Flying in from WI, thinking of coming a day early

[DTC]

I am trying to talk my husband into flying into Miami on Friday and leaving on Sunday. We all know the weather in WI in February is a total crap shoot, and truthfully who wouldn't want to be in Miami for 2 extra days in February, when you live in WI?!

 

So, my question is how easy is it to get from the hotel, Marriott, right by the pier, I believe, to the ship?? Our PVP said it would be easier to rent a car, however, we'd have to return it to the airport on Saturday and find a Carnival rep to get us to the pier. The PVP said the car is cheaper than all the other fees that we'd have to pay. Not sure what those fees would be.

 

 

Is there another way?? Couldn't we just take a taxi or something from the hotel to the ship? I just think having to go back to the airport and drop off a car, that we really didn't need, would be even more stressful than just flying in on Saturday.

 

Your thought and suggestions please!!

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

I am trying to talk my husband into flying into Miami on Friday and leaving on Sunday. We all know the weather in WI in February is a total crap shoot, and truthfully who wouldn't want to be in Miami for 2 extra days in February, when you live in WI?!

 

So, my question is how easy is it to get from the hotel, Marriott, right by the pier, I believe, to the ship?? Our PVP said it would be easier to rent a car, however, we'd have to return it to the airport on Saturday and find a Carnival rep to get us to the pier. The PVP said the car is cheaper than all the other fees that we'd have to pay. Not sure what those fees would be.

 

 

Is there another way?? Couldn't we just take a taxi or something from the hotel to the ship? I just think having to go back to the airport and drop off a car, that we really didn't need, would be even more stressful than just flying in on Saturday.

 

Your thought and suggestions please!!

 

First YOU ARE A WISE WOMAN! Flying in the day before is an excellent idea as it leaves you with more time in case something goes wrong with weather or other barriers.

 

You do not need a car a cab will do just as well unless you plan on doing venturing out of the immediate area of the hotel.

 

I am not sure what your TA meant by "fees" other than taking a Carnival transfer from the airport to the ship. That would be silly because you would have to find a way to the airport from the hotel so why not just take a cab to the port instead?

 

Did you happen to find out if the hotel has a shuttle to the port?

 

I am not sure how long you have known this TA but maybe he or she should brush up on cruising 101.

[celticd1]

As a fellow Wisconsinite I couldn't agree more...2 extra days in Miami in Feb would be very nice! :D At the very least I would recommend flying down 1 day early.

 

You should have no problem getting a taxi to take you to the port from your hotel. I'm not exactly sure where the Marriott is but if it is close to the pier then cab fare shouldn't be more than $20-$25 for both of you. I would think that is cheaper than renting a car if all you will need it for is to get to the port. I would check out the Florida Departures board...someone may know the exact cost. Some hotels also offer a shuttle service, be sure to check if your hotel does.

[MamaParrotHead]

As your neighbor to the southwest, I totally concur. We're also flying in 2 days early for our Sunday sailing.

 

A cab from the airport to the pier will run about $25 total. And then most hotels either have shuttles or cab companies they use to shuttle guests to the pier, usually it's pretty cheap, like $10 pp.

 

No way would I screw around with renting the car, returning it, shuttling, blah blah blah.

 

Cab it and speak to the conceirge/front desk at the hotel about getting a ride to the pier.

[98Charlie]

Absolutely fly in ahead. There are several Marriott properties there. Which one are you staying at?

 

Some are really close to public transportation if you want to go out and explore, some are closer to the beach area and some are downtown

 

Charlie

[iowacouple]

You know the weater in the midwest.play it smart and fly in a day or two ahead of time :D we used a shuttle service to get to the port.cabs will get you any place else in miami cheap[our hotel in north beach to southbeach was 10 dollors for six of us in a van]

[Nunu]

We are also flying in 2 days early, renting a car (cheap through priceline), and driving to stay the first night in key west and then our second night pre-cruise in Miami. There's so much to see in the area that the car gives us the freedom to move around.

[myamifin]

We are also flying in 2 days early, renting a car (cheap through priceline), and driving to stay the first night in key west and then our second night pre-cruise in Miami. There's so much to see in the area that the car gives us the freedom to move around.

