We were supposed to sail the Allure on September 23rd. I was 20 weeks pregnant at that time, and had my doctor's note ready to go. Our original plan was to stay in Miami precruise beginning on Friday, then take a shuttle from our hotel to the ship on Sunday morning. We flew Jetblue from JFK to Fort Lauderdale. Their terminal in JFK is fantastic! And I love their snacks. Just warning you that since I have a baby on the way, food is BIG part of my review, and you'll see lots of food pics, lol. Here's my customary Jetblue shot:
Upon our arrival, we received a call from our shuttle company, (Quality Limo Service, or QLS) and they let us know they were tracking our flight and saw that we landed. Very impressive! We received instructions on where to wait after we retrieved our luggage. Sure enough, the shuttle arrived about 20 minutes after our luggage arrived. It was a shared shuttle, so there were already some passengers in the van, however there were two empty rows in back. Wes took one row and I took the other. Very comfortable. Our driver was pretty talkative. He let asked us where were from, and as soon as we said New Jersey, he got excited since he was from New York. He moved for the warmer weather and more laid-back vibe. We completely understand why he moved! We live at a breakneck speed here in the northeast and it can be a little taxing on you. We're considering moving to the South sometime in the future. But I digress...
It was a pleasant 45-minute ride from FLL to Miami. The other group was dropped off in downtown Miami, and then we were on our way to our hotel, the Z Ocean South Beach, right on Collins Avenue. Actually, the hotel has an entrance on Collins, as well as one on the famous Ocean Drive. I was looking for a boutique-type, adult experience in South Beach, something memorable for DH and myself. I wasn't disappointed! What a lovely place. From the moment we arrived, we were treated like royalty. Actually, before we arrived, we were treated so kindly. I emailed the concierge (I always do this before a hotel stay) to let her know why we were staying, and to ask some questions about the room. Specifically, our Spa Suite had a jacuzzi tub on the balcony. Since I was expecting, it's not advisable to use a jacuzzi, unless the water temp is set at 100 degrees or below. I asked if the temperature could be adjusted, and she said that was absolutely possible. So happy to hear that!
Anyway, when the shuttle pulled up to the hotel, a bellman immediately unloaded our luggage and whisked it away while we checked in. We entered a beautiful, intimate lobby.
Stacie, our front desk assistant, was wonderful. She welcomed us to the hotel, helped us check in smoothly, and congratulated us on our anniversary and baby on the way. Another attendant approached us and offered us cool towels and small bottles of cold water. Nice touch!
Since I wasn't expecting our rooms to be ready when we arrived (I think it was around noon), I had a nice lunch spot in mind. All the locals in Miami rave about this sandwich stand called La Sandwicherie, and since I Googled the spot, I noticed that it was within walking distance of our hotel. I asked Stacie for directions, and she quickly printed us a map of how to get there. It was literally 3 blocks away. The bellman gave us a ticket for our luggage, and told us we wouldn't see it again until we settled into our suite. Fine with us! So off we went to lunch while they prepared our room.
La Sandwicherie is a lot smaller than I had in mind, but the charm of the shop was evident as soon as we walked up to the window. There was a row of stools along the counter, as well as a separate window for takeout. The workers in the stand spoke French, and had heavy accents when taking our orders in English.
Because of the crowd, we decided to order our food to-go and take it back to the hotel. I ordered a seafood salad, and Wes had his usual- turkey, provolone, lettuce with a little oil and vinegar. No matter where we go, that's what he orders, lol. I also ordered a strawberry smoothie. While we waited, we chatted with some of the locals. One kind lady asked us right away if we were from NY/NJ. She could tell from the way we spoke that we were from that area, since she was from New York. Again, she moved for the more laid-back vibe, and for the warmth. She was a nurse and licensed massage therapist and doing quite well for herself. She said lots of people, not just retired, were moving to Florida from the northeast.
Our food was ready within 5-10 minutes, and off we went back to the hotel. We found a nice seating area just off the lobby and settled in with our food.
I have to say, like everyone else says in their recommendations of La Sandwicherie- everything was so deliciously fresh! My seafood salad was sitting on a bed of crisp vegetables, and I was given a small loaf of fresh French bread to go with my salad. The little French pickles on top (cornichons) were delightful. Just wonderful. The Dijon dressing they serve on the side is yummy....though I actually make that same dressing at home so it wasn't anything all that special to me, lol. Though my husband's sandwich was simple, he raved about the freshness of every component of it.
I was so tired from traveling that I was content to stay right there on the couches until our room was ready. I think we waited about 45 minutes before our room was ready.
Here are some shots of the lower level of the hotel, facing Ocean Drive. The skylights were actually the glass bottom to the pool. We could see people swimming above us from time to time.
Wes checked at the desk one more time and they confirmed that it was fine for us to go up! We were excited to explore the room.
Our room was FABULOUS. Better than the photos I saw on the website. Beautiful decor, a comfy king-sized bed. I'll let the photos tell the story for a bit:
Wes
got comfortable right away while I kept snapping photos. There were two
televisions in the room, one that Wes was facing in the photo below,
and another that faced the bed (in the foreground of the photo):
There were two sinks in the bathroom, each one separated by the toilet area. One was closer to the suite's entrance (in case you wanted to entertain), and the other sink was next to the shower, across from the bed. Each section was separated by frosted glass sliding doors. We didn't even use the sink closest to the entrance.
