Flymia

Rent a car or Brightline. There are also bus options. Brightline will likely be more expensive, and if you want to do anything outside the immediate resort area of Universal, you will want a car. But if you have no need for a car in Orlando brightline will be easy. There are also plenty of flights, but the time for the train and flights is around the same, and the train is certainly easier. 

It is easy. The drive is fairly easy as well and if you are a big group or have lots of bags I would say just take a taxi/Uber. But the train would take you to Government Center, from there you transfer to the Metro Mover system, which is free and take it to Bayside station, from that station looking at a 3-min walk. 

Don't look for hotels with port shuttles. I have yet to see once that does not charge per-person and usually the charge is more expensive then a taxi/uber. 

If you want a lot of places near by look at hotels in Brickell. Two good ones in great locations are Hampton Inn Brickell or East Miami. You have a very quick and cheap taxi or uber ride to the Port from any hotel in Brickell or Downtown. 

On 12/13/2023 at 4:18 PM, Banditswife said:

We fly into FLL on Monday, should we be worried?  Our cruise is on Tues 12/19, staying at a hotel near airport.

No, I would not be concerned, weather looks great for Monday. 

Right now it is showing around 2.5 to 3.0 inches of rain over Friday and Saturday. That won't cause major flooding. Also the turnpike will be fine, it is the city streets that have issues, not large highways. 

Flooding happens when there are torrential downpours that put down 5-10 inches in a few hours. That is not what it looks like will happen with this one. 

Flood warnings are  a very common thing in the summer time. December not so much, but I am not overly concerned with the forecast I am seeing. 

It has been an odd system for December! It is windy here in Miami, gust in the 40mph range. Not a ton of rain yet, but a constant drizzle and cloudy for two days now, expect it to be the same Friday and Saturday. Saturday there might actually be some thunderstorms as it has been rain and wind but no lighting. With these winds not surprised to see changes to itineraries. 

4 hours ago, JohninDC said:

"Easily" depends upon baggage for 5 - if any of them pack like my wife it will be a tight squeeze!

Good point, baggage amount would matter. 

You can still do this with a Van taxi or easily with an Uber XL. A private car seems like an overkill and expensive. 

It is doable. Only negatives are less flights to PBI if there is an issue with your flight. As always fly in the day before! Rideshare should be fine, or private car. Not sure how much a Palm Beach taxi would cost. 

Brightline is nice, but on a weekend a waste of time and money as the drive is pretty easy. 

While you may not like using Uber/Lyft that is by far your best option. Go with an XL or Lux for better service car. Sometimes the prices are not bad, and for that trip worth it. An Uber XL will likely cost around the same as a taxi and be a nicer car, with usually better service. 

Other option is to reserve a private car like Larry Limo. They are recommended here a lot, but that will most likely be a bit more expensive than just getting a rideshare. 

Yes, not an issue at all. MIA and FLL serve the same metro area. People that live here fly in and out of both often. There are options of shuttle, rideshare, or taxis. 

5 hours ago, GTJ said:

There can be an "incident" with any means of transportation selected. (Consider, for example, travel by highway, with an incident on the expressway and no means to leave the expressway either by vehicle or on foot.) Some types of transportation might lend themselves more readily to "Plan B" upon the happening of an incident. The best we can do is take reasonable precautions, recognizing, however, that even so things can possibly go wrong no matter what precautions are taken.

100%. But a car accident on the road means finding another route. An accident on the train means sitting on the train for 2+ hours. 

Also, why not just fly? 

7 hours ago, Florida Fan said:

I would have preferred to drive, but I was nervous about any long backup (Icon inaugural + a Sat. departure?) and possibly a filled lot. I guess I'm not much of a risk-taker.  Also checked Google maps, which had the shortest route at 1 1/4 hrs.

Honestly, I would be more worried that Brightline stop due to an incident. And did you do google maps on a Saturday? I did "Parkland" (maybe you live in the end of Parkland to Port Miami and was getting 45-60mins. 

Sounds like a fun way to get down to Miami. But 1.5 hours to Miami? During rush-hour sure it can be over 90-mins, but on a weekend looking at under an hour. 

