Hotel pre cruise Ft. Lauderdale

[OlsSalt]

Can;t remember the name of the chain I stayed at but was taken in by the shuttle offering. Here is what happened. My flight was delayed because of a sudden snow storm in Denver, and came in well after midnight - they said they only ran the shuttles until midnight. So be sure to look for the time of the shuttled. Mine resolved with a phone call from the airport but I could get no answer from the hotel itself prior to this - I was just stuck with the statement the hotel shuttles only ran until midnight.

 

The $10 fee port shuttle the next day had my ship the very last stop after about 6 other drop-offs all over the FLL port - each stop had to unload passengers luggage and then get on its way again. It probably took about an hour and half for my $10 port shuttle. Don't know if you can find out the route the driver will take, but since it appears HAL is the port furtherest away from this Dania Beach area hotel. this could be a timing problem. Plan accordingly.

 

They won't offer departures where you would miss your ship, but it was a long wasted time for me getting to my ship at the end of the route. Though it was interesting to watch the other cruise line passengers slowly depart to their own chosen adventures. A seat mate was getting off for the Pacific Princess so it was fun to see their small boutique ship and learn more about it.

 

Hotel itself was fine - room was nice, breakfast okay, price was good (booked through my United FF reservation). But the connections between airport, hotel and port turned out not as easy as I had been expecting. So time can be money with some of these port shuttles.

[Wineojim]

This is our go to place in Fort Lauderdale. One of the reasons is that we use Hyatt points (which we earn through our Visa Reserve card) and the redemption rate per night is excellent (IMO).

That is where I stay pre and post cruise. I get the same deal you can't beat the location. We like going to Duffy's Sports Bar a 3 minute walk away. 2 for 1 happy hour good food nice place