To early for terminal arrival ?

[mrssixty]

Good Morning All

 

We are booked on the Harmony of the Seas in June 2018. We are arriving in Fort Lauderdale the evening before and staying at a Holiday Inn that is close to the airport and the cruise terminal. The hotel offers shuttle service to the cruise terminal;but the only time the shuttle picks up is 10:30 in the morning. Will this be too early to arrive at the cruise terminal? I read that you can board the ship at 12:00. This is only our second Royal Caribbean cruise so we are not high up in the point rankings:) Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

[mjkacmom]

I think anytime after 9 would be fine, check in starts much earlier than boarding.

[wild0826]

Good Morning All

 

We are booked on the Harmony of the Seas in June 2018. We are arriving in Fort Lauderdale the evening before and staying at a Holiday Inn that is close to the airport and the cruise terminal. The hotel offers shuttle service to the cruise terminal;but the only time the shuttle picks up is 10:30 in the morning. Will this be too early to arrive at the cruise terminal? I read that you can board the ship at 12:00. This is only our second Royal Caribbean cruise so we are not high up in the point rankings:) Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

 

 

That won't be too early. Depending on boarding time you may just have to wait a little but you can check in. I've arrived at the port as early as 10am many times. Enjoy your cruise

[bala1130]

Boarding can start as early at 11 am. I would be happy taking the 10:30 shuttle. You probably won't get to the terminal until almost 11.

[bouhunter]

I would consider a taxi even if the hotel shuttle is free. Shuttles can be a PITA and taxi to port is cheap.

 

Any time after 10:00 is good to go:)

[mrssixty]

Thanks for all the responses. Happy to know we can get there early. I have never used a shuttle before and I was considering a taxi or Uber. There are 7 of us, so that may be a problem. I'm the one doing all the planning --- so I have to make sure everything runs smooth!

 

Any thoughts on taxi verses shuttle?

[SchoolNurseMom]

If the shuttle is included with your hotel stay, I would jump on that 10:30 one and be happy with it! They're all headed to the same port as the taxis.

[mrssixty]

The cost for the shuttle from the hotel to the terminal is $10.00 per person. There are 7 of us, so $70.00 plus tip. I'm not sure if that is a "deal" or not.

[bala1130]

For that many people you may need 2 or 3 taxis? Most of the hotel shuttles are 12-15 person, or even larger vans. Some tow a trailer for the luggage. The shuttles may not be fast, but your probably going to get to the terminal and wait for boarding to begin no matter how you get there. I would take the free shuttle, sit back and relax.

[bala1130]

Just read the post about the $10 charge per person. That would change things. There are outside shuttle services that are available. It has been awhile since I've used one, so not sure of the cost. But they are very good. If you Google search "Ft Lauderdale cruise port shuttle", they will pop up.

[BillOh]

Good Morning All

 

We are booked on the Harmony of the Seas in June 2018. We are arriving in Fort Lauderdale the evening before and staying at a Holiday Inn that is close to the airport and the cruise terminal. The hotel offers shuttle service to the cruise terminal;but the only time the shuttle picks up is 10:30 in the morning. Will this be too early to arrive at the cruise terminal? I read that you can board the ship at 12:00. This is only our second Royal Caribbean cruise so we are not high up in the point rankings:) Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

 

I have done that shuttle for trips on Allure and Oasis, to me the 10:30 shuttle is perfect. Just be prepared with a book, or a fully charged phone to kill time if things are delayed.

[TimeToGetNauti]

They should be able to let your board any time between 1030 and 1130 depending when the people before you finally exit.

[bouhunter]

If you want to save money, you could order 2-3 uber's. We just used uber from a FLL hotel to port - 7 bucks for 3 of us in a car. So cheap I left him a good tip.:) Otherwise stick with the shuttle.

[fwacruiser]

I always Uber/Lyft to the port because I refuse to deal with the madness of the hotel shuttles. They are very seldom organized and they seem like a free-for-all to me. Additionally, $10/person is way too high. I've stayed at numerous hotel properties ranging from the airport to the beach front and the most I've ever paid for a cab or Uber from the hotel to the port is $20 including tip. Most of the hotels near the beach will cost about half that much.

 

Also, our designated hotel departure time for cruises is 10:30, so I think the timing is perfect. But I'd suggest pulling up Uber or Lyft on your phone when you get to the hotel and see what it'll cost to get to the port. Chances are good it'll be much cheaper than $10/person.

[SG65CB]

10:30 is perfect. There are a lot of ships at the port so the bus will be stopping at several terminals, which will take time. Buses have separate entrance than cars and car traffic into the port gets heavy and backed up at the security gate by 11:00 so taking an Uber you'd still want to get picked up around 10:00.

[dpostman]

Last time we shuttled in Fort-Lauderdale, we had to wait for others in hotel lobby til the shuttle was full. Then they insisted we wear this ridiculous 3inch round sticker with 10am sharpied on it on the front of our shirts. Even after we were seated inside, I removed it and the lady scalded me for it and told me to put my sticker back on :rolleyes:. We did not know any better. Cost us 20$ ($10 each) for slow, unfriendly, unorganized shuttle service. After that, we used cab from port to Airport... Cost $20. No sticker required ;p But since you are 7... I hate to admit that a shuttle might make more sense. And 10:30 would be a great time as well.

 

dp

[brillohead]

No way in heck would I pay $70 (plus driver tip that he'll be expecting) to get seven people to the port from a local hotel!

 

Two Ubers and you're good to go. If you have tons of luggage, maybe get one UberXL and one regular Uber. No waiting around, and WAY cheaper!

[cb at sea]

2 cabs will hold 7 people AND luggage... Each cab is about $12 to port.

[BillOh]

10:30 is perfect. There are a lot of ships at the port so the bus will be stopping at several terminals, which will take time. Buses have separate entrance than cars and car traffic into the port gets heavy and backed up at the security gate by 11:00 so taking an Uber you'd still want to get picked up around 10:00.

 

 

This can be a good point for some hotel shuttles. In Port Everglades the Embassy suite shuttles go to one ship only. They run 4 or 5 different ones. The last time I stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66 one of our roll call hired a private shuttle service, we set the pickup time and we all got dropped off right at the main door at 11am. I think that was only $10 per person and the group stayed together.

[Cru-Zin]

Try looking up your fare here: https://www.uber.com/fare-estimate/

 

From our hotel it's $11-14 for Uber and $19-25 for UberXL. We are a group of 10, so will need either 3 Ubers or 2 XLs. Tip for Uber or hotel shuttle should be about the same. Either way, $33-42 or $38-50 is less than $100 for 10 on the hotel shuttle.

 

If you have never used Uber before, Citibank just had some promotion to save money on your first two rides. I have the AAdvantage card -- but if you have any Citibank card, it's worth checking their website.

[mrssixty]

Good Morning!

 

I really appreciate all the good tips! I will definitely check out the fare estimator website- Thanks Cru-Zin

 

Thanks!

[silentbob007]

I hate hotel shuttles. Everyone just wants to get to the port and, especially if there are a lot of people waiting, civility and order goes out the window for ME FIRST! As long as a few in your party have smart phones and accounts set up, Uber or Lyft is a great way to go if you use their larger transport vehicle options. You may be able to call a local taxi company and request 2 taxi vans. I hesitate to use regular taxis with more than two people. On more than one occasion three of us traveling have not been able to fit our three suitcases and ourselves into a standard taxi (it really depended on trunk space).

 

10-10:30 is probably a good time to start heading to the port. Too much earlier than that and you risk getting caught in the outgoing traffic.