Keep Princess Transfer To Ship?

[Nice Boat]

My husband and I are taking a red-eye flight from LAX to FLL that will arrive by 8am Saturday morning on August 28th for the Caribbean Princess Eastern itinerary the same day.

Considering boarding may start at 12 noon and we don't have any place to go from the airport to the port, should we stick with the Princess transfer to get to the ship?

Is there a specific port terminal that Princess is always stationed at or can it vary? If we take a cab instead of the Princess transfer, what should we tell the cab driver other than our destination is Port Everglades?

This will our first time in Florida and our first time considering taking a cab on our own. The only previous cruise we had was Coral Princess last year from Vancouver to Seward, Alaska which we used the Princess transfers to and from.

Any feedback and suggestions are welcome. Thank you!

[seamare]

i would take a cab as you won't have to wait for the bus to fill up - you will arrive at the pier much earlier - i would rather wait at the pier and be one of the first to board. cab is usually cheaper than cruise line shuttles.

[chamima]

Ditto! The cab driver's are familiar with the cruise lines so if you say "Princess" Port Everglades they should know. If the driver doesn't know then take the next cab.
We used to take Princess transfers then we realized what the previous poster wrote. Also, by the time you get your your luggage and get into the cab, etc. it might be closer to 10 am.and sometimes they start boarding earlier than noon.

[mii]

I agree with the above posters. One time we had to wait for the bus to fill up and that was boring as heck. I would much rather be at the pier waiting in line rather than a line at the airport.


Marilyn

[regnig]

By all means, take a cab. Just tell the driver 'Caribbean Princess' as Princess will probably have more than one ship at dock. The cabies in FLL are also more than happy to make any stops along the way, i.e. grocery store, drug store, or liquor store for any last minute things you might need to pick up.

At that hour of the morning you will probably run into folks still disembarking so it may be a bit hectic at the dock. You might consider hanging around the airport just a little bit before heading for the ship. After all the time you have spent on the airplane a walk might feel good. They do have a couple of places you could at least get a bite of breakfast (think of it as your last bad meal for a week) before grabbing that cab.

By the way - also suggest using cab from ship back to airport, it is soooooo much easier. Have a great trip! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

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[spongerob]

One thing to remember is that if you arrive very early, you can not turn your bags to the porters. You'll have to stand with them until such time as they are ready, usually around 10:30 at the earliest. It's only about 10 minutes to the port, so you'd be standing there for at least three hours before boarding. It might be more comfortable just using the shuttle in this case, though ordinarily I would recommend a cab. Either way you'll have a long wait, but at least the shuttle has air conditioning.

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[donna5]

Also check with Princess on when the first shuttles will be leaving the airport. Sometimes they don't start leaving the airport until 10:30 or 11:30AM. In that case you might want to plan on taking your time and having breakfast at the airport or somewhere else, and washing up at the airport to get refreshed. Check with some of the hotels with airport and port shuttles that may have a pool and might let you keep your luggate their and relax for a nominal fee.

[prarie cruiser]

Feel free to take a cab at FLL. I usually just tell the driver I am going on a Princess cruise at Port Everglades, then tell them the ship. They get me there and for the most part Princess uses the same docking areas each cruise.
Be sure and keep handy some personal official documentation such as your driver's license or passport because security will stop the cab at the entrance to Port Everglades and ask to see everyone's ID.
The porters at FLL are great so I would recommend hiring one for disembarkation.

[Nice Boat]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I really appreciate it.

Donna5 - Any suggestions on which hotels have airport and port shuttles or a website which have a listing of them? Thanks! I was thinking of checking "hotels.com" or Travelocity on whether such information was included with the hotel descriptions.

[prarie cruiser]

Many but not all of the hotels at FLL that are near the cruise ships will shuttle you. BUT, if you want the cabs they are not that expensive if you stay near the pier. I have never stayed at the Renaisance but have cruise friends that got it through the internet sites cheap and loved it.

I like the Holiday Inn Express that is near the port. It is cheap, clean and near a couple of stores and eating places. There are many hotels/motels that are chains in the area, just be sure to choose one near the pier.