On the Victory in 9 days - need guidance

[Curlin]

Hi, All. Well, my husband and I booked the Victory 5 day E Caribb leaving Jan 18 out of Miami. SO excited. This is only our 2nd cruise. Last one was 4 years ago.

We are flying into Miami on the 17th. I would like to find an inexpensive hotel to stay that night.

Questions --

1. Any advice on which to stay at in Miami on the 17th? Do most hotels have a shuttle to the Cruise ship dock?

 

2. Our room on the Victory is 6238 and I just found out that there is no mini fridge -- grrrrrr -- thought all rooms had a fridge. Made res. through PVP at Carnival and she didn't mention that. Can we rent a fridge?? We like to keep drinks chilled and snacks without the mess of ice.

 

3. Our flight home leaves Miami at 2 pm. Can we dilly dally onboard until "last call" and then hang out at the cruise port area (if there is anything there) and grab a taxi to the airport a little later? Advice, please.

 

Thank you all for sharing your expertise!

 

C

[lizardhowson]

1) Inexpensive hotel is in direct opposition to Miami cruise port area and being provided a shuttle ride to port. Check the Cruise Critic Destination boards for recommendations on Miami hotels with shuttles to port.

 

2) I believe if your room doesn't have a mini-bar (they are not fridges, just coolers), Carnival only provides one for medical requirements (medications)

 

3) You will be required to exit ship by 9:30 - 10:00 at latest. Nothing in Port area, however there is an open market area not too far from post. You will need a couple of hours to clear the busy Miami airport for your flight.

Edited January 9, 2016 by lizardhowson

[Curlin]

Thank you!

[Canadian_J]

We're on that cruise too :) feel free to pop by the Roll Call section of the boards and introduce yourself!

[KPfromCT]

Hi, All. Well, my husband and I booked the Victory 5 day E Caribb leaving Jan 18 out of Miami. SO excited. This is only our 2nd cruise. Last one was 4 years ago.

We are flying into Miami on the 17th. I would like to find an inexpensive hotel to stay that night.

Questions --

1. Any advice on which to stay at in Miami on the 17th? Do most hotels have a shuttle to the Cruise ship dock?

 

2. Our room on the Victory is 6238 and I just found out that there is no mini fridge -- grrrrrr -- thought all rooms had a fridge. Made res. through PVP at Carnival and she didn't mention that. Can we rent a fridge?? We like to keep drinks chilled and snacks without the mess of ice.

 

3. Our flight home leaves Miami at 2 pm. Can we dilly dally onboard until "last call" and then hang out at the cruise port area (if there is anything there) and grab a taxi to the airport a little later? Advice, please.

 

Thank you all for sharing your expertise!

 

C

 

Most of the Miami hotels do NOT offer shuttles. Taxi will be cheap, though. It's not a long drive.;)

 

I know the ice is not fun to deal with, but if you bring a collapsible cooler, the steward will keep it filled with ice if you ask him. Yes, there is maintenance with ice, but it's not that bad.

 

You will have to be out of your cabin by 8:30. You can then go hang out on the public decks (lido, etc) until they force you off.

 

Hope you have a great cruise!!!!:D:D

[cruzn buckeye]

We stayed at the Holiday Inn at Bayside. 5 minutes to the port. They will call a taxi for you. I believe it was 24 for the 5 of us.

Right across from your hotel is Bayside Marketplace. Lots of shopping, and places to eat. Check out the website. Lot of fun over there. And it ran us something like 110 or so for a room that holds 5. It was higher when we booked, but as prices dropped, they dropped our price with a phone call from us.

As far as a fridge, no the Victory doesn't have fridges. But it you do it early enough, call your cabin steward and ask them to get you a cooler. They will get you a full size cooler and keep it filled with ice. I love the Victory. teh only thing i didn't like, is there is no adult pool. Personally, I feel every ship that has two or more pools, one should be adult only.

As an added note, they have a restaurant and bar. The breakfast there was edible, but i would venture outside and go somewhere else. They also have a pool. There is a CVS down the street and Mickey ds down the other street on the other side of the hotel.

Edited January 10, 2016 by cruzn buckeye

[LMaxwell]

I did walk-off at 10AM and was by no means the last person onboard. 10:30 may be pushing it as far as you can go. We had breakfast in the MDR the last morning and service was VERY slow; so it was perfect for killing some time.

[Wanna_Cruize]

Keep the cooler with the ice stashed in the shower - then you don't have to deal with the melting ice so much. We found giving the room steward a few bucks while asking him to keep the ice filled worked great.

[LMaxwell]

Keep the cooler with the ice stashed in the shower - then you don't have to deal with the melting ice so much. We found giving the room steward a few bucks while asking him to keep the ice filled worked great.

 

Ice delivery is included with your room amenities. I am sure your steward appreciates the extra gesture on your behalf, but asking for ice is within the standard services.

[jennraycruise]

I am on the Victory on the 14th. We are staying at YVE the night before our cruise. It is also across from Bayside Marketplace and a CVS store. January is high season in Miami. Our room was 200 for the night. We booked via expedia.

[Curlin]

All of the advice is appreciated! 6 days!!

[gramgoingcruising]

We were on the Victory on Dec 26. We had no problems. Stayed in Penbroke Pines, Holiday Inn Express because of points. Being Christmas night we booked early. Also hard finding some place to eat but T.G.I.Fridays was open and very good. We got at port around 10:00 and walked across around 10:15. Checked some bags and walked right in to security. Had FTTF and we started boarding right after higher ups. FTTF is well worth it. We went straight to our rooms, dropped off carry-on, met our room steward and up for lunch. There is no refrig, but the room steward kept the ice container full. Our room had a small flat screen TV, our son who was next door, did not. All in all it's a good ship and I would have no problem sailing on her again. Because of us having FTTF we were able to walk off with the very first group. That started at 8:00 and we were in our car at 8:12. Miami Port is very easy for first timers. I'm sure anyone flying in and taking a cab or bus would find it to be very easy also. Happy sailing those who are about to go. Sure wish I was coming with you. Gram