When looking for something exciting yet relaxing to do for my parents visit to the U.S., me and Karen decided on a 5 day cruise out of Miami. My parents had never been on a cruise before so I wanted an itinerary that included places I’d travelled before. We decided to stick with the last cruise Karen and I had taken in the Bahamas, so that there were no surprises when we showed up with our first-time cruisers.
Itinerary:
- Flight: LAX – MIA: US Airways
- Hotel (1 night): Courtyard Miami Beach Oceanfront, Collins Avenue
- Cruise: Carnival Destiny
Day 1: Depart Miami
Day 2: Day at sea
Day 3: Grand Turk Island, Turks and Caicos Islands
Day 4: Half Moon Cay ( Private Island)
Day 5: Nassau, Bahamas
Day 6: Arrive Miami
- Flight: MIA – LAX: US Airways
Flights:
We wanted to fly red-eye on our outbound flight (to save on hotel cost for a night) and we also wanted the inbound flight out of MIA on the way back to be around afternoon (to allow enough slack in case of delay in immigration earlier in the day after landing in Miami at the end of the cruise). Based on these restrictions, the cheapest ticket for 4 was going for around $1600 on American Airlines.
Instead, I used my “Buy 1, Get 2 tickets for $99 Companion Pass” that I got through my Barclay’s US Airways MC to book flights on US Airways for me and my parents. Karen booked her ticket separately. Total airfare: 1165$. So the companion pass ended up saving us a lot of money.
Hotel:
We stayed at the Courtyard Miami Beach Oceanfront, located on Collins Avenue. Even if you do not plan to cruise, when looking at hotels on Miami Beach, be sure to stick with hotels on Collins Ave. They are all just steps away from the beach.
Courtyard Miami Beach Oceanfront Review
I booked the hotel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards website which gave me 3x points/$. To pay for the hotel I used a $250 Marriott travel card (purchased for $200 during the “Daily Getaways” promo). My Ultimate Rewards points posted right after the stay.
We checked out the beach during the afternoon and South Beach at night. Don’t forget to have some quarters on hand for parking. If you are staying at any of the Collins Avenue properties, I also recommend checking out the Fontainebleau hotel.
Cruise:
We were sailing with Carnival Destiny from the Miami cruise terminal. The ship was huge with lots of entertainment. Just don’t expect too much fancy food or elegance as Carnival is known more for its cheaper prices (and partiers) than upscale luxury.
Day 1:
After the obligatory safety demonstration, the ship sailed out of Miami around 5 pm. We attended the introduction show in the evening. This is a great way to get a feel for the M.C. who will be talking your ear off the entire cruise. They can be quite entertaining.
To keep the experience fun, during the sit down dinner each night, Carnival would include one “didja (as in did you ever…)” item on the menu. This is food you always wanted to try, but did not dare. And since it doesn’t cost anything to not finish what you eat, I had to try the alligator fritters (hmmm….tastes like chicken). The other items offered (I was too chicken to try) included escargots and frogs legs (I’ll pass on slimy critters). Since our last trip, Carnival has changed its evening dining room menu as in there is now both a fixed item menu (that you can order any day of the cruise) and a revolving item menu (that changes every day during the cruise). They have also added Indian entrees in the menu which helped my mom a lot because she is particularly picky about food.
Day 2:
Day at sea. Explored the ship from font to back. Used the ridiculously slow satellite internet onboard to sign up for the “2012 Radisson Big Night Giveaway” promotion that launched the night we sailed. I was afraid that the promo might get sold out during my cruise and it would be too late to sign up once I arrived at Miami. Many of the onboard shops are open on this day, be sure to look at some of the great deals they have going on. Also, they usually have a review of some of the different excursions that will be available (and sometimes limited) to book onboard (see comments on day 5).
Day 3:
Arrived at Grand Turk Island early. Had breakfast at the buffet (fresh, made-to-order omelets everyday, mmmm) and then hit the beach.
One thing to note about this beach, you definitely should bring water shoes. There are quite a few spots of rocks and pebbles below the water and some of the beach. We had forgotten them on our last trip here and this time we were so happy that we remembered to bring water shoes for everyone. Your enjoyment of the water and the beach will be greatly affected depending on your bringing these. The water was crystal clear in true Caribbean style and lots of little fish (you didn’t even need snorkel gear to see them).
There was a bigger crowd partying it up at the pool area than at the beach, with a DJ organizing drinking games at the pool area all day. If you wanted to do some souvenir shopping (or gemstones and diamonds for that matter) you could do that in a bunch of stores right by the pool area. There are a couple of bars and at least 1 restaurant. But the ship is so close, you can just go grab lunch for free there instead.
Random Thoughts:
- One great thing about this port-of-call is that there is no need to book excursions, although they are available, this is a great way to save some $$ and use it toward another port. You get off the ship, walk down the pier and can stay on the beach all day (if you are the type of lazy vacationer that me and my wife are)
- The ship docks right at the pier which kind of ruins the view of the ocean in my opinion. One thing you can do is go further down the beach so the ship is not right in front of you.
Day 4:
I have been waiting for this port-of-call (Half Moon Cay) as the highlight of the trip. It is definitely my all-time most favorite beach. I could come here again and again and still be amazed at the pristine beauty of the beach, with its clear turquoise water. Only downer was that it was cloudy whole day and so the pictures didn’t come out as great compared to our previous trip to this beautiful island in the Caribbean. But trust me, the white sand, warm water and gorgeous view make it all worth it (no matter the weather).
This port of call has a tender boat system because the giant cruise ship can’t dock at the island. What this means is that you have to wait for a tender boat to pull up along the ship and then it taxi’s you to the island. Because of how many people are getting off the ship, this may take awhile (so be there early to maximize your time on the island).
This is such a beautiful beach, I wish Carnival could allocate two days of its itinerary on this island. Another great feature about this island is that the cruise brings all of its staff off the ship to serve lunch on the island! Its a great bar-b-q style lunch, and once your done…back to the beach. Now also keep in mind that you have to get back on the cruise ship the same way you got off. So there will probably be a long wait for tender boats then as well. So bring your sandals and shades, it can be awhile.
Day 5:
Today was our Nassau port-of-call. We didn’t do the “Blackbeard’s Cay Stingray Adventure” this time as we had done on our previous trip. Instead we decided to just chill out at the Sheraton Resort on Cable Beach. We went past the shops beside the cruise dock and took the #10 bus to the Sheraton resort. We stayed at the beach for about 4 hours and since I was feeling a bit under the weather (too much getting in and out of water over the past 2 days probably), I didn’t venture into the water much. Karen read a book the whole time and my dad definitely swam to his heart’s content on this beach. All-in-all, very relaxing day.
Random Thoughts:
- This is one stop in the itinerary that you probably want to book an excursion (or a separate trip of your own) because of the location where the ship is docked (Unless of course your wife just wants to shop, then there’s plenty of that close by).
- The Sheraton Cable beach is a good option to spend a day in Nassau if you are not doing the other popular excursions like Atlantis or swimming with sting-ray. I have read some reports regarding some sketchy activities going on in the public beaches on this island, so for a safe, fun experience stick with the excursions and resort beaches.
- Some of the excursions offered at this port-of-call by Carnival can be a bit pricey, but if you’ve saved up by not doing any at the other stops, you should be fine. Another great way to save on excursions is to book them in advance. You can often times find great deals compared to the price you’ll pay onboard.
Cost (Total for 4 travelers):
- Hotel: $ 226
- Airfare: $ 1165
- Cruise: $ 1856
Miles/Points/Certificates Redeemed:
- Buy 1 and Get 2 for $99 US Airways Companion Certificate
- Marriott $250 Travel card purchased for $200 in 2012 Daily Getaways promotion
- $100 free in on-board credit due to applying the previously purchased Carnival FCV (Future Cruise Vacation) certificate
- Free rental from Hertz at 600 points for a day (earned as e-rewards redemption)
Miles/Points/Cash-back Earned:
- 4,188 Marriott Rewards Points (Stayed during Marriott Gold Challenge :))
- 525 Ultimate Rewards Points for booking hotel through Ultimate Rewards Mall
- 22,208 US Airways Dividend Miles (5,552 x 4) for the flight
- 5,000 US Airways Dividend Miles for me for booking the cruise through US Airways Cruises website