Driving to Miami, parking at peir?

[DNorthrup]

My wife and I and our kids are driving from Des Moines, IA on May 12th and 13th to Miami for our cruise on the Vista that leaves on the 14th. We've never driven down, but the airfare was a little too high for us to stomach with taking our children. I've read some threads about parking at the pier and most say to park right at the Miami pier parking. I reserved some parking to what I thought was the pier, website was miamiportparking.com, but it appears this isn't at the pier and is a short shuttle ride, approximately 10 minutes away, and is located at 8300 NW 7th Avenue in Miami. Has anyone parked at this location? It looks like it's called JetPort Park and Ride Center and I want to make sure it's okay before I go leaving our vehicle there for a week. It says there is security on site and they will provide us a shuttle ride to the pier. Just wanting to make sure as my wife might hurt me if something happens to her Tahoe! j/k ;) Thanks in advance.....

 

 

Make sure to ask if you leave the keys and they take your car to another location! I pay always at the port $20 a day but u have the keys!

 

 

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[CheapIrish]

We returned from an Oceania cruise last month. I followed all the posts on this site related to parking and ended up parking right at the port. It cost a bit more than the discount lots, but it was so easy to just walk to the ship with our luggage and even easier to leave at the end of the cruise. It seemed that each of the discount lots had detractors and I just felt our car was more secure at the port garage.

 

 

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[BIGREDIOWAN]

Make sure to ask if you leave the keys and they take your car to another location! I pay always at the port $20 a day but u have the keys!

 

 

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I'm sure you didn't see it, but I cancelled these reservations after talking with folks on here and have decided to park at the port. I'll be happy to keep my keys with me! :cool:

Edited April 6, 2017 by BIGREDIOWAN

[NWACruiser]

For the drive down, going through Atlanta was horrible so if you can find an alternate route, you won't regret it. It took us over 2 hours just to get through. I never want to drive through there again

 

I totally agree that Atlanta is horrible to drive through. The only time to drive through Atlanta is at night. That means you get Nashville's rush hour, which is almost as bad.

 

A good alternate is to go I-55 south to Jackson MS. Take US-49 to Hattiesburg. Take US-98 to Mobile and I-10 to Pensacola Beach. Plan on a day or two there. Its a wonderful area to relax. Then drive down to Miami. (Pensacola to Miami is a day's drive. Florida is a very long state east and west, and longer north to south.)

 

Do take the turnpikes whenever you can. The tolls are not too bad, and the traffic moves much faster than I-95

 

One big hint: www.sunpass.com. Purchase a transponder for $5.00. It will save you a lot of money and headaches with the tolls. I have one on my car. In the Fort Lauderdale/Miami-Dade area, there are several exits off the toll roads that do not have booths to take cash. They photograph your license plate and charge you for the toll and a processing fee. The sunpass bypasses this.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

I totally agree that Atlanta is horrible to drive through. The only time to drive through Atlanta is at night. That means you get Nashville's rush hour, which is almost as bad.

 

A good alternate is to go I-55 south to Jackson MS. Take US-49 to Hattiesburg. Take US-98 to Mobile and I-10 to Pensacola Beach. Plan on a day or two there. Its a wonderful area to relax. Then drive down to Miami. (Pensacola to Miami is a day's drive. Florida is a very long state east and west, and longer north to south.)

 

Do take the turnpikes whenever you can. The tolls are not too bad, and the traffic moves much faster than I-95

 

One big hint: www.sunpass.com. Purchase a transponder for $5.00. It will save you a lot of money and headaches with the tolls. I have one on my car. In the Fort Lauderdale/Miami-Dade area, there are several exits off the toll roads that do not have booths to take cash. They photograph your license plate and charge you for the toll and a processing fee. The sunpass bypasses this.

 

Thanks for the link to the sunpass thing. I'll look at that site and read up on that.

