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    • LiMa AroundTheWorldWeltreise 2022/2023
      Day 27

      Miami Baby

      August 16, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      Gefühlte 36 Grad waren wir ja bereits gewohnt, was uns jedoch in Miami erwartete war für uns beide eine neue Erfahrung.

      Aufgrund der tropisch heißen Temperaturen verzichteten wir dieses Mal auf ausgiebige Spaziergänge durch die Stadt und genossen stattdessen die Zeit am Miami Beach. Etwas Touriprogramm musste jedoch trotzdem sein.

      Wir starteten mit einer Tour durch die Everglades, wo wir auf dem Airboat Alligatoren in freier Wildbahn beobachten konnten. Zurück in Miami haben wir bei einem Boat Cruise entlang der Millionärs Row die Villen der Schönen und Reichen bestaunt. Abschließend erkundeten wir die weiteren Ecken Miamis bei einer Bus Tour, die uns zum Sonnenuntergang wieder am Miami Beach absetzte.

      Highlight der Tage in Miami: das kubanische Restaurant im Stadtteil Little Havanna mit wirklich leckerem Essen und Live-Musik.

      🔜 Cozumel, Mexiko      Read more

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    • TravelerOhne fliegen nach Nordamerika
      Day 279

      Arriving in Miami

      June 21, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      Als wir uns endlich dafür entschieden hatten, einen Flug zu buchen, mussten wir uns allerdings noch in den Bahamas einchecken, da wir bis dahin illegal dort waren.
      Wir gingen also zur Immigration und wurden dort zunächst mit Fragen bombardiert. Sie wollten gerne wissen wieso wir das Boot verlassen hatten und was genau passiert war und wer denn dieser Kapitän wäre.
      Wir fühlten uns etwas unwohl, aber versuchten alles zu beantworten.
      Nach hunderten Papieren sagten sie uns dann endlich, dass alles geklärt war und wir zum Flughafen fahren konnten.
      Dort eskortierten sie uns hin und wir hatten gerade noch so Zeit, um etwas zu Essen zu kochen und unsere Sachen noch einmal umzupacken.
      Bald saßen wir endlich im Flugzeug zum Festland!
      Dort angekommen waren wir unglaublich froh, es endlich geschafft zu haben. Zur Feier des Tages gingen wir in ein unglaublich gutes, veganes Burger Restaurant.      Read more

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    • Disney & Star Trek Trip 2020
      Day 9

      Miami

      February 29, 2020 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

      Due to a series of mess-ups with the taxi company, between collecting our baggage and waiting for our taxi we were hanging around the station for about two hours. It took about 40minutes to reach Miami’s South Beach, passing first through slightly ramshackle looking suburbs and then the imposing skyline of Miami’s down town. Finally we crossed the bridge to south beach, which is across the water from Miami’s cruise port

      We had booked a night at the Beacon hotel, one of the art deco style hotels South Beach is known for. The hotel’s name is illuminated in neon and a live Jazz set was being performed on the porch. The room was fairly spacious and well appointed, but still felt small after our suite at Disney, leaving us a little apprehensive as to how we would do in the smaller cruise ship state room. Quickly though we were heading out to walk along ocean drive and see more of the art deco architecture it is know for.

      Ocean Drive on a Saturday night is a loud party scene; live jazz and loud, bass-y DJ sets blare from various bars merging with the growl of Americian muscle cars crawling along in the traffic. Each venue’s music is distinct only as you pass directly by, blending into the bewildering cacophony of sound. The tourists out to see the buildings were juxtaposed oddly against bar patrons in their club/dance attire.

      Back in the room the noise from our ocean facing window was considerable, so we watched an episode of Picard until we felt sleepy enough that the noise no longer mattered (and as a bonus we were now only one episode behind).      Read more

    • EuroCrossing & Türkiye 2022
      Day 1

      “Unhappily” Settled in Miami!

      March 19, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 77 °F

      It’s 10:00p and I am dead tired. But even if I turned in now, there is no way I would get any sleep.

      You see, the noise filtering up from the restaurant/bar on the 25th floor is making an unholy din … even with the balcony door closed, the shade pulled down, and the drapes drawn. The problem is that the residence — fancy word for an apartment — overlooks the atrium, which acts like an echo chamber. Sure, there is a nice view across the atrium to the Port of Miami, but the echo-factor takes away any pleasure we might otherwise have from such a view. What makes our situation especially bad is that it’s not just the living area that overlooks the atrium, but the bedroom does as well.

      The property we rented through AirBNB sits atop the Hotel AKA Brickell … in what’s called the Brickel Arch. We have all the amenities we could ask for … a bedroom separate from the living/dining area, which pleases Mui who is usually early-to-bed; a good sized kitchen where we can self-cater some of our meals; a washer and dryer so that we can board Insignia with a suitcase full of clean clothes after three days of exploration in and around Miami; parking space … which is a boon in downtown Miami, where parking is at a premium. Even with a few “cleaning issues” we noticed, this place would have worked out nicely. IF NOT FOR THE NOISE!

      It’s a shame really, as we were hoping that we’d found a place that we could use for a longer stay when we return to Miami in December for another cruise. For that trip, I will have to go back to the drawing board … sigh!

