Pre-Cruise Hotel accommodation in Miami, FL

Hi hi,

I posted this in the Newbies Thread, but I thought I'd also post here since it's related to cruising or pre crusing.   was just wondering if anyone has any hotel suggestions for hotels in Miami, FL? It'll be for oure our cruise March next year  Some of us are getting there about 3 days before boarding and wanted to see the best option.  I was adviced to look into hotels that can shuttle us on port and also possibly pick us up at the airport.  So far, our TA recommended Days Inn, Hampton Inn, Best Western & Hilton that can provide shuttles. I just wanted to get folk's feedback w/ personal experience or if you've already booked your hotel, which one did you choose? Thank you!!

Congrats on your cruise wedding! I am also in the process of planning mine! What ship will you be on? Are you using a wedding planner? The two hotels that I have heard good things about are the Doubletree Biscayne Bay and the Intercontinental. Both are more reasonable than hotels on South Beach. Check them out on trip advisor for more information. Good luck and would love to hear how your planning is going!

Olive0yl- I just saw your update about your wedding details on my other post! Sorry I didn't read that before! Happy planning!

Originally Posted by Arch713 

 

Olive0yl-

I just saw your update about your wedding details on my other post! Sorry I didn't read that before!

Happy planning!

Lol. No worries, thank you! I believe we'll bein Carnival Liberty We're using a wedding planner on the island since using the one the cruise is MUCH much more exepensive. How are things going w/ your planning? Where are you planning on getting married?

Overall, we're pretty good to go, but just need to take care of minor details like decor etc.

LOL. Just read your other post. I went ahead and copied your last entry there and decided to address it here in case you wanted to ask any questions that I can help with.

Sounds like planning is going well!

I too, am looking at using Island Bliss as Janelle really seems like the best!

How did you guys choose what ship to go on? I have cruised 10 times and love cruising but also want a nice ship yet reasonable for my guests!

Wishing you all happy planning and thank you for sharing! The cruise board is a little quiet!

As far as Island Bliss, I highly recommned them. Janelle responds quickly and is very knowledgeable and can advise you w/ the best options for your wedding planning.

We chose the ship because it was the cheapest fair we could find and the date was timed right to not collide w/ other weddings we were invited to next year   We've only cruised once and it was for my friend's wedding last October w/ Carnival as well and we thought it was a fun experience overall. hah That's how we got the idea to also do a cruise wedding! heheh

We were actually wanting to try out Royal Caribbean, but prices were a bit high and heard it was more for older folks so Carnival worked right for us

Thanks for the response!

My fiance and I are actually going on the Liberty in Feb to see if that's the ship that we would want to have our wedding on (and having a vacation as well). I am hoping that once we come back and I will then be ready to finalize a date and get started with planning. We are debating between Royal Caribbean, as well. I just worry about keeping the price reasonable. I'm having a hard time justifying almost a 2 to 1 ratio for Royal vs. Carnival when I know they both will be equally as fun. So, for now, just information gathering.

How fun that you've been on a cruise wedding before! You can definitely learn on what you liked and didn't. I've cruised enough (8 times) and my fiance also likes it - so it just seemed like a natural fit.

I noticed you are getting married at Secret Harbour - that looks to be a beautiful location! Are you planning on a little reception there following your ceremony?

Good luck at the planning. I look forward in your planning updates. I feel like I could definitely learn a lot from your fabulous wedding!

Originally Posted by Arch713 

 

Thanks for the response!

 

My fiance and I are actually going on the Liberty in Feb to see if that's the ship that we would want to have our wedding on (and having a vacation as well). I am hoping that once we come back and I will then be ready to finalize a date and get started with planning. We are debating between Royal Caribbean, as well. I just worry about keeping the price reasonable. I'm having a hard time justifying almost a 2 to 1 ratio for Royal vs. Carnival when I know they both will be equally as fun. So, for now, just information gathering.

 

How fun that you've been on a cruise wedding before! You can definitely learn on what you liked and didn't. I've cruised enough (8 times) and my fiance also likes it - so it just seemed like a natural fit.

 

I noticed you are getting married at Secret Harbour - that looks to be a beautiful location! Are you planning on a little reception there following your ceremony?

 

Good luck at the planning. I look forward in your planning updates. I feel like I could definitely learn a lot from your fabulous wedding!

Lol. That's funny how you're going to Liberty and also comparing Royal. I hope you find all the info you need that'll help you plan out the best route for you

Yeah, my GF's cruise wedding took place in October and she definitely missed the island twice. lol. Hurricane season so we skipped the island once for the captain to say we'll be back to it and when we did, we couldn't dock bec. the waves were too rough and there were other ships trying to do so.  She still got married in the end at the last port so I experienced first hand the worse comes to worse situation. lol. But we're getting married in March so that wouldn't be too much of an issue *crossing fingers* hahah

Thank you about the location. We initially wanted Lindquist beach w/ the pictures we saw via Island Bliss Wedding's Shutterfly account http://www.islandblissweddings.com/photo.html hehe But Janelle advised that since we're getting there on a Tuesday, that's when a lot of cruise lines usually come in the island so she said that a private ceremony wouldn't be quite as possbile.  But after some researching, we figured Secret Harbor since from their blog, they said that they can clear an area for you. Lol. That just made me search their blog again and saw recent pictures of the place http://islandblissweddings.blogspot.com/search?q=secret+harbor 

Yes on the reception. VERY simple luncheon to thank everyone since we'll be having a reception back home. My friends said they don't care about the lunch really since there'll be the free dinner at the cruise, but my mother insisted lol. Oh and we also chose this location since Sunset Grille is just walks away from the ceremony location!

Good luck on planning your wedding! Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try my best to help out! You sound like you're on the right track thus far

I stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Airport South Blue Lagoon (www.hamptoninnmiamiairport.com/) and at the Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Brickell Downtown (www.hamptoninnmiamibrickell.com/). Both hotels have breakfast included and free Wi-Fi. The Airport location has airport shuttle, they have a paid cruise shuttle and a cab drive to the port will go for about $25. The Brickell location is about a year old, very nice and updated and walking distance from Mary Brickell Village (the place to eat and have fun) and a short free monorail ride from Bayside MarketPlace. This new location is about a $15 cab ride from the port.

Originally Posted by socialgal 

 

I stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Airport South Blue Lagoon (www.hamptoninnmiamiairport.com/) and at the Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Brickell Downtown (www.hamptoninnmiamibrickell.com/). Both hotels have breakfast included and free Wi-Fi. The Airport location has airport shuttle, they have a paid cruise shuttle and a cab drive to the port will go for about $25. The Brickell location is about a year old, very nice and updated and walking distance from Mary Brickell Village (the place to eat and have fun) and a short free monorail ride from Bayside MarketPlace. This new location is about a $15 cab ride from the port.

Awesome!! Thank you very much for your input! To clarify, is the $25 shuttle/cab ride a per person deal?

I would definitley try the Hampton because they have a free breakfast, free wifi, and usually hamptons are always good customer service and are very predictable in quality.  Days inn are usually low-grade.    Best Westerns can be questionable (I dont think they are monitored like Hamptons are) and Hiltons are usually expensive.  Overall Hamptons are the go-to.  I am a loyal Hampton traveler. You also have to pay for breakfast at Hilton.  Thats one expense taken off of your guests, who already have plenty of expenses I am sure.