Please help the pre-cruise and post-cruise

[bbsquest]

I did some search on the board and have some idea about the region, and would love to hear some suggestions from you guys.

 

My situations:

 

1. Arriving: red eye flight on 1/14/2011 to FLL, and arrive at about 7am on 1/15/2011. The cruise date is 1/16/2011 in POM.

 

2. Departure: fly out of FLL at 6:45pm on 1/23 which is the same day of the disembarkation.

 

3. I don't have a driver license, so car rental is out of the question. I would need to use the bus lines or Gray Line/Sun Trolley to get around.

 

So basically I will have a full day on Sat 1/15 and half day on Sun 1/23. I would like to do some sightseeing in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

 

 

My questions are:

 

1. How to spend 1 day and half? One day pre-cruise in Miami and half day post-cruise in Ft. Lauderdale? Or vice versa?

 

2. What are the must-see's other than SoBe? Not interested in gardens, museums, or shopping. What neighborhoods to see? Are Little Havana or Fort Lauderdale's canals worth seeing? If any routes can be provided, that will be great.

 

3. Where should I stay to do the sightseeing? Miami or Ft. Lauderdale? I don't care about night life. My budget is below $100.

 

4. Will the cruise help to get my luggage to the airport on the disembarkation day so I don't carry it while sightseeing?

 

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[JohninDC]

You might need to rethink your budget - January is prime season and a $100 hotel you will be ahppy with will be a challenge to find.:(

 

Focus your hotel search on the FLL area - hotels there are generally cheaper than Miami and Miami Beach. Even if your room is not ready when you arrive the hotel should hold your bags while you explore and get lunch on your fly-in day.

 

Good luck!:)

[royalcruz]

There are no Fort Lauderdale hotels that i would recommend for that date under $100. I would suggest that you bid on a 3-4 star hotel on Priceline or Hotwire in the Fort Lauderdale downtown or beach area zone in order to be on easy public transportation routes.