      Sorry … I’m so frustrated that I skipped right over getting us from MIA to the Brickel Arch. So, back to earlier this evening … the walk from baggage claim to the MIA Mover was longer than I remember. But we made it without huffing and puffing too much. A short ride … and we were at the Rental Car Center.

      When we arrived at Thrifty, a sign directed us to Dollar Rental. Funny, because we had the option of booking a mid-size car from Dollar for the same price, but had opted for Thrifty! No matter, it was just across the hall and a few minutes later, we were heading down to the car park. Surprise! No mid-size cars were available. How about a free upgrade to a full-size car? Sure.

      Traffic into Miami was heavy, but we managed to find the Brickel Arch easily enough. Got our stuff up to the residence, and went right back out to the nearby Publix to shop for groceries. By the time we returned to our place, it was already 8:00p, so in lieu of the pasta bolognese Mui had planned, grilled cheese sandwiches made it onto our plates for dinner.

      And that’s a wrap!

      Now to go find my earplugs!      Read more

    • EuroCrossing & Türkiye 2022
      Day 1

      Gibraltar to Replace Morocco

      March 19, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 77 °F

      I mentioned a few days ago that the latest COVID-19 entry requirements we received from Oceania showed that Morocco is closed to cruise ships.

      A little bird whispered in my ear this morning that instead of calling on Tangier, we will be going to Gibraltar. (That little bird, by the way, is actually a passenger who is on the ship right now.)

      We’ve been to Gibraltar a couple of times before. The first time I remember was in 2003. But mom tells me that I was actually in Gibraltar for the first time when I was but a wee girl. On that occasion, we were on an Italian Line ship called Cristoforo Colombo ... sailing from the US to Italy to meet my dad in Naples. From there, we switched to another vessel that took us to Turkey.

      But back to that early call on Gibraltar. Apparently, the stop was what is known as a service call to bunker fuel after the Atlantic crossing. Passengers were not allowed to disembark. However, vendors were allowed to bring their small boats up to the vessel … from where a brisk trade ensued. I don’t really recall any of that, so I’ll take mom’s word for it.

      The nice thing about visiting a port that we’re familiar with is that we know where to go, what to do. Not much research needed. In fact, if the weather is nice, we already have a plan for what to do. If not … well, we’ll deal with that then.      Read more

    • EuroCrossing & Türkiye 2022
      Day 2

      Quiet Day … In More Ways than One

      March 20, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

      A long travel day yesterday, capped by a late night. That pretty much equated to a slow day for us in Miami today. Neither of us could really get our butts in gear until this afternoon.

      The music and sounds of conversation from the partygoers was still obnoxiously loud when I finally went to bed at midnight. The earplugs helped, but didn’t completely obscure the noise. It was around 2:00a when I finally succumbed to sleep … the noise finally dimming a bit.

      All was quiet when we rolled out of bed this morning … much later than we’re used to doing so. Breakfast, reading, writing … for me. Breakfast, cooking, a long chat with a friend … for Mui.

      Sometime during the morning, we texted with the management company responsible for renting out this residence. They said they would talk to the hotel management and security to ensure the restaurant shuts down at 11:00p as it’s supposed to. They also offered a discounted rate for a quiet unit here … for next time. Would we risk that? I doubt it. But we left the door open. Negotiations are ongoing. In the meantime, I’ve got my review written up and ready to post on AirBNB when we check out. As you might imagine, it isn’t very favorable.

      I will say that all was quiet throughout the day. It was our pleasure to make the most of the peace and quiet by enjoying lunch on our balcony … Pasta Bolognese a la Mui.

      Around 2:00p, we finally left to run some errands … a bit of shopping that I didn’t get to when we moved up our departure to Miami. I found some of what I was looking for.

      Then back home for a quiet evening … and an enjoyable meal of black bean, corn, mango, and avocado salad a la Mui. Delicious.

      Now, at just after 9:00p, there is some music and noise filtering up to us from the atrium. But at a far more manageable level. Perhaps the obnoxiously loud noise last night was a one-off … exacerbated by it being a Saturday night.

      Our shopping trip this afternoon gave us the opportunity to walk some 9,000 steps, so we got some good exercise while we were at it. We hope to walk at least as many steps tomorrow … doing some fun stuff this time … after a good night’s rest … 🤞🏻      Read more

    • EuroCrossing & Türkiye 2022
      Day 3

      O Safety Video ✔️

      March 21, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

      Anyone who has cruised knows of the requirement to attend a muster drill to learn — or, in the case of long-time cruisers, get a refresher course — about the safety procedures in the event of an emergency.

      In the times of COVID, cruise lines have had to find alternatives to the crowded in-person muster drills that usually take place on the ship just prior to sailaway. Enter remote mustering … i.e., watching a muster drill video before embarking the ship.

      We got our first email to do so yesterday. And another one this morning. We sat down to watch the video before breakfast this morning. I was expecting that there would be a link at the end to confirm that we had watched it. But there was nothing like that. I’m thinking we’ll be seeing this video again in the cabin before checking in with someone on the ship to personally attest to our compliance.

      P.S. We still had to go down to the restaurant/bar after 11:00p last night to request that they turn down the music … which the very surly bartender did so about 15 minutes later. There were only three people in the bar, so loud conversations were not an issue. All was quiet before midnight. Definitely a better night for us.      Read more

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