Biz64 Posted December 5, 2014 #1 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Staying one night after cruise on Jan 18th in Ft. Lauderdale. We want to rent a minivan and maybe head to Miami for the day. Whats the best way to get the car rental after leaving the port? Should we take a cab to the airport or will any rental companies pick us up from the cruise port? It will be my wife and I, and 3 kids. Also, any recommendations for hotels? trying to keep it around $150, nothing fancy just someplace clean where we can sleep and shower before flying out the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted December 5, 2014 #2 Share Posted December 5, 2014 A little reading on the board will answer all the questions you have, and as you know your variables best, help you narrow down your choices. Be aware, at this late date, January rates are going to be a bit challenging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueHerons Posted December 5, 2014 #3 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Staying one night after cruise on Jan 18th in Ft. Lauderdale. We want to rent a minivan and maybe head to Miami for the day. Whats the best way to get the car rental after leaving the port? Should we take a cab to the airport or will any rental companies pick us up from the cruise port? It will be my wife and I, and 3 kids. Also, any recommendations for hotels? trying to keep it around $150, nothing fancy just someplace clean where we can sleep and shower before flying out the next day. I'm confused, are you staying in Miami or Fort Lauderdale? If Fort Lauderdale I certainly would not drive to Miami for the day. With three kids, I would just head to the beach. Your budget may be impractical for a hotel over a holiday weekend. I would up your budget for five to $200. As CruiserBruce stated, you are a little late in the game to be bargain hunting. Book something NOW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biz64 Posted December 5, 2014 Author #4 Share Posted December 5, 2014 I'm confused, are you staying in Miami or Fort Lauderdale? If Fort Lauderdale I certainly would not drive to Miami for the day. With three kids, I would just head to the beach. Your budget may be impractical for a hotel over a holiday weekend. I would up your budget for five to $200. As CruiserBruce stated, you are a little late in the game to be bargain hunting. Book something NOW. Staying in Ft. Lauderdale, flying out of there on Monday the 19th. Why not drive to Miami? I thought it was only about 30-45 mins drive? I thought maybe we could check out South Beach for the day. Some of the hotels we were looking at are :Comfort Suites Airport & Cruise Port, Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale 17th Street Convention Center, Holiday Inn Express Ft. Lauderdale Cruise-Airport, and Holiday Inn Express and Suites Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. All are under $200 for the night. Still trying to figure out the car rental. I want to be able to return it to the airport when we fly out, but not sure if we should take a cab to the airport to pick it up, or if any rental places offer to pick us up from the port. I will have to make some phone calls to get some info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueHerons Posted December 5, 2014 #5 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Staying in Ft. Lauderdale, flying out of there on Monday the 19th. Why not drive to Miami? I thought it was only about 30-45 mins drive? I thought maybe we could check out South Beach for the day. Some of the hotels we were looking at are :Comfort Suites Airport & Cruise Port, Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale 17th Street Convention Center, Holiday Inn Express Ft. Lauderdale Cruise-Airport, and Holiday Inn Express and Suites Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. All are under $200 for the night. Still trying to figure out the car rental. I want to be able to return it to the airport when we fly out, but not sure if we should take a cab to the airport to pick it up, or if any rental places offer to pick us up from the port. I will have to make some phone calls to get some info. Any of those hotels will be great. My husband makes the commute from Fort Lauderdale (Las Olas) to downtown Miami five days a week at different times a day. He never makes it in under an hour and South Beach is further. How old are your kids? Fort Lauderdale Beach down on A1A is wonderful for families. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biz64 Posted December 5, 2014 Author #6 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Any of those hotels will be great. My husband makes the commute from Fort Lauderdale (Las Olas) to downtown Miami five days a week at different times a day. He never makes it in under an hour and South Beach is further. How old are your kids? Fort Lauderdale Beach down on A1A is wonderful for families. Kids will be 9, 7 and 4 when we are there. We may consider just staying in Ft. Lauderdale if it's that long of a drive. Thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueHerons Posted December 6, 2014 #7 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Kids will be 9, 7 and 4 when we are there. We may consider just staying in Ft. Lauderdale if it's that long of a drive. Thanks for the info! Even though South Beach has gotten really family friendly, with kids that age, I'd just stay in FLL beach. During season, Ocean Drive can get really ghetto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royalcruz Posted December 6, 2014 #8 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I agree with Blue Herons...I would skip the rental car and stay by Fort Lauderdale beach with the money you save. Best Western Oceanside and Alhambra Beach Resort are budget priced and will give you some free breakfast. Bahia Mar usually has good rates. It will take a good hour to get to South Beach and then you have to find parking which can cost you another $20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midwife1021 Posted December 8, 2014 #9 Share Posted December 8, 2014 [quote name=Biz64;44907701 Some of the hotels we were looking at are :Comfort Suites Airport & Cruise Port' date=' Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale 17th Street Convention Center, Holiday Inn Express Ft. Lauderdale Cruise-Airport, and Holiday Inn Express and Suites Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. All are under $200 for the night. [/quote] We stayed at Hampton Inn pre-cruise and Hyatt Place post-cruise in 2012. Both were excellent, friendly, clean and easy accessibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JamesEM Posted December 8, 2014 #10 Share Posted December 8, 2014 My suggestion would be, skip the rental, stay at the Embassy Suites, your get two rooms and a bunch of amenities, then take the family to Hollywood via Water Taxi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biz64 Posted December 9, 2014 Author #11 Share Posted December 9, 2014 My suggestion would be, skip the rental, stay at the Embassy Suites, your get two rooms and a bunch of amenities, then take the family to Hollywood via Water Taxi. Just checked out the water taxi…looks like a lot of fun! I think the kids would really like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biz64 Posted December 14, 2014 Author #12 Share Posted December 14, 2014 ok, just booked a couple of rooms at the Bahia Mar. I think this is very convenient location, across the street from the beach, a stop for the water taxi near by, and within walking distance to some restaurants and shopping around Las Olas. Is this a pretty good area? Pretty safe to walk around with kids? We are skipping the car rental. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueHerons Posted December 15, 2014 #13 Share Posted December 15, 2014 ok, just booked a couple of rooms at the Bahia Mar. I think this is very convenient location, across the street from the beach, a stop for the water taxi near by, and within walking distance to some restaurants and shopping around Las Olas. Is this a pretty good area? Pretty safe to walk around with kids? We are skipping the car rental. Yes, it is very safe. There are always tons of cops in the area. Virtually zero crime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Cruizers Posted December 17, 2014 #14 Share Posted December 17, 2014 We will be staying at the Hyatt Place post cruise next Oct. Heard wonderful reviews from CC. There is an Outback restaurant nearby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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