Florissouri

The farther north you go up the Intracoastal away from Las Olas the less traffic there is and better egress, but there's just a much better electric atmosphere Downtown.

I normally couldn't, but I got a grand suite for less than what we paid for a balcony on the allure last year so I couldn't pass it up.

Then you really have no option other than fly in on Saturday and back on Monday if you want lower airfare.

 

I think I will try to find out how long the wait will be for the carnival transfer.

 

If it is too long, I will bite the bullet and get a taxi. Lesson learned.

 

I don't understand this. What difference does it make how long it takes? You're with Carnival as soon as you get off the plane and get to baggage.

Your problem isn't caused by flying into MIA, it's caused by flying in the same day as the cruise.

Yes I have to go this week. I have a hotel booked in San Juan already for one night for a good pric. I have a great deal on a grand suite for this cruise as well

Well, then. If you can afford a Grand Suite then you can afford $700 airfare.

I have a cruise booked middle of March.. Right now, every flight I've found, even driving 3 hours away for an airport, are around $700 a person.. For those who have gone to SJU around mid-March, when have you experienced the best prices? I have a decent area of airports I can fly from.. I'd prefer Green bay WI, Milwaukke WI, or Chicago.. I REALLY need the airfare to be with Delta because I have $800 in vouchers that expire in March..

The first rule of low airfares is you have to be flexible. You just can't have it all your way and get the lowest fare.

It appears you want to return on Sunday, the day flights are in highest demand and as a result the fares are the highest. If you instead return on Monday I'm seeing fares as low as $545 on Delta from Chicago. If you return on Tuesday then it drops to $475.

I'm sitting in San Juan as I type this because I stayed over one night after my cruise to get a better airfare.

Maybe if you think outside the box you could piece meal it together. Try pricing roundtrip flights to FLL on Delta and then rountrip from FLL to SJU on Southwest. I would suggest you consider staying one night in Ft Lauderdale and then flying to San Juan the day of the cruise for two reasons; The first is most hotels in San Juan require a two night minimum stay on the weekends pre-cruise and your ship doesn't leave until 8:30 PM. Many here will pooh-pooh that because they are applying their Chicago/New Jersey/Kansas City mindset that everyone must fly in a day early. Well, once you're down in Ft Lauderdale you're already in the Caribbean.

Are you locked into that week? If you go one week earlier or one week later you can reduce your costs on about every aspect of the trip.

That is the problem...there aren't any!:eek:

Huh?

There aren't any what?

Hi, we are coming into FLL and staying at The Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood beach. We were wondering if Quarterdecks on Dania Beach was a nice restaurant just for some drinks and decent seafood? All suggestions would be helpful also. We will also have a rental car for the day. Thank you.

Quarterdeck is a Sports Bar with an expanded menu...

http://www.quarterdeckrestaurants.com/menu/food-menu

There is a free shuttle from airport to the Tried Rail train. WWW.tri-rail.com. It takes you to right next to the airport. Taxi from there would be cheap. Train is about $3.00 each. There is also a free shuttle to FLL airport from the train. Taxi in Ft Lauderdale is:954-777-7777 or 954-444-4444.

 

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They really don't have time to mess with all that, especially since every step of the journey would be unknown to them. They're flying in the same day as their cruise so their best bet would be the Carnival transfers.

Interesting perspective, the reason we are looking at Best Western is because of a lot of Best Western Points I am having, so we are staying for free. We have stayed at the Hampton jut behind the Best Western last year, pre cruise.

 

The Hampton you have pointed out, is surely a nice alternative, Sawgrass is not an absolute must, it is just the shopping and I have seen plenty of shops in Broward Westfield and The Fountains. We enjoyed the convenient shuttle from last year’s visit, so this is surely a nice option. Although we can’t stay for free, not having to pay taxi fares helps a lot as well and everything we were looking for, is withing walking distance.

Thanks for the info, we will look into this with a new and fresh eye.

The money you will save on taxis and buses would pay about half the room rate at the Plantation Hampton Inn. Save your Best Western points for a better property on another trip.

Addendum to my post above...

Provided that you take my advice above and stay at the Plantation Hampton Inn and you will be here Monday-Saturday, you can catch the free Plantation Tram "B" bus at Broward Westfield Mall and the very next stop will be the BCT West Terminal. From there it is very easy to catch a Broward County Transit bus to Sawgrass Mills Mall and it will be a much shorter trip.

http://www.plantation.org/Planning-Zoning/Plant-Tram/

Perhaps the best solution to your question might be to think outside the box...

