stuff to do between FLL and MIA??

[sandiego1]

I have to go on a biz trip immediatly after my HAL cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale. My flight doesn't leave until 5PM and I'm flying out of Miami. It's a flight to Europe so there weren't too many choices available. There was an earlier flight out of FLL but the routing was so bad that my arrival was 2 hrs later than the 5PM out of MIA!

 

So the question is, what should I do while I'm waiting for my flight? My DH is flying back to San Diego out of FLL around 11AM so I'll be alone. After we disembark, I'll pick up a rental car to drive from the pier to MIA. I know that the ship can sometimes get to the pier very early so I don't know how I'm going to entertain myself for so many hrs. I thought of going to a movie, library or shopping mall. But most don't open until noon or so since it's a Sunday. I don't know the area so I don't know what options are available.

 

Any suggestions from my HAL friends?

[niborHS]

You may want to be somewhat careful of where you go by yourself. For shopping malls, I would recommend Aventura, which is in North Miami Beach, or Bayside, which is actually right near the port of Miami, which is a different type than Aventura, more small shops and kiosks with a Hard Rock Cafe and some other restaurants. You could also go to either South Beach or Coconut Grove, which are not far from the Miami airport. I would stay away from Calle Ocho, which is the Cuban section of Miami. Its interesting, but I wouldn't go as a woman alone. The other place you may want to go which is not that much further south than the Miami airport is Parrott Jungle. Nice place to walk around. There is also Viscaya (I may have spelled that wrong), which is another nice place to walk around.

[doublebzz]

Can't go wrong with the suggestions of the previous poster. Figuring you leave the Fort Lauderdale airport around 10am, you might want to drive to South Beach; particularly Lincoln Road which is a pedestrian mall of sorts. You can have lunch in a nice outside restaurant and people watch or drive over to Ocean Drive and do the same. After lunch, drive back to Miami and tour Viscaya, an old waterfront estate or go to Coconut Grove which also has outdoor restuarants and interesting walking. By that time, you'll be ready to drive to MIA and turn in you car and board your flight.

[serendipity1499]

Most International Carriers require passengers check in two to three hours prior to departure..You really will not have that much time to kill..We always rent a car out of FLL..We have to wait for a shuttle to the airport & by the time we pick up a rental car it's 10:30 to 11:00..

 

You probably should plan to return the rental car in Miami by 1:30 in order to check in for your flight by 2:00..Lunch on the beach might be an idea, but don't believe you really will have much time for a movie or shopping..

 

Enjoy your cruise..:) Betty

[bottomrung]

sandiego1

Here is a little more that Robinsilver spoke of. Vizcaya is a great place to visit when

you have just a few hours of spare time in Miami.

I copied and pasted the below from their web site. .

 

Welcome to Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

Vizcaya is a National Historic Landmark; we're also a museum owned by Miami-Dade County and accredited by the American Association of Museums. Vizcaya is open to the public 364 days each year, and we invite you to visit this serene and stunningly beautiful retreat in the heart of Miami.

Vizcaya was built by agricultural industrialist James Deering, who wintered on the property from 1916–1925. Today, the extraordinary European-inspired estate includes a Main House filled with art and furnishings, ten acres of gardens on Biscayne Bay, a hardwood hammock (native forest), and an historic village that we’re restoring for public enjoyment.

 

 

http://www.vizcayamuseum.org/

[sandiego1]

We'll likely be 1 of the 1st off the ship since we have priority embark/disembarkation status and my DH and in-laws have early flights. On the last cruise, they called our group number while we were still eating bkfast!

 

I am planning on dropping off my rental car no later than 3:15PM (my flight actually leaves at 5:30). I'm fortunate to be flying biz class to Europe (I'm not paying:)) so I don't expect the priority check-in lines to be too long. I figure I have about 5 hrs to kill if the ship arrives on time and there aren't long disembarkation delays.

 

Thanks to all the suggestions. Since I'll be traveling alone, I really didn't want to go wandering into risky neighborhoods. I knew my CC friends would have good advice for me.:D

[Orlandocruiser]

I have flown internationally out of Miami and when they say be there three hours early they mean it. After we checked in with the airline we stood in line an hour with our luggage for it to be screened. It didn't really take that long to go through security because everybody was standing in the luggage screening line. Also you need to factor in traffic (I-95 through Miami can be a bear as is most surface road traffic) and getting lost time.

[serendipity1499]

I have flown internationally out of Miami and when they say be there three hours early they mean it. After we checked in with the airline we stood in line an hour with our luggage for it to be screened. It didn't really take that long to go through security because everybody was standing in the luggage screening line. Also you need to factor in traffic (I-95 through Miami can be a bear as is most surface road traffic) and getting lost time.

 

Agree with Orlandocruiser...Priority check in for Business Class has nothing to do with Security..That is where the Holdup is..TSA has been much more vigilant & Security is taking much longer to go through due to the recent problems...If your Carrier advises you to check in 3 hours prior to departure, you would be very wise in sticking to that time frame..

[niborHS]

First, I must thank those who posted the information about Vizcaya. Although I was the one who mentioned it, I have not been there. All there years we went to Florida when our children were young we went to the kiddie places, not the grown-up places. When they got a little older, we started cruising with them and gave up Florida. Will have to go visit my MIL one day and go.

Anyway, business class does have something to do with security. If you fly business/first class, there is a separate security line. Some airports have the worst systems for security, like Atlanta and Salt Lake City. The lines could take forever, but the first class line takes a few minutes.

[Grumpy1]

Agree with Orlandocruiser...Priority check in for Business Class has nothing to do with Security..That is where the Holdup is..TSA has been much more vigilant & Security is taking much longer to go through due to the recent problems...If your Carrier advises you to check in 3 hours prior to departure, you would be very wise in sticking to that time frame..

When we flew out of Miami to Germany, the line for business travellers was very short, almost walk up and go through. The line for the rest of us was almost an hour. The security screening went quickly once we made it past the checkin and baggage check point.

[sandiego1]

I'm sure the length of the security lines depends on the day, how many flights are departing in that time frame, # of operators that have at the security line, if there have been any minor security breaches earlier in the day, etc. So it's really unpredictable. Many airports do have separate lines for 1st/biz class or premier fliers to go through the security check.

 

Thank you for the advice. I will assure that I give myself what I feel is adequate time to get through the biz class checkin, luggage screening and security check point.

[doublebzz]

A little more on the Lincoln Road in South Beach suggestion. Every Sunday morning, there is a flea market of sorts along Lincoln Road. Makes for interesting browsing in a nice atmosphere.