Miami Cruise- Stay in Miami or FLL????

[flip flop fanatic]

HI,

 

My husband and I and two friends are taking a NCL cruise out of Miami March 26th, 2006.

 

Should we stay in FLL becuase it's cheaper? Can we get a shuttle to the Miami pier?

OR where is a clean-cheap place to stay in Miami for 1 night? And do they offer the shuttle service?

 

PS- we stayed last year in the Courtyard Marriott in Dania beach. I recommend that if you are leaving from FLL!

 

Thanks!

[CaptData]

Are you flying into FLLor Miami. If FLL then you could stay there over night since you are there already if not the cost getting you back and forth would pay for one night in Maimi. You could look for fly and cruise packages. They cover you transportation from the airport to hotel and then to pier, some will give you a bottle of wine.

[TrentS]

I don't think you'll find Fort Lauderdale hotels cheaper than downtown Miami in March 2006, nor do I think you're going to find any Fort Lauderdale hotels that will provide you with free shuttles to the Port of Miami. In fact, very few Miami hotels even offer those! If you stay in downtown Miami though, it's just across a bridge from the Port of Miami and a taxi would be very inexpensive.

 

For transportation from FLL to Miami we use either Tri-County Transportation, or Larry's Limo. Both are reliable, reputable local companies. Depending on the size of your party it may be cheaper to either just rent a car, or take Tri-County's shared van service.

 

Tri-County... http://www.floridalimo.com/

 

Larry's Limo... http://larryslimo.com/

 

These are all nice downtown Miami hotels...

 

JW Marriott (VERY nice, great AAA rates)... http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/miajw

 

Intercontinental... http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ic/1/en/hd/miaha?irs=null

 

Hyatt-Regency... http://miamiregency.hyatt.com/property/index.jhtml

 

Biscayne Bay Marriott... http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/miabb

[flip flop fanatic]

Thanks,

 

It's looking like we may fly to FLL becuase SW flies from Baltimore.

 

Would you happen to know how much a shuttle or taxi from FLL would cost?

 

Or would it be better to rent a car and drive down?

[kenandlaura06]

Yes, and also what type of vehicle would these services provide to transport us from Fort Lauderdale to Pier of Miami?

[TrentS]

Cheapest way from FLL to Miami is either Tri-County's shared van service, or many just rent a car. Click on the links above, Tri-County gives you a quote online for their shared van service without entering any personal info, or you can e-mail them both for a price on a limo or TownCar.

 

You do NOT want to take a taxi, you can get a limo or TownCar for a similar price to what a (much less comfy) taxi would cost.

[SANDY BEACH]

We asked the front clerk at a Hollywood hotel how much a taxi would be to the Miami cruise port. He thought around $60. I'm not sure how accurate he was but this should give you some kind of idea of cost. We have also thought of staying in Ft Lauderdale for a Miami cruise since we drive down from the North.

[kenandlaura06]

Cheapest way from FLL to Miami is either Tri-County's shared van service, or many just rent a car. Click on the links above, Tri-County gives you a quote online for their shared van service without entering any personal info, or you can e-mail them both for a price on a limo or TownCar.

 

You do NOT want to take a taxi, you can get a limo or TownCar for a similar price to what a (much less comfy) taxi would cost.

 

Thanks.

[w99flash]

There are six of us traveling from fll port to mia airport, looks like limos run anywhere from $85-$120 and up but for six with luggage seems reasonable and a great way to end the perfect vacation.

[Margie1983us]

We flew into Fll and took the tri county taxi to downtown Miami(2 adults and 4 kids) $120. For our trip back to Fll we rented a Van in Miami and returned it to FLL. about $50. We didnt rent one on the way down because we didn't arrive until 11:00pm and didn't want the added trouble of returning it that night or messing with it the morning of our cruise. Next time I will skip the taxi service and rent a limo. Much nicer ride and even with the tip the cost was practically the same. Would have done it but we flew in on New Years Eve. None available.

[kenandlaura06]

There are six of us traveling from fll port to mia airport, looks like limos run anywhere from $85-$120 and up but for six with luggage seems reasonable and a great way to end the perfect vacation.

 

Thanks.

[gammys]

We flew into FLL in Feb.'05 for our cruise out of Miami. Rented an SUV through Alamo for about $50 at the airport and drove to Miami.Stayed at the Summerfield Suites Miami airport. They have 1 and 2 bedroom suites with a small livingroom and kitchen. One room could be shared by 2 couples very comfortably. I believe the 2 bedroom suites have 2 bathrooms, but I'm not sure. Very nice for one nite. Adequate pool area with hot tub. The hotel offers a complimentary hot breakfast which was very good. There is also a shopping center within a couple minutes drive of the hotel with a grocery store, liquor store, drug store, etc. Can't comment much about restaurants in the area as we just went to the Publix deli and had them make us hoagies/sandwiches(very good) and took them back to the hotel since the kids were tired and just wanted to use the pool. The website lists several restaurants in the area and I'm sure there are many more within a short distance. The next morning we returned the car to the Miami airport and took Alamo's free shuttle to the pier. We preferred to stay in Miami the nite before, so that we were already there the next morning. This way didn't have to worry about driving down from Ft. Lauderdale the day of the cruise. We got up, had breakfast, returned the car and were on the ship by noon.

[FunCruiser56]

on our last cruise from Miami we did fly into FLL, a huge difference in airfare. Stayed at a hotel near the airport, but with no car we were kinda stuck there. The next morning Larry's Limo picked us up in a beautiful white stretch limo. Our kids were thrilled! When we got off the ship after the cruise he was waiting there for us and drove us back to FLL.

 

Now our cruise in January we will probably use Tri-County Van because there will be 8 adults and an 11 night cruise so lots of luggage that would never fit into the limo. WE are also going to stay in a hotel around Bayside in Miami ariving late on Saturday, our cruise leaves on Monday so we will have a full day in Miami with plenty to do within walking distance of the hotel plus we can watch the ships depart on Sunday!

 

Bev

[TrentS]

If you want a great place to watch the ships leave on Sunday go over to South Beach, to South Pointe Park. There's a Smith & Wollensky with a spectacular view of Government Cut where you can have dinner and watch the parade of ships... http://www.smithandwollensky.com/LOC-MiamiBeach-Hours.asp

[sportsterjohn]

I just booked this hotel for my Nov cruise. $105 for the night which includes all the taxes. They have free parking for the cruise duration and free shuttle to the port!

[TrentS]

Yikes... Good luck with that one, you'll need it! :eek: