Tag Archives: port of miami

A Double Decker City Tour

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After a relaxing and sunny day  on Wednesday I was ready for a new adventure. So on Thursday I was headed out for the City Tour on the Double Decker buses. It would take most of the day and include lunch and a boat ride through the islands to look at the million dollar homes of the stars. Miami really loves their movie stars.

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The bus picked up right in front of the resort and I headed to the open top.

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As we wove our way along Ocean Drive and Collins Ave the driver pointed out all the Art deco buildings, a restaurant where Will Smith was spotted having breakfast, (of course he wasn’t there when we drove by) and the famous Versace Mansion where the clothing designed was shot and killed in 1997.

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As we passed one hotel and restaurant after another it seemed they were all owned by famous actors and actresses. Miami Vice was mentioned many times. It seems scenes from the show were shot all up and down Ocean Drive.

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Turns out this was the prequel to the actual tour. We reached the ticket office on Washington Ave and all filed off the bus to trade in our vouchers for the real tickets. Then it was back on  the bus for the real tour.

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As our tour began we headed off the Island (Miami Beach is an Island in case you didn’t know) via the MacArthur Causeway. Along the way we learned of the hazards of riding on the top deck of the bus. We did a lot of ducking. We ducked for overhanging palm fronds, electric wires, signal lights  and even a bridge. That one was the one that took your breath away!

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Even so this was a super way to get pictures. No window glass and an elevated view!

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As we traveled along the MacArthur Causeway  we had  the Port of Miami on our left where cruise ships from every line start and end their voyages. There was only one ship in port as we passed by. To our right was the Venetian Causeway.

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The tour guide says this is the bridge from the Fast and Furious movie. I’ve never seen the movie so I’ll just have to take their word for it. But there was the famous Miami Skyline to enjoy from multiple angles.

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End of the Line

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After viewing the gorgeous sunrise

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as we pulled into Miami we headed into the Horizon Bar and Grill for our last breakfast while the ship docked and prepared for our disembarkation.

dawn 002 copy We’d tagged our bags and left them in the hall outside our cabin the night before. The tags had been left by the staff and each bag had a number. Ours was 23. That would determine when we could leave the ship.

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Everyone congregated on the Lido deck by the pool to wait for their number to be called. It seemed to take forever to get to 23 but once it was called we were processed off the ship pretty quickly. We were disappointed that at no time did we collect a stamp in our passport. The passport was essential but I guess traveling by cruise ship accords some  shortcuts and one of them is by passing the custom stamp.

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One glitch. We left our cell phones in the car because I had heard that even if the phones were off if a call or text came through to voice mail that we could still be charged for international calling (roaming). Not wanting any surprises on our bills we left the phone behind. Now we were standing in front of the terminal with no way to call for the shuttle to the Park & Cruise. There were no old-fashioned pay phones anywhere and no courtesy phones either. Tensions started to rise when I had an inspiration. I approached one of the security personnel with our parking tag and explained our situation.  She chuckled a little and made the call for us . Within half an hour we were back where we started, loading up Joe’s car.

Next stop is Fort Lauderdale Airport where I have a rental car waiting. That’s where Joe will drop me off and head back to Orlando and I will head into Fort Lauderdale to find my hotel. I’m going to spend a couple of days here in hopes of getting to the Everglades for some serious photo opportunities.

We found the car rental return but not the pick-up so Joe dropped me off at the return and I hoofed it to the lobby. It’s not even noon yet. With luck I’ll have most of the day to explore.