Tampa hotel, Crystal River manatee snorkeling/diving, and Columbia Restaurant Review

[Middleager]

Before going on the Carnival Miracle cruise out of Tampa, we flew in two days early on Fri. Aug. 25/06. There were 5 of us and we rented a van. After getting our luggage, it was a quick shuttle ride to the Alamo office to pick up a van. It was nice, with leather seats and automatic sliding doors, with a Costco discount price.

 

We drove north 1.5hr to Crystal River, to stay at Best Western hotel. There was toll of $4.75 along the way. The BW hotel wasn't cheap, but conveniently located. I did a night dive at King's Spring that night, while my wife, mother-in-law, and a couple/friend just rode along. Review here The next day Aug. 26 we did manatee snorkeling and I dove again at King's Bay. Manatee snorkeling That afternoon we followed with drift diving/snorkeling at beautiful Rainbow River. It was quite nice. All the diving/snorkeling trips were booked with Adventure Diving. They were great, I'd recommend them.

 

We then drove back to Tampa to stay at the Doubletree hotel It was easy to find (also can see from the highway), and quite a nice hotel. The shutle rides to/from airport, and to/from cruise port are also included in the room cost.

 

After check-in and quick change at the hotel, we then drove to the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor city, where we had reservation. This restaurant is an old well known establishment in Tampa. We sat in the area where there is also the Flemenco Spanish Dance Show, at $6/p extra cover charge. The food was in large portion. The dance show was on a small stage/platform, and I'll rate it so so. But the ambience and hotel deco was good.

 

Next day we took the shuttle from the hotel to the cruise port. They even provided each a cookie on the way. They also told us where we'll get picked up after the cruise, to be driven either to the airport or back to the hotel. The return ride is also included in the hotel room cost, so that was quite nice. Oh, if you work for the government, you can also get the government rate. If you are a Hilton VIP Gold member, can ask for upgrade to the Exec level (if room available), which then includes breakfast.