[loanshark]

Agree that you're not going to see the ocean on the I-95 route. In most places, that road is anywhere from 3-10 miles away from the coast.

 

Unfortunately, not much to look at on the Turnpike route either.... unless you like looking at orange groves between Orlando and Palm Beach.

 

As far as the Sunpass goes - it will save you a few dollars in tolls - probably enough to pay for itself, but it is not a huge savings for a one-time trip. You can google Florida Turnpike toll rates, and get to the site that will give you the exact rates with and without the Sunpass.

[Swagner36]

If you drive in Illinois much I think you can use the same toll transponder you would use around the Chicago area.

[fatpaul]

Going through Atlanta at 7pm to 9pm would be an optimal time. The bridge work is on I-85 North which is heading out of downtown Atlanta. You would be on I-75 South. However, others have given you some great alternate routes to avoid Atl. even though you will increase your mileage and time. Consider them also.

 

 

The time to go through Atlanta is anytime at 25K ✈️

 

 

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[fatpaul]

Thanks for the info. I'll have to get the exact model of their van, but according to a general search on E350 vans, it might be a hair under 20 ft. I don't think they'd want to spend an additional $20/day if it is too big. I wouldn't if it were up to me. If that's the case, we'd probably just stay at a hotel that offers cruise parking and work out the details to get back to the hotel after.

 

 

 

We rented a minivan last year and liked it. Our cars are a little older and don't have all the fancy doodads, so it was nice having satellite radio, USB ports & a 12v outlet in the rental to charge and power our devices. Plus it got better mileage and had all kinds of room for our luggage and the cooler we always take on long road trips for sandwiches & drinks. We were planning on doing the same thing until they chimed in and said we could all fit in theirs. They let it slip that by taking theirs, we could share fuel expenses. I think that's the real reason they want to do it. Yeah, it would save us our own fuel costs & rental fees, but I'm not sure how I feel about ~20 hours in the same vehicle with 4 adults and 4 teenagers. Our son isn't thrilled about the idea because in the rental van, the 2nd row seating was buckets and he could recline his to sleep. That can't happen in their van. Two people per bench seats that don't recline. My best recommendation would be one could sleep on the seat, the other lay down on the floor. I've done that before as a kid, but these teens are kinda soft nowadays, they'd probably roll their eyes at that idea. :p I enjoy long distance driving, but I'm not quite as resilient as I once was, so all of us in once vehicle would definitely be a challenge. My wife told them that we're going to bring all of our luggage over one day and do a dry run to assure her that everything will fit. I don't blame her.

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited April 6, 2017 by fatpaul
I didn't say anything.

[DNorthrup]

Agree that you're not going to see the ocean on the I-95 route. In most places, that road is anywhere from 3-10 miles away from the coast.

 

Unfortunately, not much to look at on the Turnpike route either.... unless you like looking at orange groves between Orlando and Palm Beach.

 

As far as the Sunpass goes - it will save you a few dollars in tolls - probably enough to pay for itself, but it is not a huge savings for a one-time trip. You can google Florida Turnpike toll rates, and get to the site that will give you the exact rates with and without the Sunpass.

The surpass does save time because there aren't any lines to pay and when the college kids are traveling the lines are long? Some exits you can't pay cash only sunpass only.

[hotsauce126]

Now I use Premier cruise Parking port of Miami .Located @ 1400 Biscayne center 1415 NE 2nd Ave, They are like 10 min from port also with shuttles. they were great its in a colorful parking garage. have them scheduled for my Nov cruise.

 

I've used them (Premier) before and I had a positive experience. They weren't friendly by any means, but the garage was easy to find, parking was easy, shuttle both ways was easy, and my car was just how I left it.

Edited April 6, 2017 by hotsauce126

[MiamiSpartan]

Parking at the pier is easy. The other place can be in a slightly sketchy neighborhood although improving. Just throwing that out there. Enjoy your trip

 

 

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[md13]

1. There is nothing to see on I95 except pine trees! Boring ride.

2. If you decide on turnpike, get the sunpass transponder. As mentioned, some exits do not take cash and the fine is $100!

