How to Sail from Ft Lauderdale?

[tensixmom]

Hi all,

I'm not super new to cruising but I've only done west coast departures.  I am looking at a cruise that leaves from Fort Lauderdale but I cannot find any flights into that airport (perhaps it is small?)  All the flights I found go into Miami (MIA).  Is this the norm for those of you who fly into Florida and depart from Fort Lauderdale?  It looks like it's only supposed to be a 30-ish minute drive from MIA to the Ft Lauderdale cruise terminal.  How do you get there?  Taxi/uber?

 

Thanks for any info you can provide.

[LHT28]

What airport would you fly out of ?

 Southwest & Jetblue fly into FLL   along with others

[Ashland]

We usually always fly into FLL....Fort Lauderdale...Port Everglades is approx a 10 minute drive...for pre-cruise we also stay in Ft Lauderdale at the Hyatt Place.

 

MIA to PE usually a 30- 45min drive but can take longer due to traffic.

 

Compare prices FLL vs MIA...If you must fly into MIA use Uber not a taxi $$$.

Edited November 7, 2019 by Ashland

[tensixmom]

@LHT28 and @Ashland thank you.  Specifically I was looking at award travel on American (from PHX) which was limiting me (all of those flights were only flying into MIA).

 

Flights seem very expensive!  (Looking at early January).  Will keep your information in mind; thanks very much!

[cary1306]

people take share  shuttles for $20 each all the time from airport to port 

[LHT28]

59 minutes ago, tensixmom said:

@LHT28 and @Ashland thank you.  Specifically I was looking at award travel on American (from PHX) which was limiting me (all of those flights were only flying into MIA).

 

Flights seem very expensive!  (Looking at early January).  Will keep your information in mind; thanks very much!

are you tied to doing award flights

  AA fly to FLL  nonstop  .. FLL  return has a connection

i just put in random dates  so check out the dates you need

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/#search:research=PHXFLL-FLLPHX

 

[tensixmom]

12 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

are you tied to doing award flights

  AA fly to FLL  nonstop  .. FLL  return has a connection

i just put in random dates  so check out the dates you need

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/#search:research=PHXFLL-FLLPHX

 

That's a really neat tool!  Thanks!  I didn't even know such a thing existed!

 

I'd say I would ONLY fly out there if I could do award travel, or pay an inexpensive fare without having to take roughly 20 hours each way.  I'm on limited vacation time as it is so flying to Florida was going to be a long shot, regardless.  It just occurred to me once I looked up the departure port that I had no idea what I was doing!

 

Thanks again!

[CruiserBruce]

5 hours ago, cary1306 said:

people take share  shuttles for $20 each all the time from airport to port 

What ports/airports are you referring to? A taxi from FLL to Port Everglades is less than $20 for the taxi, not per person. From MIA to Port Everglades, a shuttle is more than $20, IIRC.

[Tapi]

5 hours ago, tensixmom said:

I was looking at award travel on American (from PHX) which was limiting me (all of those flights were only flying into MIA).

American has a huge hub in MIA, which explains why you’d get more results to that airport than FLL if you’re limiting your search to just AA. 
 

If you expand your search to other airlines though, you may find cheaper fares going into FLL since most low cost carriers fly from there. Spirit, JetBlue and Southwest all have a large presence in FLL. In addition to all the majors. FLL handles more domestic flights than MIA. 
 

No matter which airport you fly into, MIA or FLL, the drive isn’t that long to the port. There are times when I’ve cruise out of FLL and flown into MIA, and there are times when I’ve cruise out of MIA and flown into FLL. They are all interchangeable in my opinion. The time difference doesn’t faze me. 

Edited November 7, 2019 by Tapi

[JohninDC]

6 hours ago, tensixmom said:

That's a really neat tool!  Thanks!  I didn't even know such a thing existed!

 

I'd say I would ONLY fly out there if I could do award travel, or pay an inexpensive fare without having to take roughly 20 hours each way.  I'm on limited vacation time as it is so flying to Florida was going to be a long shot, regardless.  It just occurred to me once I looked up the departure port that I had no idea what I was doing!

 

Thanks again!

If you can get award tickets into MIA airport it's not a big deal to get from there to Fort Lauderdale and Port Everglades.  You can stay in either Miami or fort Lauderdale - an Uber from MIA to FLL area hotels will run about $35-40, depending upon where your hotel is located.  www.sunny.org has lots of FLL area hotel and tourist info.  If you want to see something of Miami choose to stay downtown - hotels in the Mary Brickell area are very popular with lots of nearby dining options.  Uber/Lyft from MIA to downtown hotels will run under $20.

 

Post cruise you can Uber/Lyft from Port Everglades to MIA for your return flight again for about $40 - I would book a flight leaving after noon as the ride takes 45+ minutes depending upon traffic/day of the week.  Good luck with your planning! 

[LHT28]

10 hours ago, tensixmom said:

That's a really neat tool!  Thanks!  I didn't even know such a thing existed!

 

I'd say I would ONLY fly out there if I could do award travel, or pay an inexpensive fare without having to take roughly 20 hours each way.  I'm on limited vacation time as it is so flying to Florida was going to be a long shot, regardless.  It just occurred to me once I looked up the departure port that I had no idea what I was doing!

 

Thanks again!

I cannot imagine flights taking 20 hrs from PHX to FLL 😱

AA  has a non stop  taking 4hrs to FLL

a R/T is under $250  ..I would save your points for  a bigger trip

JMO