West Palm Beach airport - Anyone used it for Miami or Ft Lauderdale piers?

[pd4st]

Hi,

 

It seems like we can't find decent airfare to Miami or Ft Lauderdale the week of Thanksgiving (yeah, I know - what a surprise). However, there are flights to West Palm Beach. Has anyone ever come in there and head down to a cruise out of Miami or Ft Lauderdale? Would you recommend doing that? How long is the drive? Do the cruise companies offer transfers? If so, how much are they?

 

Any suggestions/thoughts/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

pd4st

[hoppelk]

Here was my answer on the hotel post. "Cruise lines do not offer transfers from West Palm Beach. A car rental will be approximately $30.00 and a 45 minute drive to the pier in Fort Lauderdale. When you return the car at or near the pier in Fort Lauderdale, the car rental company will shuttle you to your ship. Very easy. We did in Jan. 05, but it was AFTER a cruise. Good luck and have fun." I don't have any knowledge about the Miami pier.

[greatam]

I have flown into West Palm a couple of times, but not for a cruise. However, I did have business in Miami as well as north of West Palm. I find it to be a very pleasant airport (small and less hassle). Rental cars are readily available from all the biggies. Drive to Miami was about 1 1/2 hours.

[nho9504]

When I say little, that is in comparison to Miami.

 

Actually it is a good airport to fly into, less hassle.

 

For your transportation need, check out one-way rental from either Budget or Avis, to see how much it costs you. I think if you are leaving from Port Everglade, the rental probably would be within 30.00 per day. For Miami, it may run considerably higher.

 

We are flying out from Miami in a few days - we will take a budget rental from town (Ft. Lauderdale) and return the car at Miami. With AA discount, the rental including tax is about 25 bucks. On the way back, the reverse - take it at MIA and return in town here, runs 40 bucks.

[Andros]

We went on a cruise in February. We flew into WPB airport. We then caught a taxi to the nearest local train station. Rode the train to the last stop in Miami. The cab fare was around 12 bucks and the train was only a few dollars. The train ride was about 45 minutes. We were leaving from the port of Miami the next day. On the return trip we did the same,except we caught a bus from the train station to the airport. Taxi fare from port to nearest station was 20 bucks. If you were to rent a car, I'm sure it would not be that expensive. Hope you find this useful.