Back to Back Miami?

We have never done a back to back and are trying to decide to remain on ship or take an excursion (Everglades and Miami tour). For those that have done a back to back what would be your recommendation? Part of me thinks it may be nice to have the day in the middle off the ship. Plus some of the kids activities are likely closed (we will have an 8 year old and 5 year old with us). But part of me thinks a relaxing day on a fairly empty ship may be great also. In case it matters the ship will be the Seaside. Any thoughts?

We have never done a back to back and are trying to decide to remain on ship or take an excursion (Everglades and Miami tour). For those that have done a back to back what would be your recommendation? Part of me thinks it may be nice to have the day in the middle off the ship. Plus some of the kids activities are likely closed (we will have an 8 year old and 5 year old with us). But part of me thinks a relaxing day on a fairly empty ship may be great also. In case it matters the ship will be the Seaside. Any thoughts?

You have get off and go thru immigration and then back on ahead of everyone else. I would stay on the empty ship and enjoy the pool.

We will keep ourselves inside the ship rather than excursion. Nice to have an almost exclusive use of ship's facilities.

You will have documents that tell you how to do the immigration. They have to clear the ship so you will be taken off with passports, be checked by immigration and then given cards to go back on. If you are in transit they normally give you something that identifies it to beat the lines back on if you decide to go off for the day. There's so many cabs there you could go to south beach or bayside

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You will have documents that tell you how to do the immigration. They have to clear the ship so you will be taken off with passports, be checked by immigration and then given cards to go back on. If you are in transit they normally give you something that identifies it to beat the lines back on if you decide to go off for the day. There's so many cabs there you could go to south beach or bayside

That's what I was hoping to hear! Thank you! :) Our 31 night on Divina returns to Miami after the first 11 nights before beginning her repo to the Med so I'm very interested in this.

Do you know of any outlet malls that aren't too far from the port, so won't be too expensive a taxi ride to get to and back to the ship? I was hoping to do some shopping the day we're in Miami.

That's what I was hoping to hear! Thank you! :) Our 31 night on Divina returns to Miami after the first 11 nights before beginning her repo to the Med so I'm very interested in this.

 

Do you know of any outlet malls that aren't too far from the port, so won't be too expensive a taxi ride to get to and back to the ship? I was hoping to do some shopping the day we're in Miami.

There is Bayside which is very close to the port of Miami. Do a Google to find it and its location. You can spend hours there and eat, too. Just a suggestion. Enjoy!

There is Bayside which is very close to the port of Miami. Do a Google to find it and its location. You can spend hours there and eat, too. Just a suggestion. Enjoy!

Thank you! Sounds perfect. I've added it to my Divina cruise planner. :)

If you get off and are not with the others that go off and get right back on, you enter the line with all the others. If you get priority boarding you will get on when you arrive back into the port area. I love the empty ship when I did b2b, but it does fill up soon after so if there are things to do off the ship, go enjoy.

If you get off and are not with the others that go off and get right back on, you enter the line with all the others. If you get priority boarding you will get on when you arrive back into the port area. I love the empty ship when I did b2b, but it does fill up soon after so if there are things to do off the ship, go enjoy.

We stay onboard a lot when the ship is in port on West Med cruises as we've been to the ports many times. I have to say, I don't always enjoy the empty ship - there's very little open, nothing going on and we're not pool people, so getting a sunbed easily isn't a factor. We tend to just rest up as we're late owls and are usually one of the last out of the lounges at night.

We'll have priority boarding as Black Carders and Aurea - I assume they share the same priority line like in other ports.

We only stayed overnight in Miami once after a repo cruise and didn't get to do anything the day we were there so I don't want to pass up the opportunity to do some shopping on this trip - I love the outlet malls in the US. I'm just a bit iffy about doing the immigration bit and will have to weigh up whether to get off the ship early and face it after shopping, or wait and get off/come back on, then head off on our shopping trip. With Bayside being close, as Asctony has suggested, time won't be a major consideration.

Thank you everyone. I appreciate the information. I am still conflicted.

