Ft. Lauderdale Q&A/FAQ

[Holey]

Hi have found this board, fab by the way!

Could you please tell me if their is a large supermarket wine shop near? We will have to purchase a few things pre cruise. If their is any near are they in walking distance. ?:confused:

[calbar]

My previous post did'nt make much sense,could'nt sleep thinking about what i had to plan!!!!I'm visully impaired and my sis would never drive in FFL!!!!so if we want to shop at SAWGRASS after cruise should we stay at our pre-cruise hotel (Hampton inn north) or just go to area close to mall(La Quinta) has good prices!!!We will be taking cabs or shuttles THX so much for all your efforts I appreciate it alot!!!!!!:)

[emily rose]

Yes I will have a rent a car but have never driven in fll only stay @ beach before and taxi around.Would like to stay close to sawgrass mall with an easy drive from airport to hotel and to mall .I wish you knew more about marriott inn on University Ave. any other suggestions?

[royalcruz]

Found the Crown Plaza on LMT for $83. A good place to stay? We will be flying in late so just need a decent place to sleep, maybe somewhere to grab a bite to eat that night, then somewhere close buy to get some beverages/wine before boarding the next morning.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

If it's the one in Fort Lauderdale, there is a good pizza/wings restaurant a block away and wine is just under a mile. It's a very new hotel, but not much right around it.

[royalcruz]

T HANKS for all your info,could have missed some info tho WOULD it be best just to go to SAWGRASS MALL area after cruise OR just stay at hotels close to airport/cruiseport? we have Hampton inn booked before cruise,we fly in from Canada. cabfares or buses to mall,how far is the mall from Fort launderdale ? THANKS so much,will keep going thru recent posts!!!!:p

 

Sawgrass Mills is huge and fun but is far from the port. Cab fare would be at least $75 each way. There isn't a great bus route from the port area (you'd have to transfer buses and the terminal isn't in a good neighborhood) but you can do it. It's an easy drive if you rent a car, about 25 minutes without many turns.

[royalcruz]

Hi have found this board, fab by the way!

Could you please tell me if their is a large supermarket wine shop near? We will have to purchase a few things pre cruise. If their is any near are they in walking distance. ?:confused:

This is for Fort Lauderdale questions, not Miami.

Edited September 22, 2011 by royalcruz

[royalcruz]

My previous post did'nt make much sense,could'nt sleep thinking about what i had to plan!!!!I'm visully impaired and my sis would never drive in FFL!!!!so if we want to shop at SAWGRASS after cruise should we stay at our pre-cruise hotel (Hampton inn north) or just go to area close to mall(La Quinta) has good prices!!!We will be taking cabs or shuttles THX so much for all your efforts I appreciate it alot!!!!!!:)

 

See if you can find a hotel near the mall or in Plantation that has free shuttles from the cruiseport or at least to the airport. That will save you a lot of money and you'll be a short cab ride to the mall. Try Hamptons, Hyatt Places, or LaQuintas...call the hotels directly and ask what shuttles they provide for free and let us know!:)

[royalcruz]

Yes I will have a rent a car but have never driven in fll only stay @ beach before and taxi around.Would like to stay close to sawgrass mall with an easy drive from airport to hotel and to mall .I wish you knew more about marriott inn on University Ave. any other suggestions?

 

Plantation is a good area and it is easy to get to from the airport and to the mall (not too many turns). The Renaissance is nice and is right off the highway, but University is also very good because it is in the middle of a commercial area for stores and restaurants. Just check reviews on TripAdvisor but your hotel should be fine. Hyatt Place is also nice, near Broward Blvd and University Dr.

[med9114u]

I have a group of 22 cruising out of Port Everglades. We will be staying at Hilton Marina night before. We will have 5 cars that we are going to park at the Park N Go, the rest will shuttle/limo/taxi to Port. Is it possible to drive in and drop off people and luggage and then drive to Park N Go to leave vehicles? The manager at Park N Go said not to do that....

[calbar]

ROYALCRUZ thank-you so much for your info!!!!!! sounds like what you suggested a great plan,appreciate your time and effort,will let u know what happens we are ALLURE next MAY!!!!!!!!!:)

[ajhunt2]

Thanks for the info.

 

Went ahead with booking the La Quinta since they have the shuttles. Found a discount code too so used that. If we change our minds we can cancel up to a day before with no penalties

[2wheelin]

Thanks for the info.

 

Went ahead with booking the La Quinta since they have the shuttles. Found a discount code too so used that. If we change our minds we can cancel up to a day before with no penalties

 

Can you share that discount code? Confirm which La Quinta please

[royalcruz]

Thanks for the info.

