Parking in Miami

[jolyroger]

We'll be cruising on the Celebration this april . Driving from home we needed to park our car near or at the port. We ended up going with the company ' safe cruise parking". Anyone have any experience with them?  Hubby booked it before I had a chance to google reviews. Thanks for any feedback.

[crewsweeper]

Go out to the Florida Departures board.  There may be something there.  Also asking there will get you experiences from other cruisers on other lines. 

 

The Best (albeit most expensive) place to park is at the port. 

[Rynerson27]

As someone who lives in the area, I will only park at the Port in Miami. Too much shady stuff goes on in Miami to trust anything else. The little money you save is not worth it in my opinion. 

Edited January 23, 2023 by Rynerson27

[Noxequifans]

2 hours ago, Rynerson27 said:

As someone who lives in the area, I will only park at the Port in Miami. Too much shady stuff goes on in Miami to trust anything else. The little money you save is not worth it in my opinion. 

Totally agree ... park at the port in Miami.

[Host CJSKIDS]

3 hours ago, Rynerson27 said:

As someone who lives in the area, I will only park at the Port in Miami. Too much shady stuff goes on in Miami to trust anything else. The little money you save is not worth it in my opinion. 

Couldn't agree more. As someone who lived in Brickell for 8 years, I wouldn't leave my car anywhere other than the Port. 

[Corby114]

Your asking for trouble if you park anywhere besides the secure parking at the Port Of Miami. Read too many sad stories since I became a member of Cruise Critic in March 2002. There were posts about damaged vehicles, poor shuttle services and locations that weren't secure. Not worth the trouble to save a few dollars a day. If you want to  find your vehicle in the same condition you left it take my advice and park at the Port Of Miami.

[capriccio]

Take everyone's advice, spend the extra money for the convenience and security.

[jolyroger]

Thank you everyone! pretty much what I thought. Now to see if my husband can cancel where he originally booked.

[simplelife]

I find that Miami departures are often cheaper than other Florida ports, which makes it a little more palatable to spend the extra on port parking.

[Fivelinks]

On 1/23/2023 at 12:14 PM, Host CJSKIDS said:

Couldn't agree more. As someone who lived in Brickell for 8 years, I wouldn't leave my car anywhere other than the Port. 

I'm nervous to leave my car even at the port but can't fly. Will definitely spend the money and park at the port thanks to your advice. Do you have any advice on where to stay that is safe the night before? We have been considering stopping 3-4 hours before Miami like in the Titusville area or something like that.

[Flymia]

5 hours ago, Fivelinks said:

I'm nervous to leave my car even at the port but can't fly. Will definitely spend the money and park at the port thanks to your advice. Do you have any advice on where to stay that is safe the night before? We have been considering stopping 3-4 hours before Miami like in the Titusville area or something like that.

Miami is not some dangerous city you need to avoid. So don't stay away from the city just because of some fear that it is dangerous. Anywhere in Downtown Miami, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Miami Beach. All safe and nice areas. And plenty more. That being said staying 3-4 hours away might make your trip easier or cheaper. No idea how long the drive is how you are planning on splitting it up. 

 

The port parking is ridiculously safe. The port is on an island, with two ways in and out with police 24/7. Not many safe places to put your car. 

 

 

 

[ramja96]

On 1/27/2023 at 7:03 PM, simplelife said:

I find that Miami departures are often cheaper than other Florida ports, which makes it a little more palatable to spend the extra on port parking.

 

That's NOT what I'm finding.  Parking at the port is $25 per day! PC is $17 per day.  Big difference when you're talking about a 9nt cruise, as I am.  I'm going with Premier Cruise Parking for $123 total - that works out to $12.30 per day.  I've used them before and had no problems at all.  It's in a parking garage just like at the port.

[Diver2014]

2 hours ago, ramja96 said:

 

That's NOT what I'm finding.  Parking at the port is $25 per day! PC is $17 per day.  Big difference when you're talking about a 9nt cruise, as I am.  I'm going with Premier Cruise Parking for $123 total - that works out to $12.30 per day.  I've used them before and had no problems at all.  It's in a parking garage just like at the port.

I worked in downtown Miami for 13 years on Biscayne Blvd.  Most co workers parked in the parking garage.  Break ins were a daily occurrence.  Just because Premier Cruise Parking is in a parking garage doesn't mean it's any safer.  Park at the port.  You spend thousands on a cruise, why risk not having a car or what's left of it when you return?

[Flymia]

15 minutes ago, Diver2014 said:

I worked in downtown Miami for 13 years on Biscayne Blvd.  Most co workers parked in the parking garage.  Break ins were a daily occurrence.  Just because Premier Cruise Parking is in a parking garage doesn't mean it's any safer.  Park at the port.  You spend thousands on a cruise, why risk not having a car or what's left of it when you return?

I lived in Downtown Miami for 5-years, and parked my car every single day and night in a public garage. My grandparents lived there, and parked in the same public garage for 11-years. 

 

Not one break in. 

 

Cars get broken into, it happens, it is not some serial event or issue in Miami. I tell people to avoid it due to the time involved,  and the scam like practices of these parking companies, the the $10/day savings is not worth it. 

[Host CJSKIDS]

On 2/14/2023 at 12:48 PM, Fivelinks said:

I'm nervous to leave my car even at the port but can't fly. Will definitely spend the money and park at the port thanks to your advice. Do you have any advice on where to stay that is safe the night before? We have been considering stopping 3-4 hours before Miami like in the Titusville area or something like that.

