krisan26

We are going on our first cruise in March leaving out of Miami. We are arriving the night before and are leaving the morning after. What do we do with our luggage in the morning? We would like to see a bit of Miami. Any suggestions on where to stay. We are a family of 6 kids ages 24 to 16. Thanks

Fedora

OK, I can only guide from morning after. Assuming you had arrived at noght and checked into Hotel and spent night walking and having fun...

In the morning you are calling a cab to the port and TAKING LUGGAGE WITH YOU.
Assuming that cab will take you right to the entrance to the port you will see tons of people in uniforms that are waiting to guide you. Make sure tags that came with your tickets are all filled in and placed on every bag.
In our case we paid for the cab and luggage was in mercy of the people in uniforms, we had never seen 'till the time they appeared in our stateroom.

So do not worry as long as every piece that gets on the ship marked correctly with your name, room# etc.

Have fun!

kfusto

Most airlines will not allow you to check luggage more than 2 hours in advance of your flight. I assume you have a hotel booked for the day you return?

Drop off the bags at your hotel; if the room is not ready they will store it for you. Then go and enjoy Miami.

March is spring break so I suggest you book pretty quickly. There is not too much to do downtown near where the ships dock. South Beach is an option as is Key Biscayne.

I like the Coconut Grove and Coral Gables areas personally. Plenty to do within walking distance.

krisan26

Thanks, We will get in late the night before the cruise so I think we will just sleep in then head to the port. How Crazy is South Beach? It sounds like a blast for my two older kids 21+ but what about the 16 and 17 year olds? Any thing to do for them in the evening?

kfusto

I do not like South Beach and overnight in Fort Lauderdale personally. Perhaps check the forum for this area?

Curt

Are you confused by all the answers you are getting? If I understand, you arrive in Miami the night before the cruise departs and are staying in a hotel. You then want to do a bit of sight seeing before you transfer to the port, and what will you do with your luggage. Well, most hotels have a luggage storage room and are happy to store your luggage after you check out for a few hours. This is quite common and usually there is no fee other than the tips you should give to the attendent of the check room or the bell boy/girl that handles this for you. It is not a big deal.

Then after you poke around for a while you go back to the hotel, get your bags, and transfer to the port. Just make sure you are on time for checkin to the ship (find out the latest you can arrive and plan accordingly) or you might not be going!

It is simple.

Dukey

These days with airport arrival requirements I doubt an airline is going to balk at checking luggage in more than two hours ahead.

kfusto

Happened to me 6 weeks ago on Southwest!