street from the beach in the heart of South Beach... http://hotelvictorsouthbeach.com/

[MIsharona]

wow thanks alot i have reservations at fairfield but it sounds a little...well shakey. ill check the palms out. i keep callling the marroitt south beach but no vacancy. we are staying at the marroitt biscayne bay before because of some free points but wanted to be somewhere safe to roam for the day after and i love the water. thanks again.

[MIsharona]

boy they both are full. i think i waited too long ill keep trying the loews looks perfect. emeril too bonus!!

[MIsharona]

how about the royal crown plaza??? isnt that a drink? ha

[TrentS]

Yeah, unfortunately April is still a very busy time of year down here and it's getting late for booking a nice place. The Royal Palm Crown Plaza is a nice place, and right next door to Loews, and yes, Emeril.

 

The Fairfield is quite a ways north (about 30 blocks) of the popular part of "South Beach" where you can walk to everything, and is an old property. I'm not real familiar with it, so I don't know what the rooms are like, but it's really not within walking distance to anything except the ocean.

[MIsharona]

well im going to keep trying the ones you gave me. i booked something at the courtyard by marroitt oceanside 3925 is that too far also? only thing i can find besides that fairfield.... i cancelled that one. thanks

[TrentS]

IMO that's a nicer place than the Fairfield, but it's only a couple of blocks south of the Fairfield... It's too far to WALK to the heart of South Beach, but it's a reasonably short cab ride. At this point you probably aren't going to find anything decent that's ON the ocean and closer.

[MIsharona]

i guess not its either a mutuny or a palms. thats it. :cool:

[MIsharona]

hotel victor is 475 a night... ha right. :eek:

[MIsharona]

ok hate to ask you more but how about a nice hotel in south beach BY the ocean. my teenagers are soo interested in the south beach area and i cant seem to do both. so...

[TrentS]

Well there are a lot, but most are very old, some have been gutted and restored beautifully, some have only been "refurbished" and quite frankly aren't all that nice.

 

If you want a Marriott property there's a Marriott Courtyard that's a block inland from Loews. I haven't been inside but it looks okay on the outside...

 

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage.mi?marshaCode=MIACB

 

It's at 1530 Washington Avenue, a block west of Collins, 2 blocks west of Ocean Drive and the beach. I don't think you're going to see the ocean from it, but it won't kill you on the price like the Victor, and it's within walking distance of all the South Beach attractions. The heart of South Beach where the famous pictures of the old art deco buildings and the sidewalk cafes are is on Ocean Drive from 5th to 15th Streets. There are also many shops and clubs on Collins and Washington Avenues, between roughly the same streets.

[MIsharona]

wow you should be a travel agent!!! thanks for all your input. i have to laugh at some of the hotels. i was looking at the south beach web. i think weve decided to taxi in and stay on the beach. i want to see emerils resturant. bam! ha if the boys were older i would say we would stay right there. the white noise machines in the rooms tell me its a 24hour party. soo.. anyway. thanks for all your input and safe cruising. you have a few under your belt dont ya. must be nice to cruise right out of your own home state. :D

[TrentS]

Oh a lot of South Beach IS a 24 hour party! :D

 

Yeah, it's VERY expensive living so close to 2 major ports when you're addicted to ships!!! :eek:

 

Have a great cruise and enjoy South Beach!

[MIsharona]

opps one more question someone on our trip is staying at the clay hotel in south beach have you ever heard of it? any good?:rolleyes:

[TrentS]

Yeah, the Clay is very old, and much of it's a hostel with shared rooms, however they do have private rooms available. It's by no means a "luxury" hotel. It's not someplace I would stay in, but it's cute and quaint. It has an infamous history, it was Al Capone's gambling hall in the 30's, and was where Desi Arnaz frequently played.

[MIsharona]

man you are all over these boards! ha you should be a miami travel agent. when are you cruising next any plans. you seem to help so many people. thanks again

[TrentS]

LOL, thanks, but I just play at it for fun on here... I actually don't have any cruises booked at the moment! :( I tend to not plan very far ahead though. My last was the Navigator of the Seas in January. I've been looking at some stuff in Europe this summer - I should probably get on that, and maybe something from here in May.

[MIsharona]

is there a standby like an airplane for cruise ships. just curious:rolleyes:

[Willbcruisin]

THANKS FOR ALL THE HOTEL INFO! GREAT HOTELS TO CHOOSE FROM!

LEANING TOWARDS LOEWS BUT SB MARRIOTT IS A LITTLE LESS $$$$.

RESERVATION STAFF WAS MUCH MORE HELPFUL @ LOEWS. MARRIOTT KEEPS GIVING ME DIFFERENT PRICES AND ARE NOT THAT HELPFUL.

GOING TO TRY A FEW MORE SEARCHES AND HOPEFULLY I CAN BOOK!!

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR GREAT ADVISE!!!!:cool:

[TrentS]

No problem Willbcruisin... The Biscayne Bay Marriott is just your basic hotel, nothing special, but it does have a spectacular view of the Port of Miami. The hotel itself is safe, but the neighborhood around it is bad. It's fine if you grab a cab, but you don't want to be walking around down there at night. Loews South Beach on the other hand is in a different league altogether. It's a much nicer hotel, direct oceanfront and within easy walking distance to all of the action that is South Beach.

 

Sharon... I've never done it, but I believe you can be put on a waitlist if a sailing is full... But it' doesn't work the same as flying standby. Several years ago you could actually book right up to sailing day, but after 9/11 they cut bookings off a few days before (3 days IIRC) because they have to send the passenger manifest to the Dept. of Homeland Security.

[MIsharona]

yea i thought so. a long time ago ... way back when... friends of ours from miami did the cruise stand by thing all the time. i figured it changed with all the homeland security. what was i thinking. oh k then.:cool:

[LizaMM]

Hi! I don't know if you guys are still looking for a hotel BUT I was reading through this thread and others as I made my plans yesterday for a cruise I just booked for a 4/16 sailing.

 

I went round and round a bit and had some pitfalls due to it being a Spring Break week.

 

Long story short I booked the Royal Palm Crowne Resort in South Beach on Hotwire for 155.

 

Good luck!