Ft Lauderdale - 1 night what are my options

[William W]

I have just booked my flight for my cruise on the Allure in early December. I wouldn't get in to Fort Lauderdale until 8:30pm Saturday evening.

 

I am debating whether I should rent a car and stay at which ever hotel Priceline or Hotwire assigns me in the airport area. Or should book a regular hotel that offers shuttle to and from the airport and Port Everglades, and pay the regular rates.

 

Renting a Car option:

Pros: Give me a flexibility of when to goto the port, also, stay at wherever Priceline or Hotwire assigns me at a very good rate. Get the use of a car on Sunday morning before Embarkation.

Cons: Waiting in line at the rental counter, searching for the hotel at night, finding gas station to fuel up before returning the car

 

Booking Hotel Option:

Pros: The opposite of the Cons of what I said in renting a car

Cons: Waiting forever for the hotel shuttle, not being able to go to port at the time I want, and because of the late check in to the hotel, the desirable time for the shuttle may have been taken up. Paying a higher price for the hotel.

 

I'm also looking at the most economical way in doing this. Any suggestions would be welcome?

[CruiserBruce]

No need to rent car. Just go for a close to airport or port hotel and take a cab.

[eandj]

Early Dec has great rates. I wouldn't rent a car. What you save on hotel rates, you can spend on cabs. ANd it's NOT much $$$.

 

 

You might want to look at hotwire or lastminutetravel and there are great rates and then you'll see which hotels offer the shuttles at least from the airport. You can figure out the name of the hotel on LMT too. (We can help you) So that will make everything easy and lots less $ than booking with the hotel direct.

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

I agree with the others/ Do not rent a car and check out Last Minute Travel as they have some great deals that include free shuttle from the airport. The hotels closer to the airport offer shuttle to the pier at $8 pp.

If you do use LMT make sure you follow up with the hotel directly to ensure they have your reservation. Give them a couple days until they get it in their system.

[FawnRiver]

You might want to make sure you end up with a hotel that has a restaurant on site.

 

For our first cruise, we flew in the night before but were delayed so we didn't get to our hotel until almost midnight. I'm a nervous flyer, so I hadn't eaten anything for about twelve hours by the time we got checked into the hotel. Of course, we didn't realize that everything closes in FLL at or before midnight (even pizza delivery :confused:). The only option we had left was to go across the street to a McDonald's and walk through the drive through and even then, all we could get was stuff from the deep fryer. They'd already shut down the grill for the night - DH was NOT happy. :mad:

[eandj]

Of course you won't find a restaurant open in a hotel at midnight.:rolleyes: Best bet if delayed is eat at the airport or carry o sub or something along for when you land. Be glad if you find a Mc Donalds..:)

[melligene]

FYI: After some research we are booked this November at Sleep Inn in Dania, Fla. Free shuttle to their hotel from the airport. They will hold our room until 7:00 a.m. the next day. Our account has not be debited yet. Might want to look that up on line. Just a thought.......

[William W]

Thanks for everyone who has replied. I have looked at LMT, first time ever I went on it.

 

Could anyone confirm that based on the description provided on the website, the 4-star hotel in Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Internat, that is

4.42 Mile(s) To Airport and has the following amenities is the Crowne Plaza Fort Lauderdale Airport / Cruise Port :

 

General Description

Accessible to many local attractions

Close proximity to a beach.

Great combination for business and pleasure

Perfect for weekend getaway

Close proximity to airport

 

Location

Conveniently located in Fort Lauderdale

Centrally located minutes from Port Everglades

 

Recreation

Fully equipped fitness center

Outdoor swimming pool

 

Restaurants & Lounges

Full service bar/lounge

Onsite restaurant

 

Services

Valet dry cleaning and laundry services

Room service

Concierge services

 

Meeting Facilities

Fully equipped business center

 

Accommodations

148 guestrooms

4 star accommodations

 

If it is indeed, I think I will pull the trigger on it. Many thanks!

[cruiseat50]

Thanks for everyone who has replied. I have looked at LMT, first time ever I went on it.

 

Could anyone confirm that based on the description provided on the website, the 4-star hotel in Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Internat, that is

4.42 Mile(s) To Airport and has the following amenities is the Crowne Plaza Fort Lauderdale Airport / Cruise Port :

 

An easy way to be sure that you have the hotel you want is to click the book it button then add a activity or excursion then click continue booking and it will show you the hotel on the right hand side under reservation details.:)

[RN Cruiser 23]

An easy way to be sure that you have the hotel you want is to click the book it button then add a activity or excursion then click continue booking and it will show you the hotel on the right hand side under reservation details.:)

 

 

Works like a charm... thanks for the tip!!!

[William W]

Thanks everyone!

 

I will not be taking a rental, instead, I have a reservation at Fairfield Inn Fort Lauderdale Airport & Cruiseport. However, instead of booking the hotel via LMT at $69, I booked with the hotel directly using Mariott's website, and filed a Best Rate Guarantee claim. Thus, I was able to get Mariott to match LMT plus 25% off, which works out to $51.54 plus tax.

 

For those who frequently uses sites like Expedia, you can also get them to do a Best Rate Guarantee, and they will give you a $50 voucher for future purchases. Because I rarely uses Expedia to book my travel, thus, this time, I took the cash from Mariott instead. Cheers!