Port Everglades, hotel, transportation, lots of people

[letter17]

I've been lurking around for a while, but finally got an account today!! I apologize if these questions have been asked, but I haven't found an overall good answer...

 

My family and friends are going on a trip on the Princess Regal at the end of March. 13 of us coming in from Denver and one from IL. This is our first cruise out of Port Everglades.

 

We're trying to find cost effective hotels, transportation, etc. 7 of us are flying into Orlando a few days before and will be driving down Sunday morning. The other 7 are flying into FLL sometime on Saturday (the IL person hasn't booked her flight yet).

 

Are there easy ways to get from the airport to nearby hotels (that aren't wicked expensive)? Would renting a mini van make more sense? If a mini van, who is good about picking up and dropping off at the Port? The other problem is going to be finding a company that is open on Easter Sunday (April 5).

 

What are some inexpensive hotels that are easy to get to and from the port?

 

I've asked my cruise consultant about booking hotels via Princess, but I haven't heard back from her yet.

 

Thanks for any input!!

 

Q

Aurora, Colorado

[capriccio]

I've been lurking around for a while, but finally got an account today!! I apologize if these questions have been asked, but I haven't found an overall good answer...

 

My family and friends are going on a trip on the Princess Regal at the end of March. 13 of us coming in from Denver and one from IL. This is our first cruise out of Port Everglades.

 

We're trying to find cost effective hotels, transportation, etc. 7 of us are flying into Orlando a few days before and will be driving down Sunday morning. The other 7 are flying into FLL sometime on Saturday (the IL person hasn't booked her flight yet).

 

Are there easy ways to get from the airport to nearby hotels (that aren't wicked expensive)? Would renting a mini van make more sense? If a mini van, who is good about picking up and dropping off at the Port? The other problem is going to be finding a company that is open on Easter Sunday (April 5).

 

What are some inexpensive hotels that are easy to get to and from the port?

 

I've asked my cruise consultant about booking hotels via Princess, but I haven't heard back from her yet.

 

Thanks for any input!!

 

Q

Aurora, Colorado

 

Welcome to cruise critic!

 

Your priority should be finding hotel rooms -- the end of March is Easter week so you will be paying top dollar (how do you define 'cost effective'?). And I wouldn't wait on Princess - we've always found cruiseline hotels to be much more expensive. Check out lots of postings on this site for hotel recommendations and also check out the Fort Lauderdale tourist website: http://www.sunny.org. It also includes a chart of which hotels have shuttles: http://www.sunny.org/cruise-and-play/hotels-with-shuttles/. That site also has info on transportation, attractions, restaurants, etc.

 

The Fort Lauderdale airport is within sight of Port Everglades so if you look for hotels around the airport of in the 17th street area your transportation costs won't be too high even if you just use cabs.

[jb456]

Try homeaway.com and vrbo.com for condo / house rentals. 13 of you it might be cheaper to rent house/condo compared to a hotel room.

 

Checking homeaway quickly I see a 4 bedroom house (says it sleeps 12) 2 nights (March 28th check out the 30th) --- for $888. Thats like $68 a person if the owners allow 13 of you. No harm in picking up a couple blow up mattresses :)

 

Each posting lists the owners contact details to contact them directly. Or maybe you can find a couple condos in the same location that you could rent.

[letter17]

FYI, we get in on 3/28, cruise leaves 3/29. We get back 4/5 and leave the evening of 4/6.

[capriccio]

Try homeaway.com and vrbo.com for condo / house rentals.

 

OP - if you do this make sure you post a question here about the neighborhood before making a commitment. There are lots of locals on this board and they will be more than willing to give you details about the neighborhood (from safety to shopping)!

[Marie51]

My experience renting from VRBO is that they do not want to rent for just one night. Besides you would probably have to pay the cleaning fee too.

Renting a mini van is going to be more expensive than renting a car. Check the rates for a mini van and see if it is cost effective and also keep in mind that some hotels in Ft Lauderdale charge for parking.

 

Don't let Princess book your hotel. They charge per person so you end up paying double.

If you need transportation while in Ft Lauderdale look at http://www.johnscarservice.com.

 

We used him for a group of 10 and were pleased with his service.

Edited February 17, 2015 by Marie51

[RocketMan275]

Gives you a map of the area with hotels shown on the map. You can click on the hotels to check rates and make reservations.

 

http://hotelguides.com/florida/fort-lauderdale-fl-hotels.html

 

It's going to be expensive.

Edited February 17, 2015 by RocketMan275

[JohninDC]

http://www.sunny.org has lots of FLL area tourist and lodging info. As mentioned above, I would book hotel rooms ASAP because of the Easter crowds. The downtown/17th Street area has lots of chain hotels in a variety of price ranges with shopping and dining options nearby. Otherwise focus on hotels near the airport offering free airport shuttles.

 

From Orlando to FLL/PE is about a 3.5 hour drive - it will likely be cheaper to rent 2 standard cars than one minivan (which will not hold 7 plus bags if any in your group packs like my wife! :o). The major rental agencies will all be open on Easter - especially the airport locations; if a free shuttle is not offered a taxi to the port from FLL is only $15.

 

Book ASAP, preferably something that can be cancelled without penalty, and then keep shopping!

 

Welcome to the boards and good luck! :)

[royalcruz]

You will get a better rate booking your own hotel than from the cruiselines. If it is a regular travel agent, they might find you something good.

 

You really don't need to rent a car for one night. Just get a hotel with free hotel shuttles. To get to the port, either use a hotel that has free port shuttles, or get a few taxis or taxi vans. Rodeway Inn is often the cheapest acceptable hotel with free shuttles each way. It's an old motel and there isn't really anything around there, but it has been renovated and there's a pool and restaurant there.