***GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT!!! A "Springbreakers" Review of the Destiny***

[CollegeCruizer11]

Looking forward to more! I am from Franklin, daughter went to Groves, she just turned 22..and is at Western, other daughter went to State (go green lol) nephew went to Michigan. Always interesting at family get togethers! You are adorable :) I am enjoying your writing style..I booked online for my cruise next month (we are driving down to Charleston, 14 hours, so saving big on airfare, maybe not though with gas prices!) I booked a pack and go fare so I did not care if I had a PVP, as the rate was definitely not going to go down, but a good PVP can look out for you for upsells, so when I book further out I will and have used one.

 

I have NO words for this. lol. both of my parents are State alums... but hey their money goes to UofM.

[NanCan]

I have NO words for this. lol. both of my parents are State alums... but hey their money goes to UofM.

LOL smartypants! Now get BUSY finishing this!! :)

[CollegeCruizer11]

Absolutely great job so far... Two things...

 

My "College Kids" are going on their Spring Break cruise next week so I am printing this for them to see...

 

I was under the impression that you either had to be married or over 25 to cruise alone... I didnt think that a 21 & 23 year old were allowed to book and cruise by themselves... (But, sshhhhhhh don't tell anyone cause they think I have to go with them because of their age!!!) but I'd still be interested in that ...

 

The other poster is 100% correct. As long as everyone is at least 21 in the cabin its fine. Things just get hairy when one person is under 21.

 

Example, a 23 year old and a 20 year old would be a "no-go".... unless they were married.

 

Its very confusing... but its somewhere in the carnival FAQ... no idea where because i actually read every single question... crazy me.

 

But i think the thing June and I did on shore and on the ship would be things more people our age would enjoy. Hope they enjoy reading it. ;)

[CollegeCruizer11]

LOL smartypants! Now get BUSY finishing this!! :)

 

I'm typing as we speak. Miami is tricky because i took over 100 pics. Im trying to pick the best ones. I'm also sitting in African Politics, so I have to at least glance at the professor every couple of minutes. :rolleyes:

 

Excellent start to your review! Can't wait to hear more.

 

Loving your review we just won this hotel on priceline and excited to see how you got your great price!

 

Great review. I love your writing style. I am always reading and writing and this is very refreshing for sure. Can't wait for more.

 

Thank you all.

[w8ing2cruz]

Oops - I forgot this was an 'interactive' review.

 

Question #1 - do I use a PVP, travel agent or book myself. I usually use a friend who is a TA. Sometimes I book direct. Just depends on how long and involved the trip is. I am an obsessive planner (and I love it) so I'm the one that usually does all the spreadsheets, itineraries etc. I'm on CC daily!

 

Question #2 - our Liberty cruise last fall sailed from Miami and our group flew in to FLL. We used Quality Limo and they were AWESOME!! It was $11.88 each for our group of eight. We used them for the return trip a week later.

 

Looking forward to your comments regarding Intercontinental - that's where we stayed and had a BLAST at Bayside :D.

[CollegeCruizer11]

Ok so where I left off, we finally got our first glimpses of sunny Miami. We pulled up to the Intercontinental and June and I just sat there in the SAS van. Surely, this place could not be our hotel. Then the SAS driver said, “this is it,” and we were astonished. I’ve traveled a lot, and I have never seen a hotel that looked this nice from the outside. So we just kinda stood there with our bags as reality set in, snapped a couple pics, and went to check-in.

 

Since we were late checking-in, there were no lines and we walked right up to the counter. The woman helping us was very friendly, but confused me quite a bit when she asked for my credit card. I knew that they needed one on file for mini-bar crap and if there are any damages to the room ect. But there was some confusion about whether or not I had already paid for the room. I got a little nervous, because I had indeed already paid for the room with Last Minute Travel. Eventually I was charged 75 dollars for "incidentals" which was refunded sometime after we checked out.

 

**More about LMT**

This site is very easy to navigate, and there is even a trick to finding out what hotel you are booking, before you pay (even though it is suppose to be hidden). I ended up paying 196 including taxes for our room at the Intercontinental, when the regular rate was more than $450. Wow! What a deal.

 

Here is how it works.

 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/11885582-post37.html

 

The hotel id for the Intercontinental is 917. Here are some other popular hotels:

• Mariott Biscayne Bay 919
  
• 4 Seasons 10977
  
• Conrad Hilton 1207902 or 7932
  
• JW Mariott 9016
  

 

**More about the Intercontinental**

For some reason, I never saw any pictures of this hotel. I probably just didn’t look hard enough, but here are some for you all. The hotel has a gorgeous lobby, a restaurant (never went it), a Starbucks, a spa, an outside pool, on the lower a part of the roof, and is conveniently located near the bay and bayside marketplace (where we are headed next). Here are some pics to tide you guys over until I have time to type more.

