Best view for breakfast in Miami

Sailing on the Valor out of Miami 9/18. Staying at the downtown Intercontinental-which I believe is supposed to be adjacent to the cruise terminal.

Does anyone know of a great place to have breakfast with a view of the ship

(Valor)/water? We would really love to wake up early enough to see the valor arrive-now we understand it should arrive about 6am-and most eateries will not be open-but if you could recommend a place that we can go to before they open (stand on the patio) and watch the Valor arrive, then maybe if they open at 7 or so we can have breakfast and gaze at the ship.

The quality/taste of the food is not the point here...the view is.

OR...would a place like this exist within our own hotel-the Intercontinental??

Thanks in advance!

The Intercontinental Miami is indeed downtown but not adjacent to the cruise terminal. It's about a 5 minute taxi ride to the Port of Miami where the cruise ships dock at Dodge Island. If you have a room in the hotel that faces the port you'll be able to watch the ships arrive, other than that the very early arrival of the ships down the ship channel is some what blocked by the office buildings and terminals on Dodge Island.

If the ship heads all the way down to the turning basin you may get a decent view from Bayside that will be a tad bit obscured by the Port Blvd bridge. I don't believe there is a walkway from Bayside to the small park area below the American Airlines Arena that would allow you to be at the turning basin when and if she gets there.

As far as breakfast is concerned the hotel has a restaurant that offers a breakfast buffet as well as a Starbucks. At Bayside (a few minutes walk) there are several places to have breakfast.

http://www.icmiamihotel.com/dining/

If your not afraid to do a little bit more walking you could get on the Port Blvd bridge and walk 1/2 across. Here are some pictures taken by CC member Keith1010 from that spot:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=29583964&postcount=7

Your room at the IC is the best spot for early morning ship viewing, if you can get it. The hotel does serve breakfast and there is a Starbucks but you won't see the bay and prices are expensive. Cafe's at Bayside don't open until about 8AM for breakfast. I recommend the Latin American Cafe. If you sit outside, you are on the bay but won't see much of the cruise ships. Walking to Bayside or the bridge in the dark is not recommended due to safety. This is downtown in a major city which does have a homeless population. They probably won't bother you, but who wants to take the chance and start your vacation in a negative way.

Here's a picture outlining points of interest

Thank you dmwnc1959, and everyone else! Those pictures are SO helpful! I guess we dont HAVE to watch the ship come in-I thought it would be nice-but I guess we will play it by ear. If we get a room that faces the marina I am sure we will watch, but otherwise we will probably try and sneak up and take a peak out of the windows once we wake up and get ready.

Thanks again-you guys are so helpful!

I have read previously that walking accross the bridge is NEVER recommended-daytime or nighttime. Due to it being narrow and not having a sidewalk. Is this accurate?

When we first booked the cruise we had considered getting a hotel close enough to walk to the cruise terminal, but people here on CC advised me against it. Since you suggested the idea of walking accross the bridge to see the ships come in-does that mean it IS possible/semi safe to walk accross?

If so-is there anywhere to eat/sit on the other side of the bridge-i.e. the ships side?

It's so odd...

I used the search box here on cc, to see what others have said about walking from bayside to the ships...some say there is no sidewalk, and that cars whiz past you so fast, that is is totally dangerous, dont do it! Then others say there is a large pedistrian walkway, with a tall barrier making this walk completely safe.

hmmmm..I suppose we will only know once we arrive...I know that the taxi is only supposed to be around $10, but if the weather is not too bad, Id rather save that $10 for my first DOD!

There is a pedestrian walkway on the turning basin side of the Port Blvd bridge and CC member Keith1010 has mentioned on one of my old threads that it is safe to walk across. However on the Dodge Island end of the bridge it's all parking lots, cruise terminals, and office buildings. The only place close to eat is Bayside. It shouldnt be more than a 30 minute walk from the hotel. I do not however suggest waking across the bridge with luggage in hand as a cheap way to get to your ship. You are looking at a very long distance (2+ miles) and taxis are quicker and safer.

It's so odd...

I used the search box here on cc, to see what others have said about walking from bayside to the ships...some say there is no sidewalk, and that cars whiz past you so fast, that is is totally dangerous, dont do it! Then others say there is a large pedistrian walkway, with a tall barrier making this walk completely safe.

hmmmm..I suppose we will only know once we arrive...I know that the taxi is only supposed to be around $10, but if the weather is not too bad, Id rather save that $10 for my first DOD!

There is a sidewalk. However, the bridge is long and the distance to the cruise terminal is a lot longer than it looks. Plus the traffic is truly dangerous. It's primarily sea container trucks intent on making as many runs a day as they can to and from the POM.

You'd be well advised to spend the $10, and arrive at the ship safely, fresh and relatively cool.

The walk from the I.C. to bayside is a 8-10 min walk TOPS.

We have stayed at both the Intercontinental and Hyatt in previous years and like the proximity to Bayside. This year we are booked at the Downtown Hilton.

It looks like it's on the north side of Bayside and our TA tells us it has nice views of the ships. I was also thinking of the best view at breakfast. I understand we will be at a different vantage point than OP, but looking for suggestions from people who know Miami

Here's a picture outlining points of interest

 

 

Wow, what a great job you did! I wonder if I may ask you if you could mark the Holiday Inn for me? I would appreciate that very much!

