Miami or Fort Lauderdale

[kimlet]

Cruise leaves from Miami, wondering if its better to fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale. 

Any suggestions would be great!

[Biker19]

Just now, kimlet said:

Cruise leaves from Miami, wondering if its better to fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale. 

Any suggestions would be great!

Depends on timing of return the flight. It's a bit further to get to FLL from Miami after the cruise. Otherwise, choose the one that works best for you.

[alfaeric]

And factor in the cost of going from the port in Miami to FLL.  And the cost difference in hotels, if that's also part.  

 

(but make sure you keep in mind the time to get there when booking the return flight.  A 10am flight out of MIA may be ok, but not so much for FLL.

[leaveitallbehind]

JMO, but we prefer FLL over MIA for either port.  FLL is about 45 minutes from the POM v about 20 from MIA, but easily accessed by Uber/Lyft, or a number of other transportation services. MIA is larger and more congested than FLL and in our experience requires more time from drop off and baggage check to gate and visa versa.  But the final determining factor would likely be airline flight times and cost.  Again, this is just my opinion as while we prefer FLL we use both.

Edited April 4 by leaveitallbehind

[cruiselvr04]

There are pros and cons to both.

 

We like the Fort Lauderdale airport better.  It’s easier to navigate.  We usually fly Southwest and they have a lot of flights there. Miami is more walking inside the airport.  Not a huge deal, FFL is just nicer.

 

Hotels are usually less expensive in Fort Lauderdale.  Even near the beach they are less than downtown Miami. 
 

The cab fare with tip or XL Uber from Fort Lauderdale to Miami can run up to $100 especially in rush hour. 
 

All that said we usually fly into Fort Lauderdale because we can get non stops, stay at Riverside ( because we like the area ), and Uber over to Miami the morning of the cruise. 
 

If we fly into Miami, we stay at a airport hotel and Uber to the pier in the a.m.

 

Post cruise it’s always better to fly out of Miami but you can cab, Uber or get a shuttle back to FFL too.  

[smokeybandit]

There's no right or wrong answer. Depends on your time frame, your preferred airline and flight cost.

[George C]

We normally will fly into Miami , but on our cruise a couple of weeks ago we flew into Miami but returned from FLL since they had a better time . Check times and prices before making a decision.

[Another_Critic]

I'm flying into MIA and [3 weeks later] flying out of BCN.  🙂

[klfhngr]

2 hours ago, kimlet said:

Cruise leaves from Miami, wondering if its better to fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale. 

Any suggestions would be great!

From past experience, it was cheaper to fly into FL. Not sure if it still applies.

[jakeil7]

2 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

If we fly into Miami, we stay at a airport hotel and Uber to the pier in the a.m.

 

Post cruise it’s always better to fly out of Miami but you can cab, Uber or get a shuttle back to FFL too.

This is my typical plan as well. Typically, when you factor in the costs, it six/half-a-dozen. MIA is just easier from gate to hotel to port IMHO

[kuku77254]

Flying in doesn't matter much but departing, FLL is much easier. If it's a weekend, FLL can get quite crowded but the chaos at MIA is much worse. 

[notscb]

As others have said, it's really similar either way. MIA airport is a major hub for many south-american flights so it tends to be busier overall. FLL is a bit of a ride to Port Miami, but is well connected by car, transportation service (private van companies, etc.), Brightline rail, FlixBus (my personal favorite/cheapest), and Uber/Lyft.

 

 

[Harrisonkid]

I've done both. Direct flights and cost make the call for me