 

The most comfortable bed that June and I have ever slept in. Seriously, we tried to fit the mattress in his bag, wouldn't work. *sadness*

 

 

and what does June want to do on a comfy bed? Jump on it. -_- sighs.

 

 

here is a view of more of the room from the bed.

 

 

see the window? here is our view...

 

 

and we were only on the 12th floor. imagine if we were on 37! they also have views of the water on the other side of the hotel at an additional cost. no idea what that cost is, but I would love to do it next time.

 

The next post is going to be pictures around the hotel, and a review of Bayside Marketplace.

[CollegeCruizer11]

Oops - I forgot this was an 'interactive' review.

 

Question #1 - do I use a PVP, travel agent or book myself. I usually use a friend who is a TA. Sometimes I book direct. Just depends on how long and involved the trip is. I am an obsessive planner (and I love it) so I'm the one that usually does all the spreadsheets, itineraries etc. I'm on CC daily!

 

Question #2 - our Liberty cruise last fall sailed from Miami and our group flew in to FLL. We used Quality Limo and they were AWESOME!! It was $11.88 each for our group of eight. We used them for the return trip a week later.

 

Looking forward to your comments regarding Intercontinental - that's where we stayed and had a BLAST at Bayside :D.

 

we are looking into doing the valor out of miami next year, with a group. i will have to look into that.

 

and i am also an obsessive planner! I can't wait to begin planning next years trip. :D

[CollegeCruizer11]

Here is the lobby

 

 

...and from the elevators. Look how shiny :)

 

 

There were 6 elevators, we never waited longer than a minute for one... During check-out, we left about a half an hour early and avoided the crowded elevators and the long check-out line that formed behind us.

 

and this is the fountain in the lobby. the first thing you will see after entering the hotel.

 

 

Lets walk around the hotel. Go out the front doors, hang a right and first you will find this view.

 

 

see those palm trees to the right? the building they are touching is the Intercontinental. Thats how close you are to the water. This is where you would go on embarkation morning to see the carnival's whale tails.

 

Keep headed along the water towards the back of the hotel, turn right at the dead in, and you will find this. According to the GPS on my phone this area is called the Miami River Walk.

 

 

So just to re-cap, we arrived LATE in Fll, around 4:05. We were picked up ever LATER by SAS around 4:45, and then checked in at the Intercontinental LATE around 5:30. Then we decided to change out of our "Michigan clothes." We walked around the hotel and took the pics you see above, and then decided to head over to Bayside around 7. Everybody on the same page?? Continuing on then...

Question: How do you guys handle when your travel plans don't go right? I was very proud that I didn't have a meltdown. Yayayay me.

[princekmb]

I am so loving your review. We will be on this same cruise in July. Can't wait to read your entire review! Oh also KUDOS to you on your accomplishments thus far!!!

[JohninDC]

Great review so far. Your experieince with lfight delays should be a lesson to everyone else - the smart cruiser ALWAYS flies in at least one day early!

 

Keep it coming! :)

[nytraveller53]

OP - I just want to let you know that from the looks of it, this review has the potential of being the best I've read in a LONG TIME! What a fabulous start!

I've had one bad experience with Delta as well, even worse than what you had!!

 

Poor you - that essay must've made you tired!! KEEP ON GOING - GREAT JOB!:D:D

[CollegeCruizer11]

Sorry in advance for the size of these pictures. I know they are quite large, I'll go back to smaller pictures in my Embarkation Day post.

 

Bayside Marketplace.

 

Bayside is very easy to get to from the Intercontinental. Lucky for us, I have a GPS on my phone, so we followed the little blue line, and there we were. Easy right? Just follow the blue line and you’re there. Only kidding. Really, just walk out the front of the hotel, turn right, walk to the water. Then while facing the water turn left, and just walk along the water. You will see a park on your left, a manmade beach on your right, and eventually you will run right into Bayside. I think it took us about 15 minutes, because I stopped to take some pics. Here is what you will see along the way to Bayside.

 

the fountain at the park will be on your left

 

 

the manmade "beach" is coming up on your right. Maybe i should call it the manmade "sandy area" with beach chairs. please dont go there with a swimsuit, you will be disappointed.

 

Many people say that Bayside is a “TOURIST trap.” But after all, being a TOURIST, I thoroughly enjoyed it. At Bayside you will find the following restaurants:

• Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
  
• Chili's
  
• Food Court & Quick Snacks

  
• Hard Rock Cafe

  
• Hooters

  
• Largo Seafood & Grill
  
• Latin American Cafeteria

  
• Live Musical Entertainment / Let's Make A Daiquiri

  
• Lombardi’s Ristorante

  
• Los Ranchos

  
• Mambo Café 

  
• The Knife

  
• Tradewinds Bar & Grill
  

 

And a ton of stores. Here is the directory.

http://www.baysidemarketplace.com/directory

 

I don’t have many Bayside pictures, because it was very crowded and hard to not run into anyone with a camera in my hand. And I’m very small, so the couple times I stopped for a pic I nearly got ran over. LOL.

