I was recently invited to attend the launch of Royal Caribbean’s newest ship, the Symphony of the Seas in Miami, Florida. The sail was just two nights so we decided to extend our trip and head to Miami a few days before to adventure and do all the tourist things! I spent countless hours on Google and looking at what the must-see places & activities were to do, and I think we went to some amazing places!
Monday we spent most of the day traveling and headed to our hotel once we landed. We stayed in the most perfect location at the Hilton Doubletree Biscayne Bay, overlooking the water. The hotel was super modern and gorgeous! Our balcony could not have had a better view and they even sent us up a welcoming gift basket! Thank you, guys! The hotel is super close to everything and right in the hotel, there are all of the amenities and food options that you could need if you were looking to stay nearby.
Suviche Wynwood
In my research, I found a ton of good reviews about the Wynwood area in Miami and knew we needed to venture over that way. We had dinner reservations set up at Suviche, which is super popular for their sushi & their Pisco! The atmosphere was super hip with music that makes you want to dance playing.
Our server Jesse was amazing and explained nearly the whole menu to us, and what his recommendations were. We ordered an appetizer of the Lomo Saltado Bites. These are Lomo Saltado chopped and stuffed inside a crispy wonton skin with a side of homemade huancaina sauce. They were seriously so good!
For our entrees, I have had sushi once in my life and it was a terrible experience but I wanted to give it a section shot. I wanted to stay on the safe side and get something with fried shrimp in it, so I had a few options for rolls with the fried shrimp! I went with the Suviche roll which had crispy shrimp, cream cheese and avocado, topped with ruby red tuna covered in their signature SuViche Sauce. It was amazing and I am currently wishing I was back there for more!
For dessert, we tried the Alfajores, which is apparently a huge hit in that area. They were delicious and would be perfectly paired with Miami. We loved Suviche so much that we went to dinner there the following next also! I would totally recommend Suviche, and Jesse our waiter!
Theatre of the Sea
Tuesday we headed down to the Keys to Islamorada. The ride heading to Theatre of the Sea was gorgeous and just one road the entire way down there from Miami. We had reservations to do Wade with the Dolphin, which is an interactive experience in 4 feet of water. The dolphin that we got to hang out with was Stormy, and he was a sweetheart!
We got to learn a lot about Stormy and give him a ton of hugs and kisses. Dolphins have always been my favorite animal, so this was a huge highlight for me! There was a photographer that joined us with the trainer as well that took our photos that whole time so we could easily capture the experience.
After hanging out with Stormy we took a ride on the Bottomless Bite ride and had a bite to eat at the snack shack. We were able to attend the bird show and then the dolphin show. The dolphin show was with two dolphins that showed off all of their tricks to us, and was amazing! After the dolphin show we headed to the sea lion show and I even got to go down and meet our new sea lion friend and end the show with a kiss on the cheek!
The animals are so well kept for and I loved how during every show we got to learn about the animal and the different pieces of training they go through. Next time we will definitely check out the swimming with the dolphin’s experience. A must see when in the Miami area!
Thriller Miami Speedboat Adventures
Let me first start off by saying that the Thriller Miami Speedboat Adventures dock is located in the cutest little Bayside Marketplace. The area was full of shopping and restaurants with a huge Hard Rock Café overlooking the water. Once we got onto the boat and took off, the wind in our hair felt so nice… on a very hot day. The tour lasts 45 minutes and we saw many sights around Miami such as millionaires row, Miami Beach, South Beach, and Monument Island. Our tour guides were hilarious and made jokes the whole time while showing us celebrities houses such as Ricky Martin and Will Smith. Definitely, a must see at top speeds! They also have a Hurricane boat which is just as fast with turns for even more thrills!
Jungle Island
Jungle Island was about 6 minutes from our hotel so super convenient to everything downtown and very easy to find! We were greeted with parrots as soon as we walked in, who apparently loved my sunglasses and my hair! We had been set up with a Lemur experience so we ventured around checking out the different animals in the meantime and grabbed a bite to eat at their lunch truck. They also offered a Sloth experience which will definitely be on my list to do next time!
In our Lemur experience it was me, Bethany and two others and as soon as our guide let them out they were all over us! Honestly was one of the coolest experiences and I think I may officially be in love with lemurs! They were so soft and their little hands almost felt like velvet. They were very interested in our phones and even snapped a photo on Bethany’s phone!
The whole experience lasts 15 minutes and felt like it went by so fast because we were so amazed during the whole interaction. There was one little lemur that did not want to head back into his home afterward so he gave us a little show! I would definitely recommend signing up for the lemur experience, it is definitely life changing!
Kings Dining
Wednesday night was our last night before we needed to head onto the Symphony of the Seas so we headed over to Doral and checked out Kings Dining. Kings Dining has a ton of locations in the Boston area, so super close to home for us. The atmosphere is dark, with hip-hop music playing and tons to do. We headed over to a private bowling area were we played two games and ate some of the best food! The food was to die for and my favorite was for sure the Buffalo Chicken Wontons, but the tomato soup fondue was amazing as well!
We all tried new drinks and I had a Bull & Bear! This was my favorite and the gummy bears at the top of the drink were the best! We ended our meal with an Oreo Sundae, which was also very good. We will definitely be checking out the Boston location when we head there next to compare both of them. If you’re looking for bowling, arcade games, pool, and great food… Kings Dining is your place!
Florida is always one of my favorite places to visit, but this Miami visit was beyond our expectations. It was the first time that I had been to southern Florida, and I will be making sure we head back soon!
Thank you to Hilton DoubleTree Biscayne Bay, Theatre of the Sea, Suviche, Jungle Island & Kings Dining for Hosting us!
This post was sponsored by the above businesses, but as always the opinions above are 100% my own.
XO,
Ashley
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