Ft Lauderdale - recommended hotel, things to see

[fedlad]

Staying pre-cruise for couple of nights, flying in from UK. Any recommended hotels with shuttles to cruise ship port? (Cruising on RC Freedom of Seas) Also any recommendations for things to see, plus eating/drinking evenings? Never been before, basically got one full day and 2 nights. Hotels don't have to be budget, willing to pay a bit.

[Calebo]

For our last cruise we spent 2 nights at the Hilton Marina in a tower room facing the port. It was a very nice hotel, a bit pricey, but the view of 6 cruiseships docked in the morning of our cruise was worth every penny.

We ate once at the Bimini Boatyard and were quite disappointed with the food verses the price. There are many dining options which are much better. There is a Ft Lauderdale restaurant guide on the forums.

The water taxi is a must in our opinion, you pay once and can get on and off for most of the day, one of the stops is Las Olas which has restaurants and shopping, kinda pricey but nice to see.

[Daisyloo]

I second the water taxi as a great way to see Ft. Lauderdale. We really enjoyed it.

[Echogyrl]

Water Taxi was the highlight of my stay in Fort Lauderdale. I highly recommend it.

[capriccio]

Check out http://www.sunny.org for info on attractions, restaurants, and transportation.

 

Other useful sites are the water taxi (http://www.watertaxi.com) and the sun trolley (http://www.suntrolley.com).

[eandj]

Are you flying into Miami?

[BlueHerons]

The Riverside Hotel is on Las Olas Boulevard which is a gorgeous tree lined/lighted shopping, dining, and attraction destination.

 

http://www.LasOlasBoulevard.com

 

There are three water taxi stops on Las Olas.

 

http://www.WaterTaxi.com

[royalcruz]

The Riverside Hotel is in the nicest part of town and there are so many restaurants there. You're not going to find shuttles at the better hotels...just take a taxi.

[JamesEM]

The Las Olas is very nice, however many pre stay cruisers prefer to stay in the 17th St. area, so I would suggest checking out both areas.

[BlueHerons]

The Las Olas is very nice, however many pre stay cruisers prefer to stay in the 17th St. area, so I would suggest checking out both areas.

 

Most cruisers stay on 17th Street because they have twenty hotels and cheap chain restaurants. It is a busy highway.

 

Las Olas has one upscale hotel and some of the best dining in South Florida. It is a quaint, tree lined boulevard.