South Beach

I woke up so nice and rested. I'm glad that yesterday was over. We're here in time for the cruise, which is why I always come the day before. Ken, Gabi, and I have connecting rooms, which are convenient. I figure out what everyone wants for a drink and head downstairs. This is the first disappointment of the hotel. The 'coffee bar' is nothing more than a carafe of coffee with packaged sweeteners and Coffee mate for milk. I put milk in my coffee, Ken takes cream, and there isn't any hot water or tea for Gabi. Do better, Hyatt.

Back in the room, I grab a shower. We all get packed up and decide to check out but leave our luggage downstairs while we go for a walk. The nice man at the front desk orders us a car for noon to take us to the port terminal.

Off we go, down one block, and we are on Ocean Blvd. This part of Miami Beach has a large area of paths for walking, biking and whatever before the dunes that separate it from the beach. The beach is huge! Check out the pictures. It is pleasantly warm around 22 or 23. We have blue sky with little wispy clouds.

I haven't seen any of the classic cars. They used to have cars from the 50's and 60's lined up on the road with mannequins dressed up like old-time gangsters. I found one of the beach patrol guys, and he told me that they removed them during Covid. Apparently, they were afraid that the cars would be damaged during the riots. Damn! I was hoping to take pictures of Ken with the old cars.

We continued our walk down to the beach and along the path, looking at all the Art Decor buildings. I'm glad that they have kept this area as it is, a reminder of the past.

We pick a spot for breakfast and dig in. The orange juice tastes so much different here. Yum. Back at the hotel we got our luggage and waited for the car. I go to the washroom, and the second disappointment occurs. The washroom is done nicely in black marble. However, there are paper towels i the holder and the air dryer is broken. I told the front desk, and they said that they knew the dryer was broken. Do better, Hyatt.

We get to the cruise terminal, and the fun actually starts. As soon as you get out of the car, a porter grabs your bags. Off we go up to the terminal. Every 10 feet or so, there is someone smiling and welcoming you. They direct you which way to go to keep the people moving. There are no crowds, no hassles and plenty of staff to help you.

Embarkation is a little different. They have your key at your room now. We headed onto the ship and head to our rooms. They are ready for us, but our luggage will follow later. We can drop off our hand luggage and check out the rooms.

Ken and Gabi have a balcony, I have an interior room. This is another first for me. The rooms are nice (check out the pictures). After which we find a bar and grab a drink.

We head back and unpack the rest of our luggage. I went for a nap. Ken and Gabi went up to the deck. We had our safety instructions.

Afterward, we had dinner in the Black Crab. Tonight is very casual with everything from jeans and T-shirts to dresses. I had the grouper, Gabi had the chicken, and Ken went for lasagna. Dinner was very good.

We went back up on deck to grab another couple of drinks and then sat on the balcony for a bit.

Off to bed for us.Read more