Fort Lauderdale or Miami?

Could I ask your advice please. We are flying from Australia to Miami on the 15th January 2017 for a cruise which leaves Fort Lauderdale on the 16th January. Which do you think would be better, a hotel in Miami then on to FL the next day or get to FL and stay the night there.

Any suggestions of hotels or transport etc would be gratefully welcome. Price not so much of an issue but not absolute top dollar.

Thanks for your time.

Ft. Lauderdale is much nicer and the hotels are less expensive. If you get a hotel on 17th St., you are in walking distance to everything. Stores, shops, restaurants, bars, liquor stores....everything. It is a wonderful area with lots to do for the day.

If you stay in Miami, you will risk getting stuck in traffic, etc. On 17th St. look for Embassy Suites, Hilton Marina, Holiday Inn Express, and Extended Stay. These are all a 2 minute cab ride or shuttle from the hotel.

Thank you so much for taking the trouble to reply, we appreciate it. We are now looking at the hotels you suggest. Never having been to either place it was hard for us to know what to do. We can now look at transport options to get us from Miami to Fort Lauderdale. So looking forward to our cruise!

Thank you so much for taking the trouble to reply, we appreciate it. We are now looking at the hotels you suggest. Never having been to either place it was hard for us to know what to do. We can now look at transport options to get us from Miami to Fort Lauderdale. So looking forward to our cruise!

Just realized I did not say: 2 minute cab ride/shuttle to the CRUISE PORT from your hotel.

Since you are coming from Australia, you probably have a weight limit on your luggage. There is a Dollar Store, CVS, Walgreens that you can purchase toiletries, water, snacks, etc.

Many more hotel options in Ft.Lauderdale with better prices.

Thanks Champagne for the extra advice, we appreciate you taking the time. We did think you meant the port not the hotel.

Mr Payroll, any suggestions then?

My husband and I are flying into Miami from California for a cruise that leaves the next day out of Fort Lauderdale. We decided on the Embassy Suites Miami Airport because after our long flight (5 hours) - so much shorter than yours! - we didn't want to take the extra time to get to FL. We'll be refreshed in the morning and after breakfast take a cab/shuttle/town car to our ship in FL.

Whatever you end up doing, have a great trip!

Given that you have such a long flight from Australia, I would certainly suggest that you find a hotel near Miami Airport and travel to Port Everglades the next morning. You won't have time (or energy) to see anything in Miami or Fort Lauderdale, regardless of where you stay. You can then enjoy a leisurely trip to Port Everglades the day of your cruise. Have a good trip!

http://FloridaCoast.ca

What time do you arrive in Miami? That would help us give you a better bit of advice.

In addition to the above suggested hotel on/near 17th Street..you might consider Hyatt Place (also a very popular pre-cruise hotel)....it sit's just behind the Embassy Suites and next to the Harbor Shops aka Publix Shopping Center. You can get a great rate using

http://www.valuetrips.com a very popular site for booking the Hyatt Place.

With that long a flight, I would stay somewhere nice in Fort Lauderdale like The Pillars, Ritz Carlton, Lago Mar, The Atlantic, or The W. All either have good in house restaurants or are close walking distance to good restaurants.

Please forgive my late reply to all your wonderful suggestions,was not feeling so good yesterday. I checked our arrival time at Miami and it is 6.40pm. Would the arrival time influence where you would stay? After suggestions made here we thought we would stay in FL but not so sure now.

Thanks for the suggestion to stay at the Hyatt, the site mentioned had very good prices. I know the suggestion to stay at an up market hotel sounds great but it's only for one night before a wonderful cruise, not sure on this occasion it is necessary.

A big thank you to everyone for wishing us a great trip, much appreciated.

Ft. Lauderdale at a nice hotel.

You'll be worn out from your long flight so already being in Ft. Lauderdale the next morning will allow you to sleep later before boarding your ship. :)

Please forgive my late reply to all your wonderful suggestions,was not feeling so good yesterday. I checked our arrival time at Miami and it is 6.40pm. Would the arrival time influence where you would stay? After suggestions made here we thought we would stay in FL but not so sure now.

...

After such a long flight, at that time of day, I'd stay in Miami then proceed to FLL the next day. Can't give you suggestions, but I'd think about somewhere convenient to the airport, so you can collapse quickly!

