Driving to Miami

[nellie2407]

I think we are the only ones that do this these days :)

 

We are driving into Miami pre cruise for a one night stay. Does anyone have any suggestions about a nice hotel that doesn't charge an arm and a leg for keeping the car onsite while on the cruise? Also...maybe a shuttle to the port? I've heard lots of conflicting views on safety...so somewhere safe to leave the care is important.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions!!! :)

[KERRY77]

I would suggest leaving the car in long-term parking at Miami International Airport and taking a cab to the Port of Miami (approx $25). You can go online to http://www.miami-airport.com/html/ground_transportation_faq.html or in parkings around the airport at

http://www.airportfastpark.com/main/Miami.html or http://www.airportparkingunlimited.com/

[Bequia]

No need to park at the airport,

 

Check out http://www.parksleepfly.com/cruiseport_hotels/hotel_display.php?hotel_type=cruiseport&cruiseportID=5&referredBy=5000&trackID=BootsnAll ,they offer a great Parksleepfly cruise package. ;)

[mjarens]

We drove to Miami pier from Seattle back a few years. Hubby decided he didn't want to fly anymore, and we gave up our first class seats, then proceded to drive from Seattle south on I-5 then east on I-10 from Pasadena. Took us 6 1/2 days to drive there and 6 days home, for a total of 8,000 miles round trip. Did three 975+ mile days during the two drives. It was a great way to see the southern part of the country but we wish we could have spent some time visiting in the areas we drove through at light speed. Only one speeding ticket (Texas - 100 in a 65). Then entire experience was awsome.

 

We parked right on the pier next to the ship. Car was waiting when we docked. We came home early since the ship broke down on the third night out and we never hit one port. We call it the cruise to nowhere!

 

But the driving trip was awsome.

[anubian]

I think it's a wonderful idea to drive. I live in PA and we have a family of 8 (2 adults & 6 kids), plus my mother-in-law went. We went on Imagination, which left on Monday. We started out on Saturday, stopped over in Savannah, then drove to Miami on Sunday for the overnight. The kids loved it;) . We parked on the lot at HOJO Collins Ave (right on the beach) and even found a Colombian restaurant down the street for dinner that was very reasonable. On the morning of the cruise, we went down to the pool and spent some time there. At 11 am we headed to port. There was some construction when coming off the exit to port, which was a nightmare, but it was nice that we could pull up, take our bags out and hubby parked. It was a great surprise because he has a handicap card and he was able to park at the port for free:D . We had a penthouse, an oceanview and an interior, so we used the skipper club to check-in and we were on the ship by 1 pm. Driving is great because you can alleviate waiting for other people to take you. If you want to do some extra things the night before, you have your car. Beware though that some hotels charge you parking. Hope this helps.

 

BTW we have a Surburban...people ask us a lot due to the family size:p .