After enjoying breakfast at the hotel, we went out for another walk. Our first destination was the Intercontinental followed by a visit to Bayside Marketplace. Unlike Brickell Centre with its high end stores, Bayside has many stores and restaurants oriented to the many tourists that visit Miami each year. In fact, from end of October 2022 thru end of September, 2023 the port welcome 7 million plus guests. On past visits we usually spend part of a day in South Beach but decided not to visit this week. Also, we normally go to one or two Miami Heat games during our stay but the home schedule was limited, and we didn't want to go to a game tomorrow evening the night before we board Serenity. We would have made an exception for the Dallas Mavericks or the Boston Celtics though. LOL. Continuing with yesterday's weather patterns, it was windy for portions of the walk but still a delight to be outside and to take in everything around us. We even had a few minutes of rain showers. Welcome to Miami. We also saw signs of Keith's former company MCI on another section of sidewalk. In the afternoon Keith took a nice long walk to find a location and take some photos for a friend and then he stopped off at the JFK memorial. After returning to the hotel, we both took one more walk.
It's been another fun day in Miami. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith
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Thank you David. We do enjoy walking. After breakfast we took another long walk in downtown Miami. The temperature started off in the low 60's versus 50's on Tuesday. It was windy but was not bothersome. One of the places we stopped off at is the Brickell Centre. While walking we saw the name of Keith's company which he spent most of his career at. The writing is a bit hard to read. It is MCI. The writing is to note there is fiber optics below. We had lunch at a restaurant in the Mary Brickell area called North Italia and sat outside with three members of the Crystal team. Lunch was delicious as was the company.
Three days till we board Crystal Serenity. Happy Holidays. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith Carol, thank you for your good wishes and for following our Blog. Keith went out again later yesterday afternoon to pick up a couple of items and then walked along Biscayne Bay. He could see one side of the port of Miami from a distance and then headed in the direction towards the hotel. Weather was very nice with the breeze. We enjoyed dinner and relaxed. While it was along day with the early flight we were very pleased with how the first day went. We wanted to mention how great the customer service was at the area hotel we stay at our local airport, the service on the flight and the service at the hotel. It just added to how well the first day went. We enjoyed breakfast at the Four Seasons before going out on our first walk of the day. We walked from the hotel up Brickell over to the Intercontinental Hotel. Anne Marie stayed there while Keith proceeded North and then walked over the bridge to the Port Of Miami. This is something we like to do on each visit. He passed the arena where the Miami Heat play their home games. We have seen several games at the arena on past visits. Only one ship was in port and ironically it was at the terminal which we will embark on the 23rd. Keith walked back meeting Anne Marie at the hotel and then we were off to Whole Foods, and then we made another stop. Weather was in the 50's when we began our walk and by the time we were done it was in the mid-60's. A true delight. Along the way we passed many familiar sites. This even included a vessel named Grand Luxe near the Intercontinental Hotel which we have seen numerous times this time of year. We believe it sells art work. At least that is what it did several years ago. The photo of the We think the owner of the Susie Q II is not very pleased at the position of their vessel as you can see in the photo we've included. After lunch we took a walk from the hotel over to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel located on Brickell Key a 44 acre man-made island built in 1943. We walked around the entire perimeter of the island except for the slight detour due to construction behind the hotel. On one of our walks we saw that they converted an open space to an outdoor restaurant with tables and waiter service. Argentina cuisine. All in all a great day in Miami.
Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith We woke to get ready for a very early flight to Miami. We chose the flight since it was a direct to Miami although the flight leaves daily at 5:20 AM. This was why we stayed over at a hotel. Although the hotel is on the airport grounds, it is a one mile walk to the terminal and portions are not on sidewalk and not doable with luggage. The hotel offers a shuttle 7x24 on either the half hour or every twenty minutes depending on time of day. Today everything worked like clockwork. After taking the shuttle, we arrived to the ticket counter. They opened fifteen minutes early. A first, we think. We were early for the opening of TSA so we took a short walk and waited. Surprise. TSA opened twenty minutes early. We then walked for about an hour and headed to the gate. We learned the flight was full. Boarding commenced right on time and was actually organized. The aircraft left right on-time. The flight attendant was one of the best ever. He also had a great voice and a nice sense of humor. The flight is just over two hours so we passed the time reading and eating breakfast. There was a nice write-up in AARP which was an interview with Ringo Starr. The flight arrived to Miami a few minutes before the scheduled arrival time. After landing in Miami and departing the aircraft, we made our way to luggage claim where we were met by the driver Keith arranged. After claiming our luggage we were off to the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Miami. We first stayed there in 2007 for the Gala before the start of the World Cruise and ever since have stayed there on most of our trips to Miami including our last one in November of 2021. It is a full service hotel located in a quieter section of Miami. Upon arrival, we checked in and made our way to our room for the next five nights. The Four Seasons has been renovated since we were here last and also has new ownership. The rooms have been redone. Below are a few photos we took. We went on a couple of nice long walks which included stops to pick up items for the cruise such as some liquid products we didn't want to take on the flight and also some snacks for our time at the hotel. Weather was perfect. We were fortunate to have missed all of the stormy weather from yesterday and previous days. A couple of photos that Keith took as he sat out for a little while in the afternoon. Cheers,
Anne Marie & Keith Jill & Rod, Claire, Patricia, Connor and Betty, many thanks for your kind and thoughtful comments. Jill & Rod enjoy your January 5 sailing on Crystal Symphony.
Well before our July 31 cruise Keith would say: Bags Packed. Ready To Go. Can't Wait. He meant this figuratively rather than literally until the bags were actually packed. This morning, we put the final items into our luggage so we can say Bags Packed. Ready To Go. Can't wait. Today, our adventure begins. We were picked up in the afternoon by a driver and taken in an SUV which Keith arranged for drop-off at to one of the hotels at our local airport where we will spend the night. The last time we stayed at this hotel was five years ago before we flew to Los Angeles for the 2018 Holiday Cruise as part of our World Cruise 2019 adventure. The hotel rooms have been renovated which is great news. When we post next, we will be in Miami. Cheers and Happy Holidays to everyone. Anne Marie & Keith Please join us on another adventure as we board Crystal Serenity for the 2023 Holiday Cruise. After a pre-cruise stay, we embark Crystal Serenity for a 13 night cruise of the Caribbean. We last sailed Crystal Serenity between July 31 and August 22 of this year on the inaugural cruise and the cruise that followed it. This voyage is the fourth time we have sailed over the December holidays. We embark in Miami, Florida. Our last visit to Miami was in November of 2021 on the seventh voyage we sailed on Serenity that year as part of the post-covid restart. You are very welcome to leave comments and we do read each one of them. Look for daily posts in a few days. Below you will find a video trailer as we get ready to start this new adventure. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith Our Itinerary Follows: ITINERARY 12/18 Miami 12/19 Miami 12/20 Miami 12/21 Miami 12/22 Miami 12/23 Embark Miami, Florida 12/24 Sea Day 12/25 Sea Day 12/26 St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 12/27 St. John's 12/28 Margot, French West Indies 12/29 St. Lucia, West Indies 12/30 Barbados 12/31 St. Georges, Grenada 1/1 St. Kitts 1/2 Road Town, British Virgin Islands 1/3 Sea Day 1/4 Sea Day 1/5 Debark Miami, Florida Welcome Video |
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