 

We are flying in for our cruise the day before and renting a car as well. If you rent from Avis, there is a store about a $8 - $10 cab ride away from the port that you can drop it off at, just rent for return to a different location. We are flying into Ft. Lauderdale and renting the car there, then dropping off near the port. It is less than 2 miles from the port.

 

Just another option. :D

[nbsjcruiser]

I am trying to talk my husband into flying into Miami on Friday and leaving on Sunday. We all know the weather in WI in February is a total crap shoot, and truthfully who wouldn't want to be in Miami for 2 extra days in February, when you live in WI?!

 

So, my question is how easy is it to get from the hotel, Marriott, right by the pier, I believe, to the ship?? Our PVP said it would be easier to rent a car, however, we'd have to return it to the airport on Saturday and find a Carnival rep to get us to the pier. The PVP said the car is cheaper than all the other fees that we'd have to pay. Not sure what those fees would be.

 

 

Is there another way?? Couldn't we just take a taxi or something from the hotel to the ship? I just think having to go back to the airport and drop off a car, that we really didn't need, would be even more stressful than just flying in on Saturday.

 

Your thought and suggestions please!!

 

Very smart to leave a day early. If you didn't, all you would need is one storm to come up and poof! Your vacation just turned into a disaster and all because of one lousy hotel stay. The way I see it, the expensive part is air and the cruise. I have never understood why someone would gamble a great vacation on a lousy 100-200 bucks - makes no sense to me at all.

 

We live in Canada and your winter is worse than ours in February so we are at the other end of the spectrum. We leave 2 days early. The way I see it, if all goes well you get to spend almost 2 full days in Florida pre-cruise. Laying on the beach, catching some sun and winding down getting ready. If a storm comes up - no panic. We've got 2 days to figure it out.

 

Show or ask your husband this - how is he going to feel if a storm comes up and you miss the first 2 or 3 days of the cruise as you travel all over hells creation trying to catch up to the ship? If you are both ok with that scenario then gamble away. If either one of you is not comfortable with it, then you should make alternate plans. It is afterall a vacation for both of you.

 

Remember the ship will not wait for you and the airlines could care less if you miss your ship.

[tnt091605]

We were in Miami on the Liberty last month. We rented a car and then returned it the day of the cruise. They have a free shuttle to the pier. It was cheaper to rent a car than than the Carnival transportation or even a taxi.

[DTC]

Thanks for all of your replies. I have to call my PVP and find out what he was talking about regarding the fees. I booked directly with Carnival, not a Travel Agent, so an employee of Carnival told me this info. He said he could book us at the Marriott which is near the port, not sure exactly which one, he just said it was a 5 star resort. I can deal with that!!;)

 

Another thing I just thought of is we just changed our cruise to the early saver rate,it was $480 cheaper, so I'm thinking we will have to pay the $50/pp deviation fee. But chump change considering what we saved.

Again, like you all said, why risk missing the ship.

[momofzeke]

I think a rental car would be a good way to go. As a previous poster said, rent one at the airport and drop it off near the pier. I believe there are a couple of different rental companies that have drop-off near the pier and some will shuttle you to the cruise terminal. It would be nice to have the car for getting around all day Saturday.

[BrookeLH2]

I am trying to talk my husband into flying into Miami on Friday and leaving on Sunday. We all know the weather in WI in February is a total crap shoot, and truthfully who wouldn't want to be in Miami for 2 extra days in February, when you live in WI?!

 

So, my question is how easy is it to get from the hotel, Marriott, right by the pier, I believe, to the ship?? Our PVP said it would be easier to rent a car, however, we'd have to return it to the airport on Saturday and find a Carnival rep to get us to the pier. The PVP said the car is cheaper than all the other fees that we'd have to pay. Not sure what those fees would be.

 

 

Is there another way?? Couldn't we just take a taxi or something from the hotel to the ship? I just think having to go back to the airport and drop off a car, that we really didn't need, would be even more stressful than just flying in on Saturday.

 

Your thought and suggestions please!!

As someone from Chicago, I understand your want for escaping cold weather to go to Miami a day early =) My boyfriend and I will be flying to Tampa the night before our Carnival L egend cruise. I believe most (or at least a good number of) hotels reasonably close to the port have a shuttle service. As weather in the Midwest tends to not always be predictable (rain, snow, sleet, ice, wind, etc...ugh), flying out a day early just in case of delays is a wise thing to do.