And the SHOWER! Oh, the shower! There were several jets in the walls, as well as one overhead, so you could have water coming from 6 different directions at any one time. Loved that shower!
We took a look at the balcony. Plenty of room with a table and several chairs, and the jacuzzi. The hotel attendants come to your room to prepare the jacuzzi when you're ready to use it, which assures you're getting into a nice clean jacuzzi each time. Curtains were available for you to draw for privacy around the jacuzzi. Our view wasn't all that great, but who cares? We had a spa suite with a jacuzzi in the heart of South Beach! We would have a much better view from our balcony room on the Allure so it wasn't a big deal to us.
Some more room shots:
So we ended up taking a nap for a while before dinner. We awoke to some terrible news. My sister-in-law called us to let us know we had a death in the family. Our grandmother passed away. We immediately decided to change all our plans. You can read what happened here: Huge 'Thank You' to Royal.
We stayed in the room for a while so we could come up with a plan. We decided to wait until morning (Saturday) to start making the arrangements to head home on Sunday instead of boarding the ship. I couldn't imagine us not being with our family at that time.
While we were still in Miami, we decided to try and make the best of our time there despite our heavy hearts. We got dressed around 9 PM and decided to walk down Ocean Drive and go to dinner.
So that Friday night, Wes and I headed out to explore Ocean Drive a bit and choose a spot for dinner. The street was full of visitors strolling about. Loved it! There's something great about a balmy evening when everyone's outside. The art deco buildings were illuminated against the night sky. Just fabulous!
After walking a bit, my body told me to slow it down a bit, so we turned around and walked back toward the hotel. We decided to have dinner at BLT Steak at the Betsey Hotel, since it was about a block away from our hotel. We had a lovely dinner there.
Because we were a walk-in couple, we had to eat outside. That's what I wanted anyway lol. Why dine inside when you're spending the evening in Miami?
I decided to try the Miami Spice Menu (Miami's restaurant week). They had a 3-course menu for $39. Wes went with his usual for any steakhouse, a filet with fries. Gotta love him!
First, we were served a chicken liver pate with pickled veggies, on the house. Pretty good:
Then, the waiter brought out my heirloom tomato salad.
Then came by fava bean and corn succotash. Very good:
I don't remember what type of steak this was, but it was delicious, and just the right size.
Wes enjoyed his filet and fries. The fries tasted like Boardwalk fries you would find at the Jersey Shore. I stole a few of those
The meal was completed with a deconstructed s'mores, and some of their lemon cookies. I was so full, and wasn't really impressed with either dessert.
Right after dinner, we went back to the room to rest a bit.
Saturday morning was filled with working to make arrangements to head back to New Jersey. While we were waiting for a confirmation from Royal that all was well, we had a late breakfast at the Front Porch Cafe, which is located inside the Z Ocean. They're well known for their breakfast items. I highly recommend this place for breakfast if you're in the area.
I had their orange-scented French Toast, and eggs with a little salsa on the side. Wes had some eggs and toast. My platter of French Toast was so huge that he actually had a couple slices as well. It was delicious!
After breakfast, we relaxed in the room for a while since we were still waiting to hear from Royal.
Once everything was confirmed and I had our flights booked for the next day, we headed to Lummus Park across the street to stroll the beach for a while. It was a pretty cloudy day and it threatened to rain, so we didn't stay long enough to swim. It's a lovely area though, and the water was nice and warm:
It started to rain, so we just rested for the majority of the afternoon. For dinner, we walked to Puerto Sagua. It was a pretty long walk! However, we saw so many recommendations for the restaurant that we just had to get there. You never know what's going to happen on Ocean Drive. We passed a restaurant/club (mind you it was still light outside), and there was a drag contest going on. The current contestant was doing a pretty fabulous dance number, going from table to table engaging the onlookers. Suddenly, she walked straight into the traffic and finished her routine out there. And you know what? The drivers weren't annoyed in the least- they waved outside their windows and cheered her on! Hilarious!
We wanted some good Cuban food that wasn't too far away from Ocean Drive, and we weren't disappointed. Puerto Sagua isn't fancy, but the food is very good. Wes had chicken and rice, and I had some oxtail. Everything was great. The restaurant had a steady flow of customers of all types and backgrounds. Prices were very reasonable. You must stop by if you're ever in Miami.
After dinner, we took a ($6) taxi back to the hotel. I wasn't walking that again!
I was determined to use the jacuzzi on the balcony, so we called the
front desk to ask if someone could come and prepare it for us. Within 10
minutes, we had two attendants come to set it up, and they added
whatever salts we wanted to the water as well. There was a control for
the temperature and they confirmed that I wanted the water set at 100
degrees. There were lights in the jacuzzi and the colors would change
every few minutes. It was a nice way to top off the evening.
The next morning, our shuttle arrived bright and early to take us back to the airport. We had a smooth flight. It was so strange because during takeoff, we flew right over the Allure! I saw the pools and everything. At least we knew we would be back.
In a little bit, I'll pick up on our time in Ft. Lauderdale two weeks later. If you're considering going to Miami before a cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale, do it! We had a great time and the QLS Shuttle's service made the 45-minute drive so easy. Then again, if you've never been to Ft. Lauderdale, there's plenty to see and do there first. Either way, you're in for a treat!
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