BassetPeople

Glad to hear we will be there in June. Called today to make sure our wheelchair room was on first floor like 800# said it would be and they don't have them on that floor, so they gave us a room on the 3rd floor reserved already since this was the lowest floor he had. How were the elevators?

The elevators are not huge, but you shouldn't have any issue getting a wheelchair on them. Most of the first floor is taken up by lobby and restaurant so this doesn't surprise me and it sounds like a default that the 800 number puts handicap on the first floor for any of the chain's hotels.

SIDENOTE:

Some Expedia reviews for this hotel are bad and that surprised me. I think its important that people remember where they are. Downtown Miami (and south beach) are not young by any means. The hotel is up to date, clean and accessible. One just must remember that when these buildings were built quite some time ago the current standards for room spaciousness and width of hallways and such were not the standard then.

I think you will still be pleased. After all, this is just a launching pad for your cruise!

Glad it worked out for you! :)

 

Probably not worth the hassel but you could have saved a couple of bucks by just grabbing a few taxis to get to the port -- the fare would have been $10-12 per cab split 4 ways (maybe 5 ways in a van cab). Hope you had a great cruise! :cool:

Actually he stopped taking our money very quickly when he realized we were all one group. I think we paid a total of about $40 for the bus, trailer and his assistance with baggage. The hotel and their associated transportation were just very accommodating. I post the cost because I think that's the max it would be.

I wanted to give a quick recommendation for a great hotel before a cruise out of Miami.

Planning to get married on the ship in the port of Miami also left me to make plans for a decently priced hotel that everyone could stay at preferrably near entertainment and restaurants. After much research online and a few phone calls I selected the Holiday Inn (Port of Miami Downtown).

LOCATION

Given the location of the port on Dodge Island, hotels don't get much closer to the port. No this hotel is not on South Beach, which would have been fun, but those hotels were seriously out of many of my guests price ranges and we never like spending a ton on a hotel before or after a cruise. HOWEVER, it's location is excellent! It's just across from Dodge Island and you can see ships come and go from the port right from your room window which was pretty cool. Getting to the port took just minutes.

HOTEL:

The concierge was outstanding prior to our arrival and while we were there. They truely made everything easy for all of us. Our wedding group was listed on a marquee in the hotel and made for an easy congregating point.

There is no continental breakfast but the restaurant, though pricey, was good.

The parking lot is small, but secure. We had a rental car for part of our trip and were able to return it nearby.

The price was competive, yet moderate and well worth what we paid.

Pool was nice and clean, rooms fresh and clean and make sure to request a room with a view of the bay, bayside and the port. That was wonderful.

TO/FROM THE PORT:

The hotel was very accommodating when I called, even arranging for a bus to come with a trailer, to take all my guests at once to the port. So wonderful! The fee for this was nominal (cheaper than a taxi) at about $5 per person. We enjoyed the ease of this as everyone was together cutting down on confusion. The concierge will arrange port transportation for anyone regardless of group size. The trip to the port took just minutes and the loaded and unloaded luggage for us.

RESTAURANTS & ENTERTAINMENT:

As for restaurants and entertainment nearby, this hotel is a jackpot for anyone with budget in mind. It is located directly across the street from Bayside Marketplace which proved to be WONDERFUL!

We walked across the street to land us in the middle of shops, restaurants, bars, entertainment, where the bay cruise tours left from, etc. It couldn't have been better!!! Coming in a couple of days early we took a bay cruise of the millionaires homes, shopped at the marketplace and enjoyed everything it had to offer.

We arranged for our rehearsal dinner to be at Bubba Gump's, and then enjoyed the free to the public DJ's and bands at the marketplace with our wedding party while sipping on fruity drinks ;) This was still family friendly (while we were there) and I assume it still is as the marketplace was monitored by police on bikes and walking.

PHOTOS:

The hotel from Bayside Marketplace

Guests and Wedding Party beside the bus

Guests on the bus

Bayside Marketplace and the prime location of this hotel made this one of our most favorite ports to leave from!

I called my PVP this evening to book my next cruise (CTN in May to get me to Platinum:D) and he told me, "That Carnival is starting a New Referral Bonus Program" which is in the trial stages. Here is the specifics:

 

30 days after you book a cruise, any BRAND NEW CRUISERS that contacts your PVP to book their cruise and uses your name as a referral gets you $100.00 in Carnival Cash. The cruise does not have to be taken in 30 days, just booked.

 

My PVP is not sure how long this is going to be available and from what I was told, this just started recently.

 

I hope that some of you can take advantage of this...

Sorry if this was vague, however, it seems simple enough. Too bad it was not for Past Guests as the BRAND NEW CRUISERS statement is what gave me the Ahhhhh's:rolleyes:

 

Oh yeah, please feel free to use my name as a refence for all those new cruisers out there looking to book:D:D

 

If you have any questions and your own PVP cannot answer them, please post and I will be happy to give mine a call to get more info.

Thanks for that tip...and looking at your past cruises...you may have been on a cruise we got married on! Carnival Liberty 5/2008? You didn't happen to sail on the 31st did you?!