 

Brickell is a safe area to stay in though parking is expensive overnight at many hotels.  As is Coconut Grove and Coral Gables.  

There are many great hotels in the Brickell area.  The Hampton Inn Brickell is a great hotel and they have a parking garage.  It all depends on what you want to pay for the night. 

 

Jupiter on down would be great to stay in if you don’t want to deal with the traffic and parking in Miami. Even staying 40 minutes away in the Fort Lauderdale area would make your drive the day of the cruise much easier.  The Dania Beach area has lots of hotels close to I-95.  It’s a very easy drive on 95 to get to the port and take the exit for the tunnel and you won’t have to deal with driving in the downtown area. 

[Fivelinks]

On 2/14/2023 at 6:26 PM, Flymia said:

Miami is not some dangerous city you need to avoid. So don't stay away from the city just because of some fear that it is dangerous. Anywhere in Downtown Miami, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Miami Beach. All safe and nice areas. And plenty more. That being said staying 3-4 hours away might make your trip easier or cheaper. No idea how long the drive is how you are planning on splitting it up. 

 

The port parking is ridiculously safe. The port is on an island, with two ways in and out with police 24/7. Not many safe places to put your car. 

 

 

 

Thanks for the feedback! Our drive will be 14hours and we want to stop around that 10-hour mark to get a good night's sleep. We have an early boarding time and want to avoid major commuter traffic so will leave the hotel super early. In terms of hotel safety, I'm not worried about our stay but am worried about leaving my high-end car sitting in the parking lot. Will do some research from Titusville down to Ft. Lauderdale. If anyone has any more recommendations or can share experiences where they stayed it is appreciated!

[Fivelinks]

12 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

Brickell is a safe area to stay in though parking is expensive overnight at many hotels.  As is Coconut Grove and Coral Gables.  

There are many great hotels in the Brickell area.  The Hampton Inn Brickell is a great hotel and they have a parking garage.  It all depends on what you want to pay for the night. 

 

Jupiter on down would be great to stay in if you don’t want to deal with the traffic and parking in Miami. Even staying 40 minutes away in the Fort Lauderdale area would make your drive the day of the cruise much easier.  The Dania Beach area has lots of hotels close to I-95.  It’s a very easy drive on 95 to get to the port and take the exit for the tunnel and you won’t have to deal with driving in the downtown area. 

We normally stay in Dania Beach when we go out of Fort Lauderdale. Any recommendations for a nice safe hotel in the Jupiter area I should look into?

[janetz]

Paying at the Miami port…as you leave?

Or can you pay ahead?
Thanks 😊

[capriccio]

16 minutes ago, Fivelinks said:

Our drive will be 14hours and we want to stop around that 10-hour mark to get a good night's sleep. We have an early boarding time and want to avoid major commuter traffic so will leave the hotel super early. I

 

Are you driving on a Saturday or Sunday?  In that case, you will avoid commuter traffic which can be horrible but it can still be heavy or I-95 from Palm Beach County to the exit for PortMiami.  One accident can back things up for hours.  From Fort Pierce south I-95 is parallel to the Florida Turnpike (sometimes within sight of each other).  If traffic gets bogged down with an accident, move over to the Turnpike.  You can now use EZ-Pass.

 

As far as hotels, realize if this is a weekend you will be competing for hotel space with cruise passengers sailing out of Port Canaveral.  You might want to get a bit further south before stopping.  Do some comparison shipping between hotels in Titusville, Cocoa/Cocoa Beach with Melbourne.

[Fivelinks]

Great information, thanks so much! I will do some comparisons....

[Fivelinks]

On 2/16/2023 at 8:20 AM, janetz said:

Paying at the Miami port…as you leave?

Or can you pay ahead?
Thanks 😊

It is my understanding from the POM web site you pay when you leave. The only exception is in lot J where you pay upfront, and they give you a decal for your window showing you paid.

[iceleven]

On 2/16/2023 at 8:07 AM, Fivelinks said:

Thanks for the feedback! Our drive will be 14hours and we want to stop around that 10-hour mark to get a good night's sleep. We have an early boarding time and want to avoid major commuter traffic so will leave the hotel super early. In terms of hotel safety, I'm not worried about our stay but am worried about leaving my high-end car sitting in the parking lot. Will do some research from Titusville down to Ft. Lauderdale. If anyone has any more recommendations or can share experiences where they stayed it is appreciated!

We live just south of Daytona Beach. It's about a 3-1/2 hour drive to Port of Miami and even with that short drive, we are considering driving down south another two hours or so and staying overnight to avoid the additional morning traffic in Miami. We've not booked anything yet but somewhere between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami will be our first choice. If we find something, we'll let you know and you can then decide. BTW, we will most definitely park in the cruise port.

[iceleven]

Just did some Googling and found a nice hotel out by the airport. (Blue Lagoon) Much less expensive than in town near the cruise port yet still only a 15-20 drive to cruise port. We can deal with that. It will reduce the lack of sleep and the stress level of trying to get through the Monday morning rush hour added onto the 3-1/2 hour drive down.

BTW, I highly recommend PriceLine for booking a hotel. They have what is called "PriceBreak" and will offer three hotels at a highly discounted rate. Read the fine print but it might work in your favor.