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Disembarking in Miami, flying out of FLL. What to do for 8 hours?

skoeper

By skoeper,
in Celebrity Cruises

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skoeper

skoeper

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We are a group of 8 people who will be disembarking at Miami and flying out of FLL. We have Jiffy Jeff picking us up at the port and driving us to the airport. Since our flight doesn't leave until 7:30, we can't figure out what to do once we get to the airport. We will all have our suitcases, and we can't check in so early, so what are our options? All we can think of is sit around on the floor amidst our luggage and play cards. What will we eat for lunch? Do we have any recourse for our situation?

 

Thanks!

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fielddreamer

fielddreamer

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We are a group of 8 people who will be disembarking at Miami and flying out of FLL. We have Jiffy Jeff picking us up at the port and driving us to the airport. Since our flight doesn't leave until 7:30, we can't figure out what to do once we get to the airport. We will all have our suitcases, and we can't check in so early, so what are our options? All we can think of is sit around on the floor amidst our luggage and play cards. What will we eat for lunch? Do we have any recourse for our situation?

 

Thanks!

We have done this same thing many times and usually made plans to spend the day in Ft. Lauderdale and have lunch and see the town. Since you have 8 people you might rent a van for the day and put the bags in back. You will have at least 6 hrs. of time to spend in town, I have done it a couple of times and it has worked for us ! Have a great time! Bob

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skoeper

skoeper

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We have done this same thing many times and usually made plans to spend the day in Ft. Lauderdale and have lunch and see the town. Since you have 8 people you might rent a van for the day and put the bags in back. You will have at least 6 hrs. of time to spend in town, I have done it a couple of times and it has worked for us ! Have a great time! Bob

 

Thanks, Bob :) Last year, our group of 8 people sailed in and out of FLL. DH's family lives there and his parents graciously offered to pick us all up in one of their cars and their daughter's van. We were jammed packed tight, lol. But they drove us to the Quarter Deck for lunch and then on to Hollywood Beach. We had a wonderful afternoon!

 

We hate to ask them to drive to Miami, since it's about 45 minutes away. They may offer to pick us up from the airport and do the same thing but again, we hate to ask. If they don't offer, we thought maybe we could have a backup plan :) If only we could check in our luggage alot earlier!

 

I thought maybe there was something we hadn't thought of and a cruise critic member might mention. It's getting close!! Yippy!

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Deeliteful "Live from...." Rare

Deeliteful

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The ship have tours you can choose from which means your luggage is in the bus and they drop you off at the airport once your tour is finished. I have done this many times at different ports and always found it good value.

 

 

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chemmo Holiday Sharing Rare

chemmo

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No idea who Jiffy Jeff is but if he is part of a collect and drop off service tell the company the situation you are in and see what they can suggest! They will know if there are any luggage storage facilities at the malls or at Hollywood beach, then you could enjoy an afternoon somewhere and arrange a second pick up from there.

 

We booked an excursion and drop off through X when we last cruised into Miami. Our luggage was left on the coach, we spent the day at Hollywood beach before then being taken on to the airport. It worked well for us both in terms of convenience and cost but for eight of you a private arrangement would probably be preferable. I seem to remember that there was a different excursion offered if you were flying out of Fort Lauderdale but cannot remember where that went to....

 

If we know we are going to be at the airport a while and we are not traveling business we will often look at booking into a lounge. It is nice to shower and have a drink at the airport in pleasant surroundings before flying. If you work out the cost of simply buying a few drinks it becomes an inexpensive holiday add on.

 

Have a great cruise!

Edited by chemmo
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jagoffee

jagoffee

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No idea who Jiffy Jeff is but if he is part of a collect and drop off service tell the company the situation you are in and see what they can suggest! They will know if there are any luggage storage facilities at the malls or at Hollywood beach, then you could enjoy an afternoon somewhere and arrange a second pick up from there.

 

We booked an excursion and drop off through X when we last cruised into Miami. Our luggage was left on the coach, we spent the day at Hollywood beach before then being taken on to the airport. It worked well for us both in terms of convenience and cost but for eight of you a private arrangement would probably be preferable. I seem to remember that there was a different excursion offered if you were flying out of Fort Lauderdale but cannot remember where that went to....

 

If we know we are going to be at the airport a while and we are not traveling business we will often look at booking into a lounge. It is nice to shower and have a drink at the airport in pleasant surroundings before flying. If you work out the cost of simply buying a few drinks it becomes an inexpensive holiday add on.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

I believe the airport lounges are after security and you would not be able to take you luggage, but it is a good way to spend the time.

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JohninDC

JohninDC

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You can pay to store your bags at FLL - then head to the beach or someplace fun for a long, boozy lunch before returning to the airport for your flight.

 

Search the FLA departure board for more ideas: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

Edited by JohninDC
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jenZ

jenZ

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Luggage storage dilemma aside: if you haven't seen Ft Lauderdale from the Intracoastal waterway, a fun and relaxing day activity would be to take the hop-on, hop- off water taxi. Beachside and mainland pick-up and drop-off points with lunch & shopping options along the way. Just viewing the mega yachts and homes will keep you entertained. A favorite place of mine if you want nature, art, architecture, culture and history combined is touring The Bonnet House Museum and Gardens, one of the stops. Just google Ft Lauderdale Water Taxi to find the website with routes and fares. $26 and about 3 hours just cruising the entire route.

