Miami pre-cruise-Radisson or Marriott Biscayne Bay??

[ElvisandTracey]

I am trying to decide on a hotel in Miami as close to port as possible, hopefully in walking distance of somewhere to go eat, hang out..

 

SO far, found Radisson Downtown and Marriott Biscayne Bay-both claim to be 1/2 mile from port-anyone stay in either or both, or I am open to any additional suggestions-

 

Please share the good, the bad, the ugly-I can take it!!

[booze brothers]

We're staying at the Radison precruise in Nov. (priceline $50.) The hotel is great but no really close shopping withing walking distance. Also we were told that it just wasn't safe to walk the streets at night. In the AM we walked several blocks to a pancake house for breakfast. The hotel serves meals as well. (some kind of fast food place across the street) Radison was fine for 1 night.

[getoutthere]

I recommend the Holiday Inn Downtown. It is a mile from port at most and is right across the street from an outdoor mall area right on the water (don't recall the name) It has plenty of resturants like Hard Rock Cafe, Bubba Gumps, Hooters and several others. We stayed there last year before our cruise for a pretty good price (79.00, I think) and it was well worth it. The hotel is pretty average but it is clean and comfortable and the location is perfect with the outdoor mall right across the street. We will always stay there when leaving from Miami on a cruise. Hope this helps.

[ElvisandTracey]

Thanks to both of you-

 

Getouthtere-does the HI have a decent pool?? I will have 2 kids with me. The walking to the mall sounds great, and Bubba Gumps happens to be my 9 year old's favorite restaurant on earth-he got addicted last month in Maui.

 

Also, do they have shuttles from airport, and/or to port??

 

Thanks.

[jlx2]

We stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay a few years ago before our Navigator cruise, and when we sail out of Maimi next time we will book there again in a heartbeat. We got a pre-cruise package which included a room with a view of the port, breakfast the next day, two cocktails in the hotel bar and a shuttle to the port the day of departure. We were right near a shopping/eating area (I think it may be called Bayside Marketplace, but it's been 3 years, so I could be wrong). We also rented a car and went to South Beach and Coconut Grove Marketplace (once again I may be wrong about the name Coconut Grove). The hotel was very clean, and it was a great pre-cruise stay. If you have any questions let me know!

[CMurph]

We stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay a couple of years ago. We really enjoyed it. Great view of the ships in port. It was just one night and we had dinner in the hotel. We are also booked there for one night again pre-cruise for next March. They had a cruise package we used last time, I believe it included a drink, breakfast (for 2) and transportation to the pier. We didn't bother to check if that is still available. The transportation was fine, except the shuttle they used services all the cruiselines and it was a mess at the pier...taking out all the luggage to get to whomever was dropped off first. Next time we are just taking a taxi. I would definitely recommend the hotel.

[goodml]

If you look at the main list of message boards you'll see one called 'Hotels'. These two are discussed pretty regularly on that board and you'll find lots of comments to help you decide.

[raydon]

HI has a decent pool, you can walk to Bayside and it is close to port. Rooms are okay and inexpensive.

[Dave4120]

Hello..We have stayed at both the Biscayne Bay Marriott, and the Hyatt Regency downtown. We enjoyed both. The Hyatt is closer to Bayside Marketplace, Hard Rock cafe, and shopping if that is something you enjoy to take part of before your cruise. Both hotels at least in our opinon were excellent.

 

Many people have also suggested the Intercontinental. WE have not stayed there, but many excellent reviews. Yes, the Holiday Inn is across the street from Bayside Marketplace and is a good value. Nothing fancy, but if you're just looking for a good nights rest before the cruise and do not care about fancy restaurants and lounges, it should be fine.

 

We are staying again at the Hyatt before our December 11th cruise.

 

Hope this helps a bit and good luck.

 

Regards,

 

Dave

[getoutthere]

As stated above, the HI does have a decent pool. They didn't have a shuttle to the pier when we stayed but a cab was only about 5 dollars and easy to get. There wasn't a shuttle from the aiport either if I remember correctly. I forgot to mention before that the breakfast buffet was not worth it for us and we would not do that again. Next time we will just get some muffins or something to eat in the morning because we usually eat lunch as soon as we get on the ship anyway. We got to the pier by 11:00 and were on the ship by 11:30. Happy sailing.

[ElvisandTracey]

Thanks for all the info everybody-I am probably going to go with Marriott Biscayne Bay because I seem to always have the best of luck with Marriotts-but if I find a great deal on Hyatt or HI they sound fine too-now, to Priceline!!

 

Thanks.