Miami Hotel pre-cruise

[chemmo]

A couple of points...From your name, I am assuming you maybe traveling with children?

 

If you have children do look at the Orlando direct charter flight options from Manchester. I think Thomsons now have the Dreamliner operational....They are seasonal but can work out good value and avoid having a connecting flight. It is also great to have a couple of mad family Disney or Universal Studio days before a leisurely drive down to Miami before cruising.

 

If you can't spare that time and are looking at just a couple of overnights in Miami then the Embassy Suites are a great family option. Not flash, but they do provide a two room suite giving that bit of family privacy, a fridge, microwave, evening free cocktail hour and free buffet breakfast. Add in car hire which is reasonably priced and take the kids into the Everglades....magical family memories!

 

Hope you have a great vacation!

[bluwes]

Thank you so much all of you - there is quite a lot of solid information here for us. I didn't know about the Florida section on the boards so thank you also for that.

 

We were going to head from Manchester through Philadelphia to Miami but think we will strongly consider the shuttle to London then a direct to Miami - thank you for the tips mickey89

 

 

We are also thinking 2 nights in Miami close to the port may be nice for us and will take away any concerns we may have.

 

 

 

Thank you again to you all :)

 

I would stick the the Manchester-Philly-Miami. I presume its flying with AA. We did it last year and found Philadelphia a much easier airport to connect through.

The other option is Man-Atlanta-Miami flying with Virgin /Delta

Flying through Heathrow and Miami would not do much fro my blood pressure !

 

We have stayed at the Intercontinental a couple of times and would recommend it pre cruise

[miched]

Check out Homewood Suites Blue Lagoon. All of their room are like apartments. Lounging living room area ( sofa, large screen TV and chair) fully furnished kitchenette, (Full fridge, stove, microwave, sink, dishes, dishwasher, table and chairs) and a separate bedroom that also has a large screen TV. Good wifi

 

 

Week nights they have a free happy hour with beer, wine and buffet along with a real nice full buffet for breakfast. 24 hour coffee and tea. They also have a patio with grills overlooking the Lagoon.

 

A few blocks away is a small mall with a liquor store, market, Starbucks and a few restaurants.

 

It is a very comfortable place to spend a few days relaxing before those strenuous days aboard a ship 🤗

 

Sometimes they offer a shuttle to the cruise port. It is close to the airport and may have a shuttle from there.

 

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[shirazcruiser]

The Epic is on Biscayne Bay and 3/4 mile from Bayside Marketplace where there are restaurants, shops and the "Miami Tour Company" where you can take a 90 minute boat cruise.

[Dimarie40]

We've booked the Holiday Inn Port of Miami for 4 days precruise in early October. We thought it was a good location for access to Bayside Market Place for restaurants and tours etc. as well as access to the port. We plan to take a couple of day tours as it is our first time in Miami. We have booked a Bayview room. I hope we've make the correct decision, a lot of which was based on the exchange rate.

 

Thoughts please?

[jody75]

.......I would stick the the Manchester-Philly-Miami. I presume its flying with AA.

 

I would avoid AA like the plague they are so unreliable and they bump people all the time as a matter of policy, they are worse than United, remember them in the news recently. We were unfortunate to be code shared to them when booking British Airways. We booked thru BA over 9 month prior and when checking in at the airport there was no seat numbers on our boarding pass. We had reserved seats which were paid for over 9 month previously, but the booking clerk was adamant that seat numbers were allocated at boarding. No matter what I said her approach was firm and unfazed 'Your seats will be allocated at boarding'

Yes , you guessed, we had been changed to STANDBY even after paying for reserved seats long ago. How can you trust an airline that has no respect for its customers. We eventually flew 3 hours later and were given $100 voucher for the inconvenience (straight in the bin). AA are a disgrace and the more people that realise that the better.

Edited April 20, 2017 by jody75

[bluwes]

I would avoid AA like the plague they are so unreliable and they bump people all the time as a matter of policy, they are worse than United, remember them in the news recently. We were unfortunate to be code shared to them when booking British Airways. We booked thru BA over 9 month prior and when checking in at the airport there was no seat numbers on our boarding pass. We had reserved seats which were paid for over 9 month previously, but the booking clerk was adamant that seat numbers were allocated at boarding. No matter what I said her approach was firm and unfazed 'Your seats will be allocated at boarding'

Yes , you guessed, we had been changed to STANDBY even after paying for reserved seats long ago. How can you trust an airline that has no respect for its customers. We eventually flew 3 hours later and were given $100 voucher for the inconvenience (straight in the bin). AA are a disgrace and the more people that realise that the better.

