Flymia

Ft. Lauderdale is a 30-45 minute drive. If you leave in the morning no amount of traffic would prevent you from getting to the port, so do not factor that in. I was going to say you can stay in Ft. Lauderdale, the Beach or Las Olas/Downtown area and have a great time. It is a fantastic area to check out for the day, lots of things to do, eat etc.. \

The other option is Coral Gables, not sure how the hotels are there as they are likely expensive as well. You could also try out places like Sunny Isles Beach or a hotel by the Aventura Mall area as well. 

Lastly, there are the airport hotels if you don't care about doing much/being in a walkable area. 

Both areas are great places to stay in. I would say if you have never stayed in the Miami area and wanted to check it out (assuming you fly in with time to do so) then stay in Downtown/Brickell area. 

The only real downside is that you will have the drive the day of the cruise. Depending on what time you leave that drive can be anywhere from 90+ mins to 45-mins. Staying in Miami has a relatively easy Sunday drive to Miami and then you are close to the port. 

Typically there are a few there. I remember around 2008-2012 Miami was full of taxis. Medallions were costing $75k+, and downtown and Miami Beach had yellow cabs everywhere. 

Not many these days, the Brightline station is one of the few places you will regularly see them parked. 

No problem walking, but metromover is easier. Metromover is great way to get around the area. I suggest you check out Brickell City Centre as well. Bayside is a nice touristy marketplace on the water, great place to catch a boat tour. 

Brickell City Center is a bit more refined, more of a mix of locals and visitors and really great dinning options. 

You are also book way too early. Wait a few more months. That is high season, so they will have high prices for anyone that actually books this far in advance. Book a hotel near the airport as a back up that does not require any payment and you can cancel. Start looking again towards the end of the summer. 

Café Bastille Downtown. Great food. I won't say it is cheap, but it is really good. Most sit down places in the area won't be cheap. 

Post above is spot on for food. South Beach is worth seeing, but I would not make an entire day out of it. Think of South Beach (Ocean Drive) as our Times Square. Something everyone needs to see but don't focus on it. It is very touristy, and over priced. 

If you have a car makes a big difference how much you may want to do. Also depends where you are staying. 

Brickell is a nice area as well for the evening, and that is where I would suggest you go for before or after dinner for drinks. Sugar rooftop bar in Brickell City Centre is one best views you can get. Unfortunately, Miami lacks many good rooftop locations. 

Plenty of beach areas that are not filled up. North of Lauderdale or even south on Hallandale Beach will be fine. Remember all the beaches are public, even the beaches in front of $40,000,000 homes on Golden Beach are public beaches. No spring breakers there, just need to get a ride (rental car or uber) to the beach access points. Unless you want the beach with walking to and from restaurants and bars, those areas would be busy. 

Only other negative is more traffic and some higher hotel prices. 

It is decent, but certainly more of a tourist area. Few locals go there. I can't really recommend anything as I have not been there often other than walking through. Brickell City Centre is a nice spot, with much better dinning options. Not on the water though. I would suggest maybe lunch at Bayside, and dinner at Brickell City Centre, or anywhere around the Brickell area. 

This is Miami. Your requirements are hundreds of hotels. Arriving in the late afternoon there is no reason for a place inside the hotel. Just book something in Brickell or Downtown and chose the endless amount of places to eat dinner in the area. 

United does not have a big operation in Miami compared to other airports, so there is no club. In the 1990s and early 2000s they had a small hub in MIA, but those days are long gone. 

Not sure if they have any partner clubs as there are other clubs in that terminal. 

Uber/Lyft. Both drives are not long in mileage, time will vary based on traffic, but very short rides in mileage. 

There is zero reason book anything from hotel to port. It is a 10-min drive, just do the Ubers. 

Airport to Hotel, I guess you would save a little bit a money. But given the reviews, I would not do it. The savings are not huge and there is not a huge hassle to just get two Uber XL. Miami Airport is close to Downtown, just traffic makes the drive longer sometimes. 

I would recommend spending some time on Las Ollas if staying in Lauderdale area. For seafood in Lauderdale I go to 15th Street Fisheries. Just remember when you are eating seafood in Florida, get the fish that actually live in Florida like snapper and mahi. Don't order salmon. 

If you don't mind driving Garcia's has great fresh seafood, it is also a seafood market right on the Miami River. Not a view, but the river is a working river where some of the fish comes in. From there you could take a quick drive to Brickell and check out Brickell area and Brickell City Centre. If you want to see Miami that would be my plan. 

Larry Limo is highly recommended. Though depending on how many people/bags you have may not be needed. It is not a long trip. 

It varies but you are looking at very early morning, before sunrise. Almost all the ships are docked before the sun comes up. 4:30 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. is when they come in. There are some pretty good videos online you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/@BLCStreams 

You could stick with the upper Keys, give Key Largo a look. About 90-min drive from Miami. It could be a long day trip or spend a night there. It is not as famous as Key West, but still the Keys with great scenery and water. But that is definitely a water/beach type of trip. And by beach small beaches, not resort type beaches. Key West has more things to do in town lots of history etc.. 

I would say you would need two more days to really be able to enjoy the keys and take that trip. 

Miami has changed in 10-years and certainly plenty of things to do and see. A rental car helps a lot. 

With luggage I just don't know if it is worth it. 3pm flight means getting to MIA by 1:00 p.m. If you don't have TSA Pre the lines can get long on a weekend or in the evenings on any day of the week. 

I would just get off the ship as late as possible and head to the airport. Hopefully you are flying out of North Terminal or South Terminal (most airlines use these but a few like Southwest, Frontier and Spirit use the older terminals). North and South have a lot of options to sit and relax, have a decent lunch and even walk around some shops. 

Not Miami, but in November we took a 3-night to Bahamas our of Port Everglades, and Customs getting off was nothing. Took maybe 30-seconds. I don't even remembering giving them my passports, just walk through a line that said passports instead of birth certificates. No lines, no wait. 

6 people how many bags? May as well just take two ubers and be done with it. Its 20-30 minute drive. 

The book a refundable hotel and keep looking is the best advice. This far out in December is going to be high, and if lots of people book it will remain high. But chances are sometime in say July or August you will find better deals. 

No need. Anything close to the port, is well close to the port. It is a quick uber/lyft or taxi ride away. Most shuttles will cost more per-person then the rideshare. 

For Sushi Osaka Miami is a good bet, get a reservation. There is also NAOE on Brickell Key. 

A great place is motek in Brickell City Centre, brand new location. Another great spot for lunch is Julia and Henrys in Downtown Miami, its a food market type of place lots of good choices. 

Garcias is good fresh off the boat seafood, and you should go to either  Versailles or La Carretta  for lunch one day to get Cuban food. Or try out Cafe La Trova one night for Cuban food (expensive Cuban food it is usually a cheap meal) drinks, music and dancing. 

Hampton Inn Brickell. By far the best pre-cruise hotel for the price and location. Also by far the most popular recommendation. 

Yes, morning flights do typically have less delays because it is those stacking of delays later in the day that get you. But it is certainly still possible, especially if an outbound plane is late or not able to get into Montreal. 

The good thing about using Air Canada is you have more options to get you into Miami if there was weather in Montreal. Either way you have a decent buffer, but to me I would prefer to go with the evening before. Since you need a hotel regardless, evening before makes sense, more of a buffer, flying the airline that has a large base in Montreal as well. 

If you were flying the opposite direction my advice would be the same. Fly 12-hours earlier and flying the airline with the bigger operation in Miami.