Eaaster Sunday- plane leaves at 3... need some fun!

[av01bps]

I am already thinking about going home at the end of our cruise!:( If all 10 of us (6 adults , 4 kids) are off the ship by 10, we'd rather not spend the next 5 hours in the FLL airport. Other than church, what could we do with almost 3 hours- a beach nearby? Suggestions welcome! Thanks:D

[Lois R]

I am already thinking about going home at the end of our cruise!:( If all 10 of us (6 adults , 4 kids) are off the ship by 10, we'd rather not spend the next 5 hours in the FLL airport. Other than church, what could we do with almost 3 hours- a beach nearby? Suggestions welcome! Thanks:D

 

Hi,:)....not sure I am getting the time frame?

5 hours or 3?

If your flight leaves in the middle of the afternoon, you could

do a post cruise excursion if you are so inclined.

Yes, there are lots of beaches nearby. You could rent a couple

of cars and then you would have your luggage with you.;)

 

3 hours is really not that long of time at all. If you disembark

the ship late (I have been able to leave at 10). If you have

3 hours to kill before your flight? That is 1:00. You need to

be at the airport by noon anyway. So that is only 2 hours.

For me, a 1:00 flight is almost perfect;)

 

You are going to say your flight leaves at 3:00, right?:)

In that case, the beach might be nice or the Everglades Excursion might

be fun!

[librarylady19]

Here's our recent experience returning from 4 night Century cruise on 3/9:

I had booked cruise transfers from POM to FLL. Disembarkation went very smoothly, off ship and on bus by 8:30 a.m. and waiting for rest of bus passengers. Arrived at FLL by 10:00 a.m.

Airport was really crowded, I'm assuming with returning cruisers. The line at SW went halfway through the terminal! Our flight wasn't until 4:50 p.m. I had heard luggage could be stored in lockers so went in search of info. about this. Learned that Bags to Go would store luggage for $6 per bag. (NOTE: if we had cruised into Port Everglades we would have been able to take advantage of SW's baggage transfer right from the dock - dont know if they charge for that tho.)

Well, since we had 4 bags that would be $24, plus the cost of a cab to go to Las Olas area. Instead, we walked across to rental car terminal by connecting tunnel and rented a midsize car from National for $50 (incl. taxes). There were many rental car companies to choose from all in one building, very well organized.

We then drove on A1A (very easy to get to) up the coast as far as Ft. Lauderdale by the Sea and really enjoyed looking at the cute motels and fancy resorts and condos lining the coastline. We drove back to Ft. L. and had a fantastic lunch overlooking the ocean at Casablanca cafe on Alhambra. Highly recommended. Knew that in a few hours we'd be back in the Chicago cold and wanted to enjoy the fantastic Florida weather as long as possible.

Then we drove over to Las Olas Blvd. and walked up and down the shopping area and picked up a few last minute gifts and enjoyed a cone at Kerwins. Found some unique and reasonably priced jewelry.

In retrospect, I would have skipped the transfer and picked up a rental car in Miami. When I had originally looked at this option, prices were really high, but since we ended up spending over $100, would have come out even. I was very happy with our choice and don't regret paying extra for more time in the sun vs. hours and hours in a crowded airport.

[hcat]

rental car sounds like the best plan--but make sure you can actually get one--sometimes they are returned late.. these school vacation are not easy days for travellling