3. Park at pier. Drop family and luggage at terminal first.

4. On 3/20, I could not find a space in the garage! There were cars backed up waiting for people to leave! I gave up after 20 minutes (!) and was directed by parking attendant to parking lot 2. An open air, flat lot that was 2/3 empty!

 

 

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[JenERRN]

Yep, no way I'm parking there with it looking that cramped! So for those that park at the pier is there a place to prepay in advance or should we just drive to the parking garage and pay there?

 

My husband and I live in South Florida and ALWAYS park at the pier garage. You park and then pay after your cruise.

[sn2792]

When we go out of Miami, we have stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites, Blue Lagoon. They have a package that includes parking in a gated area and shuttle to the port.

 

 

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[Fishbone]

I live in Florida & travel on I75 daily/turnpike monthly. I would never opt for I95 over I75/turnpike. I think you should reconsider. If you're hoping to see the Atlantic from I95, it's not going to happen. Pay the tolls, take the turnpike.

 

 

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[SarahD112]

Put your destination into the waze app for a few days leading up to your trip, at about the time you plan to leave so you can compare apples to apples. It'll give you an idea of the Atlanta delays. Then you can decide which route to take.

 

 

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[aSiAnRiCk]

I used the Premier Cruise Parking at 1415 NE 2nd Ave and felt very safe leaving my car there (it's a secured parking garage and I kept my keys). More than half what POM charges.

 

 

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[NWACruiser]

I live in Florida & travel on I75 daily/turnpike monthly. I would never opt for I95 over I75/turnpike. I think you should reconsider. If you're hoping to see the Atlantic from I95, it's not going to happen. Pay the tolls, take the turnpike.

 

I totally agree with you. I-95 is a busy mass of traffic. The turnpike is a little easier to drive. At some point, they will need to widen it to three lanes from Orange Blossom Road in Orlando to Hypoluxo Road in Palm Beach, though.

 

We have been driving to South Florida every other year to vacation in Pompano Beach for 30 years. We have taken I-95 to St Augustine or Jacksonville a few times. It seemed to be like racing at Daytona, only in passenger cars with trucks along side. (I-75 is not better between I-10 and the turnpike.) Getting the sunpass transponder was the best thing we have ever done for the trip. It is a time saver, and, you will make up the cost of it in a single trip. It was the best $5.00 we spent.

[Organized Chaos]

I live in Florida & travel on I75 daily/turnpike monthly. I would never opt for I95 over I75/turnpike. I think you should reconsider. If you're hoping to see the Atlantic from I95, it's not going to happen. Pay the tolls, take the turnpike.

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We've already established that you can't see the ocean from I-95. That isn't a factor in the OP's decision on which route to take. He also said he'd rather not go through the hassle of paying the tolls, so that's worth noting before you start telling everyone to just pay the tolls. Can you please elaborate on why you'd insist drivers "pay the tolls, take the turnpike." It may work for you as someone who drives those interstates regularly, but for those of us who don't, we'd need a little more convincing. I didn't have a problem taking 95 to Ft. Lauderdale. Traffic didn't pick up until we actually hit Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I totally agree with you. I-95 is a busy mass of traffic. The turnpike is a little easier to drive. At some point, they will need to widen it to three lanes from Orange Blossom Road in Orlando to Hypoluxo Road in Palm Beach, though.

 

We have been driving to South Florida every other year to vacation in Pompano Beach for 30 years. We have taken I-95 to St Augustine or Jacksonville a few times. It seemed to be like racing at Daytona, only in passenger cars with trucks along side. (I-75 is not better between I-10 and the turnpike.) Getting the sunpass transponder was the best thing we have ever done for the trip. It is a time saver, and, you will make up the cost of it in a single trip. It was the best $5.00 we spent.