The quiet ship sounds nice, but then a lot being closed and new travelers boarding late morning early afternoon, sounds like the ship will fill back up quickly and be back to the first day chaos :) I think the kids activities are likely closed, so the kids may be disappointed. We are also likely to stay on the ship a few of the port days, places we have been, and those might actually be better days to experience the ship.

Currently, I think I am going to book an excursion just to ensure the option and then cancel if we decide otherwise as we get closer to the actual sail date. Thanks again everyone!

Hi beamafar. I will be sailing b2b from barcelona on seaview next july and was wondering what the procedure would be as this is one of many embarkation ports. Thanks martin

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Hi beamafar. I will be sailing b2b from barcelona on seaview next july and was wondering what the procedure would be as this is one of many embarkation ports. Thanks martin

Hi Martin ................. I've never done a B2B in the Med. I did one in Durban and we didn't have to leave the ship at all. We had no plans to go ashore so we stayed onboard. We were also changing cabins. All we had to do was go to Guest Services on the morning where they did the paperwork. We got to use our cabin 'til the one we were moving to was ready - this was at about 1pm. They arranged a couple of porters to help us move, too. It was such a painless process.

I've read on this forum before that others have had similar experiences in the Med.

Thank you! Sounds perfect. I've added it to my Divina cruise planner. :)

We spend 10 minutes there and walk away.

We spend 10 minutes there and walk away.

Oh, no, GB ................. really?

I haven't googled it yet (as suggested by Asctony). I have other bookings beforehand and am concentrating on them. But I'm making notes about anything of interest from Divina posts to research later on. I'll make a note of your comment beside what I've recorded already.

Is there anywhere you'd recommend? I don't want to stray too far from the port - somewhere within a reasonable taxi fare distance.

There is a new science museum just over the bridge from the port, about a 20 minute walk. We went in early February between back to back cruises on Seaside and enjoyed our day there. Since we are paid members of our local science museum in Canada, we got in free as there is a reciprocal agreement in place between several hundred science museums.

Tip: if you are going to go then look into getting a museum pass ahead of time from your local museum, assuming it has a reciprocal agreement. Our membership cost less than the admission price to the museum in Miami for our family of 4.

https://www.frostscience.org/

Our experience on the Seaside was that we met at the Seaview Lounge (formerly the News Cafe-still called that on many of the signage). We brought our cruise cards and passports and all left the ship at the same time. Our cruise cards were scanned as we left the ship, but no one even looked at our passports. We figured because we never left the secure area that there was no need. We went right back on the ship and once again scanned our cruise cards. We went to our cabin and sat on the balcony and had a snack and read our Kindles, then went to the buffet for lunch as it was filling up with the new cruisers. Then went to the pool.

Hi Martin ................. I've never done a B2B in the Med. I did one in Durban and we didn't have to leave the ship at all. We had no plans to go ashore so we stayed onboard. We were also changing cabins. All we had to do was go to Guest Services on the morning where they did the paperwork. We got to use our cabin 'til the one we were moving to was ready - this was at about 1pm. They arranged a couple of porters to help us move, too. It was such a painless process.

 

 

 

I've read on this forum before that others have had similar experiences in the Med.

Thanks bea forever helpful as always [emoji4]

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Thanks bea forever helpful as always [emoji4]

Ooh ... thank you for that, Martin! :)

I just saw an old post of mine on the thread about our booking on Divina for March 2019. Unfortunately, we going to cancel as the first 'leg' (the 11 night itinerary) is chartered by Holistic Holidays at Sea. I've just read about others' experiences on Divina recently, so, thanks, MSC, but no thanks!

When I booked my trip on Seaside I booked it as a two week thing, not a back to back. I saw it did go to Miami in the middle but I didn't think or know much of that. Does this mean I HAVE to get off in Miami and go through customs?

When I booked my trip on Seaside I booked it as a two week thing, not a back to back. I saw it did go to Miami in the middle but I didn't think or know much of that. Does this mean I HAVE to get off in Miami and go through customs?

Yes! You get off the ship as a group with all the others doing the B2B. No one even looked at our passports since we didn't leave the secure area. They scanned our cruise card getting off and then getting back on.

If you want to...you can take a shore excursion in Miami and come back later to the ship.