 

If you are shopping for souvenirs, or CRAP as June calls it, make sure you shop around a little. All of the tourist shops are on the first level and are all pretty different. I ended up buying the usual shot glasses (4) magnets (2) and postcards (6), from the various stores, and spent less than 20 bucks! Those postcards were later left on the ship, where they might be to this day. -_- (thanks June).

 

At least I took a picture of this one

 

Anyway, that night we had dinner at Hard Rock.

 

It was between Hard Rock and Chili’s because we weren’t feeling very adventurous, and they both fit our budget. June had their 10oz burger, and I had the 6oz. We both ordered drinks. He had the Hurricane, which was AMAZING, and I had something purple and raspberry flavored (can’t remember the name). But it was just ok. I recommend sticking with the Hurricane. They even bring it in a souvenir glass for you to keep.

 

 

This was my first time at a Hard Rock and I don’t think I’ll be back. The loud music blaring made dinner conversation so difficult that June moved to sit next to me, rather than across from me, like usual. Also, we COULD not hear our waiter. We constantly had to ask him to speak up and repeat himself. Which was a little annoying for us all, I’m sure. When we ordered dinner, we hoped that the waiter would get our orders right.

 

When the burgers came out, they were both cooked well, as requested. Sometimes when you order a well done burger, it is a hockey puck, not the case here. They were tender and juicy. The fries were also hot and crispy. June’s burger came with two onion rings on top. JUNE HATES ONION RINGS!! Great for me because I LOVE ONION RINGS, and the ones at Hard Rock were exceptional. Unfortunately, our waiter didn’t hear when I requested to have swiss cheese on my burger. No big deal, I have nothing against yellow cheese (not sure if it was cheddar or American) but I prefer Swiss.

 

By the time I finished buying my “crap” and we finished dinner it was about 9:30. By this time it was very dark outside. The walk back to the hotel (thru the park) was very well lit, and there were people all around. I’ve read reports of some feeling unsafe, and I’m not sure how that’s possible. Even the couple of people who approached us asking for change were very nice! We stopped and sat on that little manmade beach for about a half hour or so, and OMG we got bite by about a million mosquitos!! It was horrible, but I wanted my toes in the sand. Eventually I had enough and decided to return in the morning, when the bugs were gone.

 

After that we wandered around downtown for a couple hours. Never once felt unsafe, maybe its because I spend a lot of time in Detroit. We were clearly off the beaten path, but we were fine. We stumbled across a Walgreens and decided to buy some snacks for breakfast, since the restaurant at the hotel was ridiculously expensive. (Please don’t ask where Walgreens is… We honestly stumbled across it, and I have no idea how to find it again). Sorry. I wouldn’t send anyone there anyway… the place was a dump. We couldn’t find anything!! The snacks we bought were stale, and the employees were, for lack of a better word, a$$holes.

 

Then we decided to ride the people mover around Downtown. We went around twice, on the inner loop route, and that took about a half hour or so. Then we walked back to the hotel and hung out on the River Walk I showed you, and finally passed out in our comfy bed around 1am.

[CollegeCruizer11]

I am so loving your review. We will be on this same cruise in July. Can't wait to read your entire review! Oh also KUDOS to you on your accomplishments thus far!!!

 

Thank you so much!! July?? you're going to be Hot. I got sunburned :mad: Pack sunscreen. I wish I had. Oh well, I know better for next time. :rolleyes:

 

OP - I just want to let you know that from the looks of it, this review has the potential of being the best I've read in a LONG TIME! What a fabulous start!

I've had one bad experience with Delta as well, even worse than what you had!!

 

Poor you - that essay must've made you tired!! KEEP ON GOING - GREAT JOB!:D:D

 

WOW! Thank you. The best thing about Delta is the free pretzels. Seriously, I fly Delta for those.

 

Great review so far. Your experieince with lfight delays should be a lesson to everyone else - the smart cruiser ALWAYS flies in at least one day early!

 

Keep it coming! :)

 

Can you believe a RCI cruiser called the Oasis and said, "we are running a few hours late, you guys are going to have to wait for us." Ummm... no they don't. By in any case the Oasis was still docked in Fort Laud after we got on the freeway to Miami, so maybe they made it... :confused:

[Carolinagirl82]

What a great review! Can't wait to read the rest.:)

[CollegeCruizer11]

What a great review! Can't wait to read the rest.:)

 

Thanks! I see you will be on the Valor soon! Which ports? June and I are considering the Valor for next year. and i love the quote in your signature. :D

[vwrestler171]

When we used LMT we just asked to get a room overlooking the bay when we checked in and got it for no additional charge. Here is a picture looking at Destiny

 

[CollegeCruizer11]

When we used LMT we just asked to get a room overlooking the bay when we checked in and got it for no additional charge. Here is a picture looking at Destiny

 

 

Wow. Im jealous. I heard a guy in the lobby a little upset that he was going to have to pay more for the bay view. So i never even asked. Next time I will be sure to inquire. Its such a gorgeous view.

