Westin Questions

[Sayra]

So I played the priceline game (which apparently I'm not very good at) and ended up with a room at the non-beach Westin Fort Lauderdale. I called the hotel and no-shuttle. A cab ride is going to cost us $30-35 per trip (airport and port)...any suggestions to getting their less expensively? Is there a supershuttle in Fort Lauderdale?

 

I also read that the hotel is in the middle of a office park, is there going to be anything near-by?

[royalcruz]

There are a movie theatre and chain restaurants west of I-95, and a few locals bars and a daytime diner east of I95. There isn't really anything else. I've never used any of the local shuttles, but I'm sure that if you call the Westin the concierge can make some suggestions.

[swigso]

Think of renting a car for the day, it will be cheaper than a Cab and there is a free shuttle from the airport to the Port.

[Marie51]

If you play the Priceline game, you take the chance on getting a hotel without a free shuttle or not close to restaurants & shopping, etc. That is the gamble you take.

 

Please people.....no negative comments about this, but there are more important things about a hotel that a free shuttle. I don't know why so many people put so much importance on a free shuttle.

[TakeMeAway1001]

I tried Hotwire and got the Westin Beach Resort and knew they didn't have a shuttle. We rented a car and tried to utilize the complimentary shuttle, however you should be aware not all car rental companies participate and they do not begin shuttling until 11am. We waited out at the shuttle spot for a long time before someone was finally nice enough to tell us this and we opted to take a cab over since we wanted to get to the port early. One thing we did do is drive the rental into the port on the morning of the cruise to drop off our luggage and then brought the car back to the airport, it was much easier.

 

I think you'll like having a car, especially if your hotel isn't that close to things you may enjoy doing. Have a great cruise :)

[sandancer]

If you rent a car from Dollar/Thrifty you can return it to the Port Everglades rental station and they will shuttle you right to the ship. We did this last April and it was very convenient.

[Sayra]

Thanks for all the suggestions~ We did end up pre-renting a car from National at the airport. For the amount it was going to cost for a cab to and from the hotel, we have almost paid for the rental car and misc rental car expenses. The car will also give us some freedom to explore new things away from the hotel.