Help and advice needed please!!!

[michelleminnie]

Hi, I have just booked a 20 night cruise with HAL in January sailing from Ft Luaderdale. I will be flying into Miami 2 days before the cruise begins so wondered if you guys had any recommendations for a hotel in Ft Lauderdale close to the port where we can stay. A hotel with a shuttle to the port would be preferrable. Also, does anybody know the best way to get from Miami airport to Fort Lauderdale. How much would a taxi cost???

 

Gosh I am sooooo excited I can't wait. We are travelling on MS Noordam. Does anybody have any views on this ship??

 

Thanks:):):)

[AZjohn]

Hi, I have just booked a 20 night cruise with HAL in January sailing from Ft Luaderdale. I will be flying into Miami 2 days before the cruise begins so wondered if you guys had any recommendations for a hotel in Ft Lauderdale close to the port where we can stay. A hotel with a shuttle to the port would be preferrable. Also, does anybody know the best way to get from Miami airport to Fort Lauderdale. How much would a taxi cost???

 

Hi michelleminnie,

Check out the Florida board here on cruise critic, there is a lot of info regarding your questions:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

Have a great cruise!

John

[Himself]

If you are looking for a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, I would go to priceline and see what I would come up with there. There are several good hotels not to far from Port Everglades. I have stayed at the Renassiance--which I really liked and I have heard much good about the Hyatt at Pier 66. Both are convinent to the Intercostal Water way where you can get a water taxi to take you where you want to go on the intercoastal water way, if you are in a day or two early.

[usha]

I'm also a big Priceline fan.:o

I bid for a 4 star in Ft. Lauderdale Downtown, and got Renaissance for $85.

We had a lovely room on the 10th floor from which we could see the ships in port in the morning.

[fann1sh]

The Priceline recommends above are great advice. If you want some help on bidding, you can look here:

 

http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/

 

http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showforum=79&

 

If you want to research the hotels you might get, look here:

 

http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showtopic=78&

 

If you really don't like not knowing which hotel you'll get, here's a link that lets you book Hyatt Place for much less than usual. However, they don't have 2010 pricing up yet:

 

http://www.valuetrips.com/AMS/FL/F17.htm#Today%27s%20Super%20Value%20rates

 

For transportation from MIA airport, there are a couple ways to get to FLL airport. Cheapest is under $4 each, but carrying bags is a hassle:

 

http://www.tri-rail.com/schedules_fares/ntm_wday.asp

 

This is $15 pp by shuttle van:

 

http://ridesas.com/

 

Most FLL cruise hotels will have free shuttles to pick you up from FLL airport, and also take you to the port the next day.

[floralscent]

Thanks fann1sh for the tips. Have you ever booked the Hyatt Place on Valuetrips.com? I haven't heard of the site before and am just a bit leary of booking through them. I checked out the price for the Hyatt Place in early December and it appears to be much less then all other sites. If you booked through them before, let me know of your experience. Thanks again-

[fann1sh]

Yes, floralscent - I've booked Hyatt Place through ValueTrips with no problems. There is no prepayment. You fill out the reservation form, and get a response - not even necessary to guarantee the reservation with a credit card unless you want to.

 

Unfortunately, this year the Fort Lauderdale boat show means a blackout on my pre-cruise night, or I'd be doing it again. There are three in my party, so we really enjoyed the space at Hyatt Place.