 

Sorry to hear of your experience. We have never had a problem with them. I suppose there are thousands of others who have only good things to say about them, and that also includes United.

[MareT]

We've booked the Holiday Inn Port of Miami for 4 days precruise in early October. We thought it was a good location for access to Bayside Market Place for restaurants and tours etc. as well as access to the port. We plan to take a couple of day tours as it is our first time in Miami. We have booked a Bayview room. I hope we've make the correct decision, a lot of which was based on the exchange rate.

 

Thoughts please?

We stayed at the Holiday In POM this past January for three nights. Hotel is across the street from Bayside. While the rooms may need updating, they were spotless. Everyone working there was extremely helpful. Short trip to port . . $10 taxi ride.

[mickey89]

Sorry to hear of your experience. We have never had a problem with them. I suppose there are thousands of others who have only good things to say about them, and that also includes United.

I concur with Jody, American Airlines are one of the worst airlines to consider when flying to/fro the UK.

We were delayed over 5 hours on a flight from New York to London earlier this year due to an aircraft fault. If it had been a BA flight we would have been awarded €600/pp compensation under EU 261/2004 but since it was AA (not registered in EU) we had nothing just $100 Voucher each from them which is of little use as we would never fly AA again.

 

Be very careful who you fly with, choosing your carrier carefully as if you use an American carrier your rights under EU law are severely eroded when flying from or into the UK or any other EU country.

[renaroo]

Goto www.booking.com

 

Just be aware that a 2night stay without meals at Epic or Intercontinental will cost more than your flight ( £550 / £600 for 2 night -room only) then be prepared to pay over £150/day for your meals, you can half this cost by using the many fast food restaurants. Miami is very expensive especially with the devalued pound.

 

 

I have a reservation at the Epic in June and I've checked the prices a couple times since booking. I've noticed they've gone up and down so I cancel and rebook when that happens. My current price per night including all taxes is $260 or about £200 for a club level room. The lowest priced room is $227, closer to £175 per night. I booked directly through Kimpton.

 

 

 

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[mickey89]

I have a reservation at the Epic in June and I've checked the prices a couple times since booking. I've noticed they've gone up and down so I cancel and rebook when that happens. My current price per night including all taxes is $260 or about £200 for a club level room. The lowest priced room is $227, closer to £175 per night. I booked directly through Kimpton.

 

You must read the original post, the dates in question are for peak season - 2nd to 4th March 2018.

Current best price for the cheapest room is £526 refundable booking + 13%Tax

£594 for 2 night. (Trivargo or Booking.com) - £614 direct via Kimpton

Edited April 20, 2017 by mickey89

[Marie51]

I have reservations at the Homewood suites blue lagoon at the Miami airport. Although I haven't stayed there yet they have good reviews. They have a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel and breakfast included also. The shuttle will take you to restaurants within 2 miles of the hotel. They have a shuttle from the hotel to the port of Miami for $12 per person or you could take a taxi

[bigbenboys]

Again thank you so much for your information.

 

We have established that its not just a quick room for the night so we would like to spend a couple of days having a look at the area near the waterfront, walking to nice restaurants, shops and seeing the ships etc.

 

Question - are any of the hotels mentioned on South Beach?

 

Is the Kimpton Epic and Intercontinental on the Bay area?

 

Thank you again

 

Hyatt Centric South Beach Miami great location.

[The Mommy]

What a wonderful response - thank you so much everyone who has taken the time to provide valuable input.

I feel a little more confident now to make some decisions.

 

Thank you once again:D

[Flamencacha]

What a wonderful response - thank you so much everyone who has taken the time to provide valuable input.

 

I feel a little more confident now to make some decisions.

 

 

 

Thank you once again:D

 

 

 

If you stay downtown, there is a trolley system. Also across from bayside Market place there is a PUBLIX grocery store and at ground level a liquor store.

 

Hope you enjoy your stay in Miami

 

 

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