need help! ft lauderdale or pt canaveral?

[emiliesmom]

Well I'm stymied. DH and I are leaving on Oct 28 on Zuiderdam for a one week eastern Caribbean cruise, our first. Our TA told us to book a flight to Ft Lauderdale as this is the closest airport to our cruise. We have done this, and are scheduled to fly home from Ft Lauderdale in the early afternoon Nov 4. I checked with the kind, knowledgeable folks on this board and got the go-ahead that you can easily get from the cruise port to the airport with a cab in less than an hour so I wouldn't have any trouble with my connection. The strange thing is I booked our hotel in Pt Canaveral - Radisson Resort at the Port - because this is supposed to be near the cruise ship port - and when I called to book the shuttle from the hotel to the ship, they told me they were 3 hours from Ft Lauderdale... I'm freaking out because if the port where the ship docks is 3 hours from Ft Lauderdale airport, then there is no way I'll make my (non-cancellable) flight! I don't know Florida and I'm confused, can anyone help?

[peaches from georgia]

The Zuiderdam is docked in Ft. Lauderdale at Port EVERGLADES. The airport is a few minutes away from the ship.

 

You need to change your hotel to Ft. Lauderdale. You are not going to Port Canaveral which is 3 hours away and an entirely different port near Orlando. No HAL ships are at Port Canaveral/Orlando. Just change your hotel to one in Ft. Lauderdale where the Zuiderdam will be.

[Orlandocruiser]

You are correct Pt Canaveral is at least 3 hours from Ft Lauderdale (if you are lucky and there are no wrecks on I-95), There is no way you want to have a hotel in Canaveral if you are flying into FLL. There are lots of hotels close to the port in either Ft Lauderdale or Hollywood (which is the next town south.) Anytime we have sailed out of Ft Lauderdale we drive down the night before (from Orlando) and stay in Hollywood at the Comfort Inn (haven't sailed out of FLL for a couple of years so I guess that hotel is still OK). I'm sure others on this board would have some up to date hotel recommendations for you.

[emiliesmom]

man you guys are awesome - I figured I could ask my TA tomorrow but knew you'd be so much faster! Now to just try and find a hotel in Ft Lauderdale at this late date :( ! What a nightmare, I've had the Radisson (in the wrong port) booked for months!

[newmexicoNita]

I don't know why this happened; Port Everglades is in Ft Lauderdale. You need to get a hotel, like someone said, in Ft Lauderdale or Plantation, Hollywood beach, etc. Try and find one that offers a shuttle from the hotel to the pier and the airport to the hotel. We are using the Hampton Inn in Plantation for our November cruise. The senior rate of AAA rate is about $120 per night including taxes. When you figure free transportation that is one really good deal. Check travelocity for ratings. That is the best way to decide on what is best for you. NMnita

[Wildcats]

You may also want to check out www.traveladvisor.com for reviews of hotels in the area. We are going on the Westerdam in December out of Ft Lauderdale and ended up picking the Hampton Inn Airport because it was reasonably priced and had a shuttle to the airport as well as to Holland America's dock at Port Everglades.

 

Tom

[kryos]

You booked a hotel near the wrong cruise ship pier. Some ships go out of Port Canaveral, some go out of Tampa, some go out of Miami and some go out of Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades).

 

The Zuiderdam usually goes out of Fort Lauderdale.

 

Just change your hotel reservation to a property in the Fort Lauderdale area and you'll be fine.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Copper10-8]

man you guys are awesome - I figured I could ask my TA tomorrow but knew you'd be so much faster! Now to just try and find a hotel in Ft Lauderdale at this late date :( ! What a nightmare, I've had the Radisson (in the wrong port) booked for months!

 

Try Ft. Lauderdale Embassy Suites on 17th - close to both FLL (airport) and Port Everglades plus they provide transportation to your ship and all it will cost you is a tip to the driver (if you so desire)

[Mlascheid]

Just wondering, is that the weekend of the Ft. Lauderdale boat show? Thought I read somewhere that it was around this time? if so....hotel rooms will be at a premium.

[the2ofus]

We have sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale the weekend of the boat show. While it is true that a lot of the big name hotels are full, the Ft. Lauderdale area has an abundance of reasonably priced hotels and chain hotels/lodgings. You probably won't find any Priceline bargains for that weekend though.

[flapr]

Yes, the 2006 Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show is from 10/26 to 10/30.

 

Do not delay trying to find accomodations, as hotels within miles tend to sell out during this event.

 

Good luck!

[Himself]

I would go to priceline and pick a good catagory and then bid lower and you can usually get a pretty nice hotel room at way under price. Last June I stayed in Seattle and got the Hilton at the Airport for 70.00 a nite and the Hilton web site showed the room at about 150 per nite. Doone who often makes enteries here was able to give some good tips on how to handle priceline.com

[newmexicoNita]

You have some good suggestions here: Someone said Embassy Suites: they are about our first choice as we normally pick Hilton brand hotels, but Embassy suites in Ft Lauderdale can be pricey. If the price is acceptable I would choose them over Hampton Inns, though we love Hampton Inns for a one or two night stay. Embassy suites offer a managers nightly cocktail reception plus full cooked to order breakfast. NMnita

[emiliesmom]

Many thanks to all of you. We are booked at the Hampton Inn (Plantation) and for less than I thought we'd have to pay - so all is well! I don't know how I goofed on the hotel originally. Guess it pays to use a TA sometimes! Thanks so much again.

[Copper10-8]

Good for you!! Have a great cruise!

[OceanLiner]

We stay at the Lago Mar. It is VERY close to the ship canal into the port, in fact it is so close that you can lay on the beach all day and watch the ship lining up at sea to enter the port. The beach front is about 250 yards away from the canal, and it is really cool to watch all of these ships coming in to the port, they look like they will crash into the beach but instead they just sail right into the canal. Lago Mar also has a fantastic pool.

 

Lago Mar is about 15 minutes from the airport, and about 10 minutes from the port. Get up early on the morning of your cruise and watch the ship come in. Also, don't get a beach front or ocean view room at the hotel because the beach and ocean are right at your feet, and you will be spending 7 days on your cruise with plenty of ocean front view all around the ship.

[Sea King]

Agree with everyone that you should re-book hotel immediately

 

Airport in Ft. Lauderdale is 10 minutes from Port Everglades without traffic .. with traffic, 10-15 minutes .. there are "loads of hotels" near Port Everglades especially along the 17th Street Causeway .. Bahia Mar, Pier 66, Sheraton, Renassiance, Embassy Suites + more toward Los Alos

 

if you don't want to let your TA become involved, suggest you think about Ft. Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce .. they'd probably be more than happy to help you "spend some money" in their city

 

have fun .. suggest you get to this NOW since not sure when the boat show comes to Ft. Lauderdale (think it's right about the last weekend of October)

 

good luck:)

[the2ofus]

Emiliesmom - glad we could help! Plus, you have lots of good suggestions for hotels to try before your next cruise.

 

Now to get down to the serious business of planning your Doc Dance, planning your wardrobe and packing/rethinking/packing/rethinking...you get the idea. Enjoy the anticipation and enjoy the cruise!!