 

 

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chuchycruise

chuchycruise

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we had a similar situation on last years cruise, but from Singapore. We booked one of the ships tours, which was on a large coach - all the luggage was loaded on at the dock - we spent the day exploring Singapore, with lunch knowing the luggage was safe in the bus with the driver who stayed with it at all times

 

We were then dropped off at the airport to catch our flight home, basically door to door service with excursions in between!

 

Great way to spend a day, am sure that there will be something similar from Miami - we often see coaches doing day trips to the Everglades for airboat rides.

 

It would be a shame to be so close to somewhere as spectacular as the Everglades and not visit...... (you are only around an hour or so away when in Miami)

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TeeRick

TeeRick

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We are a group of 8 people who will be disembarking at Miami and flying out of FLL. We have Jiffy Jeff picking us up at the port and driving us to the airport. Since our flight doesn't leave until 7:30, we can't figure out what to do once we get to the airport. We will all have our suitcases, and we can't check in so early, so what are our options? All we can think of is sit around on the floor amidst our luggage and play cards. What will we eat for lunch? Do we have any recourse for our situation?

 

Thanks!

 

First off -check with the FLL airport on security policy. It gets very crowded on cruise changeover days (Sat-Sun). On two occasions we were not allowed through security for any reason more than two hours before our flight. They will not let you sit in the Gate areas too early. We found it much cheaper (and easy) to rent a car once off the ship in Miami, use it to self-tour during the day, and then return it to the FLL airport before our flight.

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Relaxinginthesun

Relaxinginthesun

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In the past we have rented a car. We normally use National. They have a free shuttle that runs from the cruise port terminal to airport in Miami. We got off the ship around 8AM and we were in the rental car and on our way before 9AM. After that you are free to do whatever you want until it is time to head to the airport.

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fshagan

fshagan

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In the past we have rented a car. We normally use National. They have a free shuttle that runs from the cruise port terminal to airport in Miami. We got off the ship around 8AM and we were in the rental car and on our way before 9AM. After that you are free to do whatever you want until it is time to head to the airport.

 

We have done this as well. The large bus picks you up at the port of Miami, takes you to MIA to get your rental vehicle, and you can return it to FLL with no additional "drop off" fee.

 

With 8 hours you have time to head south and see the first of the Florida Keys, driving over at least one of the segments of the iconic bridge system. We drove down to Islamorada, had lunch, visited a marina and saw more sea birds up close than we did on our entire cruise (pelicans!) Then we drove back up to FLL for our 4 PM flight.

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skoeper

skoeper

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The ship have tours you can choose from which means your luggage is in the bus and they drop you off at the airport once your tour is finished. I have done this many times at different ports and always found it good value.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Thank you, Deeliteful! I had assumed that the tours would drop us off to Miami airport but investigated it and they have tours that take you to FLL too! I've gathered the info on the tours and shared it with the gang to see if they would like to do either one.

 

Thanks for the suggestion!

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phoenix_dream

phoenix_dream

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First off -check with the FLL airport on security policy. It gets very crowded on cruise changeover days (Sat-Sun). On two occasions we were not allowed through security for any reason more than two hours before our flight. They will not let you sit in the Gate areas too early. We found it much cheaper (and easy) to rent a car once off the ship in Miami, use it to self-tour during the day, and then return it to the FLL airport before our flight.

 

Yes, we fly United and one more than one occasion were not able to pass through the check-in process until 2 hours before our flight. VERY inconvenient, especially since we have a United Club pass and could easily spend our time (albeit not 7 or 8 hours) there.

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skoeper

skoeper

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First off -check with the FLL airport on security policy. It gets very crowded on cruise changeover days (Sat-Sun). On two occasions we were not allowed through security for any reason more than two hours before our flight. They will not let you sit in the Gate areas too early. We found it much cheaper (and easy) to rent a car once off the ship in Miami, use it to self-tour during the day, and then return it to the FLL airport before our flight.

 

Are there car rental agencies there at the port???

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skoeper

skoeper

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You can pay to store your bags at FLL - then head to the beach or someplace fun for a long, boozy lunch before returning to the airport for your flight.

 

Search the FLA departure board for more ideas: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

 

Can you tell me where to find more info on FLL luggage storage? That might work for us.

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rabin1

rabin1

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Hello

 

I live in Ft. Lauderdale and this is what I would do. Get an Uber or a cab and have them take you to Las Olas Blvd. It a street with a ton of great restaurants and little boutique shops. You could walk down one side of the street and back up the other side and then pick one of the restaurants to have lunch. You will love this day. Check out Las Olas Blvd on the web sites

 

Whatever you do have fun

 

Kathy

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skoeper

skoeper

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Hello

 

I live in Ft. Lauderdale and this is what I would do. Get an Uber or a cab and have them take you to Las Olas Blvd. It a street with a ton of great restaurants and little boutique shops. You could walk down one side of the street and back up the other side and then pick one of the restaurants to have lunch. You will love this day. Check out Las Olas Blvd on the web sites

 

Whatever you do have fun

 

Kathy

 

Thanks, Kathy. If we can figure out where to store our luggage, this might interest the group :)

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