Kaleb and I had been doing cruises back-to-back to kick off 2022 - the first on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas in a Ben and Jerry's Sweet Suite, then on the adults-only Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady. Our Southern Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas would depart three days after disembarking Scarlet Lady, so we needed a place to stay in the meantime. I had a lot of points saved up in various loyalty programs. After researching the different options, I decided to splurge on a room at the St. Regis Bal Harbour. Total cash price was close to $5,000; instead, I redeemed 285,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. Marriott points can be collected by receiving Marriott credit card sign-up bonuses, staying and spending at Marriott properties, or transferring credit card points like Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards into your Marriott account.
St. Regis offers complimentary breakfast for Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite members and above. I had already qualified for Platinum Elite last year, but if I didn't have that status, it can be obtained by simply having the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant credit card.
After getting off Scarlet Lady, Kaleb and I took an Uber to the St. Regis. It was around 11:30am so our room wasn't yet ready. We walked around the hotel grounds only a short while before I got a call to pick up the keys. We were upgraded from our original ocean view king category to Grand Luxe oceanfront king. What nice digs!
Tour of Grand Luxe oceanfront king room:
Tonight, we had dinner reservations at 26 Sushi & Tapas, about a 10 minute walk south of the St. Regis. The restaurant was kosher, so no shellfish on the menu, but there were plenty of delicious options to choose from. We ate at an outside table on the sidewalk.
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| fish ceviche |
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| truffle tiradito and lettuce wraps |
The next morning, we enjoyed a complimentary breakfast buffet at the hotel restaurant Atlantikos. Everything was presented elegantly. There was even fresh honeycomb available. My pot of tea was served in a French press.
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We spent the rest of the day relaxing on our balcony, enjoying the beautiful view.
Dinner tonight was at Le Zoo, a French bistro located in the Bal Harbour Shops, an easy walk right across the street from the St. Regis. Despite the high menu prices, the restaurant was very casual with a bustling atmosphere. Many tables were situated on the sidewalk adjacent to the busy mall parking lot. The atmosphere wasn't ideal but each dish was presented well and very tasty.
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| scallops, foie gras |
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| branzino, truffle pasta |
Friday morning, we had another lovely buffet breakfast at Atlantikos.
Returning to the room, Kaleb and I each performed the proctored BinaxNOW AG Covid tests over video call just like we had done for our Freedom of the Seas cruise. Imagine my surprise when my test came out positive! I didn't feel sick at all. Unfortunately, this meant that I would not be able to board the cruise tomorrow morning. Kaleb's test was negative; he could still go on the cruise without me, but he wasn't going to do that. After entering the positive result on the Royal Caribbean app, my check-in was denied as expected and I had to call Royal Caribbean to cancel the cruise.
Since we were no longer going on Odyssey of the Seas, we had to alter our flight home to leave a week earlier. It was easy to change to the new flight and pay the difference in points through the Southwest app.
We stayed in for the remainder of the day.
Tonight, we ordered room service for our last dinner. The meal was enjoyed on our balcony. The room service attendant set up the table with placemats, silverware, bread plate, etc., just like eating at a sit-down restaurant.
After checking out at 11am the next day, we took an Uber to the Miami airport. Our flight didn't leave until 3:15 pm, so we passed the time at the Turkish Airlines lounge, with complimentary admission provided by Priority Pass. Due to the pandemic, food was ordered online using a QR code. We happened to be there right when it switched from breakfast to lunch/dinner, so we had options from both menus.
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And that was the end of our back-to-back cruise-a-thon! I was able to rebook the missed cruise, heading to Alaska in May, so we will be sailing again in a few months.
What's next? Next month, Kaleb and I, plus my parents, will travel to Hawaii - first at Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club in Poipu on the island of Kauai, followed by Marriott's Wailea Beach Resort on Maui...stay tuned!
(Missed reading about our sea day on Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady? Click here! Don't miss a single update! Click here to subscribe and have the latest delivered straight into your inbox...opt out anytime.)
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Getting excited reading about these trips and want to go? Contact me at kat (at) yellowdogtravel (d0t) com with your ideas and I can help you plan it! Or if you've already put a deposit on a cruise through the cruise line, contact me to get more information on transferring the reservation to me to get bonuses like extra onboard credit or gifts. I have lots of happy repeat clients - references always available.
Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
