what to do after cruise in Miami or FLL?

[wleigh1021]

I will be travelling on the Valor, returning to the port of Miami on 10/9. My flight is from FLL at 7:30 pm. Does anyone have any suggestions about what to do for the day? Has anyone taken a tour which would include transportation between the port and FLL airport?

 

Thanks!

[JohninDC]

With that sort of wait your best bet is to rent a car, stash your bags in the trunk and then go and do what you want - lunch in South Beach? Shopping? Zoo?

 

Both Avis and Hertz have downtown locaitons close to POM, and there are car rental agencies scattered throughout South Beach (about a $15 cab ride from POM if they will not shuttle). Good luck! :)

[eandj]

If I were you, I'd rent a car and use the car to hold the luggage as well as get you from Point A to B with nice stops along the way. Have you been to Maimi Beach/South Beach? Been to Ft. to ride the water taxis or enjoy the nice beach?

 

On most lines if you do a ship's post cruise excursion, they will take you to Fll. Probelm is you will still have plenty of time preflight to sit there. And it's a small airport with not much to do and see.

[trish1c]

We rented a car & went to the Miami Zoo for the day. The luggage was safely stashed in the trunk. It worked out well.

[waterbugohio]

another suggestions is to use Bags to Go, http://www.baggagecheckin.com/services.php?lc=3

 

I used this service in April and it was great. Just get off the ship and exit the ship terminal. Look for a large van marked Bags to Go, there was a representative standing out in between all the taxi guys holding a sign. Tell him you want to have your bags taken to the airport. You will follow him to the van, fill out some paperwork, and for $6 they will take your luggage to the airport.

 

When you get to the airport, you go to the lower level where the car rental return is (don't worry they will explain all this to you) They have a "booth" along the wall of the airport and luggage is stored in there. Just give them your claim ticket and retrieve your luggage. You then procede to your airline terminal. All in all, it took maybe 5 minutes extra at the airport.

 

This was a great service for me, as I had "some time" to kill, but not enough that I wanted to take the time to rent a car. I then went with friends in a taxi, we did the "water taxi" tour in Ft Lauderdale. The tour is wonderful, very informative and you can "hop on, hop off" and have lunch, check out site, shop, etc. Just try to plan it out to be at one of the closer stops to the airport when heading back. We spent way to much time eating lunch and was at the furthest point from the airport (taxi cost me $25)

Here is a link for the water taxi. http://www.watertaxi.com/watertaxi/fort-lauderdale/

 

It was great and can't wait to go on it again in November with the hubby. We will spend an entire day getting on and off and checking out everything in FLL for $20 pp

[eandj]

another suggestions is to use Bags to Go, http://www.baggagecheckin.com/services.php?lc=3

 

I used this service in April and it was great. Just get off the ship and exit the ship terminal. Look for a large van marked Bags to Go, there was a representative standing out in between all the taxi guys holding a sign. Tell him you want to have your bags taken to the airport. You will follow him to the van, fill out some paperwork, and for $6 they will take your luggage to the airport.

 

pp

 

 

This won't work as the OP disembarks in Miami and flies out of Fll.

 

Good info for those disembarking and flying out of the same city tho.:)

[GetMeToABeach]

We had this exact situation last week. We rented a car from the port (shuttle to the car rental center), drove to Sawgrass Mills Mall and spent the day there. (my 21-year-old daughter is a serious shopper!) Returned the car at Ft. Lauderdale airport. It worked very well for us.

[Froufie]

This won't work as the OP disembarks in Miami and flies out of Fll.

 

Good info for those disembarking and flying out of the same city tho.:)

 

Seems it will work from FLL port to either MIA or FLL - but not from MIA to FLL oh well -

 

For those who are interested - according to the FAQs on the website:

 

◦In Fort Lauderdale, cruise passengers disembarking at Port Everglades can store bags with a portside Bags To Go agent, who will safely transport and store baggage at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport or Miami International Airport for passenger pick-up.

 

P.S. I have sent them an email regarding disembarking at Port of Miami and flying out of FLL - will post the response once I get it!

[bedfordmom]

We had this exact situation last week. We rented a car from the port (shuttle to the car rental center), drove to Sawgrass Mills Mall and spent the day there. (my 21-year-old daughter is a serious shopper!) Returned the car at Ft. Lauderdale airport. It worked very well for us.

 

 

When you rent the car; just make sure you have enough room to put ALL the bags in the trunk. We did this after a California cruise and had to rent one of the largest cars to squish four people's luggage into the trunk while we toured for the day. But its worth the extra cost so not to risk luggage theft.

[BahamaMamas]

Is there a similar Bags To Go service offered at the port of Miami? It appears that Bags To Go only has agents at Port Everglades.

 

Baggage Storage: Allows passengers to store bags at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for up to 30 days, with valid I.D. and proof of travel within the requested storage time. In addition, Baggage Storage can be purchased port side at Port Everglades for storage at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport or Miami International Airport.

[girlscruise2011]

Check with Carnival to see if the Valor has their luggage express service. I know the Imagination does and will bring the luggage to FLL for you. I think the cost is $20 per bag. Can be pricey but its an option? I am in the same situation in October. There are 5 of us and decided to rent a minivan and drive to FLL at our leisure and stop along the way to shop and have lunch. Beats sitting at the airport all those hours.

[Froufie]

Is there a similar Bags To Go service offered at the port of Miami? It appears that Bags To Go only has agents at Port Everglades.

 

Baggage Storage: Allows passengers to store bags at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for up to 30 days, with valid I.D. and proof of travel within the requested storage time. In addition, Baggage Storage can be purchased port side at Port Everglades for storage at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport or Miami International Airport.

 

Yes but can this be purchased 'port side in Miami (and not just port everglades?) I don't think so! So if you disembark in Miami seems you can't access this service even if you are flying out of FLL airport!

[Froufie]

Seems it will work from FLL port to either MIA or FLL - but not from MIA to FLL oh well -

 

For those who are interested - according to the FAQs on the website:

 

◦In Fort Lauderdale, cruise passengers disembarking at Port Everglades can store bags with a portside Bags To Go agent, who will safely transport and store baggage at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport or Miami International Airport for passenger pick-up.

 

P.S. I have sent them an email regarding disembarking at Port of Miami and flying out of FLL - will post the response once I get it!

 

Good news - looks like this service will soon be starting from POM for flights out of MIA or FLL - here is the response I got from Alfredo:

 

We should be up and running in Port of Miami shortly. You should be able to check in using bagstogo.net by next month. On another note We have added service at Sawgrass Mills Mall which is one of the largest outlet malls. Baggage/packages can be dropped off with us at one of our three locations in the mall and we will either store them there or can have them delivered to MIA or FLL.

 

Thanks,

Alfredo J. Cao Jr.

Bags To Go Enterprises, LLC.

100 Terminal Dr.

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315

Cell: 305-321-0700

Office: 954-359-5505 Fax: 954-359-5546

alfredocao@bagstogo.net