I hate Miami

[seaexplorer11]

I recently went on a cruise out of Miami and we came in a few days early. We rented a car and let me say this NEVER AGAIN!!! I have done this two times before and it gets worse every time. We drove up A1A to Boca and it took us over 3 hours because of the traffic. Not to mention the crazy drivers and rude antics. We stopped along the way at a duncan donuts near Lincoln Rd. a tow truck blocked us in to make a tow of a nearby car. I asked him how long this was going to take and he simply wouldn't answer and didn't care. Idiot drivers running lights, texting and using both lanes. Pedestrians walking out in the middle of traffic without a care in the world. Absolute idiots. No wonder why Miami leads the nation in persons hit by cars. If ever we cruise from Miami again, we will not tour in Miami. What an absolute hell on earth.

[RiotAct]

Gotta love that Duncan Donuts.

 

Sorry to hear about your experience.

[ger_77]

We usually arrive a couple of days early, stay downtown, enjoy Bayside and take the shuttle to a mall if we want. Otherwise, we simply enjoy the hotel amenities, the pool, and the beautiful ocean. We take a taxi to the port and begin our cruise totally relaxed. Neither of us wants to drive in Miami, so we don't bother with a car rental.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[kelkel2]

I simply love visiting in Miami. I think it's a great city, so much to see and do. It's beautiful at night, the beach is fun, there's great high end shopping and personally I think great ships leave out of Miami. It's our departure port of choice.

However, I choose to be driven in Miami vs. driving myself in Miami. Miami drivers remind me of my sister, she lives in chicago and she drives with a temper, it scares me.

Edited August 5, 2015 by kelkel2

[Aquahound]

I hate Miami

 

Trust me, you're not alone. I loathe Miami, even having to drive through it. Driving from the Keys, in order to get up to normalcy, unfortunately, I have to drive through that gauntlet. It's a cultural thing in Miami and it's a very pretentious and selfish atmosphere.

 

But that said, I can't help but laugh at the irony of a New Yorker making this post. ;) During our snowbird season, the rudest drivers in the Keys almost always have one of three license plates....New York, New Jersey or Massachsetts.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Aquahound

[SuiteTraveler]

The drivers in Florida are terrible. I have seen people stop on a freeway in the middle of the road in a 55MPH zone (where everyone is going 70MPH) to read a sign. And who can forget the elderly lady who drove to the pharmacy but couldn't find the clearly marked entrance door? She was actually feeling for the door on a window of the pharmacy! I showed her the door, but had great concern as she had driven herself.

[iheartbda]

Trust me, you're not alone. I loathe Miami, even having to drive through it. Driving from the Keys, in order to get up to normalcy, unfortunately, I have to drive through that gauntlet. It's a cultural thing in Miami and it's a very pretentious and selfish atmosphere.

 

But that said, I can't help but laugh at the irony of a New Yorker making this post. ;) During our snowbird season, the rudest drivers in the Keys almost always have one of three license plates....New York, New Jersey or Massachsetts.

 

I thought the same thing.:D It's very possible someone from Fla. could say the same about NYC.

 

BTW, OP, Miami is fourth on the list for pedestrian deaths.;)

[luddite]

The farther south in Florida that you go, the closer you get to New York.

 

Nevertheless......Miami sucks.

[navybankerteacher]

I had thought driving in LA or Houston was bad until I tried Miami: the same crowded roads and bad attitude, with the added spice of senior onset dementia thrown in.

 

Pretty much anywhere south or west of the Noroton River things go down hill.

[DocF]

I can't say much for the city, but the Miami airport really sucks. The TSA twinkies there are almost as bad as the ones at Houston Bush.

[Padraic]

We drove up A1A to Boca and it took us over 3 hours because of the traffic.

 

One question comes to mind, why would anyone drive from Miami to Boca Raton using A1A? This is like driving from Kingston to NYC using city streets. Of course it took you 3 hours.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry about your bad experience with driving in Miami.

We don't like sailing out of Miami -- we usually sail out of Ft Lauderdale and traffic there can also be mess at times.

We prefer to use Taxis in Miami, Ft Lauderdale, New York City and LA.

[fishywood]

Native Miamian here. Actually grew up on South Beach a generation ago before the takeover by the artsy-fartsy nouveau riche. And there is nothing I hated more in all my travels than trying to drive in the Northeast USA. Imagine the nerve of expecting me to stop for people trying to cross the street. Those white stripes painted on the pavement are supposed to be strictly decorative--y'know, just like the turn signal lever in my car. And the horribly slow traffic here? We don't complain, we rejoice in it. Because it works as the perfect complement to the number one rule that is firmly ingrained in our culture: never, ever, ever be on time for anything! So we only use our phones for what's important like texting or taking videos while driving--for sure not setting the calendar or alarm to remind us of stupid stuff like getting to the ship on time.

