Long wait in Miami

I will be on a Riviera cruise, Miami to Miami, with my 86 year old dad. Our less than ideal travel plans include a red-eye flight that arrives at 6am. We have an Oceania transfer to, I guess, the cruise terminal? And then a long wait before we embark at 1pm. This will not be easy for my impatient father. He is already worrying about where we will get breakfast, etc. So I would like to know if anyone who may have experienced this wait has any suggestions on how to make it as pleasant as possible. I am wondering what is available in the terminal, and is there somewhere to get breakfast? Will we be in charge of our suitcases until we embark or will Oceania take them from us at the terminal? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I will be on a Riviera cruise, Miami to Miami, with my 86 year old dad. Our less than ideal travel plans include a red-eye flight that arrives at 6am. We have an Oceania transfer to, I guess, the cruise terminal? And then a long wait before we embark at 1pm. This will not be easy for my impatient father. He is already worrying about where we will get breakfast, etc. So I would like to know if anyone who may have experienced this wait has any suggestions on how to make it as pleasant as possible. I am wondering what is available in the terminal, and is there somewhere to get breakfast? Will we be in charge of our suitcases until we embark or will Oceania take them from us at the terminal? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I only disembarked Riviera on Feb 2nd, 2014 and due to a 2hr+ wait for a Taxi at the port I noticed that some of the next cruise embarking passengers were arriving with their luggage from approx. 9.30 - 10am. They were going through the usual main front doors of the terminal & dropping their luggage and on more than one occasion the taxi was waiting for them & off they drove. Maybe you could do a tour with your taxi driver or another company then return to the port for lunch on board.

PS: THE TAXI DELAY WAS CAUSED BY THE RUNNING OF THE MIAMI MARATHON LAST SUNDAY MORNING. THERE WERE 6 SHIPS ARRIVING IN PORT THAT MORNING AND TRAFFIC WAS HORRENDOUS. There were people yelling at each other, screaming at the traffic offices, people jumping into the queues and refusing to wait their turn, port officers taking people out of the queues out of order and directing them into taxies/shuttles etc.

A lot of this could have been avoided had passengers been advised by their cruise line that long waits etc. were to be expected. But after speaking to other passenger from 2 others lines - none were advised of the delays. Not good enough as far as I am concerned as the main office of all these cruise company's are in Miami and they should have knows of the possible delays.

I will be on a Riviera cruise, Miami to Miami, with my 86 year old dad. Our less than ideal travel plans include a red-eye flight that arrives at 6am. We have an Oceania transfer to, I guess, the cruise terminal? And then a long wait before we embark at 1pm. This will not be easy for my impatient father. He is already worrying about where we will get breakfast, etc. So I would like to know if anyone who may have experienced this wait has any suggestions on how to make it as pleasant as possible. I am wondering what is available in the terminal, and is there somewhere to get breakfast? Will we be in charge of our suitcases until we embark or will Oceania take them from us at the terminal? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Take your Father to a Hotel and fill him up with a breakfast,hopefully when he is full he will fall asleep and that leave you time to relax before boarding.:)

There is nothing at the terminal as far a eating goes and you can not walk as the terminal is on an Island. There are just chairs to sit and wait. I think Oceania had water or some drinks there. Since you have a Oceania transfer, which cost you a lot I bet as the fixed cab rate is 25$, I do not know about the timing but your best bet would be to have breakfast at the airport IMO.

I would cancel the O transfer either go eat at the hotel in the Airport or in the airport itself

You could sit in the hotel lobby or wander if your dad is too impatient ..it is more comfortable than waiting in the port if they even let you in the building early

Then take a taxi to the port later maybe noonish ..it is $24 + tip flat rate much cheaper than the O transfer

The porters will take you bags but do keep your carry-on with you with your valuables & meds

Enjoy

Lyn

I would cancel the O transfer either go eat at the hotel in the Airport or in the airport itself

You could sit in the hotel lobby or wander if your dad is too impatient ..it is more comfortable than waiting in the port if they even let you in the building early

 

Then take a taxi to the port later maybe noonish ..it is $24 + tip flat rate much cheaper than the O transfer

The porters will take you bags but do keep your carry-on with you with your valuables & meds

 

Enjoy

Lyn

This is exactly what I was going to suggest - Lyn beat me to it!

On our 2nd O cruise, we were left at the airport by O due to luggage not showing up. O finally found a spot on another bus of people they were transporting to the ship. Very bad experience. Don't expect O to take care of you when there is a problem. After that, we NEVER took O's transport again. We've learned it's always so much cheaper to simply hail a cab.

