Cruising from Miami

[txwriter]

Does anyone fly into FLL instead of MIA for Disney Cruise out of Miami?

 

How do you work the cruise transfer? 

 

If you s done both fly into FLL and used alternative transportation to the port and also done the direct flight to Miami with Disney transfer, which did you prefer?

[Sea Day Cruiser]

 I hope someone will be able to provide an answer here. Our kids made the reservations for us and have us flying into Fort Lauderdale rather than Miami so we’re trying to figure out the easiest way to get from Fort Lauderdale to the cruise ship. 

[txwriter]

9 hours ago, Sea Day Cruiser said:

 I hope someone will be able to provide an answer here. Our kids made the reservations for us and have us flying into Fort Lauderdale rather than Miami so we’re trying to figure out the easiest way to get from Fort Lauderdale to the cruise ship. 

I had a friend that used to live in Miami and said she always flew into FLL, so I know it’s not unusual for travelers to do this.  Maybe when cruising, people would rather fly directly to the port city?  I hope too that some one can answer.

[numtini]

There are a couple of shuttle services or you can just get an uber. Next month, we're flying in the afternoon before, staying near FLL, then grabbing an uber to/from port.

[cantgetin]

Basically you can use any form of public transportation to get from FLL to the port in Miami.  Rent a car, use a shuttle, taxi, Uber, etc.  Why would you do it?  Cost and or convenience of the flights.  Check out what is available into both airports and make your choice.

[Modern_Viking]

On 1/22/2019 at 4:46 PM, txwriter said:

Does anyone fly into FLL instead of MIA for Disney Cruise out of Miami?

...

If you s done both fly into FLL and used alternative transportation to the port and also done the direct flight to Miami with Disney transfer, which did you prefer?

 

I've done each of those things once.  Both worked fine. My decision between the two largely came down to cost (particularly for flights). Flying into/out of Miami seemed a bit simpler, but not much.  Flying into FLL gave me more options / flexibility / ability to do things more on my schedule.   Overall, I wouldn't sweat the choice much; either will work. 

 

If you want more details of what I did, here who are, but as previous posters have said, there are many more options as well.

 

MIA:

I flew in the evening before the cruise.  I had booked an airport area hotel for the night, in advance at a hotel with a free hotel shuttle.  They picked me up at the airport, brought me to the hotel to check in and freshen up.  Next, the free shuttle took me (and a few other guests) to a local shopping center / strip mall with a few food options.  I ate dinner, then called for a pickup, which I shared with some other hotel guests who had eaten at a different local restaurant.

 

Next day, I ate the free hotel breakfast, packed up, and took the free shuttle to the airport.  From there, I took a prebooked Disney shuttle to the port.  I had to wait in the airport at least 30 minutes for the next bus, and then 15+ minutes for the bus to fill and depart.  I should have just taken a taxi from the hotel to the pier.  A taxi would have been a few dollars more, but much faster.  Still this worked out.  The buses chartered in MIA are not the Disney themed Mears buses like in Orlando, but were clean and effective.  And while this hotel had a free shuttle for the airport and the local shopping center, they would not take anyone as far as the cruise pier.  (This seemed typical.)  They would have booked me a seat on a shared bus from their favorite (i.e. biggest tipping/kickback giving) service, but I didn't take that option. 

 

After the trip, I took the Disney shuttle to the airport and flew home.  It took a little while for the bus to fill, but wasn't too bad.  It did take a while at the airport to reclaim bags put in the "bottom" of the bus.  Overall, simple on paper, but not the speediest option.

 

**************************

Second trip, flew into FLL.  Took the airport shuttle bus to the rental car center (which is attached to / walkable from only one terminal building in FLL, but not all).  Got my car, and got on the Interstate.  I stopped along the way for dinner.  Having a car I could just pick something from Google maps and take myself.  From there I drove to my hotel.  Since I had a car, I didn't need to worry about a hotel with a free shuttle.  Spent the night.  Next day, drove to the downtown Avis/Budget rental car facility that offered shuttle service to the pier (for a built-in $10 fee per car rented, not per person). There was a bit of a wait, maybe 10 minutes, then I took the van to the pier.  Beware that much of I-95 and other area freeways give drivers the option of using either free lanes or toll lanes.  NOTE: Be sure to plan ahead and program the mapping software in your phone in advance per your preference to avoid surprises. 

 

After the cruise, I waited on the pier for the SuperShuttle I had previously booked.  Based on my reservation, it seemed like they should have just picked me up, but they didn't.  I called just after my appointed pickup time to inquire, and they dispatched a van.  Got to FLL, maybe 10 minutes later than expected, but plenty early.  There had been other shuttle services at the port who were trying to sell rides (mostly to MIA but also to FLL) to people without reservations, so that could have been an option as well.  My luggage traveled with me, with no fuss.

 

**********************

 

Of the two airports, MIA is bigger, offers far more international flights (especially to Europe and South America), and is a hub for American Airlines.  FLL used to be the quiet, little brother airport to the north (with West Palm Beach being the even quieter option further up north), but then the low cost carriers descended on FLL, making it much more crowded, but now offering an increased number of flights to many destinations, often at lower prices than Miami. 

[txwriter]

Modern viking—Thanks for the details.

[angie7911922]

We fly into FLL all the time. It is cheaper for us to fly there than to MIA. We just uber to the port once we get in. Also, the airport does have shuttles, so you can take a shuttle. Or, if you are staying at a hotel the night before, most of the hotels have shuttles as well (to both the port in Ft. Lauderdale and the port in Miami). There are many options available. 

I personally prefer uber, because I don't really like shuttles, but I have done all 3 options above, and all have worked out just fine. 

[KoSaRFaN19]

We are flying into FLL the day before the cruise, so planning on getting an Uber from there to hotel in Miami. Any estimate on Uber cost?

[GatorMomInNC]

there is a web site that will give you an estimate - taxi fare finder, or something like that, but it also gives uber estimates

[Sea Day Cruiser]

Thank you, GatorMom. This was extremely helpful.

Edited February 19, 2019 by Sea Day Cruiser

[darwinsrule]

Four of our last five cruises have been out of Miami.  Each time we have flown in to FLL using eithe Southwest or Jetblue.  Lots of different shuttle companies that will take you directly from the airport or the surrounding hotels to the Port of Miami.  We pretty much just use SAS at this point but finding what works for you becomes part of the fun.  

[numtini]

We flew into FLL last week. It was very easy and honestly a very pleasant airport to deal with, particularly compared to MCO. Uber from our FLL hotel to port was 32. I guess it was surge pricing, but it was 51 from port to airport. Trip was about a half an hour. Shuttle prices are around 15/person so if you are 2 or 3 people, an uber is generally cheaper. No wait at all for a car.

Edited February 24, 2019 by numtini

[brookeq]

We fly into FLL because we fly Southwest.  We have free flights usually from my husbands points.  We just take an Uber from our hotel the next morning.  You can rent a car if you want too.   I find that too annoying though.  The car rental place is so busy when cruise ships come and go.  

[Tasm3n]

We just flew in and out of FLL in February for a cruise on the Magic.  We found the airport pretty easy to travel through.  The line for Starbucks in the terminal was longer than we waited on security. 

 

We took an Uber from the airport to our Miami hotel and directly from the Port to the airport on our return day.  The uber picked us up outside the port in less than 5 minutes.

[numtini]

OMG you're right about Starbucks. FWIW, the Cuban place in the airport has insanely good coffee and pastries.