Who wants to be rushing around and stressed out the day of embarkation?? =)

[DTC]

tnt091605 so did you return your car to the airport? or somewhere else?

That is what my PVP told me, it was cheaper to rent the car than pay the other stuff (not sure what that was). The price difference was like $200-$300 per night. Wierd, I know. So my question to you, did you do what my PVP told us to do?? Rent a car from the airport and return it to the airport on Saturday, find the Carnival people and go off as though you just landed????? is that what you did?? did it would out ok?

[momofzeke]

tnt091605 so did you return your car to the airport? or somewhere else?

That is what my PVP told me, it was cheaper to rent the car than pay the other stuff (not sure what that was). The price difference was like $200-$300 per night. Wierd, I know. So my question to you, did you do what my PVP told us to do?? Rent a car from the airport and return it to the airport on Saturday, find the Carnival people and go off as though you just landed????? is that what you did?? did it would out ok?

 

If you are talking about the Carnival shuttle, my advice is DO NOT take the Carnival shuttle. You have to wait for the bus to fill up before they will leave, and if you happen to be one of the first on......it can be a long wait.....sometimes over 1 1/2 hours. Plus, it is just as expensive as a private shuttle which is much more convenient.

 

But, have you looked into the option of returning the rental car at one of the pier locations? That would make the most sense. There are several rental agencies that have rental returns near the cruise terminal, and some will even shuttle you to the pier for free.

[DTC]

Looks like I'll have to do some research this weekend. Good thing we are getting a snow storm (little one only 4-8 inches) go figure!!?? It will be a good Sunday to call some hotels and car rental companies.

Thanks!!

[dclark]

Rent a car, it'll be cheaper! You can rent a car for $30, drive to a restaraunt that is cheaper that hotel food, explore a little, even do a little shopping. for example, we always love to go the Dolphin mall and visit the Disney outlet store that often has incredible prices of Disney park stuff.

You should never, ever, ever fly in on the day of the cruise!

Last Xmas (I know, it is the holidays, but hang with me) we were to fly in two days before the cruise. Yup, I want us to have two wonderful days the week before xmas in Palm Beach at the Embassy Suites, let it all out at the managers reception, enjoy 70 degree temps.

While the kids were in the car waiting for us to lock the house and go to the airport, we got notification that flight was cancelled due to snow in Las Vegas!

So, after spending hours on the phone, we were able to rebook that SW for the following night.

The following night, all flights to Vegas were still messed up do to the snow. I told my wife that if we don't get on that SW to Vegas, we will miss the Airtran flight to FL and won't make the cruise, lose out on all that money.

We then head the airport announced that due high winds, incoming planes are being diverted away! My heart sank! I talked to the SW rep at the gate and she said that our plane was making an approach anyhow, since they were in approach mode before the announcement, it was the pilots call. We saw the plane come in with wings wobbling up and down. That plane quickly loaded up, we were warned to expect a very rough take off and we made it. Bottom line- there is no such thing as leaving too soon for a cruise!

[rhorhorho]

OP - are you purchasing the hotel, car rental, and transfers through Carnival? If so do check around this weekend, because you can almost assuredly get more for le$$.

[cruisetobeaches]

We drove down last December (26 hours) and stayed in Miami for two days prior to our cruise. Once we saw how easy it was to get around with the mass transit there, we left the van in the hotel parking lot and didn't use it until the day we drove to the port. The elevated rail is free and actually is kind of a neat "overview" if you ride the entire route. Public bus is pretty cheap, got us very close to where we wanted to be, and runs late into the night. Plus, you don't have to try to find a place to park. Wish it were that good here.

 

When we returned from our cruise on the Destiny, we drove 20 minutes to Ft. Lauderdale and boarded the Splendor. A great time and back-to-back on different ships. Gotta do that again...............

[FantasyLineAddict]

I'd check on hotels in South Beach, you can often get in one of the boutique hotels for $100 a night or less. The beach is out the front door and you can walk to many restaurants and bars, as well as CVS and Walgreens for anything you might want to bring on the ship. Taxi from airport is about $25 and taxi to pier is about $15.

 

If you rent a car, make sure there isn't a parking fee at the hotel.

[DTC]

The only prices I have so far are thru Carnival, as an add-on. I realize we are going to have to pay the $50/pp to change our flights to the day before and after the cruise.