 

Went ahead with booking the La Quinta since they have the shuttles. Found a discount code too so used that. If we change our minds we can cancel up to a day before with no penalties

 

I can understand that you booked LaQuinta if you got a great rate and free shuttles, but bear in mind that the Crowne Plaza is a nicer hotel since it's brand new, and shuttles from airport and to stores and port are less than $10 each way.

[royalcruz]

I have a group of 22 cruising out of Port Everglades. We will be staying at Hilton Marina night before. We will have 5 cars that we are going to park at the Park N Go, the rest will shuttle/limo/taxi to Port. Is it possible to drive in and drop off people and luggage and then drive to Park N Go to leave vehicles? The manager at Park N Go said not to do that....

 

I'm not why the manager would say that but maybe he has a very good reason so I would ask him why. If you prefer to drop off people and luggage at the terminal first there is no reason that I can think of that you can't do this. When you enter the security gates just tell the guard that you are dropping people off for a cruise.

[ajhunt2]

I can understand that you booked LaQuinta if you got a great rate and free shuttles, but bear in mind that the Crowne Plaza is a nicer hotel since it's brand new, and shuttles from airport and to stores and port are less than $10 each way.

 

 

The main reason I booke it is because we are still iffy as to what we are doing before the cruise.... We have friends in Tampa that are going on this cruise with us so we may fly to thier house and drive to the port with them in the morning, thus not needing a hotel at all. And I felt better about being able to cancel the LaQuinta if needed. Plus once you add the shuttles into the Crowne we would be spending more than what the Laquinta cost. But who knows. We may change our mind and want to stay at the nicer hotel

 

 

But I greatly appreciate your input and thanks for all your help on this board. It is a wealth of information

[Bella77]

Hi Royalcruz (and others),

 

I've posted here before and you gave some good recommendations like Alhambra, Bahia Mar, BW Oceanside and Sleep Inn Dania.

 

I've looked at all of them and Alhambra en Bahia Mar look great. Alhambra was a great tip, it's nowhere to be found on any Dutch booking sites, but I still haven't made a definite choice and reading on this (and other) threads so many different hotels come up too.

 

So again, will you help me make a good choice?

 

I have trouble seeing where the nice hotels are and which are the nice area's with lots af shops and restaurants.

 

I read somewhere that Las Olas Boulevard is the place to be? Is that true or are there also other nice areas? When we would book a hotel in Dania Beach, is that in walking distance to Las Olas or isn't that necessary because there enough to see in Dania.

 

We want a hotel (not too expensive) with a nice, free breakfast and if possible a shuttle (free) to port. Pool would be nice.

 

We are in Fort Lauderdale for two whole days and one of those days we want to go to Sawgrass Mills. How much is a taxi or shuttle to Sawgrass?

 

Then a last question for now. I have a price of $75 for a shuttle (so not per person) from QLS for transportation from MIA to a hotel in Fort Lauderdale. Is that a good price or should we look further?

[royalcruz]

Hi Royalcruz (and others),

 

I've posted here before and you gave some good recommendations like Alhambra, Bahia Mar, BW Oceanside and Sleep Inn Dania.

 

I've looked at all of them and Alhambra en Bahia Mar look great. Alhambra was a great tip, it's nowhere to be found on any Dutch booking sites, but I still haven't made a definite choice and reading on this (and other) threads so many different hotels come up too.

 

So again, will you help me make a good choice?

 

I have trouble seeing where the nice hotels are and which are the nice area's with lots af shops and restaurants.

 

I read somewhere that Las Olas Boulevard is the place to be? Is that true or are there also other nice areas? When we would book a hotel in Dania Beach, is that in walking distance to Las Olas or isn't that necessary because there enough to see in Dania.

We want a hotel (not too expensive) with a nice, free breakfast and if possible a shuttle (free) to port. Pool would be nice.

IMO Las Olas Blvd is the nicest walking area in Fort Lauderdale and there are lots of boutiques, galleries, and restaurants. The hotel there is Riverside Hotel. Dania is not walking distance to Las Olas Blvd. It's about 15 minutes away and about $25-30 cab. Alhambra and Bahia Mar are closeby and you can get to Las Olas by Suntrolley. There is nothing in Dania Beach other than arcades (Boomers and Dave & Busters), Oakwood Plaza (chain restaurants, discount stores, and cinema), a beach, and a few other casual restaurants. The area near Oakwood Plaza has several hotels (off Stirling Rd east of I95)...most have a buffet breakfast and pool and some have free shuttles to port. I know that Springhill, Homewood, Hampton Inn, and LaQuinta are there. It is not a place that I would go to for a vacation, but it's fine if you need a hotel close to the port/airport for a night. Coming from another country you might love shopping at the discount stores there like Marshall's, Ross, Kmart, and Big Lots.

