Fred and Wilma 'Wonder' Through the Panama Canal - With a Couple of Stowaways Updated 3/2

That sounds like a very busy 18 hours. I love the idea of heading for South Beach for the sunrise. The Concrete looks lovely. I hope that you manage to fit everything in.

Corinna
 
Miami Madness


At around 11.30 we will set off for the port, where Theresa and I will be dropped off with the bags while Tony and Gary return the car to Dollar at the airport. They will either catch the shuttle back to port or grab a cab if the wait for the shuttle is too long. To alleviate the risk of repeats of previous years’ issues, the guys will stick together and will have mobile phones (switched on) and cash with them. Plus, of course, they will have their photo IDs to allow them access through security at the port. Hopefully, by the time they arrive, Tee and I will have checked us in and we will be ready to board. What can possibly go wrong????
What can go wrong? Anything and everything! Lol

How did I not know about your PTR! Well better late than never… and that counts for getting to the port too;-)
 
sounds a fun 18 Hours, I love strolling down the Boardwalk to Ocean Dive when we visit Miami :beach:
 


Miami Madness
We are down to less than 2 months :banana:

So, as I mentioned before, the cruise departs from Miami and we are flying in the day before. Our flight is due to land at 17.05 local time and we have a Port Arrival Time, as I mentioned before, of 12-12.30.

So, with such a short time – just 18 hours – in Miami, you would think that we might take a slightly relaxed approach, maybe a quick dinner on arrival night, a late breakfast the next morning before dropping the rental car back to Miami Airport and catching the shuttle to the port.

Uh-uh! Not the Alcock-Buckland party. No, we are hitting the ground running. Here is the run-down of what we have planned for the 18 hours – 12 if you count the fact that we will be asleep for some of it (although I am not sure Tony has allowed time for sleeping in the busy schedule).

Thursday 30th April – Land approximately 5pm, collect rental car (from Dollar) and drive to the hotel. We did have a group booking at the Doubletree set up by somebody who was originally on the same cruise, however that person is no longer sailing and it all got a bit complicated. We were concerned about the risk of turning up and finding we had nowhere to stay so decided to book elsewhere. We got a great rate at the Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Brickell downtown. It is currently rated No. 1 on TripAdvisor, has a free breakfast and, most importantly, complimentary tea and coffee 24 hours a day (a must for anybody travelling with Gary)!



After checking in, there is just enough time to drop off our bags before heading out for dinner at a local restaurant, Burger and Beer Joint. There are two in Miami, one is a short walk from the hotel and the other is on Miami Beach. Which one we go to will depend on how late it is and how tired we are.





If we go to the Miami Beach location, we will be dropping in to Shake Shack for dessert in the form of the famous Concrete.



Gary and I discovered Shake Shack on our visit to New York last summer and fell in love with the Concrete – frozen vanilla or chocolate custard ice-cream with added mix-ins (think McFlurry on speed!) I am particularly keen to try the Vice Crispy Treat while I think Gary might opt for the Shark Attack.

Then, and only then, we may retire to bed as we have an early start.

Friday 1st May - Back when we began planning what we might like to see and do in Miami, I mentioned that I have always had a hankering to walk down Ocean Drive (blame the Lighthouse Family for that one). We discovered a few options that have good views over the ocean and port area, particularly South Pointe Park where, allegedly, you can view the cruise ships moored up at the port. Being a keen photographer, Tony suggested that it might be nice to head over to South Beach early enough in the morning to catch the sunrise – 6.44am people! :scared1:

In reality, we know we will be up early so it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to drag ourselves out of bed and over to Miami Beach to see the sunrise. Gary has opted out so will remain in bed until we come back for breakfast, after which we will load up the car and drive back over to Miami Beach to explore.

On our list of places to see are:

Miami Holocaust Memorial



Britto Central Art Gallery



Ocean Drive



We will also make time to visit Shake Shack for a Concrete fix if we didn’t have time to get here the previous night.

At around 11.30 we will set off for the port, where Theresa and I will be dropped off with the bags while Tony and Gary return the car to Dollar at the airport. They will either catch the shuttle back to port or grab a cab if the wait for the shuttle is too long. To alleviate the risk of repeats of previous years’ issues, the guys will stick together and will have mobile phones (switched on) and cash with them. Plus, of course, they will have their photo IDs to allow them access through security at the port. Hopefully, by the time they arrive, Tee and I will have checked us in and we will be ready to board. What can possibly go wrong????