First...Public transportation in America is nothing like Europe, especially the buses. Riding them can sometimes be a downright scarey experience for us locals so I can only imagine what it would be like for someone from a foreign country. :eek:

Second...I know that Best Western hotels are very popular in Europe, but in America they are generally near the bottom in terms of quality. The Best Western you have chosen is nothing special, it's OK, but it's not in a very good location. It's a relatively safe area, but it's not tourist friendly and rather isolated for what you want to do. Perhaps if you considered a different hotel and a different shopping mall it may solve your transportation problem.

I live not too far from Sawgrass Mills Mall and other than going in and out of one of the anchor stores I've never even been inside the mall. There's nothing there I can't get elsewhere. I know it looks impressive on the Internet, but I just don't understand the attraction. Instead, why don't you consider staying at the Hampton Inn in Plantation? This Hampton Inn has a free shuttle from Port Everglades to the hotel. After you clear customs call them and they will pick you up at the port. And of course they have a free airport shuttle to the Ft Lauderdale Airport. It's a nice hotel located a pleasant walk from two upscale shopping malls, Broward Westfield and The Fountains.

http://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/florida/hampton-inn-ft-lauderdale-plantation-FLLPTHX/index.html

http://www.westfield.com/broward/

http://www.shopthefountains.com/

I reserved this hotel for two days prior to our cruise in March. Was able to get a 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom suite with kitchen for $176 night.

 

Has anyone stayed here lately? I realize that we will have to rent a car from the airport and return to the port.

 

Any information you have would be helpful (ie. area, shopping, access, cleanliness)

I don't know much about the hotel itself, but it's located about two blocks from Broward Westfield Mall and The Fountains shopping center which have plenty of shopping and restaurants. Publix and Whole Foods grocery stores are on the south side of those malls. About 6 miles to the northwest is Sawgrass Mills Mall.

Getting nervous about our first family cruise logistics in November and would appreciate some advice! My daughter and SIL and 1 yr old are driving from Orlando and returning the rental car at Port Everglades. Would it be advisable for him to drop off wife and baby (and luggage) at the cruise terminal (where we will be waiting) and handle the car rental drop off himself? Then he could take the free shuttle to the cruise terminal. Or is it too hectic at the HAL cruise terminal for us to connect - this is our first time here. They're also worried about the baby on a shuttle without a car seat. (it's rented along with the car). Thanks for any and all suggestions!

Are you afraid he will get lost or is incapable of returning the car without you to give him constant instructions? :rolleyes:

If he can manage to drive the family from Orlando I'm sure he could drop the rental off all by himself and make it back to the port.

Waiting for a confirmation email from Valuetrips for hotel reservation. Hyatt Place offers free shuttle from airport to hotel, right?

Which Hyatt Place?

When I'm in Key West I like to rent a bike on the pier ($20 all day) and pedal wherever I feel like going for the day. I think it's the best way to see the island.

If you like history it's just a short distance to the Truman Little White House where President Truman spent 175 days of his presidency having wildest Hawaiian shirt contests and playing poker with the guys on his staff.

From there maybe pedal over to Fort Zachary Taylor ($2.50 admission) where you can combine a little history walking around the fort and all their canons then a visit to the beach. While the beach at Ft Zac is not as good as other beaches in Mainland Florida, it's a nice beach with plenty of picnic tables under shade trees just off the beach if you just want to sit in the shade and enjoy the view. They've got a good snack bar and grill there, too, if you get a little hungry or thirsty.

Or from the Little White House you could pedal about a half a mile down Whitehead Street to Earnest Hemingway's home. From there you can continue on down Whitehead Street to the Southern most point and have your picture taken in front of the buoy that's only 90 miles from Havana. From there you can zig-zag your way east over to Atlantic Blvd and White Street where there's a big pier you can pedal out onto and look for dolphins.

Head back north on White Street to Truman Ave (US 1), hang a left and go back to Whitehead Street, turn right, go back past the Key West Lighthouse and Hemingway's Home down to Fleming Street and get a picture underneath the sign designating Mile 0 of US 1. Continue on Whitehead Street and go past the courthouse to the Courthouse Grocery and Deli at the corner of Whitehead and Southard Street. There you can stop for a cold can of domestic beer for $1.86 (plus 14 cents tax). Once you're refreshed continue on to Ft Zachary Taylor or back to the ship.

Hello,

 

We will be landing close to midnight on Nov 1, and sailing on Nov 2. We'd really like to purchase a couple bottles of wine and 6-pk of Diet Pepsi before setting of for the port. I cannot see any trace of a store within a short walk. What's our best option for getting these errands done without spending $$$ on taxis?

 

We are assuming we'll be cabbing it to the port, thought there might be a place along the way that we could dash in and out without letting the meter go wild. Or, get a taxi to a shopping plaza between the hotel and port, spend some time, then call another taxi. Our luggage will be fairly light until we add bottles. ;-)

 

Or, is there a decent hotel in a better location? I have been scouring the travel websites, but the 17th St places seem to be completely booked or way out of our price range. We liked Gallery One earlier this year, except for the transportation costs. Definitely want to be closer to airport and port this time.

