Arriving FLL at 6AM, what do do until we can board at noon?

[Jeepsterchick]

We are taking a Red eye from Oregon - arriving at 6am the day of our cruise. I have read FLL is small and busy - hate to hang out there until we can check in on the ship. We will have luggage, could store it? Looked at a day room hotel, but not being able to get in until 10am doesn't help too much. Anyone have suggestions? We will be tired I'm sure...shower would be nice ;-)

Thank you!;p

[Living4acruise2day]

Not sure why you would need to waste $$$ on a hotel room when you are flying in on the day of the cruise. By the time you disembark the plane, retrieve your luggage and get a cab, it will be close to 7am. Go have a nice leisurely breakfast at one of the many restaurants on 17th St. and then head to the cruise port. You can start check in about 9:30. Then sit, relax and board the ship about 11am. PS: FLL is not a small airport.

[JohninDC]

Book a cheap room near FLL (think roadway Inn) and let the hotel know that you will not arrive until about 6:30-7:00 AM. At check-in request a late check-out (noon to 1:00). Grab a nap, shower and maybe a dip in the pool. About 1:00 you can grab a taxi/Uber to the port - you will arrive feeling much better than if you hang around FLL or some breakfast diner for hours. ;)

[capriccio]

OP - if you decide to go the breakfast route, there are a number of recommendations in this recent thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2440963

[wilmingtech]

We are taking a Red eye from Oregon - arriving at 6am the day of our cruise. I have read FLL is small and busy - hate to hang out there until we can check in on the ship. We will have luggage, could store it? Looked at a day room hotel, but not being able to get in until 10am doesn't help too much. Anyone have suggestions? We will be tired I'm sure...shower would be nice ;-)

Thank you!;p

The outcome may be directly related to the flight....

 

If the flights half empty and you can get a row to yourself. Bring a pillow and you may find a few hours of sleep on a redeye will do you well.

 

If its a sold out flight and your in a middle seat with crying babies all night maybe not so much.

 

If I am exhausted and traveling Ill pay the extra cash to crash in an Airport lounge. Delta and United both have lounges in FLL. Not sure how they are laid out. Usually you can get some quick eats, find a comfy chair to crash out in and grab a drink before you head out. Totally worth the 40-60$pp. Only downfall is I think you need to have a flight booked with them. Delta lounge may partner with Amex so if you have a platinum or higher amex you get in free.

 

There is also luggage storage in FLL http://www.broward.org/Airport/FAQs/Pages/BaggageServicesStorage.aspx

 

So if you decide to tool around the city for a few hours you can leave your bags and uber back later to pick them up before you head to the port.

 

One last thing.... if the weather is nice I would totally be up for bringing a blanket to the beach or a nice park and just crashing out in the grass for a few hours.

 

Have fun!

 

-Sean

[eandj]

If set on some bedtime and shower, then do what John suggested and book a room for half the day. Another option is to cab or uber to a hotel, have the concierge desk watch your bags and eat breakfast and lounge around there until later.

 

The airport gets super busy by 9 on cruise days. And seating is limited. Not an ideal place to sit all morning for sure.

[BlueHerons]

Book a cheap room near FLL (think roadway Inn) and let the hotel know that you will not arrive until about 6:30-7:00 AM. At check-in request a late check-out (noon to 1:00). Grab a nap, shower and maybe a dip in the pool. About 1:00 you can grab a taxi/Uber to the port - you will arrive feeling much better than if you hang around FLL or some breakfast diner for hours. ;)

 

This.

 

Hotwire or priceline an airport hotel, call the hotel and let them know you will not be checking in until early morning, sleep for several hours, then board as late as you can.

 

All most all hotels will allow a late check out.

 

Rarely do planes fly with empty seats let alone empty rows. At least none of the hundreds of flights I've been on in the last years.

 

Red eye flights are brutal.

[dkjretired]

Another suggest if you can figure out the luggage issue is take the Water Taxi. I believe you can take the taxi from the Hilton at 9:00AM. The Water taxi is a great relaxing trip and if you take the whole loop it is a couple of hours and is only a few dollars per person. Great Sights.