I didn't experience any issues at all taking I-95 to Ft. Lauderdale. Traffic flowed just fine; that is, until we actually got to Ft. Lauderdale. I've experienced a lot of crazy drivers in my time. I-95 definitely doesn't stand out as being all that bad. For those of us who aren't down there regularly, I don't see anything wrong with taking the 95 route rather than going through the process of getting a SunPass for a single trip.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

That's kinda where I'm at. Is it worth setting up the SunPass for one trip considering we may drive all the way down there and back and realize we'll never do that again and spend the money to fly in the future? Or do I bypass the turnpike, hit I-95 and call it good. I really don't have an answer for that and I'm not getting enough answers one way or the other to really decide at this point, at least not yet. So keep 'em coming folks.

 

I will say a poster mentioned going through Mississippi to get over to Miami. That adds 4 hours by itself and an additional 173 miles to the trip so I doubt we go that route. I've never heard of this waze app until this thread so I'll give that a look to see which way we're going to head down. Either through Alabama, across the panhandle or taking the bypass around Atlanta if necessary. Right now I'm leaning towards going through Alabama.

[Robbob533]

I use waze everyday for every trip. It works great especially in heavily populated areas. It is essentially a traffic social network alerting you to slow downs, accidents, police hidden or visible, and objects on roadways. People ahead of you can mark these things and your app will notify you of the situation as you approach it. The app also automatically redirects you around slow downs for the fastest route. So if there is an accident ahead and you have enough time to reroute it will do that for you. Give it a try before your trip. Have fun cruising!

 

 

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[Fishbone]

We've already established that you can't see the ocean from I-95. That isn't a factor in the OP's decision on which route to take. He also said he'd rather not go through the hassle of paying the tolls, so that's worth noting before you start telling everyone to just pay the tolls. Can you please elaborate on why you'd insist drivers "pay the tolls, take the turnpike." It may work for you as someone who drives those interstates regularly, but for those of us who don't, we'd need a little more convincing. I didn't have a problem taking 95 to Ft. Lauderdale. Traffic didn't pick up until we actually hit Ft. Lauderdale.

 

 

 

I didn't experience any issues at all taking I-95 to Ft. Lauderdale. Traffic flowed just fine; that is, until we actually got to Ft. Lauderdale. I've experienced a lot of crazy drivers in my time. I-95 definitely doesn't stand out as being all that bad. For those of us who aren't down there regularly, I don't see anything wrong with taking the 95 route rather than going through the process of getting a SunPass for a single trip.

 

 

If the plan is to come in on i10 (personally I would take 75 straight through Atlanta) keeping East on 10 vs taking 75 South will only add time & frustration due to traffic, construction, etc.

 

Same problem with i95 vs i75/turnpike. I never experience the same volume of traffic, bad driving, construction, accidents, etc on 75 that I do on 95.

 

I love my Sunpass, but don't think it's necessary for a once a year trip. The turnpike also has easily accessible service plazas & if you happen to break down, the Road Rangers will help you, for free I believe.

 

Don't misunderstand, there are terrible accidents w/ long delays on 75, but in general, it's a faster, smoother drive on 75/turnpike vs 95.

 

Organized Chaos - I'm not insisting on anything, nor do I have to convince you of anything. If you think paying a few tolls is a hassle, you probably should take 95.

 

 

 

 

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[Tiembiay]

Screw it all. Just do the Toll-by-plate thing. If it is all in the same month. Then you get a bill in the mail for the tolls and a one time service/billing charge. That is what happens when you go thru the SunPass lanes without a pass. It is all legal.

This is for the Cashless toll areas. You still have to pay the cash in some areas. Keep an eye out for the Toll-by-Plate signs.

 

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Edited April 7, 2017 by Tiembiay

[aSiAnRiCk]

You can get a Sunpass from Publix for $5. A quick set up online and they even charge you less for the tolls if you have a Sunpass.

 

 

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