Since you're flying in so late it would make your life a lot easier if you stayed at one of the hotels clustered around Oakwood Plaza Mall on Stirling Road. All of them have airport shuttles and the Hilton Garden Inn is the only one that doesn't have complimentary breakfast. As Sharon said above, there's a K-Mart in the mall that has a good selection of popular wines.

Hampton Inn-FLL South

Comfort Inn

Hilton Garden Inn

Hyatt House

Hyatt Place-South

SpringHill Suites

Thank you for clearing everything up. Extended stay America is booked. DH is not thrilled with the ES choice since they only have double beds lol. Not sure what to do now :eek:!

Rent a car and stay at Embassy Suites.

I'm sorry...I should have been clearer. For the ride from POM to the hotel we are booking a shuttle service. I meant the taxis back & forth from hotel to airport.

 

I did some more research & see the Embassy Suites would accommodate us & for just a little bit more that the DI so I booked it. Hope I made the right choice :rolleyes:.

 

Can anyone tell me how far it is walking distance from the area of the Days Inn Bahia Cabana?

I think you're a bit confused and some of the advice given here is only confusing you more. Let me see if I can give you some clarity and some things to think about.

At $15 per person for a shuttle from POM to the Embassy Suites the total will be $75 plus tip for 5 people. I would do a one way car rental instead.

The closest Water Taxi stop from the Embassy Suites is in front of the Hilton Marina underneath the 17th Street Causeway. Tickets are $20 for adults and $13 for children 11 and under. The Family Pack for $60 is good for two adults and 3 children ages 5-11. If you're children are 12 and over then they would pay the adult fare of $20 each. Another reason to rent a car.

The Embassy Suites does not have an airport shuttle and one taxi (if you and all your luggage can fit into one taxi) to the airport would be $15-$20. Yet another reason to rent a car.

However, the Embassy Suites does charge $17 plus tax for self-parking. A reason I would consider Extended Stay America where the parking is free.

You don't have go to Bahia C for the water taxi if staying at Embassy. Go to the one near Hyatt Pierr 66. http://watertaxi.com See the info here.

 

There are several choices of restaurants and stores for last min items within a block or two of ES. It is located on 17th St which is a very busy road/draw bridge area.

No, the closest Water Taxi stop would be in front of the Hilton Marina underneath the 17th Street Causeway.

We have a late evening flight out of FLL in January. We cruise from Miami, but fly in and out of FLL (cheaper!). We have a day to kill, and have interest in a day room so we don't have to drag luggage with us all day. We could hang out at a pool and be happy. We have done the water taxi and loved it, but won't be repeating it this trip. Has anyone actually booked the $49 day room with Rodeway, as advertised on various websites? I'd be interested in your take on it. We just want clean, comfortable, relaxing. Nothing fancy is required! Thanks, in advance.

The only thing about the Rodeway Inn is it's cheap and convenient with their shuttles, but it's very isolated and it's not in a pedestrian friendly area. The only decent restaurant that's close is the Rendezvous across Highway 84 behind the Ramada Inn.

http://www.therendezvousbarandgrill.com/

Too bad I'm on wrigley80's ignore list because now I won't be able to tell them Southwest nonstop fares from MDW to FLL have dropped to $177 with all taxes! I'll bet they'll drop even more than that, though.

Yeah I'm well aware of the Southwest/AirTran merger. I guess it's safe to say that we can agree to disagree. We all have our preferences when it comes to airlines and flying. Well that $230.00 per person is way more than what I paid so I am quite happy with our decision to fly to PGD.

As I said, those fares will drop. Even if you book at a higher price on Southwest and the fares drop, you can rebook without a penalty to the new, lower price. You won't get a cash refund, but you'll get credits you can use on future flights.

But it's going to cost you about $100 for the rental car after taxes and gas and you still have to drive 2 1/2-3 hours.

Smaller airports like Rockford are also more likely to be closed or have flights delayed for hours in the event of bad weather.

By the way....how much are the flights on Southwest?? I'm sure they are more than $185.00 (which is what our flight plus one checked bag will cost us on Allegiant)

First you should know that Southwest has owned AirTran for over two years now and are in the final stages of merging.

Southwest fares all over the country were bumped up for some reason for this weekend, but I'm sure they will drop next week. Right now nonstop from MDW to FLL is $230 and each passenger is allowed to check two bags for free. Again, those fares are sure to drop.

Personally, I absolutely hate flying any airline other than Southwest.

Because getting to Midway Airport is a hassle plus the flights to FLL stop in Atlanta on AirTran.

No, that is incorrect...On December 1st there are 5 nonstop flights on Southwest from MDW to FLL.