Fly into Ft. Laud. for Miami cruise???

[jimbug]

Yes, they will pick you up at the port. I know the frustration about being under 25! I'll be 24 on our next cruise, and my pre-cruise car rental is costing me nearly twice as much as it should due to those stupid fees! Blah...only one more year of it, though!

[lvssushi]

cruisinkeri- We live in Missouri and usually fly out of Kansas City. In fact, we will be cruising out of Miami this March!! I think that ares are still high for next March, but should be going down soon. On our last cruise we sailed from Fort Lauderdale and flew from Miami. Got the shuttle that picked you up from the port and took us to the airport. It was easy and painless and didn't take that long either (there wasn't much traffic on a Sunday morning).

[Former Goalie]

Never stayed there, but a lot of cruisers stay at the Embassy Suites on 17th St. The suite layout (sleeper sofa for the kids in the living room) seems like that would work great for your family. Lots of restaurants very close by, a Publix across the street. We stayed at the Amerisuites, which is close by, it was just OK.

We also stayed at the Courtyard cruise port, the rooms were very nice, pool/whirlpool is small, but great. Downside is not too many restaurants, just Islamorada Fish Co. and Subway nearby.

[cruisinkeri]

Thank you, lvssushi. We will keep looking, but Miami may be the way to go. We already have rooms booked in Ft. Lauderdale at a decent price.

[cruisinkeri]

Jimbug, I didn't see your post until just now, I went straight to page 2! That is a great option, thanks for the info!

[ElvisandTracey]

We stayed at the Sheraton Airport Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. We found it very clean and beautiful rooms.

 

I just looked this one up on the net-it looks very nice and pretty affordable-the only thing that concerned me is that they allow doggies, and I have really bad pet allergies-I need to call and ask if some rooms are designated pet-free-if so, I will probably stay here.

 

Thanks for all the info-

 

 

 

 

 

[JerseyGirl23]

We are also flying into FLL. From Atantic City, it's direct. I have already secured a sedan/car service from Tri-County for $64 to take us to our pre-cruise hotel in Miami. From the hotel, we'll take a short taxi ride to the pier. :)

[cruiselvr04]

We usually fly into FLL, it is cheaper. With 4 kids we did a car rental which was around $70. We rented a minivan stayed in FLL on the west side which was cheaper and allowed us to go the outlet mall and dinner the night before. Then the morning of the cruise we drove to the miami airport dropped off the car and took the free shuttle to the port. Worked great and was the cheapest way for us to go by far. We rented a van to go the other way (after the cruise) as well but it was more like $85 back. As a couple we have stayed overnnight at a FLL airport hotel which offers free transportation to and from the FLL airposrt The morning of the cruise we have taken the free shuttle back to the airport and caught a shuttle to the port of miami. Again very easy. Just get started early say 9 a.m. so you get to the port in plenty of time.

[Highlander]

We stayed at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale airport post cruise a couple of weeks ago. Used Priceline and got the room for $45. It is a very nice hotel, and we got a large room on the 10th floor. A couple of drawbacks, they charge for parking your car and there are no restaurants in the general area, which means a cab ride to one or the alternative stay & eat at the hotel (expensive) For pre-cruise we rented a car from Alamo in FLL, drove to Miami got an airport hotel through Priceline then next morning drove to Alamo dropped off the car and took their shuttle to the port.

Cheers,

[claven]

You might want to check out the United States sections on ports, Trent can make some great recomendations on hotels in MIA and FLL.

 

claven

[barbyma]

This thread is a great find! It didn't occur to me that FLL was an option for Miami. It's AT LEAST $150 cheaper pp for us to fly into FLL than Miami from either LAX or Burbank. With 6 of us flying next year, that's quite a savings.

 

Thanks, guys!

 

Barb

[kenandlaura06]

We are flying into FLL because it was the only option that would work for us--however, we will be arriving after midnight so I think we will stay in FLL rather than hike to Miami that night.

[turquoisesea]

I would agree with everyone who said come the day before. You will start your cruise so much more relaxed! This August (Princess cruise) we stayed at the Best Western in FLL the night before - but I would not recommend this hotel. The Mariott Marina is much nicer. On Jan 2, 2005 we flew into FLL for our cruise on the Radiance out of Miami. The plane was late, our luggage was not on it, and we almost missed the ship - and ours was a "simple" 2 1/2 hour flight from Phlia. (Luggage came on a later flight!) In our case the problem was it was a VERY busy weekend to both fly and cruise! The Port of Miami was so crowded with ships due to the holiday odd day cruises that the Radiance was docked by the container ships with no terminal - just a hot tent for check it. (I can't complain about any wait as we were alomst the last people on the ship.) When returning to FLL from the Port of Miami definately take the RCI bus for $20 a head. The porter will put your luggage right on the bus and you will have no worries! You can purchase vouchers for it at the purser's desk on board - just watch for the cut off date to do this. Have a great cruise - wish we were going, too!

[Harmony365]

I flew into FFL with my daughter and took the tri-rail right at the airport...it was very simple and it took us just 20 minutes to get to MIA...and it only cost us $3.00 per person.

[ElvisandTracey]

I flew into FFL with my daughter and took the tri-rail right at the airport...it was very simple and it took us just 20 minutes to get to MIA...and it only cost us $3.00 per person.