I have gotten so much info from this thread and from the Port thread under Florida departures, that I think we just might book a hotel, and either stay downtown and taxi to the pier or stay at a hotel that has a free shuttle from the airport, and just take that back to the airport and pay the $25 for a taxi to the pier, or another option we have is to rent the car and drop it off near the pier, making sure the car rental place will run us over to the pier. As you can see it's been 15 yrs since our last Carnival, and we went in June, so weather wasn't an issue. Our Disney Cruise, we had land before and after so that wasn't an issue either.

Again, thanks for all of your great advise. I will spend the day tomorrow seeing what I can figure out.

[MistyRo76]

I would check around before booking your hotel, airfare and car through Carnival. You can almost certainly find better rates on your own. I just booked the Intercontinental Miami Downtown right next to Bayside Marketplace for $95 on EasyClickTravel's website. Priceline and other travel sites listed the same hotel for almost $300. Go to the Florida Departures board for other hotel help. We did Carnival Transfers once going to the ship and wouldn't do it again. You can wait a long time for the bus to fill up. Taxi's are pretty reasonable and easily accessible in Miami. Renting a car is really not necessary unless you are wanting to venture out further than the area you are staying in. The people mover tram in the downtown area is great and really convenient.

 

As far as flying in early....it's a MUST! I work for an airline in a hub city and see cruisers miss their flights almost every weekend. And we are unable to get many of those people into the port cities in time for their cruise. Luckily for them...I am an avid cruiser and will do whatever I can to get them to their next port without any costs to the passenger. But that's me. Even on a perfectly nice, sunny day you can experience a flat tire on the way to the airport or a maintenance delay or long lines a security checkpoint. Any of these things can cause you to miss a flight. Many airlines have also scaled back their flight schedules particularly on weekend days. So if you miss a flight the next one might not be for several hours. It always worth the extra money to go a day early. Even if you go the day of and everything goes 100% smooth, its such a long, tiring day coming from the that far away.

 

True story....one couple I waited on missed thier connecting flight b/c they were delayed out of Newark due to a snow storm. They were going to Orlando to cruise that day out of Port Canaveral. Their original flight got into Orlando at 1:30. Cruise time was at 4:00. They were supposed to be onboard by 3:30. So they really only gave themselves 2 hours to get their baggage, get transportation, make the approx. 1 hour drive to Port Canaveral, check in for the cruise and get onboard the ship. That's a tight timeline even if everything goes perfect. So that small delay out of Newark caused them to miss their flight in Cincinnati and there was no way possible of me getting them into Orlando or Daytona in time to make it to Canaveral for their cruise. The wife told me that they booked those flights so they could save money by using frequent flier miles. But in the end it cost them three days of their cruise. I flew them to Cancun and put them in a hotel there for two nights and loaded them up with In flight drink coupons to help dull the pain. They took the ferry from Cancun to Cozumel and caught up with their ship there. Best we could do.

 

Misty

[tnt091605]

I think a rental car would be a good way to go. As a previous poster said, rent one at the airport and drop it off near the pier. I believe there are a couple of different rental companies that have drop-off near the pier and some will shuttle you to the cruise terminal. It would be nice to have the car for getting around all day Saturday.

 

They charge a small fortune to drop off near the pier. The shuttle from the rental car places near the airport is free and only takes 20 minutes to get you there.

[tnt091605]

tnt091605 so did you return your car to the airport? or somewhere else?

That is what my PVP told me, it was cheaper to rent the car than pay the other stuff (not sure what that was). The price difference was like $200-$300 per night. Wierd, I know. So my question to you, did you do what my PVP told us to do?? Rent a car from the airport and return it to the airport on Saturday, find the Carnival people and go off as though you just landed????? is that what you did?? did it would out ok?

 

I do not use PVP's. Have not had good luck with them. We do all of our plans ourselves.

 

We rented a car for only $24.95 and then were able to find any hotel we wanted. It did not have to be close to the pier. We went to the beach had great meals and got to do some sight seeing. Then dropped the vehicle back off and was at the pier in 30 minutes. All for $24.95 total.

[98Charlie]

Just to chime in as suggest that you really check prices versus what Carnival will charge you for a hotel stay and transfer.

 

We go a day early and stay a day after whenever we can. Making our own reservations and using taxis or hotel shuttles has always been much less expensive.

 

Charlie