Pre-Cruise in Miami

Posted on April 21, 2018 by Ching under Travel.

Brian and I weren’t sure if we were going to get him the unlimited alcoholic beverage package on the ship so our first stop in Miami was the Publix down the street from our hotel. We got Brian two bottles of his favorite wine, Apothic Red, to take aboard the ship. The rules stated only two bottles of wine per stateroom but they weren’t being very strict so I probably could have taken two more bottles of wine myself too. Although, as it turns out, we didn’t need them because Brian ended up getting the unlimited drink package on the ship.

After we completed our wine mission, the next order of business was to get something to eat. We were both starving and we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. We knew we wanted to have dinner in South Beach because I wanted to show Brian the beach while we were there. He’d never been to Miami before. I got to check it out when I was in Florida on a work trip a couple of years ago. We had dinner at Larios on the Beach (Gloria Estefan’s restaurant) and then walked across the street to dip our toes in the ocean. Anyway, I thought he would find it interesting.

We didn’t have a specific restaurant in mind so we had our Lyft (Lyft prices were half what Uber was charging so we decided to use Lyft the entire time we were in Florida, with the exception of our ride from the airport to the hotel because taxis were more convenient and readily available at the airport) drop us off at CJ’s Crab Shack. We walked up and down the strip. Everyone had some kind of happy hour special they were promoting. In the end, we ended up walking back to CJ’s because they had crabs (which I was craving) and a nice patio area for people-watching.

Brian had a really interesting way of describing South Beach. He said it’s a lot like Vegas but more naked. LOL. It’s true. There were people milling about everywhere, walking up and down the sidewalk and even the streets. The cars could barely move in Ocean Drive. I can’t imagine having to drive in that mayhem on a regular basis. (This is why we didn’t bother renting a car. Neither of us wanted to drive.)

The people weren’t your average people either. Most were really fit and, though some were not as fit, everyone was overflowing with self-confidence. Many people didn’t bother with coverups. They just walked up and down in their bikinis or speedos with no shirt, sarong, or any kind of coverup. Which isn’t too unusual if your swimsuit is covering all of your butt, but some people were wearing dental floss. These people were not shy at all.

As for me, I just watched in amusement as people walked by — some clothed, some not fully clothed — while drinking my 40 oz. Miami Vice drink in a CJ’s Crab Shack souvenir tumbler. We watched this one guy clad only in a pair of very tiny, very tight swim trunks walk up and down. He was upset about something, but I couldn’t make out enough of the conversation to figure out what. Something about not being able to check into their hotel because he didn’t have his credit card. Anyway, a little bit later, he’s back and unloading bags off the back of a car stopped in the middle of Ocean Drive traffic.

“That explains why he’s walking around naked,” I told Brian. “He didn’t have his luggage.” We both busted up laughing. Walking around naked is so South Beach!

Here’s a picture of Brian’s food. He’s not much for seafood.

This is mine. Gotta eat crab when you’re at a crab shack!

The crab photographed well but it was kind of dry. I’ve gotten spoiled of late since I’ve been eating crab at Jax Fish House and Oyster Bar in Kansas City and they have pretty good crab there.

We wanted an excuse to linger and continue people watching so we ordered this giant dessert. Well, truthfully, it’s because I have no will power and I love chocolate cake. It was pretty good.

Brian helped a little bit but I ate most of it.

While we were eating, this guy parked his very gold car next to us. It was a huge hit. I lost count of how many people stopped to take pictures and selfies with it. Apparently, gold is the new black. It’s huge in South Beach.

After eating all of that food, we were so stuffed that we decided to walk it off at the beach. There were a ton of people there.

This panoramic photo doesn’t do it justice.

At least it’s a pretty wide beach and, even though there were so many people, there was plenty of room for everyone. Anyway, we walked up and down the beach, not very far. It wasn’t look before Brian had had enough. We both woke up at 2 AM that day for our early flight so we were pooped. I really wanted to join the rest of the Wichita folks for dinner and dancing later that night but we were too exhausted. Brian specially. We decided to just lay low and hang out at our hotel for the rest of the evening and turn in early.

Next time I’ll tell you about boarding and our first day on the cruise. Check back tomorrow. Until then, have a fabulous weekend!