I enjoy all modes of transport, so the trip should be nice. But I doubt you will coming close to the same amount of time. You are likely doubling the amount of time to get to and from your house to the port.

Driving to the Boca station, which is in the opposite direction of the Port, with waiting for the train the train ride getting off the train , getting from the Brightline Station to Port Miami and vice versa. Where the drive would be under an hour on a Saturday morning right to the Port. 

That being said, I have heard only good things about Brightline (other than the crossing issues) so it will be nice to hear how the trip is, and would be interested in seeing how long it takes. 

Miami is rather small geographically, so shuttles are typically a big thing especially with how close the port is to city center. Most shuttles are fee per-person and when you do the math unless it is one person it is usually cheaper to do a taxi or uber. 

This is the first time I haver ever seen this type of request. You are most likely going to want to find a lot that you can pay monthly to park in. There are tons of garages around Miami and Lauderdale that do this. Say $150-$200 per month. Another thing to keep in mind is that you would want to tell the garage the car won't be moving for 50-days as a car sitting there may be subject to getting towed. 

Fort Lauderdale parking is $20/day. What would off site be? $10.00 a day? Unless you are gone for 2+ weeks I would just park at the port. 

7 minutes ago, MalleyCat said:

We love staying in Coral Gables. Lots of options for food/shopping…all walkable and we feel safe exploring the area. Uber/Lyft to the port is about $20. 

The hotels by Miracle Mile are more centrally located with tons of shops, places to eat and a very dense/walkable area. 

This one, is more outside the center of Coral Gables. It is right next to Merrick Park, which is a very nice area to eat and shop, but for an afternoon or evening, not two days in my opinion. 

Family of nine. I would book one of the post cruise to airport tours. 

Personally I would not chose either. Tru is a better location, but not exactly the most central for walkability. 

Sheraton is next to a nice up scale outdoor mall, with some nice places to eat, but that is it, everything else you would not be able to walk. 

I would focus my search for in the middle of Brickell like East, Hampton Inn Brickell, JW Marriott Brickell, and a few others. 

If I had to pick between the two, I would go with Tru, knowing you'll might want to Uber to a more central spot instead of walking. But very short drive. 

I am only aware of Avis and budget. I will add that the facilities near the port are known for been horrible. Probably worse for pick up. I would plan on just taking a $10-$15 Uber to the port after dropping it off. 

There are very few hotels that offer cruise parking and even fewer that offer shuttles to the port. 

Shuttle to the port are not needed as anything close to the port is a 5-10 minute drive, maybe 15-mins if there is some traffic or you get a draw bridge. The port is right in the middle of Miami in Downtown Miami. 

I don't believe any Downtown/Brickell hotels offer cruise parking. The parking at the port is easy and $22/day which for Miami is not bad at all. 

I would just stay in hotel you want to stay in, and then drive to the port and park there. Brickell is the nicest area to stay in if you want to be very close to the port. 

FLL is no cakewalk. Really not sure why people see it so much easier. Unless you are looking leave from Port Everglades of course. I fly into both about 50/50. I never seen the huge difference. I find MIA to be easier to park and drive in and out of. 

Brightline is impractical for MIA to Ft. Lauderdale. Unless it is a large group just Uber/Lyft. 

The only airline that flies into FLL from London is Norse Atlantic, but they are changing their schedule to Miami. So the only non-stops will be to Miami. American, British, Virgin and Norse Atlantic all fly London-Miami. Norse from Gatwick, the other three from Heathrow. 

It is 22-miles or so from MIA to Port Evergaldes/Ft. Lauderdale. You can stay at a hotel in Brickell/Miami, which is only 7-miles form the airport and then have an easy drive the following morning. Or just take a ride straight from MIA to the Ft. Lauderdale area which is around 40-60mins depending on the time of day. 

I would suggest trying to fly in two days before for extra buffer because no flights will get you into Florida on time the next day as they all typically arrive late in the afternoon. Unlike flying from the U.S. to Europe where a next day arrival can still get you on time to the ship since they typically arrive in the morning.