[LBumb]

good job

[CollegeCruizer11]

Embarkation Day

 

So, I’m going to stick with the larger pictures because 1) It was time consuming to resize them and 2)photobucket is going nuts and not letting me resize them (they keep saving in the larger size). But the next rounds of photos will be good ones. I’m sorry for those of you who have slow internet connections, I know they take longer to load.

 

But anyway. Ok, So where we left off June and I got to bed about 1, but we felt like we still hadn’t seen enough of Miami. We set our phone alarms to go off at 8 so we would have a couple hours to see the city before we headed to the ship. Well you know when you are a kid and your parents tell you that you are going to Disney World the next, and then you can’t sleep the night before, and you wake up super early because you are excited?? (Yes I realize that is a run-on sentence) Well, that’s exactly how I was. I woke up before 7, dragged June out of bed, repacked our bags and headed outside. Here are some pics from the morning. First we headed to Starbucks, not the one at the hotel, there is one a few blocks away. I went to that one because I wanted to be outside, and explore some more. Once again, I have no sense of direction. I plugged it in my GPS and followed my trusty blue line. So I can’t tell you how to get there. Sorry. Then we went to the place I call the beach and spotted the Destiny in the distance.

 

 

I kinda like this pic. June took it while I was waiting for him to get ready.

 

 

Can u Spot the Ship?

 

 

ok apparently I saw this on the way to Starbucks. So if you see this... you're headed the right direction. You just take a right... no left... no I'm sure its a right at that upcoming corner and its down a couple blocks. Or maybe it was a left hmmmm...

 

Here is the view from the "beach"

 

 

There was a post on the Florida departures board about walking to port from the Intercontinental. I think you would have to be crazy to do it. You would have to walk over a bridge that has no sidewalks, or what I call "pull-over" lanes, in the heat, pulling your luggage. Why on Earth would anyone want to do that?

 

 

Starbucks+Beach=Heaven

 

At Starbucks I ordered one of their sausage, egg, and cheese muffin sandwiches and a drink. There really doesn't seem to be any real, fast, and cheap places for breakfast. Do those of you who have stayed in downtown Miami have any recommendations?

 

After we shared our Starbucks, sat on our beach, took pictures, and called our parents for the last time, we headed back to the hotel. We also sent plenty of pictures to our friends and family stuck in snowy Michigan and uploaded a few to Facebook from our androids. This is fun, when the people receiving the pictures have a good sense of humor. Not so fun when they get jealous and mad.

 

and look what was parked outside of our hotel! an aston martin. one of these days I will have $200,000 to buy one. If there is one thing June loves as much as he loves me, its cars. About 40% of all the pics he took on our trip was of this ONE CAR! *sighs*

 

So I guess my bit of advice so far is:

DO NOT eat breakfast at the hotel unless you are a billionaire.

 

Next we headed to the pool deck of the hotel and got some great pictures.

[ATL2LAS]

Great review and pics so far. Keep it up:D

[CollegeCruizer11]

And here are six lovely pictures from the pool deck.

 

this is the view you will have of the ships.

 

 

 

the pool.

 

 

there are a set of stairs that lead down to a courtyard. Looks like a nice place to relax. There were plenty of benches and it seemed quiet. This are is also where the closest bathrooms are.

 

 

here it is from our room.

 

June and I... just cuz.

[Carolinagirl82]

Thanks! I see you will be on the Valor soon! Which ports? June and I are considering the Valor for next year. and i love the quote in your signature. :D

 

Haha...thanks! We're going to Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize and Cozumel. I.Cannot.Wait! I'll be posting a review when I get back so be on the lookout!:p

[ErikNYC]

Nice! You two are a good looking couple, and with a well informed lady like you, his vacations will be priceless. I wish my lady understood about planning ahead and the wonders of online forums.... I have it covered tho.;)

 

However, we are booked and will be shipping out next month. We'll be staying right across from Bayside Market, at the Holiday Inn. I can't wait!:D

 

Thanks again!

[Cruisin Christi]

Still enjoying, keep up the good work.

[kruise66]

Embarkation Day

 

 

 

I kinda like this pic. June took it while I was waiting for him to get ready.

 

 

Starbucks+Beach=Heaven

 

Great photos! Starbucks on the beach does sound heavenly!

 

Very nice review so far--keep it going!