If you're concerned about having to wait for a cab, you may be able to make arrangements ahead of time with a taxi company to meet you at the airport. I don't know where to find such info, but searching the web is a start.

Good luck!

Jan

On our January cruise out of Miami we arrived about 7 AM. We found that the hotel inside the airport had a very nice, reasonably priced breakfast (and a view of the runways). It was a bit of a walk but we certainly had lots of time. They were apparently used to people like us and had no problem with us storing our bags in a corner. We had a very leisurely breakfast, relaxed and chatted with folks at the next table who had just gotten off a cruise and then relaxed in the very nice waiting area in the restaurant for an hour or so and then caught a taxi to the cruise terminal arriving around 11:30. There was quite a crowd and a priority color card system so we took a seat and chatted some more :). We were aboard and in the Terrace by 12:15.

Some folks taxied to a hotel near the port and did basically the same thing but that took two taxi rides and a bit more luggage handling.

Bottom line: plenty of choices and not much problem getting on board a bit early.

Robbie

If you want to make things even easier for your father get a private car and driver to pick you up at the airport, take you to a nice hotel for breakfast and wait for you, then transfer you to the terminal around noon. That way you won;'t have to deal with luggage which can be stored in the trunk and it will be much smoother.

With respect to delays at POM on marathon Sunday,1/2/14, I knew about the race. Hence, I booked and paid for a private transfer from the port to MIA. I used "Fast Shuttle", a big mistake. We called when we disembarked and successively got no answer, a busy signal and then voice mail. When he finally arrived we put our luggage in the van and then another passenger approached him with a group wanting to go to FLL. They had no reservations. However,he put our luggage out on the street and said someone else would take us.Obviously, he wanted the extra cash. Fortunately, port security saw it, approached and would not let him leave until another van arrived. At this point we were worried about missing our flight. Today I read very bad reviews of this company on Yelp.

Do not use "Fast Shuttle" and please post if anyone knows of a reliable car service for transportation from POM to MIA. We shall be arriving there again on marathon Sunday next year.

If you want to make things even easier for your father get a private car and driver to pick you up at the airport, take you to a nice hotel for breakfast and wait for you, then transfer you to the terminal around noon. That way you won;'t have to deal with luggage which can be stored in the trunk and it will be much smoother.

All of which will likely be less than the cost of transfers through Oceania; however one has to do a little extra research to find and book the car, not as convenient as the O xfer.

if anyone knows of a reliable car service for transportation from POM to MIA. We shall be arriving there again on marathon Sunday next year.

We used John's Car service he was right on time, not sure if a marathon was on if it would be a problem though

You need to call him before you go to Customs & then when you are outside ...glad one of the people sharing had a cell phone that worked in the USA (Thanks Kitty)

Lyn

Is there a deadline for when you can cancel transfers and be refunded the costs? I'm sure it's hard to predict, but do you think we would have a long wait for a taxi from the airport? And what about the taxi from the ship back to airport at end of cruise? (Our flight home is not until afternoon.) Thanks for your suggestions.

Is there a deadline for when you can cancel transfers and be refunded the costs? I'm sure it's hard to predict, but do you think we would have a long wait for a taxi from the airport? And what about the taxi from the ship back to airport at end of cruise? (Our flight home is not until afternoon.) Thanks for your suggestions.

We've killed time at the airport before. I vote for the suggestion from a couple of posters to have a leisurely breakfast at the hotel in the airport and then take a taxi. Little hassle and less expense.

I believe O's transfers can be cancelled a very reasonable 24 or 48 hours before. The timing will be listed with the other penalty dates on your invoice.

If flying out early I'd pay the price and take O's transfer for piece of mind - especially as you also will be keeping your dad's needs on mind. We have twice had bad experiences trying to disembark at Miami port so not worth the stress unless leaving later in the day (and later then all the other panicking pax). If leaving later I'd hang back to avoid the crush and taxi line up but just take a taxi to the airport. You can book a shuttle in advance but again as you are flying out late would not rush it.

Hopefully after a nice cruise you dad will be so relaxed disembarkation will be easy.

Lots of taxis at the airport

i usually can find a decent hotel room - day use - for some 120$ close to the airport in miami.

We cancelled the transfers since it seems that our 6am arrival and 2pm departure for home sounds like it will give us plenty of time to get taxis.

