2 cruises: 2 days (arr Mia 13th) pre Nov '24, Virgin cruise from Miami, return with 3 days in FLL leaving on Celebrity

[Nswift565]

Virgin Resilient Lady-Nov 15-21 Nov (arriving 2 days early MIA), 11/21-11/24 in FLL in hotel for 24 Nov-Dec 1 Celebrity Ascent 7 day cruise:

So, 2 nights Miami hotel for miami port cruise, return and transportation to FL with 3 days pre Celebrity cruise out of Fort Lauderdale!

Oh, so much planning!  We are avid Disney Cruisers and know Port Canaveral and Orlando like the back of our hand but have never been to either Miami or Fort Laurderdale airports/cruise ports or hotels! 

Hoping ro advice/suggestions on hotels, reasonable eateries ,transportation to each location!  All suggestions welcome!!  And happy to answer questions r/t DCL or Port Canaveral.  Expect to likely use Uber/Lyft to ports but really need suggestions for hotels and transportation from Miami port to a FLL hotel.  But really, the hotels! and places to reasonably eat.

Thank you in advance! 

First time Virgin Voyages and Celebrity cruiserers! Celebrating husband cancer free and 38 yr anniversary! 

Look forward to this long time needed vacation!!

Thank you fellow cruisers 🥰

 

[CruiserBruce]

Take a look around the board. Tons of threads on hotels and transport. For restaurants, tastes and budget info would be helpful. There is a restaurant for everyone in both Miami and Ft Lauderdale. 

[North2Alaska10]

We have stayed at a few FL hotels. We tried Hampton Inn and thought it was terrible. Stayed at Wyndham Garden in Dania Beach but thought the room was small for 4 people but it was clean and had restaurant within walking distance. Their shuttle transportation was very pricey so we used Avanti Shuttle service which we used in the past as they are reasonably priced and always on time. We also stayed at Hyatt place 1851 SE 10th Avenue which had stores and restaurants about 1-2 blocks away. We would stay there again. 

[sddsddean]

There is a lot of free transportation round Miami. Look into the Metromover and the Trolley system...all free. Having said that, there is a flat fare of $2.45 on all buses and trains. We did the trip from Miami airport to near Bayside for $2.45 in 40 minutes during evening rush hour! Would have taken twice as long and well over 20 times the price in a cab/uber.

 

Simon

[Nswift565]

18 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Take a look around the board. Tons of threads on hotels and transport. For restaurants, tastes and budget info would be helpful. There is a restaurant for everyone in both Miami and Ft Lauderdale. 

Your right.  More information would make a response much easier.  I did look around the boards but didn't find as much as I thought I would. 

On the other hand, I really asked too many questions. 

Most importantly, I was hoping for specific hotel recommendations close'ish to the Miami and Fort Lauderdale ports, around the $200 mark.  I do not like anything like Rodeway Inns or Choice motels. Maybe the lowest level being a Hampton Inn, didn't care for the look of Best Western or Holiday Inn Express.

 

Really hoping for personal experiences, good and bad! Thank you so much in advance! 

💓

 

[Nswift565]

7 hours ago, sddsddean said:

There is a lot of free transportation round Miami. Look into the Metromover and the Trolley system...all free. Having said that, there is a flat fare of $2.45 on all buses and trains. We did the trip from Miami airport to near Bayside for $2.45 in 40 minutes during evening rush hour! Would have taken twice as long and well over 20 times the price in a cab/uber.

 

Simon

Thank you for the suggestion! I will look into that

 

[Nswift565]

8 hours ago, North2Alaska10 said:

We have stayed at a few FL hotels. We tried Hampton Inn and thought it was terrible. Stayed at Wyndham Garden in Dania Beach but thought the room was small for 4 people but it was clean and had restaurant within walking distance. Their shuttle transportation was very pricey so we used Avanti Shuttle service which we used in the past as they are reasonably priced and always on time. We also stayed at Hyatt place 1851 SE 10th Avenue which had stores and restaurants about 1-2 blocks away. We would stay there again. 

Which Hampton Inn did you try?

 

Thank you~

[North2Alaska10]

It was the Hampton Inn Ft L north cruise port on 2301 SW 12th Ave.  We didn’t get our rooms until 7:30 pm. Waited 2 1/2 hours for the airport shuttle. Checked in at 4 pm. Only 1 working elevator. Breakfast was so crowded people were sitting on hallway floors eating. They had ring bologna for breakfast and waffle machine was broken. Never again for us. That was 2/22. 

[nhraformula00]

3 nights in Ft. Lauderdale I would stay in the 17th. street area like Hilton Marina that is on the intercoastal waterway. It is very close to everything and directly across from the port, if you get a higher floor facing the port. Its a very short Uber or Cab ride to the beach, 2 miles. Lots of places to eat within 1/2 mile. If you want a beachfront there are plenty of places to stay, 17th street turns and runs north along a nice stretch of beach. 

[Nswift565]

12 hours ago, North2Alaska10 said:

It was the Hampton Inn Ft L north cruise port on 2301 SW 12th Ave.  We didn’t get our rooms until 7:30 pm. Waited 2 1/2 hours for the airport shuttle. Checked in at 4 pm. Only 1 working elevator. Breakfast was so crowded people were sitting on hallway floors eating. They had ring bologna for breakfast and waffle machine was broken. Never again for us. That was 2/22. 

That is terrible and no way to start a vacation.

Thank you so much for that information!

 

[Nswift565]

11 hours ago, nhraformula00 said:

3 nights in Ft. Lauderdale I would stay in the 17th. street area like Hilton Marina that is on the intercoastal waterway. It is very close to everything and directly across from the port, if you get a higher floor facing the port. Its a very short Uber or Cab ride to the beach, 2 miles. Lots of places to eat within 1/2 mile. If you want a beachfront there are plenty of places to stay, 17th street turns and runs north along a nice stretch of beach. 

Great suggestion. It looks like it would be a nice place to sit outside and watch the boats etc. If we just had one night it wouldn't matter much but with 3 nights I don't want to be in something like North2Alaska10 described.  Will check and see how far to the port it is. Maybe I can find on here where people have had experiences with the hotel. 

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

[nhraformula00]

It is 1 of 2 hotels that are the closest to the port. Like 1/4 mile. It has a huge and beautiful pool in back with an outside bar. Doesn't get any better than this. 

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/fllgrhh-hilton-fort-lauderdale-marina/

[Nswift565]

11 hours ago, nhraformula00 said:

It is 1 of 2 hotels that are the closest to the port. Like 1/4 mile. It has a huge and beautiful pool in back with an outside bar. Doesn't get any better than this. 

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/fllgrhh-hilton-fort-lauderdale-marina/

Wonderful! thank you~