Recommendations for Miami Overnight Pre-Cruise

My son and Lady are sailing on Equinox soon. The ship has moved to Miami since we sailed. Where would you recommend for an overnight pre-cruise stay near the port?

Before our cruise in January, we stayed at the Miami Intercontinental. It was right on the water with great views of the cruise ships. Taxi fare to the port was around $10.

The hotel was lovely and and in a great location. It's next to a park and near shops and restaurants.

Loved the EB Hotel. It was fabulous. Cheap Uber to port. Free pickup from airport. Restaurant in hotel is outstanding!

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Head over to the Florida Departures board for help and recs from lots of residents and frequent Miami cruisers.

You don't mention...

Date

Time of arrival

Budget

Age of son

Interested in touring? (land or water)

These specifics will help lead you to some good options for your group.

Thanks for the info. As for his age, it is irrelevant (but...he is 50). Just hasn't cruised out of Miami before. We have, but booked a really crappy hotel due to our ignorance. So couldn't recommend one ourselves.

We sailed from Miami on our last cruise but decided to stay in Ft. Lauderdale Beach. We stayed at the W Resort right on the beach with fantastic views of the ocean right from our balcony. The best part is that it was only $25 more than staying at a Hampton Inn by the airport!

We rented a car when we arrived (which we conveniently dropped off near the port in downtown Miami with complimentary shuttle service to the port) but took an Uber on the return for a little more than $30 for our family of 4. Completely worth it and a great start to our vacation!

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We're also sailing on the Equinox later this year and wanted to know the same. However, after doing a lot of research, we decided to stay in Fort Lauderdale instead.

For us, the airfare out of SFO was so much more reasonable with some nonstop flights flying into FLL. We got a great rate at an FLL hotel with free airport transfers. Also, we chose a hotel (checked on Trip Advisor .. a sister company to cruise critic?) that had a great guest satisfaction and complimentary breakfast in case our embarkation is a bit delayed.

We checked into transportation costs and found that SAS shuttles will pick us up right at the hotel in FLL with a drop off at the Port of Miami for $13 - $15 pp. ($13 pp if more than 5 people in the shuttle)

So, our transportation costs are only $30 total (+ tip) and don't even have to go back to the airport from our hotel in the morning to pick up the transfer.

We also found a highly rated hotel down in Miami for a bit cheaper but the transportation costs would have ended up being higher so it all evened out in the long run ... other than the airfare being so much less expensive when flying into Ft Lauderdale. Win Win for us! Now, this is all a moot point if you are flying into Miami. But hopefully, it will help you or someone else reading this post.

We sailed from Miami on our last cruise but decided to stay in Ft. Lauderdale Beach. We stayed at the W Resort right on the beach with fantastic views of the ocean right from our balcony. The best part is that it was only $25 more than staying at a Hampton Inn by the airport!

 

We rented a car when we arrived (which we conveniently dropped off near the port in downtown Miami with complimentary shuttle service to the port) but took an Uber on the return for a little more than $30 for our family of 4. Completely worth it and a great start to our vacation!

 

 

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Can you tell me which rental car company had a complimentary shuttle service to the port in Miami?? I'm looking for the exact thing. Thanks!

We are sailing on Equinox in June and are flying into Miami the night before. I found the Comfort Suites Miami Airport North has free shuttle from the airport to hotel that night and then free shuttle to the port in the morning. They also offer breakfast. Price was reasonable. Take a look.

Just stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites Miami Brickell. I would stay there again, excellent staff and location.

Just stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites Miami Brickell. I would stay there again, excellent staff and location.

Good to hear!

We are booked there before our Memorial Day Equinox Cruise!

We are staying at the Intercontinental Hotel Downtown overnight in Miami either with points or my yearly free night certificate. Planning on catching Uber to the port the morning of the cruise,

Can you tell me which rental car company had a complimentary shuttle service to the port in Miami?? I'm looking for the exact thing. Thanks!

Thrifty has a location by the port of Miami with a shuttle. Location information;

MIAMI CRUISE SHIP - SHUTTLE PROVIDED

(877) 283-0898

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New 2 Crusin,

Download the Hilton App and check in using the app. This way you can select your room. A higher floor at the Hampton and a corner room provides a great view. I was able to do that recently. Also it helps if you are a Hilton Honors member, it's free to join.

Can you tell me which rental car company had a complimentary shuttle service to the port in Miami?? I'm looking for the exact thing. Thanks!

We used Budget, but there are other rental companies that will offer complimentary transportation from their downtown location to the port as well.

Word of advice: Try to avoid peak hours (we arrived around 1pm). The office was packed and more people were already lined up on the sidewalk waiting for the shuttle. But even with that, things moved fairly quickly and efficiently. They had several shuttles running. One would leave and the next one would be pulling up simultaneously.

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Before our cruise in January, we stayed at the Miami Intercontinental. It was right on the water with great views of the cruise ships. Taxi fare to the port was around $10.

The hotel was lovely and and in a great location. It's next to a park and near shops and restaurants.

Another vote for Miami Intercontinental. In the same building as Toro Toro which was excellent

Thanks for the info. As for his age, it is irrelevant (but...he is 50). Just hasn't cruised out of Miami before. We have, but booked a really crappy hotel due to our ignorance. So couldn't recommend one ourselves.

The age of your son really isn't irrelevant when asking for hotel recommendations. ;)

If your son was four years old, or 10 years old or... I would recommend a spot near places he could enjoy. Just a third adult son means you could look at places more oriented towards adults.