Mmmmm. That is tough. You will be exhausted, but I think I would rather jump in a cab and be in FL. You can sleep late as you will only be 5 minutes from the port.....instead of waking up in Miami, tired, and rushing to get to FL. :):):)

So many lovely people willing to give us advice, thank you all so much. One last question before we decide. Has any one any idea approximately how long it would take, at that time of night, in a cab to get from Miami to Fort Lauderdale? Just thought, is it a scenic drive which should be done in daylight?

Thanks once again for all your help.

So many lovely people willing to give us advice, thank you all so much. One last question before we decide. Has any one any idea approximately how long it would take, at that time of night, in a cab to get from Miami to Fort Lauderdale? Just thought, is it a scenic drive which should be done in daylight?

 

Thanks once again for all your help.

At that time of night, the quickest route from MIA to Fort Lauderdale is I-95, and it should take approximately 1 hour. There is nothing scenic on the drive. Cab fare could be $80+, Uber would be cheaper.

If you want to leave Miami in the morning, then you can have your driver take you all the way east to A1A and then drive north, but that would take at least 1-1/2+ hours (traffic and stop lights), a lot of money in a cab (you could Uber), and it's mostly high rise condos most of the way up the coast.

Every time I go to book a pre-cruise hotel in Miami...I forget how darn expensive they are. Hard to find even a basic hotel for anything less than $175/nt in peak season.

Thanks Brunello your advice has made our minds up. We decided to bite the bullet and continue our journey to Fort Lauderdale. We will be very tired but feel it will be worth the effort knowing we are close to the port, not still at Miami stressing about the traffic.

Our thanks to everybody who took the time to offer advice, we truely appreciate it.

Thanks Brunello your advice has made our minds up. We decided to bite the bullet and continue our journey to Fort Lauderdale. We will be very tired but feel it will be worth the effort knowing we are close to the port, not still at Miami stressing about the traffic.

 

Our thanks to everybody who took the time to offer advice, we truely appreciate it.

We will be doing the same thing in April. Our flight it not nearly as long as yours but it's a 6 hour red eye from Seattle. We originally had planned to spend the one night in Miami since we will have a full day before our cruise. In the end, we opted for staying in Fort Lauderdale instead. Hotels are nicer and less expensive and it's nice being close to the port in the morning.

Taxis are spendy taking you from Miami to Fort Lauderdale. We plan on hiring a car service to take us to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale when we arrive at the airport in Miami. I haven't booked that part of our travels yet though!

Have a wonderful trip!

Thanks Brunello your advice has made our minds up. We decided to bite the bullet and continue our journey to Fort Lauderdale. We will be very tired but feel it will be worth the effort knowing we are close to the port, not still at Miami stressing about the traffic.

 

Our thanks to everybody who took the time to offer advice, we truely appreciate it.

We always like to get to the port city upon arrival. No matter when we arrive. You can sleep in in the morning, have a leisurely breakfast and know that you basically have all day to get to the ship. No schedule to keep. Enjoy your trip!

As Ft. Lauderdale locals, we avoid Miami like the plague. Stay in Ft. Lauderdale; much more civilized.

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Could I ask your advice please. We are flying from Australia to Miami on the 15th January 2017 for a cruise which leaves Fort Lauderdale on the 16th January. Which do you think would be better, a hotel in Miami then on to FL the next day or get to FL and stay the night there.

 

Any suggestions of hotels or transport etc would be gratefully welcome. Price not so much of an issue but not absolute top dollar.

 

Thanks for your time.

Sunday evening the traffic on I-95 would be light, but after a long flight like that I would want to fully recline (on a bed) ASAP. I would stay in a hotel in Miami that has an airport shuttle. I don't think it really matters so much what hotel you stay at because by the time you hike a mile through MIA to get to Baggage Claim to get your luggage, go through customs and finally get to a hotel it's going to be going on 9:00 PM. Order a pizza, relax and drink a good bottle of wine from Australia you packed away in your luggage. Then shuttle to Port Everglades the next day (Monday?).

You could rent a car from Budget at MIA (with GPS), get a hotel in the Blue Lagoon area, travel to Ft Lauderdale after rush hour and drop the car at the Port Everglades location on 17th Street and take their shuttle to the port.

As Ft. Lauderdale locals, we avoid Miami like the plague. Stay in Ft. Lauderdale; much more civilized.

 

 

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Hahaha! True. Most locals do avoid Miami except to staycation.