We traveled on the Carnival Triumph via the port of Miami on 03/31/2007. It was a 7 night cruise Sat to Sat. We booked a Family Oceanview Stateroom on the Spa Deck (worth every penny). The Spa Deck on the Triumph was great. Not that many rooms so it feels like you have the entire floor to your self ,and not kidding the stewards cleaned our stateroom like if we were in a new room everytime and traveling with 3 kids one an infant they did wonders. We traveled with our 3 little ones on American Airlines from Philadelphia airport on Thursday night around 6pm perfect cause you just bypass traffic going to the airport and you give yourself enough time to finish the last minute details during the day like packing & sending a usps travel notification to hold your mail etc. etc. No naps for the kids either so on the flight they were sleepy and slept through the entire flight. May not work for everyone but worked for me. For my infant I was allowed one of the travel formula cans, just make sure you have it out and ready for them to see. American Airlines usually does not have a rule to allow families with kids on board first , but if you tell them as soon as you get to the terminal they might honor you. In my case they did both times and we boarded right behind 1st class which was great. They tagged our strollers and we were on board. We got to miami & rented a minivan from Avis. They have buses that take you to the car rental locations and since it was nighttime no hassle ,no waits ,no crowds. We rented the car seats from avis so we did not have to overcarry. Got the minivan , boarded my sleepy heads and off to the Doubletree Grand Hotel Biscayne Bay we went. I chose this hotel cause its literally like 10 minutes to the pier. It also has large rooms with pull outs. The rooms have balconies but has a security lock on them . Trust me my 4 year old tried opening it and could not. beautiful view of the pier . My kids were excited cause you could see the ship from the room and they could not wait to board. Most hotels charge for valet parking so take that into account. Trust me with 3 kids it is a splurge. However at this hotel they helped me out ,opened my strollers and helped me out everytime. Tiny Shoes and the occasional bottle flying out from the back , no problem !!!! They have a great system.

Friday we went to the Childrens Museum in Miami and we had a blast . They even have a mini cruise ship with a buffet table and everything . Limbo line and music to fill my kids up with more excitement. There was even a room for my infant to play in. 4 Hours later & off to lunch we went.

We went to south beach for some Fridays , put some quarters in the meter and off to the beach we went. We parked behind the marriott which has a park and a starbucks close by. The waves were a little rough for our taste ,but my kids loved playing in the sand. So no worries. I knew we were going to some beautiful beaches on our cruise so we just enjoyed the day & drive in Miami . At night we drove to coconut grove, nice shops & good eats. Read more