Hop on Hop off Bus after cruise

[quiltsnh]

Has anyone booked this thru RCCL with transportation to FLL airport included?

[TonyFred]

Has anyone booked this thru RCCL with transportation to FLL airport included?

 

Not quite sure what the question is....have we used RCCL for the transportation or have we "hopped on and off the bus"?

[quiltsnh]

Clarification: RCCL offers a post cruise excursion in Miami that includes transportation to FLL for those who have some time before their flight. The excursion is the Hop on Hop Off tour....

[bajathree]

Or just do it on your own (if you are talking about FLL )http://www.suntrolley.com/

[jennmaybe]

Or just do it on your own (if you are talking about FLL )http://www.suntrolley.com/

 

I agree with this!! I do not like HOHO tours anywhere........they really are not the best.

[quiltsnh]

The attraction was that they take your luggage AND supply transportation to FLL from MIA

[mjldvlks]

I agree with this!! I do not like HOHO tours anywhere........they really are not the best.

 

We have used them in many cities and DW loves them, but I agree with you. Most importantly, I think the name is misleading. The name [and most advertising] suggests that there is a continuous flow of transportation and you can spend as much or as little time in one place as you like. In practice, and without excpetion in any city I can recall [including Boston, Paris, Vigo, and Vancouver off the top of my head] once you get off, there is a lengthy wait for the next bus to come by, hope it is from your tour company [many cities have several different HOHO lines] and then there is frequently a struggle to preserve your place in line and see if there are seats available on the bus.

[mjldvlks]

The attraction was that they take your luggage AND supply transportation to FLL from MIA

I would be REALLY cautious about relying on a HOHO bus to get me to a specific place on time -- most especially if you want to get off and see anything between your point of boarding and your final destination. My experience has been that they are not very reliable keeping schedules.

[KuffMUp]

Or just do it on your own (if you are talking about FLL )http://www.suntrolley.com/

 

Here is one thing about booking independently. I checked into the Gray (Grey?) Line which offers the same type of thing independently but with it being $10 more for it. So I email them and ask, "Do you take our luggage to the airport and how do we get from the port to where you are located, and do you have arrangements to get from your main stop to the airport?"

 

They replied that the excursion through the ship would be a better because they did not have a way to store luggage and you had to get yourself to the beginning part of the tour and get to the airport after the tour.

 

So while going independently is a good deal sometimes, I'd say this isn't one of those times. If I wouldn't have asked them, I would have been stuck taking a taxi to the Central Station near Bayfront Park (Hop On Hop Off) Bayside Marketplace (Biscayne Bay). I would have been stuck with my luggage, and then having to get a taxi to the airport. The extra $10 is worth it IMHO.

[Ashland]

I agree with this!! I do not like HOHO tours anywhere........they really are not the best.

I disagree..they can be great tours..We have loved the HOHO's in London, Barcelona and several cities throughout the Baltic's and looking forward to using them in China...:)

[jennmaybe]

I disagree..they can be great tours..We have loved the HOHO's in London, Barcelona and several cities throughout the Baltic's and looking forward to using them in China...:)

 

Sounds like the ones in other countries are much more organized than here in the US. They are not the best here, especially in the big cities. Just check out their ratings with their local BBB's.;)

[GrammaJo128]

We were looking to do the HOHO tour in Miami as well, for the same reason as the OP. Our flight out of FLL doesn't leave until 5:00, so does anyone have any suggestions what the OP or we could do instead of the HOHO? I mean logically luggage is a problem. Can we take SAS to FLL and check our luggage and then is there somewhere close to FLL where we could take a bus or something cheaper than a taxi to spend the day?

 

We are on NCL, and I don't know if the OP has this option, but we have the option of an Everglades boat tour in Miami, with final transportation to FLL also. Is this a better option? Personally, it didn't sound all that exciting to me, but I really don't know much about Everglades. I hope this isn't highjacking since I'm hoping the OP will gain more information too. :)

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We were looking to do the HOHO tour in Miami as well, for the same reason as the OP. Our flight out of FLL doesn't leave until 5:00, so does anyone have any suggestions what the OP or we could do instead of the HOHO? I mean logically luggage is a problem. Can we take SAS to FLL and check our luggage and then is there somewhere close to FLL where we could take a bus or something cheaper than a taxi to spend the day?

 

We are on NCL, and I don't know if the OP has this option, but we have the option of an Everglades boat tour in Miami, with final transportation to FLL also. Is this a better option? Personally, it didn't sound all that exciting to me, but I really don't know much about Everglades. I hope this isn't highjacking since I'm hoping the OP will gain more information too. :)

 

 

Twice when we came into Miami we rented a car from Enterprise because they would pick us up at the pier. Then we returned it to the airport at no extra cost. (In fact the second time we picke a later flight time so we could rent the car. :)

 

That solves the luggage problem and gives you freedom of movement. Once we drove to South Beach in Miami and another time we drove down the Keys to Marathon Key. I do not remember the cost--but, I bet it is not much more than the HOHO.