We stayed at the Hampton Inn and suites at Brickell district a few years ago it was brilliant loved the pool area on top of the building happy hour in the evening friendly staff and lovely room . Breakfast was good as well you could make your own waffles : ) amongst other options. Lovely Art work ( not that I'm an expert lol!) all in all a brilliant stay before we headed up to Florida . Enjoy : )
 
I think I'd be with Gary on that one, lie in and a late breakfast before boarding.

2017 is looking good, I've nearly lost 20% of my target.
 


i love the miami plan !! i had a plan in miami too however a very strong rum cocktail put an end to that !! beware the rum :scared:
 
That sounds like a very busy 18 hours. I love the idea of heading for South Beach for the sunrise. The Concrete looks lovely. I hope that you manage to fit everything in.

Corinna

Here's hoping all goes to plan. I am pretty laid-back about it, though - as long as we get ont he ship, that's all that really matters.

How did I not know about your PTR! Well better late than never… and that counts for getting to the port too;-)

I agree with that statement - but we have a plan,e verything's going to be fine!!!!

Great update, looking forward to more:thumbsup2

Thanks Sue, more to come soon
sounds a fun 18 Hours, I love strolling down the Boardwalk to Ocean Dive when we visit Miami :beach:

Rachel, I can't wait to see it, having never done more than dirve through Miami.

Ooh 2017 could be the winner then Joh

Yay, I might just hold you to that ;)

We stayed at the Hampton Inn and suites at Brickell district a few years ago it was brilliant loved the pool area on top of the building happy hour in the evening friendly staff and lovely room . Breakfast was good as well you could make your own waffles : ) amongst other options. Lovely Art work ( not that I'm an expert lol!) all in all a brilliant stay before we headed up to Florida . Enjoy : )

Glad to hear the Hampton Inn was good - make your own waffles is always a good thing. I can feel the weight piing back on as I type.

I think I'd be with Gary on that one, lie in and a late breakfast before boarding.

2017 is looking good, I've nearly lost 20% of my target.

That's great news Chilly - I am keeping my fingers crossed :) And, if all else fails, I will be popping down to force feed you lettuce :rotfl:

i love the miami plan !! i had a plan in miami too however a very strong rum cocktail put an end to that !! beware the rum :scared:

Beware the rum, I will bear that in mind :)
 
oooooh this sounds exciting. I haven't been on DIS for centuries but thought I might check out some trip reports to pass a few hours on a dreary damp afternoon, and I was really happy to discover this one. I passed through the canal many times back in my days working for a cruise line, but I never really appreciated it back then. I would love to go back and see it through the eyes of a guest so I look forward to all of your views on the trip. Hope you are all enjoying the planning and the countdown.
 
Following along, we did our 1st cruise last year and loved it. We both fancy the Panama cruise, but it will be a few years off as promised kids one more trip to Disney. Already have plans for 2016 so it's looking like 2017 will be the earliest :hourglass I'm the planner in our house too, my Gary's similar to yours!
 
oooooh this sounds exciting. I haven't been on DIS for centuries but thought I might check out some trip reports to pass a few hours on a dreary damp afternoon, and I was really happy to discover this one. I passed through the canal many times back in my days working for a cruise line, but I never really appreciated it back then. I would love to go back and see it through the eyes of a guest so I look forward to all of your views on the trip. Hope you are all enjoying the planning and the countdown.

can't believe how close wea re now, since this trip has essentially been in the planning for well over 3 years. I am hoping I might get another small update to the pre-trip report in before we leave - I want to show everybody some of the wonderful things we have planned within our group.

Hi!! I will be going on the cruise too. I'm teriyaki's daughter

Hi teriyaki's daughter, I look forward to meeting you on the cruise :)

Following along, we did our 1st cruise last year and loved it. We both fancy the Panama cruise, but it will be a few years off as promised kids one more trip to Disney. Already have plans for 2016 so it's looking like 2017 will be the earliest :hourglass I'm the planner in our house too, my Gary's similar to yours!

Shazzie, thanks for reading along. Got to say I am addicted to Disney cruising, almost as much so as WDW. As you may have seen, there are a few of us planning a return in 2017 so you could always join us ;)
 
I just remembered that you had mentioned your PTR and thought I better go and look for it. Not long anymore until you leave! I hope you will have a fantastic journey and am looking forward to reading all about your adventures! I see that you are already talking about repeating the cruise in 2017!
 
Can't believe how close we are now! Looking forward to meeting up in Miami :)

I also like the idea of horseback riding on the beach, but if it's just like riding on a donkey, then that doesn't appeal to me. It sounds like we'll have a good group on the Cartegena excursion.
 
I've just found your TR and I'm looking forward to reading along!! DH and I are on the Eastbound Panama Canal cruise in October :-)
 

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