Extremely excited to get underway on this family cruise, including 2 boys (15 and 11 yrs old and not necessarily easy to make happy) and also traveling with my parents. Our 3rd cruise, and our kids 2nd. We left out of Miami on Saturday morning, but got there on Thursday to enjoy South Beach and the city. Stayed at The Avalon, a typical art deco hotel with a great location - right on the beach. The ocean was almost Jacuzzi heat - the warmest of anywhere on this vacation. And the visuals were just as hot to match. Gave my boys (all 3 of them?) quite an eyeful they don't see up in the Northeast.

In addition to wonderful swimming in the ocean and walking the beach, I can give a thumbs up to The Thriller - a FAST boatride tour out of Bayside Marketplace right near the Miami port - gives you a basic orientation to Miami and the rich surroundings. I recommend taking this boat as opposed to the normal slower boats which don't go very far and just chug along. If you have family members who enjoy speed, then pay a little more and go for the tour in this one. Same information, more acreage covered, just more enjoyable - and my little guy even got to drive it (for a little extra fee).

Also thumbs up on an Everglades airboat tour (we used Coopertown). Saw unique natural environment, our guide was extremely knowledgeable, and we did see different animals. Our only complaint was we only saw 1 alligator, although the guide says there are over 10,000 alligators in the Everglades. So where were the rest of them? Read more