 

PS--I like HOHOs and have used them in many cities in the US and overseas.

[quiltsnh]

We were looking to do the HOHO tour in Miami as well, for the same reason as the OP. Our flight out of FLL doesn't leave until 5:00, so does anyone have any suggestions what the OP or we could do instead of the HOHO? I mean logically luggage is a problem. Can we take SAS to FLL and check our luggage and then is there somewhere close to FLL where we could take a bus or something cheaper than a taxi to spend the day?

 

We are on NCL, and I don't know if the OP has this option, but we have the option of an Everglades boat tour in Miami, with final transportation to FLL also. Is this a better option? Personally, it didn't sound all that exciting to me, but I really don't know much about Everglades. I hope this isn't highjacking since I'm hoping the OP will gain more information too. :)

 

I am OP and we do not have the option of doing Everglades because our flight is at 315 out of FLL. What we might do is use luggage valet on RCCL and take a cab to Bayside do the 90 minute boat tour then make arrangements for shuttle pickup at 12:30 at the Holiday Inn Port of MIami across from Bayside. Plans still pending

[waterbugohio]

Will need to check out this excursion.

 

We are sailing out of FLL and also have a evening flight. Have done FLL many times and not sure what we want to do. Just know that I don't want to sit in the airport all day.

 

We have done the watertaxi before but then you have to do something with luggage. I know one time we used "bagstogo" service which took our luggage to the airport, then we had to claim it before going thru security.

 

But if we could do it all together with a hop on hop off bus, that sounds great. Where do they actually store your luggage??

[GrammaJo128]

We have used them in many cities and DW loves them, but I agree with you. Most importantly, I think the name is misleading. The name [and most advertising] suggests that there is a continuous flow of transportation and you can spend as much or as little time in one place as you like. In practice, and without excpetion in any city I can recall [including Boston, Paris, Vigo, and Vancouver off the top of my head] once you get off, there is a lengthy wait for the next bus to come by, hope it is from your tour company [many cities have several different HOHO lines] and then there is frequently a struggle to preserve your place in line and see if there are seats available on the bus.

 

Would you mind clarifying what you meant by "a struggle to preserve your place in line and see if there are seats available on the bus"? I'm assuming you stand in a line to wait for the next bus, and IF it's your bus line, it might be full and if you try to get on, then you lose your place in the actual line? Why would the shuttle even stop if they are full? I mean are the lines that long? If it is really aggravating my hubby will hate it!

[mjldvlks]

Would you mind clarifying what you meant by "a struggle to preserve your place in line and see if there are seats available on the bus"? I'm assuming you stand in a line to wait for the next bus, and IF it's your bus line, it might be full and if you try to get on, then you lose your place in the actual line? Why would the shuttle even stop if they are full? I mean are the lines that long? If it is really aggravating my hubby will hate it!

Depends on the city to some extent, but I remember similar problems in most of the cities we have used them. In the first place, you have to wait for the right bus. In many cities there are multiple lines. I have never found the schedules to be regular or reliable. Typically we had to wait 30 minutes or longer AFTER we had seen whatever it was we wanted to see for our bus to arrive.

 

Once you see your bus, then you have to hope there are seats available. In Boston in particular that was a problem, the buses were pretty full [even in October] and after waiting for quite a while, even seeing your bus didn't mean you were going to get on. This is problem is compounded if you have a group and you are trying to stay together.

 

Finally, at some stops, it is not altogether clear where the stop for your particular bus is or will be. If you see people standing around, they may be there for your bus or one of the other lines. Once the bus stops, it may be at your group or one of the other groups that has formed, so you may get bumped out simply by not being at the right place by a few feet.

 

My own opinion is that HOHO buses are OK if you want to travel the entire circuit and hear the commentary by the drivers [who are indeed generally pretty knowledgeable]. But if you want to get off at more than one or two places, it is a real hassle. Anticipate adding at least 30 minutes per stop to any specific site you want to visit. It is an extremely slow means to get from one place to another. The "Ho On/Hop Off" characterization is, in my experience and without exception, a joke. I personally think there are much better ways to see a city.

[GrammaJo128]

Wow! Thanks for clarifying that with so much detail. I think it sounds like it won't be for us then. Oh well, back to the drawing board!

[CleveRocks]

I got a day rate at the Renaissance on 17th Street, $99, check in after 9 a.m. and check out by 6 p.m. We had an 8:35 p.m. flight out of FLL.

 

They have a nice outdoor pool, it's within a block or two of numerous restaurants, and it's directly on the route of the Sun Trolley. The Sun Trolley is a bus made to look like a trolley, 50 cents a ride, goes to the beach areas.

 

We took a taxi from the port to the hotel (such a short ride that the bad taxi driver complained about it), checked in and dumped our luggage in thr room, took the trolley to the beach, then came back and used the pool. We considered getting take-out sushi or pizza (both just a block away) but then decided to get dinner at the airport so we wouldn't feel rushed.

 

After the cruise, it was kinda nice to have a bed to relax on for a little while before going to the airport.