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Miami/Imagination July 10 (4 day) Review with pictures


mom2girls

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Tuesday: 2 days prior to sailing

 

We woke up early this morning because we wanted to get to Miami Beach to enjoy some waves before checking in to the hotel. We left around 7:00. We arrived around 10:40. It took us a while to find parking, but we did. I wish I had realized that if we went a little further down (maybe a mile or 2) we would have been closer to food.

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Anyway, we really enjoyed the beach, but the waves were quite rough. Of course, Emily (who I think is a fish) loved the water! She actually laid down in it for a little while. We stayed for about an hour and half, then decided we were hungry. We were going to eat before checking into the hotel. But, we had major difficulty finding anyplace that had parking. This reminded me that I HATE driving in Miami. Thank goodness I had my GPS. I finally gave up looking for food. We had brought some Cheerios and poptarts with us so that held the girls over for a little while. Once I decided to head for the hotel we were there in a matter of minutes. Check-In was VERY easy. They had my reservation (I made reservations on Priceline for $60/night.) By the way this hotel is absolutely beautiful.

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We were told where to self park. I decided that once I parked there was no way I was taking the car out again until we leave for the port, so self parking was not a problem with us. (If you want to use the car during your stay you need to use valet.) We then went up to the 14th floor. Our room was awesome. It had a flat screen tv, 2 full beds that had tons of pillows on them, a walk-in closet, as well as many other things that regular hotels don’t seem to have. It was kind of like having a suite because the bathroom had a wall around it.

 

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We decided to head to the pool for a little while. Actually, the website picture is a little misleading. We thought the pool was much bigger than it is, but we had a good time anyway. We hung out for a little while then decided that since we didn’t have a decent lunch we’d head for an early dinner.

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We went down to the lobby to find out where the People Mover was. It was conveniently very near. The location was the Knight Center which this hotel is connected to. We got off of the People Mover at Bayfront. After a short walk, (And, a nice look at the Intercontinental. Wow!) we arrived at Bayfront. We decided to eat at the Hard Rock since we were starving and that was pretty much the first restaurant we came to. The food was delicious. Since we were no longer starving we decided to wander around. GapKids had an awesome sale so we bought a few things there. My older daughter forgot to bring something for her hair for formal night. So, we bought some headbands at Claire’s. And, of course I bought a Miami South Beach T-shirt. By then, we were tired so we decided to head back to the hotel. This was pretty cool since our stop was the first stop on the People Mover on the way back.

 

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OK, I'm having trouble pasting the pictures right now. So, more will come later.

Enjoy!

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Here are a few pictures from the hotel:

 

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Wednesday: 1 day prior to sailing

 

 

Today was a wonderful day. We ate breakfast at a pastry bar on the way to the People Mover. We then went to Bayfront Park since we had plans to take the boat ride to see all of the Millionaire’s homes. This was a pretty cool trip. The girls and I had a wonderful time. Although, it just reminded us that we weren’t rich. <sigh> While on the "Miami Lady" I supposedly won a 7 day cruise. But, it ended up being a timeshare spiel. I stayed for it because I wanted to see what all the gift entailed. It does look like a good deal, but I will see after I mail it in to get all of the details. I was told that the girls would get snacks while I was listening to the spiel, but they didn’t know they had to ask for them. So, they didn't get any. We were all starving so we went to Chili’s for lunch. We ate outside by the Marina. It was a stunning view. When we got back to the hotel we went to the pool for a little while. After that we just hung out in the room and relaxed until we were hungry enough to go exploring for dinner.

 

 

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Another good view from Bayfront Park!

 

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The Marina

 

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Hi,

 

Great review so far. I'm loving the pictures! We'll be sailing from Miami in Sept and I'm still looking for a nice hotel post cruise. I'm not having very much luck bidding on Priceline right now for a decent price. It's mainly because I've stayed in the 4 star catagory, not knowing what to expect if I went lower. Would you mind telling me how you bid on your hotel room?

 

Much appreciated!

~Debra

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I love the review. I am on the Imagination on 7/23. Please keep it coming. We can't wait.

 

I am staying at that hotel pre cruise as well. It is the Hyatt Regency Miami.

 

It's supposed to be close to the port. is it really?

 

Thanks again!

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Welcome back, Mom!

I've been up north for the last couple days, and just now am catching up on things around here... Love the Miami pics, and your girls are gorgeous! This was their fourth cruise, right? How cool!

 

I can't wait to 'go back' to Cozumel again... and to hear about the rest of your trip!

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Hi,

 

Great review so far. I'm loving the pictures! We'll be sailing from Miami in Sept and I'm still looking for a nice hotel post cruise. I'm not having very much luck bidding on Priceline right now for a decent price. It's mainly because I've stayed in the 4 star catagory, not knowing what to expect if I went lower. Would you mind telling me how you bid on your hotel room?

 

Much appreciated!

~Debra

 

The hotel was the Hyatt Regency. It's a 4 star hotel. I won it on the first bid. I think July is a very slow time for the. That's why I got it for $60/night.

 

What was the name of the hotel you stayed at?

 

How far was it from the Port of Miami?

 

I think it was only 2 miles from the port. The People Mover took us to Bayfront Park which is right next to the port. I'm pretty sure the Hyatt has a shuttle that will take you to the port as well.

 

Welcome back, Mom!

I've been up north for the last couple days, and just now am catching up on things around here... Love the Miami pics, and your girls are gorgeous! This was their fourth cruise, right? How cool!

 

I can't wait to 'go back' to Cozumel again... and to hear about the rest of your trip!

 

Carrie: We just got back on Monday as well. Yes, it was the girls' 4th cruise. (They're spoiled.) Thanks for the compliment on them. I have to go to workshops for the next 3 days so it's going to be hard to continue the review until those are done. But, I'll try. I did love Cozumel. So far, I have always enjoyed my "excursions" in Cozumel!

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Loving all the pictures (and the review). Your girls are so pretty.

 

Now at the risk of sounding dumb, what is a People Mover?

Thanks for the compliment on my girls! :) A people mover is kind of like the monorail train they have at Disney. It's free transportation all over downtown Miami.

 

Everything looks great. Can't wait for the rest.
Thanks! I got hung up with "work" yesterday. (Teachers shouldn't have to work in the summer!)

 

I love the pics!!! Can't wait for more!!!!

Thanks! More is on the way. I'll do a little more tonight. I'm hoping to finish it sometime this weekend!

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The next few pictures will be of the millionaire houses. I honestly can't remember who they belong to, but I will list some of the names they told us: Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, Shaquille O'Neal, Vanilla Ice (It's not his anymore.), and Elizabeth Taylor. There were many more, but I was focusing on taking pictures.

 

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Are you getting tired of looking at these beautiful houses yet? I have a few more:

 

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Here's the NCL Sky. It's first sailing out of Miami was July 14th. This was taken on July 9th:

 

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I have some more of the Sky as we left Miami, that I will post later.

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We will be sailing out of Miami for the first time in Oct.

 

In Ft Lauderdale they have a water taxi service that you can take to see the expensive homes. Do they have that in Miami also. If they do, where do you get it.

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We will be sailing out of Miami for the first time in Oct.

 

In Ft Lauderdale they have a water taxi service that you can take to see the expensive homes. Do they have that in Miami also. If they do, where do you get it.

 

It's kind of like a ferry that holds about 100 people. You get on at Bayfront Park. If you want to book online you can get a discount. There's more information at this link: http://www.islandqueencruises.com/indexf.htm.

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