 

We are in Fort Lauderdale for two whole days and one of those days we want to go to Sawgrass Mills. How much is a taxi or shuttle to Sawgrass?

 

Sawgrass Mills is not close to Fort Lauderdale. It is about a 25 minute ride on the 55 mile/hr highways, so taxis would be about $75 each way. I don't know of any shuttles that go there, but some hotels have arranged this for guests through shuttle companies for less.

 

Then a last question for now. I have a price of $75 for a shuttle (so not per person) from QLS for transportation from MIA to a hotel in Fort Lauderdale. Is that a good price or should we look further?

That is a good shuttle price.

[sandancer]

We have the same price from QLS from MIA to Hotel near Port Everglades and we are very happy with it. It was the best quote we had. Have always used SAS in the past but they no longer service MIA. Shame because we had great service from Steve.

[Bella77]

Thanks again.....

 

I just got word from Alhambra that they are fully booked on one of our dates :(, so I have to look for another hotel.

 

We would love to go to a large supermarkt like Walmart or something. As far as I could see on the website of Sawgrass, there aren't any there, right? So if there are large malls and other discount stores in Dania, that might be an option too to stay there.

It's only 2 whole days (of which one day, we will go to Sawgrass) that we are in Fort Lauderdale, so we haven't got very much time to do a lot of things. We would like to do some (window)shopping and just have a taste of the American way of life, but if I read your post correctly for that Dania would be a good option too?

 

So the search for another hotel continues......

 

And good to know that $75 dollar is a good price for the transfer, I'll go ahead and book that.

 

When we return on saturday we will need a transfer to Miami Beach. Does SAS give better prices for that or shall we use QLS again?

[royalcruz]

Thanks again.....

 

I just got word from Alhambra that they are fully booked on one of our dates :(, so I have to look for another hotel.

 

We would love to go to a large supermarkt like Walmart or something. As far as I could see on the website of Sawgrass, there aren't any there, right? So if there are large malls and other discount stores in Dania, that might be an option too to stay there.

It's only 2 whole days (of which one day, we will go to Sawgrass) that we are in Fort Lauderdale, so we haven't got very much time to do a lot of things. We would like to do some (window)shopping and just have a taste of the American way of life, but if I read your post correctly for that Dania would be a good option too?

 

So the search for another hotel continues......

 

And good to know that $75 dollar is a good price for the transfer, I'll go ahead and book that.

 

When we return on saturday we will need a transfer to Miami Beach. Does SAS give better prices for that or shall we use QLS again?

SAS has great prices to Miami Beach but check ahead of time to see if they are going there.

 

There is a SuperTarget in Sawgrass Mills Mall and a Kmart in Dania at Oakwood Plaza. These are both like Walmart. There is a Walmart at Sawgrass Mills but I think it is just outside the mall on the same property. Sawgrass Mills is about $75 by cab from Fort Lauderdale.

[oleprof2308]

Can you provide the name(s) of hotels that are near a shopping mall (like Oakwood Mall) or a walmart, kmart, etc.? We would also like to have shuttle service from the airport and to the cruise port.

 

Thanks for any information you may provide!!

 

Tom

[royalcruz]

Can you provide the name(s) of hotels that are near a shopping mall (like Oakwood Mall) or a walmart, kmart, etc.? We would also like to have shuttle service from the airport and to the cruise port.

 

Thanks for any information you may provide!!

 

Tom

Check with hotels directly about shuttles as terms do change.

 

These are all by Oakwood (it's an outdoor shopping center with Kmart):

Hampton Inn Stirling Rd Hollywood

Hyatt Place south

Comfort Inn airport/cruiseport south

Springhill Suites Dania

Hilton Garden Inn

Hyatt Summerfield

Marriott

 

There is a Hyatt Place in Plantation next to Target and behind Broward Westfield Mall and there are Hampton Inn and LaQuinta nearby also.

[CR dude]

We will be staying post cruise at a hotel near Oakwood Plaza and we will not have a rental car but would like to visit Hollywood mall which has a target store. Bus service? . . . Approximate cost of a taxi? Thank you for any input.

[royalcruz]

We will be staying post cruise at a hotel near Oakwood Plaza and we will not have a rental car but would like to visit Hollywood mall which has a target store. Bus service? . . . Approximate cost of a taxi? Thank you for any input.

You could take the 6 bus east on Stirling Rd then transfer to the 7 bus west on Hollywood Blvd. Fare is $1.75 plus transfer (I think this is $1) each way per person. You need exact change so call 954-357-8400 for more info.

 

Taxi will be about $12 each way plus tip.

[CR dude]

You are always so helpful . . . . and PROMPT.

 

Muchas Gracias from Costa Rica Jim and Flora:)