Sailing from Miami

What is it like sailing from Miami as opposed to Ft. Lauderdale? Is it more crowded and difficult to get to the ship? Are the hotels close to the port pretty expensive? We've only cruised out of Ft. Lauderdale, Port Canaveral & San Juan. Is the Miami airport far from the cruise port? I really like going out of Ft. Lauderdale with the airport being so close. We're thinking of booking Symphony for early 2020.

Airport and cruise port in Miami is 20 minutes or so. It's a great port that is easy to get in and out of.

There is no reason at all to avoid PortMiami.

Thanks.

Hotels at the airport will likely be a cost saver, versus other areas such as South Beach. Don't avoid ships sailing from Miami. It's a great city to spend a day or two pre or post cruise.

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Miami is one of our favorite ports. The sail away is beautiful. And with the tunnel to the port, the traffic is pretty manageable. If you are sailing on a weekend, you might find a decent hotel rate in downtown.

We are sailing on the Navigator the day after Thanksgiving. We are coming in by train arriving the night before Thanksgiving. I am looking for a hotel for 2 nights prior to the cruise & 1 night after the cruise. I was thinking downtown because that is where the train station is & we want to go to the Seaquarium on Thanksgiving Day. How expensive might the hotels be there? DH intends to use taxi's for transportation as he uses a rollator. He refuses to try Uber because he is 6'6" tall & he doesn't fit in most cars. At least the taxi's are usually bigger cars.

Miami does have a beautiful sail away. As others have said, hotels are generally cheaper by the airport, but there isn't much out there. If you want to be able to walk around, I would suggest South Beach. You can generally find affordable deals on bidding sites and things like that.

I think Miami actually easier then ft lauderdale. From NY we find flights cheaper however from ft lauderdale. Hotels about the same price

There are no "cheaply priced" hotels in coastal Florida.... But, some are less expensive than others! In Miami, there is a Holiday Inn very close to port that is considered reasonable. If you want a higher-end place...across the street is the Intercontinental...both are "Holiday" properties. Costs about $12-15 to taxi to port in the morning.

What is it like sailing from Miami as opposed to Ft. Lauderdale? Is it more crowded and difficult to get to the ship? Are the hotels close to the port pretty expensive? We've only cruised out of Ft. Lauderdale, Port Canaveral & San Juan. Is the Miami airport far from the cruise port? I really like going out of Ft. Lauderdale with the airport being so close. We're thinking of booking Symphony for early 2020.

It is managable and worth the effort. I think its been since 2013 that I sailed from Miami, so I'll withhold too much comment, but this is a good reason to join your roll call if you do decide to book. Lots of experienced people will offer what they are doing. After the first of the year, I'll decide on where we are staying for our spring Symphony cruise.

We are sailing on the Navigator the day after Thanksgiving. We are coming in by train arriving the night before Thanksgiving. I am looking for a hotel for 2 nights prior to the cruise & 1 night after the cruise. I was thinking downtown because that is where the train station is & we want to go to the Seaquarium on Thanksgiving Day. How expensive might the hotels be there? DH intends to use taxi's for transportation as he uses a rollator. He refuses to try Uber because he is 6'6" tall & he doesn't fit in most cars. At least the taxi's are usually bigger cars.

We are on this same sailing. We are staying at the Hampton Inn Brickell and got a pretty good rate.

We have never stayed here before but it comes highly rated by the locals here on the boards and by Trip Advisor.

What is it like sailing from Miami as opposed to Ft. Lauderdale? Is it more crowded and difficult to get to the ship? Are the hotels close to the port pretty expensive? We've only cruised out of Ft. Lauderdale, Port Canaveral & San Juan. Is the Miami airport far from the cruise port? I really like going out of Ft. Lauderdale with the airport being so close. We're thinking of booking Symphony for early 2020.

I can't really tell you how it will be boarding Symphony in MIA, but from what I see it will be quite easy. They are just completing a new terminal designed just for Symphony. The terminal is at the eastern end of "cruise ship row" so getting to it will be easier as you will not have to go past other ships to get to yours (there is a road that goes to the eastern end and then has exits and wrap arounds to get to the ships.

Steve

We stay in Ft. Lauderdale when cruising out of Miami, it is a bit less expensive usually and it's not like it is that far away.

We are on this same sailing. We are staying at the Hampton Inn Brickell and got a pretty good rate.

 

We have never stayed here before but it comes highly rated by the locals here on the boards and by Trip Advisor.

Thanks GTOGirl. I was thinking of them. The price seems reasonable & the location seems good too. I'm not familiar with Miami at all so was looking for suggestions. You reinforced this location. I'll try to make that reservation.

I get so many good suggestions & tips on CC! Thanks to all of you for your postings & answers.

I'm excited to try out the Port of Miami. I'm sailing with GTOGirl and PTAngel too. Since I'm flying in Thanksgiving Day and not really looking for much in the way of entertainment for the 1 night pre-cruise, I've opted to book the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon near the airport. I thought the rates were good and the reviews were favorable.

The thing to remember is I'm boarding a cruise ship and sailing away!!

- Iris

Port of Miami has been fine to sail from. The only downside we've experienced concerns disembarkation at the end of the cruise. While Ft Lauderdale places luggage in numbered areas Miami terminals use airport like carousels and sometimes the luggage ends up on the wrong one causing a delay in departing. Other than that we've had no problems.

I thought the carousels were a Carnival thing? I do self-disembark so I'm not sure of it, but that's what I recall reading. I am pretty sure the luggage was in placed in numbered areas as we were walking off our Escape cruise at Port Miami.

Thanks GTOGirl. I was thinking of them. The price seems reasonable & the location seems good too. I'm not familiar with Miami at all so was looking for suggestions. You reinforced this location. I'll try to make that reservation.

 

I get so many good suggestions & tips on CC! Thanks to all of you for your postings & answers.

According to the locals the Hampton Inn Brickell is in the financial district and is very near a number of restaurants and shops, and just steps away from the Metro Mover which I understand can take you all over. They all say it is a very safe and clean area to stay in.

This will be our first trip to Miami...

We have also had fine stays at the Courtyard downtown Miami - right acrosss the street from Whole Foods. Easy walk to Bayside if you want. We found several nice places to eat very nearby. Easy trip to the port in the morning though allow exiting traffic to clear a bit to avoid sitting in traffic.

Does anyone know if the new terminal will be open by the end of November? Everything I have read says that it will open in the Fall.

We usually stay at the Marriott Biscayne Bay.

Does anyone know if the new terminal will be open by the end of November? Everything I have read says that it will open in the Fall.

We usually stay at the Marriott Biscayne Bay.

We are booked at the Marriott Biscayne Bay for 2 nights before our December 1st Symphony Cruise. More expensive than our stays at Fort Lauderdale, but my daughter chose it and is using points for one night.

Does anyone know if the new terminal will be open by the end of November? Everything I have read says that it will open in the Fall.

We usually stay at the Marriott Biscayne Bay.

It is supposed to be open then. I would anticipate with no real justification that it should be open a couple of weeks ahead of that.

I booked into Hilton Garden Inn Miami Airport for 2 nights pre-cruise then Clarion Inn & Suites Miami Intl Airport for 1 night post-cruise. My train is due in at 6:30 pm & I have had terrible luck with the train. The last time I used it over 20 years ago we were about 18 hours late getting into Orlando. These hotel are both close to the terminal. The train leaves at 8:10 am so needed to be close. I got a map & studied the addresses of where I needed to be & it just made sense to me to use those hotels. I was going to book Hampton Inn in Brickell but it was too far away.