[steve20832]

We are taking a Red eye from Oregon - arriving at 6am the day of our cruise. I have read FLL is small and busy - hate to hang out there until we can check in on the ship. We will have luggage, could store it? Looked at a day room hotel, but not being able to get in until 10am doesn't help too much. Anyone have suggestions? We will be tired I'm sure...shower would be nice ;-)

Thank you!;p

 

If the plane lands at 6am, you won't leave the airport until 6:45am - 7am if you are checking luggage. There isn't much to do and cruise lines won't accept luggage until at least 10am because they need to offload current luggage first. The shopping area is at the north end of the port. You may want to Uber over to 17th St and hang out at a bagel or coffee shop until 10am or so then head to the cruise ship. I wouldn't waste money on a hotel just to kill 3 hours but that's just me

[sandiego1]

We also arrive at 6AM on the day of our cruise after a red-eye from San Diego.

 

My DH has a Hyatt credit card so we get 1 free night/yr (well, not exactly free since there is a fee for the credit card). So we used the free night to book a room for the night BEFORE we arrive. I contacted the hotel directly after I made the on-line rez. They added a note in the rez to show that I will not be checking in until 7AM. This way they won't give my room away and we are guaranteed to have it available as soon as we arrive. Check-out is at noon but since my DH is Hyatt Diamond, we'll get a late checkout if desired. We can't stay too long since we must be at the ship by 2. So I think the latest we'll leave the hotel is around 1 to run a few errands.

 

For us, it's worth it to have a few hours in a bed plus a hot shower before getting on the ship. I know others prefer to get to the pier as early as possible.

[Lido_Deck]

We are taking a Red eye from Oregon - arriving at 6am the day of our cruise. I have read FLL is small and busy - hate to hang out there until we can check in on the ship. We will have luggage, could store it? Looked at a day room hotel, but not being able to get in until 10am doesn't help too much. Anyone have suggestions? We will be tired I'm sure...shower would be nice ;-)

Thank you!;p

 

Well, if it's on a Saturday or Sunday when you arrive I have an outside the box idea. Now I'm just spit-ballin' here, so work with me.

 

The Sun Trolley has a free trolley from the airport to Downtown (weekends only), but it doesn't start running until 9:00 AM. You can store your bags at Bags To Go for $7 per bag and then catch the trolley Downtown and then back later to retrieve your bags. In this instance I would not plan on getting to the ship until after 2:00 PM which I think is best anyway because there are no lines at security or the check-in desk or to get on the ship and your cabins will be ready so you can just drop your bags and crash on the beds.

http://www.suntrolley.com/airport-link/

[drychi]

My wife and I have had to kill a few hours in Fort Lauderdale within the last few years. We took a cab from the airport to Los Olas Blvd. and had a great meal and did some shopping before heading to the port. Yes, luggage is a complication, but we are light packers and our luggage rolls easily so it was doable. Google this location and you will get a quick idea of how nice this area is for dining, people watching, and shopping. It was a great place for a few hours and we liked it so much that we stayed a day post cruise at the famous Riverside Hotel in January of this year! Happy Cruising! Bob and Linda

 

 

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[capriccio]

My wife and I have had to kill a few hours in Fort Lauderdale within the last few years. We took a cab from the airport to Los Olas Blvd. and had a great meal and did some shopping before heading to the port. Yes, luggage is a complication, but we are light packers and our luggage rolls easily so it was doable. Google this location and you will get a quick idea of how nice this area is for dining, people watching, and shopping. It was a great place for a few hours and we liked it so much that we stayed a day post cruise at the famous Riverside Hotel in January of this year! Happy Cruising! Bob and Linda

 

 

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http://www.lasolasboulevard.com

[JustinCMH]

PS: FLL is not a small airport.

 

 

All things relative I suppose. It is about the same size as PDX, but certainly no JFK or O'Hare so you won't see lounges with showers or by-the-hour sleeping pods.

 

- For the price of a hotel room, you may be able to upgrade your family's seats to your airline's version of Premium Economy. It is a lot easier for me to sleep on a plane with free drinks and extra legroom.

- I support using the Delta lounge. They have a quiet area in the back with lounge chairs perfect for resting. No showers at the FLL lounge, though. Also, you will want to be comfortable with Delta holding your checked bags until after you leave security.

 

 

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