We will either have breakfast and relax at the airport hotel (will it be easy to find?) or maybe take a taxi to another hotel near the cruise terminal. I will be checking out these hotels - any suggestions will be welcomed. Thanks for the advice.

We cancelled the transfers since it seems that our 6am arrival and 2pm departure for home sounds like it will give us plenty of time to get taxis.

We will either have breakfast and relax at the airport hotel (will it be easy to find?) or maybe take a taxi to another hotel near the cruise terminal. I will be checking out these hotels - any suggestions will be welcomed. Thanks for the advice.

We always recommend a light lunch at the Intercontinental

http://www.intercontinental.com/hotels/gb/en/miami/miaha/hoteldetail?qAdlt=1&qBrs=6c.hi.ex.rs.ic.cp.in.sb.cw.cv&qChld=0&qFRA=1&qGRM=0&qIta=99504425&qPSt=0&qRRSrt=rt&qRms=1&qRpn=1&qRpp=10&qSHp=1&qSmP=3&qSrt=sBR&qWch=0&srb_u=1&icdv=99504425&siclientid=1911&dp=true

Because Blue Water, their poolside Restaurant overlooking the Bay, sits just opposite Oceania Berth J in the port of Miami.

There is nothing quite like watching a cruise ship being turned around, and knowing that it is being prepared for you. :p

We'll be arriving in MIA port post an O cruise but Miami will not be the first US port following docking at a foreign port. So I'm thinking (hoping) that our 12:15 pm flight will work sans customs, and immigration, and getting off a smaller ship......Anyone else have this experience with O at MIA?

We'll be arriving in MIA port post an O cruise but Miami will not be the first US port following docking at a foreign port. So I'm thinking (hoping) that our 12:15 pm flight will work sans customs, and immigration, and getting off a smaller ship......Anyone else have this experience with O at MIA?

You will usually be off the ship by 9am, so any flight after noon should be fine.

I agree, we took a flight out after the cruise at 11:45AM, got to the airport with extra time.

Rick

Hoffdahl

I think that Jim & Stan suggestion to go have breakfast at the Intercontinental is perfect. You can leave your luggage with the bellman desk while you eat. Then a taxi ride from the hotel to the ship is no more than five minutes.

Paco

We are having the problem at the end of our cruise....we do not leave Miami until 7.00pm. Our , soon to be ex TA, has booked us on a transfer from the ship to the airport. Great! When I queried the length of time we would be at the airport, she said to change the booking on board as O usually arranged something for departing passengers. (this woman has been getting her money too easily...she was very good to begin with).

Please could anyone suggest the way to spend a day in Miami,with luggage:p

We are staying in Miami for 2 days prior to boarding Riviera.

We are having the problem at the end of our cruise....we do not leave Miami until 7.00pm. Our , soon to be ex TA, has booked us on a transfer from the ship to the airport. Great! When I queried the length of time we would be at the airport, she said to change the booking on board as O usually arranged something for departing passengers. (this woman has been getting her money too easily...she was very good to begin with).

 

Please could anyone suggest the way to spend a day in Miami,with luggage:p

 

We are staying in Miami for 2 days prior to boarding Riviera.

There are some car services that will take you on a tour prior to dropping you at the airport

Book a day room at one of the hotels at South beach & see some of the sights

I think the HOHO bus will also store your bags at Bayside before you need to head to the airport

Check the Florida forum for other suggestions

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

If there are earlier flights to your destination you could always see if you can switch flights ...it may cost you a fee though

There are some car services that will take you on a tour prior to dropping you at the airport

Book a day room at one of the hotels at South beach & see some of the sights

I think the HOHO bus will also store your bags at Bayside before you need to head to the airport

Check the Florida forum for other suggestions

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

 

If there are earlier flights to your destination you could always see if you can switch flights ...it may cost you a fee though

Thank you for your suggestions.I'll take your advice and nip over to Florida forum

:):)

The earlier flight isn't much earlier.....our flights are redemptions flights,so............

An option. Several hotels near MIA have courtsey vans to the hotel. Pick your favorite out and take the fre van to the hotel. Check you luggage with the concierge and enjoy your breakfast, et.al. When it's time to go, have the hotel hail a cab, iof one is not waiting. Easy solution. I don't really recommend showing up much ahead of your scheduled time.

Cancel the O transfer, or if you want to keep it, ask them to pick you up that the hotel you select. For their rates, I'm sure they will do it!;)