 

What's tri-rail?? Train? Subway?? I'm from LA- we don't know nuthin' bout no trains out here!!! Please spill the info-sounds easy and cheap!! Thanks.

[goodml]

I flew into FFL with my daughter and took the tri-rail right at the airport...it was very simple and it took us just 20 minutes to get to MIA...and it only cost us $3.00 per person.

 

Then once you got to MIA did you just taxi to the port?

[rfische1]

Just got back from Explorer. Flew into FLL from Boston on Song. Took Tri-County private van service for $160. There were ten of us, so ended up being $16 one way. For the trip back to FLL used RCI transfer from port for $20.00. Had white tags, so first off. Our flight was at 12:39 but we were at the airport early enough to take a 10:55 (wouldn't reccomend booking this early) flight for extra $$$$. However, our disembarkment went very smoothly which is not always the case. No hitches with any of the transportation arrangements.

[Harmony365]

What's tri-rail?? Train? Subway?? I'm from LA- we don't know nuthin' bout no trains out here!!! Please spill the info-sounds easy and cheap!! Thanks.

 

Tri-rail is a train (above ground, not subway). Just go to the ground transportation person at the ffl airport and they will show you where to catch the train...the train is right at the airport and you can get off right at miami airport. It was very easy....and cheap! The train was not at all crowded and very clean..took about 20-25 minutes to get to miami airport. I decided to stay in a hotel near the airport pre cruise so when i got off the tri-rail i just hopped on the free hotel shuttle that took me right to my hotel, otherwise, you can just catch shared ride or taxi service to the port. Here is their website http://www.tri-rail.com/ .

[lzlawson]

Help! We are bringing 2 of our kids' friends on a cruise (Radiance 1/15), and to get cheaper airfares for them we are all meeting in Ft. Lauderdale vs Miami the night before. Our family of 6 is using air mileage points, so we could have flown to Miami, but wanted to help accomodate them. Problem is, I see now how expensive it is to get to the Port of Miami with transfers, taxis, limos, etc. We are on a budget for this cruise and have no problem "toughing it out" with cheaper options to get from Ft. Lauderdale to the ship. We are an adventurous bunch. :) I'm a bit embarrassed to ask, but does anyone know if there is public transportation available?? The least expensive option I've seen so far is $200 RT in a limo--that's a lot for us!! (Especially since our family could have flown directly to Miami, but we were helping the other kids by going to FLL.) Anyone have cheaper suggestions??

[alw1977]

Use priceline for your hotel rooms. We got a great room in FLL last July 4th weekend using priceline. It was a Marriott right on the beach with an incredible pool. You'll save a ton of $$ too and stay in a much nicer place than La Quinta, etc. Use www.biddingfortravel.com to get an idea for what you should bid based on hotel category at your time of year.

 

PS - I live in ATL, where Delta and Song are based. Though I've never flown Song, I understand that it is an okay airline. Probably expect something on par with Airtran... better than Southwest, not as nice as JetBlue. I've heard that the inside of the plane looks like a bag of Skittles... red, blue, green, yellow everywhere. Not sure if this is true, but its a funny mental image nonetheless.

[alw1977]

lzlawson -

There IS some sort of train that runs down there, but I'm not sure how far it gets you. I know a train or tram connects W. Palm and FLL, but not sure if it continues to Miami - you may want to look into this.

[crusinKimmie]

We are doing the same thing. There will be 7 of us and we're being charged $80 plus tip (20%) - one way. Picking us up at our hotel on 17th and picking us up from the pier at the end of the cruise and taking us back to Ft. Lauderdale airport. I arranged it through the woman below. Very nice, very helpful. Good luck. Oh, one more thing. I've read that some people rent a van in Ft. Lauderdale - drop off Miami airport and rental company shuttles them to the pier. I don't know how much a 1-2 hour rental would be but might be a solution for you.

 

Donna Maddox

Activity Planners Inc.

1-800-508-5803

donna.maddox@worldnet.att.net

[ElvisandTracey]

Tri-rail is a train (above ground, not subway). Just go to the ground transportation person at the ffl airport and they will show you where to catch the train...the train is right at the airport and you can get off right at miami airport. It was very easy....and cheap! The train was not at all crowded and very clean..took about 20-25 minutes to get to miami airport. I decided to stay in a hotel near the airport pre cruise so when i got off the tri-rail i just hopped on the free hotel shuttle that took me right to my hotel, otherwise, you can just catch shared ride or taxi service to the port. Here is their website http://www.tri-rail.com/ .

 

Thanks-my family loves trains and I may give this a try-I'm gonna check out their website now!!

[lzlawson]

I just contacted the BCT (Broward County Transit) at 954-357-8400 and was told of 4 different options to get to the Port of Miami from FLL using public transportation. They use a software program to come up with the routes. The best plan they came up with takes 1 hour and 23 minutes, and it does involve 2 transfers. It is part bus and part Tri-Rail train system. But for those of us who would rather spend $ on the ship vs. a cab, limo, or shuttle ride and are able and willing to tough it out just a bit, I think $7.00 per person is worth it.

[goodml]

Ok so you've peaked my curiosity. Care to tell us how it's done?