Port of Miami Nightmare-NCL Pls. Read

[HokiePoq]

Maybe park somewhere else in Miami, like remote parking at the airport and either take a cab or a NCL airport to port transfer? Or, arrive a day early and stay at a hotel that allows week long parking, and cab it?

 

This is what we did and boy am I glad after reading OP's horrible experience. The $20 rate is so high that I'm surprised so many of the garages filled up.

We found the return experience terrible. Perhaps it's port rules but no one from NCL was near the luggage when we disembarked. Instead of being in rows by color as it usually is, it was on one of many carousels and you had no idea which one was for your color. Also, customs had no separate lines for US citizens and we waited behind a couple whose time at the counter was about 15 minutes. Many others came and went while we were stuck. Both of these unexpected things caused us to miss our transfer.

Most other points of entry we've used have had separate lines and that was the first time we'd ever encountered hide and seek with our luggage.

[HokiePoq]

I love the Miami terminal. I reserve a spot in an outlying lot before I arrive and get the free shuttle there and back. I also arrive by 11am so no worries. I would take Miami over Tampa in a heartbeat.

 

 

Interesting how different ones of us have different experiences. We've parked at the port parking in Tampa twice....around $100 for seven days...and love how we carry our luggage off ourselves and go straight across the street to the car. We have had good experiences doing this for 7 day cruises on both NCL and HAL.

As for New York, four of us rented a car to come up from Virginia which was much cheaper than either flying up or paying parking.

[kirsty_r]

Is it? I heard from a shipyard master that Miami is much more costly than Ft. Lauderdale for the cruise ships.

 

Miami is amazing for travellers coming from outside the USA though - much cheaper flights and more direct. NCL seems to have a lot of international travellers.

[OhJinkies]

For my last Miami cruise, I drove down from Orlando and parked in Premier Parking's offsite lot. As soon as I entered, I was concerned as the parking situation seemed disorganized and crowded. I self-parked towards the back. When I returned, the car on my driver's side was about seven inches away from my door. I had to crawl in through the passenger side, which required some gymnastics that I had not done in years. When I complained to the personnel on my way out, they pretty much told me that was a risk I took when I chose to self-park instead of paying them to valet-park my car. Beware!

[4774Papa]

Is it? I heard from a shipyard master that Miami is much more costly than Ft. Lauderdale for the cruise ships.

Ft. Lauderdale seems easier than Miami. We have used this hotel and been pleased a few times.

Fairfield Inn & Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport & Cruise Port 2081 Griffin Road,

Dania Beach, Florida 33312 USA Phone: 1-954-981-2700 Fax: 1-954-981-9125

[sixesandeights]

While you apparently feel the need to guess other people's motives, OP clearly stated that their objective was to give feedback to NCL and while NCL has employees reading this board, this is not the right place to do so. This is a discussion board about NCL - not a feedback channel for the corporation itself - and even OP themselves admitted that any part of the problem they had wasn't caused by NCL so this is not a NCL related discussion, it's POM related discussion and there is a better place for it in CC.

 

NCL has made long contracts for the new ships being homeported in POM so the issue is not whether NCL should move because that is not possible in next few years, but that POM should improve the parking situation because that actually might be possible.

 

You are a joke....to pretend that NCL doesnt read these forums is so short sighted. This topic is absolutely a problem, and this warning to other guests is 100% appropriate for this forum, and it is a fairly good method for getting the info to NCL. A private message to NCL can be ignored. A post here with support from many other possible cruises is much harder to ignore, and will give NCL something to think about when making future port contracts.

 

You clearly dont have anything to add to this topic other then a a false sense of superiority....perhaps it would be better if you simply didnt post at all....

 

6&8

[garycarla]

You are a joke.......You clearly don't have anything to add to this topic other then a a false sense of superiority....perhaps it would be better if you simply didn't post at all....

 

6&8

 

 

There are many sayings that would be an appropriate response to this. But, instead I would suggest just reading the above and draw your own conclusions.

 

 

Good morning!

Edited March 26, 2014 by garycarla

[tarheelmjfan]

I can't help but see the irony in all the people who aren't affected by this in any way having such strong opinions about how those who are should feel & what they should do. We have no plans to park at POM anytime soon, but I appreciate the info. If I knew for a fact, I would never be parking there, I wouldn't have an opinion on the topic of this thread at all. People only care about things that affect them. This thread just reinforces that. It's easy to defend a practice that doesn't affect you. It sure does make you look silly & uncaring though.

[Alliezona09]

I wonder if there is a list somewhere of all the cruise lines and ships that homeport out of Miami... I imagine that it would be quite a list.

 

 

Check out page 6~

http://www.miamidade.gov/portmiami/library/brochures/2014-2015-cruise-guide-final.pdf

[FLAHAM]

About 2 years ago it was announced that Port Everglades (Ft Lauderdale) beat the port of Miami as the busiest Florida port. It really hurt the pride of the port of Miami because Port Everglades used to be a fraction of the port of Miami business.

If it was not for NCL, there would not be too much to celebrate at the port of Miami these days.

 

This is outdated information. For the past two years, Port Miami has been the world's busiest cruise port with 4 million+ annual passengers.