William W Posted October 21, 2011 #1 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I have just booked my flight for my cruise on the Allure in early December. I wouldn't get in to Fort Lauderdale until 8:30pm Saturday evening. I am debating whether I should rent a car and stay at which ever hotel Priceline or Hotwire assigns me in the airport area. Or should book a regular hotel that offers shuttle to and from the airport and Port Everglades, and pay the regular rates. Renting a Car option: Pros: Give me a flexibility of when to goto the port, also, stay at wherever Priceline or Hotwire assigns me at a very good rate. Get the use of a car on Sunday morning before Embarkation. Cons: Waiting in line at the rental counter, searching for the hotel at night, finding gas station to fuel up before returning the car Booking Hotel Option: Pros: The opposite of the Cons of what I said in renting a car Cons: Waiting forever for the hotel shuttle, not being able to go to port at the time I want, and because of the late check in to the hotel, the desirable time for the shuttle may have been taken up. Paying a higher price for the hotel. I'm also looking at the most economical way in doing this. Any suggestions would be welcome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted October 21, 2011 #2 Share Posted October 21, 2011 No need to rent car. Just go for a close to airport or port hotel and take a cab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandj Posted October 21, 2011 #3 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Early Dec has great rates. I wouldn't rent a car. What you save on hotel rates, you can spend on cabs. ANd it's NOT much $$$. You might want to look at hotwire or lastminutetravel and there are great rates and then you'll see which hotels offer the shuttles at least from the airport. You can figure out the name of the hotel on LMT too. (We can help you) So that will make everything easy and lots less $ than booking with the hotel direct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL Posted October 21, 2011 #4 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I agree with the others/ Do not rent a car and check out Last Minute Travel as they have some great deals that include free shuttle from the airport. The hotels closer to the airport offer shuttle to the pier at $8 pp. If you do use LMT make sure you follow up with the hotel directly to ensure they have your reservation. Give them a couple days until they get it in their system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FawnRiver Posted October 22, 2011 #5 Share Posted October 22, 2011 You might want to make sure you end up with a hotel that has a restaurant on site. For our first cruise, we flew in the night before but were delayed so we didn't get to our hotel until almost midnight. I'm a nervous flyer, so I hadn't eaten anything for about twelve hours by the time we got checked into the hotel. Of course, we didn't realize that everything closes in FLL at or before midnight (even pizza delivery :confused:). The only option we had left was to go across the street to a McDonald's and walk through the drive through and even then, all we could get was stuff from the deep fryer. They'd already shut down the grill for the night - DH was NOT happy. :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandj Posted October 22, 2011 #6 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Of course you won't find a restaurant open in a hotel at midnight.:rolleyes: Best bet if delayed is eat at the airport or carry o sub or something along for when you land. Be glad if you find a Mc Donalds..:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melligene Posted October 22, 2011 #7 Share Posted October 22, 2011 FYI: After some research we are booked this November at Sleep Inn in Dania, Fla. Free shuttle to their hotel from the airport. They will hold our room until 7:00 a.m. the next day. Our account has not be debited yet. Might want to look that up on line. Just a thought....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William W Posted October 23, 2011 Author #8 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Thanks for everyone who has replied. I have looked at LMT, first time ever I went on it. Could anyone confirm that based on the description provided on the website, the 4-star hotel in Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Internat, that is 4.42 Mile(s) To Airport and has the following amenities is the Crowne Plaza Fort Lauderdale Airport / Cruise Port : General Description Accessible to many local attractions Close proximity to a beach. Great combination for business and pleasure Perfect for weekend getaway Close proximity to airport Location Conveniently located in Fort Lauderdale Centrally located minutes from Port Everglades Recreation Fully equipped fitness center Outdoor swimming pool Restaurants & Lounges Full service bar/lounge Onsite restaurant Services Valet dry cleaning and laundry services Room service Concierge services Meeting Facilities Fully equipped business center Accommodations 148 guestrooms 4 star accommodations If it is indeed, I think I will pull the trigger on it. Many thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseat50 Posted October 23, 2011 #9 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Thanks for everyone who has replied. I have looked at LMT, first time ever I went on it. Could anyone confirm that based on the description provided on the website, the 4-star hotel in Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Internat, that is 4.42 Mile(s) To Airport and has the following amenities is the Crowne Plaza Fort Lauderdale Airport / Cruise Port : An easy way to be sure that you have the hotel you want is to click the book it button then add a activity or excursion then click continue booking and it will show you the hotel on the right hand side under reservation details.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RN Cruiser 23 Posted October 24, 2011 #10 Share Posted October 24, 2011 An easy way to be sure that you have the hotel you want is to click the book it button then add a activity or excursion then click continue booking and it will show you the hotel on the right hand side under reservation details.:) Works like a charm... thanks for the tip!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William W Posted October 25, 2011 Author #11 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Thanks everyone! I will not be taking a rental, instead, I have a reservation at Fairfield Inn Fort Lauderdale Airport & Cruiseport. However, instead of booking the hotel via LMT at $69, I booked with the hotel directly using Mariott's website, and filed a Best Rate Guarantee claim. Thus, I was able to get Mariott to match LMT plus 25% off, which works out to $51.54 plus tax. For those who frequently uses sites like Expedia, you can also get them to do a Best Rate Guarantee, and they will give you a $50 voucher for future purchases. Because I rarely uses Expedia to book my travel, thus, this time, I took the cash from Mariott instead. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.