Edited August 5, 2015 by fishywood

[Hlitner]

Had to smile when we noticed that OP was from New York! So who do you think is causing a lot of that traffic in Southern FL. It is relocated New Yorkers! And for a New Yorker to complain about Florida traffic is kind of strange. Have you tried commuting out to Long Island from the city? Or over to Jersey during rush hour?

 

In the interest of full disclosure my family is all originally from NYC and Long Island and most of them (including my own parents) ended up in South Florida. I still remember my Mother saying she had more New York friends in Florida then in NY! Go figure.

 

And by the way, we will soon have a cruise embarking out of the Port of Miami. And yes, we will fly down a few days early. But we will certainly not head north to Ft Lauderdale but rather south to the Keys. The Keys are amazing and my favorite part of Florida. Just think of it, no big malls, not too many Duncan Donuts, etc.

 

Hank

Edited August 5, 2015 by Hlitner

[zoncom]

Lasted 8 yrs. on South Beach. All the New Yorkers left yrs before. Almost got killed on my bicycle on the Causeway. Every tradesman tried to rip me off(I am retired Female)When I left I was one of 15% remaining Anglos.I try to forget the bad; most of it unprintable and remember the beauty from my balcony overlooking Miami and the cruiseport.

[caribsun]

Remember there are two New York's, upstate and NYC. Two completely different worlds. :D

[TechDiva]

One question comes to mind, why would anyone drive from Miami to Boca Raton using A1A? This is like driving from Kingston to NYC using city streets. Of course it took you 3 hours.

 

 

That was my first thought as well! It would take about an hour to get to Boca on I95, I couldn't imagine trying it on the streets.

 

I was born and raised in Miami but haven't lived there for over 20 years. I visit at least once a year since my family is still there. I have noticed the many differences and have no intentions to move back there but I wouldn't go so far as to say that I hate it. Besides, like others have mentioned, northern drivers are just as bad, if not worse (I still have nightmares of trying to drive in New York City a decade ago)

[TruckerDave]

I hate fish...should i start a thread whining about how much I dislike my dinner to swim? :rolleyes:

 

 

Still wondering where the OP's question is, as this is in the "ask a cruise question" section.

Edited August 6, 2015 by TruckerDave

[gwsster]

Sounds like driving in Southern CA. We keep adding drivers without increasing road capacity. The lanes on our freeways are narrow in many places in LA...The 101 and the 405 and the 5 for example making driving dangerous. If there is a big rig next to you his rig almost touches each line on either side. It is no wonder with the tailgaters, texters, dashboard diners, make-up artists and race care wanna-be's that we can get anywhere. I thought driving in Miami felt rather familiar. : (

[leaveitallbehind]

Driving aside, I'm not a fan of the Port of Miami for cruising either. One of the worst in our experience with customs lines, etc.

[Flatbush Flyer]

I recently went on a cruise out of Miami and we came in a few days early. We rented a car and let me say this NEVER AGAIN!!! I have done this two times before and it gets worse every time. We drove up A1A to Boca and it took us over 3 hours because of the traffic. Not to mention the crazy drivers and rude antics. We stopped along the way at a duncan donuts near Lincoln Rd. a tow truck blocked us in to make a tow of a nearby car. I asked him how long this was going to take and he simply wouldn't answer and didn't care. Idiot drivers running lights, texting and using both lanes. Pedestrians walking out in the middle of traffic without a care in the world. Absolute idiots. No wonder why Miami leads the nation in persons hit by cars. If ever we cruise from Miami again, we will not tour in Miami. What an absolute hell on earth.

 

 

Ah! Swamplandia!

[SadieN]

Sounds like driving in Southern CA. We keep adding drivers without increasing road capacity. The lanes on our freeways are narrow in many places in LA...The 101 and the 405 and the 5 for example making driving dangerous. If there is a big rig next to you his rig almost touches each line on either side. It is no wonder with the tailgaters, texters, dashboard diners, make-up artists and race care wanna-be's that we can get anywhere. I thought driving in Miami felt rather familiar. : (

 

 

Only us Californians label our freeways with 'the'. Makes them more alive somehow.

 

Written on my phone while on The Eastbound 10.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Only us Californians label our freeways with 'the'. Makes them more alive somehow.

 

Written on my phone while on The Eastbound 10.

 

 

Actually, only you SOUTHERN Californians use "the." (Not written on my phone while driving on 580. Doing that would be illegal here in NORTHERN California).

:-)

[Keith1010]

We love Miami.

 

We stay downtown.

 

We walk to many places.

 

And we take a taxi to get over to places such as South Beach.

 

Keith

[Jane2357]

Next cruise that sails from Miami - fly into Ft Myers, get a rental car and spend a few days in that area - great beaches, nice hotels. It is a very easy drive to Miami down I75 to jump on your ship. We live in Florida and we don't like Miami either - it is in the top 10 list of the most dangerous cites in Florida.