Would you also have a suggestion how to get the best price? Have never tried priceline, will have to do some studies for that :-) .

Here ya go. Had to drag the pic from my trash can and manually insert the location, seen in the red circle across from Bayside:

Another one....you can see Bubba Gumps across the street and the Bayside Shopping center as it stretches from Port Blvd to the Hard Rock Cafe. You can see the Harbor Tour boat in that image backing out of her slip.

Would you also have a suggestion how to get the best price? Have never tried priceline, will have to do some studies for that :-) .

De[pending on when you are travelling (peak season, off season) the price can vary substantially. I used http://www.lastminutetravel.com and got the Intercontinental for $111 plus tax for late Nov. early Dec. The Holiday Inn actually priced out more expensive!

I used last minute travel dot come also..I spent a lot of time doing research, and I think they give the best price. We normally do not stay in hotels that nice, but when an average hotel was going for $75-$80, and you add the extra cost of cab fare in the morning, I thought $101 was a good offer for the Intercontinental. We are staying sat 9/17

If you are staying downtown, I would walk to Bayside and have breakfast there. The view is great of Biscayne Bay and you can see all of the cruise ships. We haven't been to Bayside for breakfast in several years so not exactly sure what is open early in the morning but do remember sitting outside in the open area near a Starbucks. Enjoy!

I called the Bayside Marketplace and asked what places served breakfast and was told:

- Latin American Bayside Cafe (Cuban food: breakfast 8-11:30am)

http://southflorida.menupages.com/restaurants/latin-american-bayside-cafe/menu

- Trade Winds Deli 9am-11am http://www.tradewindsbarandgrill.com/

http://www.tradewindsbarandgrill.com/BreakfastNoBuffetrevised.pdf

- Subway (opens 7am)

- Starbucks (opens 8am)

Ohh, eating at hard rock cafe looks like a nice location for dinner/drinks the night before! Its right on the water-thats awesome!

For breakfast-Im guessing that we will probably just play it by ear. I think that when we arrive on sat late afternoon evening we will head over to bayside to pick up some odds and ends from some grocery/drug store. Im sure we will scope out a good place for breakfast while we are there. We are supposed to meet up with ppl from our roll call sat nt for drinks-maybe it will be hard rock! Oh, I just hope we can find a place that is on the water:) Im grateful for all of your answers everyone-thanks a ton!

This is the link for Bayside dining

http://www.baysidemarketplace.com/dining-entertainment

Here's that thread talking about drugstores close to the Intercontinental

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1462987

If you find any good info while your visiting the Bayside area please feel free to come back and update the rest of us who are travelling later this year. It would be much appreciated!

Have a great cruise! :)

You can get a pretty decent view of the Cruiseship terminal from the Pool deck at the IC. I would check with the Front Desk to make sure you can access it at 6AM. It is equivalent to 3rd or 4th floor of Hotel and as previously mentioned will have a somewhat obscured view of the ship by the Cruise Terminals.........Enjoy....we stayed at the IC and went on the Valor (Western) in April and loved both.....hoping I can get a decent rate on the IC for our upcoming March 30 cruise.....now priced at 630...ouch

You can get a pretty decent view of the Cruiseship terminal from the Pool deck at the IC. I would check with the Front Desk to make sure you can access it at 6AM. It is equivalent to 3rd or 4th floor of Hotel and as previously mentioned will have a somewhat obscured view of the ship by the Cruise Terminals.........Enjoy

Had no idea about the pool deck! Just checked it out on Google Maps and it looks nice. I'll also be there for 2-nights post cruise and will be sure to enjoy the facilities. Thanks for the tip! :)

Sailing on the Valor out of Miami 9/18. Staying at the downtown Intercontinental-which I believe is supposed to be adjacent to the cruise terminal.

Does anyone know of a great place to have breakfast with a view of the ship

(Valor)/water? We would really love to wake up early enough to see the valor arrive-now we understand it should arrive about 6am-and most eateries will not be open-but if you could recommend a place that we can go to before they open (stand on the patio) and watch the Valor arrive, then maybe if they open at 7 or so we can have breakfast and gaze at the ship.

The quality/taste of the food is not the point here...the view is.

OR...would a place like this exist within our own hotel-the Intercontinental??

Thanks in advance!

Was hoping you would come back and do a review of the hotel and Bayside, things you saw and experienced. :)

Regarding your comment about not using Priceline... use it with betterbidding.com. This site will give you an idea on what price and hotels others have gotten. I use it extensively. Last trip we were at 4-star for about $60 pn in downtown Miami - and that was over New Years even.

I called the Bayside Marketplace and asked what places served breakfast and was told:

 

- Latin American Bayside Cafe (Cuban food: breakfast 8-11:30am)

http://southflorida.menupages.com/restaurants/latin-american-bayside-cafe/menu

 

- Trade Winds Deli 9am-11am http://www.tradewindsbarandgrill.com/

http://www.tradewindsbarandgrill.com/BreakfastNoBuffetrevised.pdf

 

- Subway (opens 7am)

 

- Starbucks (opens 8am)

We've eaten at Tradwinds a couple times for breakfast. Nice, basic, cheap, quiet.