Opinion on stay options

[gqboy1]

Hello!  Apologies for posting a scenario that has probably been brought up multiple times but hoping for some suggestion.  We (2 adults, 2 kids) have a cruise in Aug leaving from Miami.  We will be flying in from Canada.  It looks like a lot of flights are going into FLL instead of MIA.  We plan to fly in the day before so our options look like:

 

1) stay in a popular FLL cruise hotel on Friday and get transported to MIA port on Saturday

2) stay in a MIA cruise hotel on Friday and get transported to port on Saturday

 

Which one is better?

 

On the return we would like to find a flight out of Miami (instead of FLL due to the extra travel time).  What's a safe cut off time (ie, nothing earlier than 1pm) in order to make it onto the flight?

 

TIA!

[Ilovesailaway]

It kinda depends on what time you're getting in and how long you've been traveling?

I guess I'm trying to say how much more "traveling" are you gonna want to do when you land at FLL?

Typically when my plane touches down I want to get to my hotel asap so I can start my vacation. That is why when I need to fly into FLL for a POM cruise I will stay at a property close to FLL and use a transportation company like SAS to take me to the ship in the morning. If you decide to do it this way SAS has a list of hotels in the FLL area they pick up from on their website.

 

[Ashland]

Arrive into FLL check out Hyatt Place they offer a shuttle for $2.00 per room reservation to their hotel. Good rate booking with them is either directly as a member (which includes breakfast) or through a company called ValueTrips (Google).

 

Book a shuttle to get to POM morning of cruise ... we like South Florida Shuttles...you can book them roundtrip if you get better rates flying back home through FLL the drive is about half hour-45 min. Book a flight no earlier than noon-1pm...Easy we've done this with kids.

 

Book your return flight from where you'll get the best deal. You can book an earlier flight if using MIA 11:00 would be fine there.

[gqboy1]

So far it sounds like there's no issue/anxiety with getting to POM from a FLL hotel the morning of.  😁

[Ilovesailaway]

5 minutes ago, gqboy1 said:

So far it sounds like there's no issue/anxiety with getting to POM from a FLL hotel the morning of.  😁

None, of all the traveling you will be doing to get to your ship I wouldn't consider the drive from FLL area to POM the potential failure point.

[Marie51]

14 hours ago, gqboy1 said:

So far it sounds like there's no issue/anxiety with getting to POM from a FLL hotel the morning of.  😁

Only the extra cost of the shuttle

[phabric]

The one time we stayed in FLL cruised out of MIA.  We took a Uber.  There was road construction along the way took over a 1 1/4 hr.  Leave plenty of time.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 3/15/2022 at 6:44 AM, gqboy1 said:

1) stay in a popular FLL cruise hotel on Friday and get transported to MIA port on Saturday

2) stay in a MIA cruise hotel on Friday and get transported to port on Saturday. Which one is better?

 

If there is a significant cost difference between the two options, I'd choose the cheaper option. I suspect in August that there will NOT be a significant cost difference between the two options so I'd choose the closest hotel (option 2).

 

For the return from MIA, be comfortable and schedule after 12PM.

[gqboy1]

Hello, me again!  So it looks like for the return flight on Saturday is much cheaper from FLL vs MIA.  Would it be safe to book a 14:30 flight out of FLL?  

[ppmanusa]

1 hour ago, gqboy1 said:

Hello, me again!  So it looks like for the return flight on Saturday is much cheaper from FLL vs MIA.  Would it be safe to book a 14:30 flight out of FLL?  

Oh yeah

[roby2003]

We're have the same dilemma as you GQ.  But I think we have decide on option 1 due to more flights from FLL to Canada and hotels are cheaper in FLL than in MIA in Aug.

[phabric]

1 minute ago, roby2003 said:

We're have the same dilemma as you GQ.  But I think we have decide on option 1 due to more flights from FLL to Canada and hotels are cheaper in FLL than in MIA in Aug.

Check out Air Transat from YYZ (Toronto) to FLL.  They go only on certain days.  Much cheaper than Air Canada or WestJet.  I fly with Air Transat each year from YYZ to FLL.

[roby2003]

Thanks phabic.

 

[phabric]

29 minutes ago, roby2003 said:

Thanks phabic.

 

Also try looking at the cruise line air prices.  Each cruise line has their own air department.

 

Princess is EzAir