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FLL or MIA hotel?


cyclone1414
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Hi! Cruising on Allure in December out of POM but we are flying into FLL the morning on the day before. We are travelling with our 2 and 4 year old sons but won't be bringing carseats.

 

I'm looking for any suggestions/recommendations on things like:

- a shuttle company that either doesn't require carseats or provides them (i know I will need a transfer from POM to FLL at the end of the cruise, and also don't think FLL hotels with shuttle to POM/MIA hotels won't shuttle to FLL airport)

- family-friendly hotels in either area (i.e. walkable to restaurants/mall, large enough rooms to accommodate a crib) and ideally with at least one complimentary shuttle from airport/to cruiseport

- whether to stay in FLL or MIA on the night before embarkation??

 

Thanks!

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Consider staying at Hyatt Place in Fort Lauderdale using www.valuetrips.com

Great location right next to the Harbor Shopping area with a Publix market, several stores and our favorite place to eat Duffy's. The hotel offers a good hot breakfast buffet (comp) and does have a hotel shuttle from FLL for $2.00 per room.

 

Transportation we have used that provided car seats:

 

www.southfloridashuttles.com

 

(954) 227-0311

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Consider staying at Hyatt Place in Fort Lauderdale using www.valuetrips.com

Great location right next to the Harbor Shopping area with a Publix market, several stores and our favorite place to eat Duffy's. The hotel offers a good hot breakfast buffet (comp) and does have a hotel shuttle from FLL for $2.00 per room.

 

Transportation we have used that provided car seats:

 

www.southfloridashuttles.com

 

(954) 227-0311

 

Thank you!! Just was reading about Valuetrips today actually- have you stayed there with kids?? Just wanted to make sure it is walkable to shopping restaurants, which it sounds like it is.

And I will look into that shuttle company :-)

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Thank you!! Just was reading about Valuetrips today actually- have you stayed there with kids?? Just wanted to make sure it is walkable to shopping restaurants, which it sounds like it is.

And I will look into that shuttle company :-)

You're very welcome. Yes, our extended family that included our 3 year old grandson stayed at Hyatt Place last March. We loved the hotel and how convenient it was (next door) to the Harbor Shopping center. This is a favorite area for pre-cruiser's when staying in Fort Lauderdale.

 

Once we booked with Value Trips..I waited a few weeks and then called the Hyatt Place directly and confirmed giving my name and dates of stay. I then easily made the requests I had (double bed, king bed connecting rooms etc.) directly with the hotel, so this is how you would request the crib you might need.

 

As far as South Florida Shuttles...they couldn't have been better to work with...just amazing...Best of luck and enjoy your cruise.

Edited by Ashland
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  • 1 month later...
Thank you!! Just was reading about Valuetrips today actually- have you stayed there with kids?? Just wanted to make sure it is walkable to shopping restaurants, which it sounds like it is.

And I will look into that shuttle company :-)

 

I just returned from a cruise on Allure of the Seas the first week of March, and stayed at the Hyatt Place the night before the cruise with my husband and 2 and 4 year olds, booked via Valuetrips.

 

I definitely agree that the Hyatt Place is an excellent pre-cruise hotel, especially with young kids. We were pleasantly surprised to find a local playground called Harbordale Park just 1 block northwest of the Hyatt Place. You can even see the blue "sunshade sail" covering the playground from the Hyatt Place parking lot - it was actually my eagle-eyed 4 year old who spotted it! As others have said, the location of Hyatt Place can't be beat (next to Publix and other shops). It was nice to have a place for the kids to run around and play after breakfast while waiting for our ride to the Port.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't have the same great experience as Ashland with South Florida Shuttles so would not recommend them (see my post here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2470747 )

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I just returned from a cruise on Allure of the Seas the first week of March, and stayed at the Hyatt Place the night before the cruise with my husband and 2 and 4 year olds, booked via Valuetrips.

 

I definitely agree that the Hyatt Place is an excellent pre-cruise hotel, especially with young kids. We were pleasantly surprised to find a local playground called Harbordale Park just 1 block northwest of the Hyatt Place. You can even see the blue "sunshade sail" covering the playground from the Hyatt Place parking lot - it was actually my eagle-eyed 4 year old who spotted it! As others have said, the location of Hyatt Place can't be beat (next to Publix and other shops). It was nice to have a place for the kids to run around and play after breakfast while waiting for our ride to the Port.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't have the same great experience as Ashland with South Florida Shuttles so would not recommend them (see my post here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2470747 )

So sorry to read of your unfavorable experience with SFS. As with anything in life experiences can vary.

However I will say that any shuttle service company you use that provide's carseats you "personally" need to install them yourself...a liability issue I believe and actually we feel better knowing we have installed them and not just assume they were installed correctly in the first place.

 

Hopefully whatever company you decide to use next time when the situation arises you'll be happy with.

 

Best of luck on your next journey with the little ones.

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So sorry to read of your unfavorable experience with SFS. As with anything in life experiences can vary.

However I will say that any shuttle service company you use that provide's carseats you "personally" need to install them yourself...a liability issue I believe and actually we feel better knowing we have installed them and not just assume they were installed correctly in the first place.

 

Hopefully whatever company you decide to use next time when the situation arises you'll be happy with.

 

Best of luck on your next journey with the little ones.

 

Thanks, Ashland.

 

Yes, for the 1st trip we should have installed the carseats ourselves (but since we were waiting so long for pickup, we were trying to head off 2 toddler meltdowns by getting going as soon as possible).

 

They didn't even have the 2 requested carseats in the van for the 2nd and 3rd trips.... only 1 booster seat for the 2nd trip and 1 booster and 1 carseat for the 3rd trip.

 

So, it was the combination of being late for pickup for all 3 trips, plus the lack of both requested carseats for the 2nd and 3rd trips that makes me hesitant to use them again. If it was only 1 trip (or possibly 2) that had issues, I could possibly overlook it, but not with all 3.

 

Hopefully SFS will take my feedback and those that use them in future will have a better experience.

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So this is what we did when we cruise with a 15m old last August. We flew in to FLL via SW. We took a SAS (when we always use them) shuttle to our hotel Holiday Inn Port of Miami. We didn't need a carseat in the shuttle. We spend the day at Bayside which is directly across the street from the Holiday Inn POM. We also took an Uber (but left DD at the hotel with our parents) to Target to pick up diapers etc that evening. The next morning the concierge found us a cab/shuttle to the port (which is pretty much a cross the street as well lol), there are lots of cruiser staying at that hotel too. We loved the hotel due to its location. We really enjoyed spending the day at Bayside. Hope this helps!

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