Taxis in Fort Lauderdale

[pno4te]

We are cruising out of Port Everglades next month and flying into FLL.  My husband travels with his mobility scooter and a walker and we have been fortunate to successfully cruise on ships in the Caribbean, Canada and Europe.  But it's those little things that wake you up in the middle of the night....

 

Are van/SUV style taxis fairly easy to get at FLL airport?  We don't necessarily need a handicap accessible taxi but there needs to be ample room for our luggage as well as his "detached" scooter and folded walker.  We usually get a taxi from our hotel to the cruiseport the morning of embarkation but the bellman makes that arrangement for us and the size of the cab has been adequate.

 

We will also need transport back to FLL airport on our return.  Taxi again?

 

Or should I be looking for a private driver (not Uber or Lyft) for arrival and departure dates?  We have used MJS when we flew into FLL and cruised out of MIA before, but they appear not to service our needs.

[Mosttoyswin]

It's been a few years since we've been in Fort Lauderdale. As I remember you get in the taxi line. When you get to the front, the taxi coordinator signals to a van or large taxi to pull up to the head of the line and pick you up.  We have also used Uber, just make sure you request a large vehicle. Also several of the Hotels that offer shuttle service have accessible vehicles. You might check with your hotel.  From Port Everglades  to FLL, the taxis work the same way. You can use Uber but finding your driver can be a challenge.  Also check with the cruise line.

[pno4te]

17 hours ago, Mosttoyswin said:

It's been a few years since we've been in Fort Lauderdale. As I remember you get in the taxi line. When you get to the front, the taxi coordinator signals to a van or large taxi to pull up to the head of the line and pick you up.  We have also used Uber, just make sure you request a large vehicle. Also several of the Hotels that offer shuttle service have accessible vehicles. You might check with your hotel.  From Port Everglades  to FLL, the taxis work the same way. You can use Uber but finding your driver can be a challenge.  Also check with the cruise line.

Thanks for your reply.  We will try out the taxis for our trip to our hotel which does not offer a shuttle.  I know the bellman will have no problem getting what we need on embarkation day.  Unless something else pops up on Celebrity's site it appears the only transportation offered after we leave the ship is with a tour that we would need to check into more fully, or a trip to a mall which doesn't interest in the least.  I'm going to take your suggestion and contact their special needs email. 

[kokopelli-az]

22 hours ago, pno4te said:

We are cruising out of Port Everglades next month and flying into FLL.  My husband travels with his mobility scooter and a walker and we have been fortunate to successfully cruise on ships in the Caribbean, Canada and Europe.  But it's those little things that wake you up in the middle of the night....

 

Are van/SUV style taxis fairly easy to get at FLL airport?  We don't necessarily need a handicap accessible taxi but there needs to be ample room for our luggage as well as his "detached" scooter and folded walker.  We usually get a taxi from our hotel to the cruiseport the morning of embarkation but the bellman makes that arrangement for us and the size of the cab has been adequate.

 

We will also need transport back to FLL airport on our return.  Taxi again?

My husband travels with a wheelchair (collapsible) and we have caught a taxi at FLL many times.  There's a line (with lots of people) you get in (outside baggage claim) for the taxis and someone there (dispatcher) is coordinating calling a taxi for the next person in line.   Every single time I have asked for either a large taxi or van and every single time a regular size taxi shows up.   However, we have been able to load his wheelchair into the taxi trunk each time.  Sometimes we have to take off the foot rests but it does fit.  I figured worst case scenario, if the taxi is too small I can tell the dispatcher to call a larger taxi.    We do the same from the ship back to FLL.   There are tons of taxis at both locations and getting one is actually fairly well coordinated.   

[pno4te]

1 minute ago, kokopelli-az said:

My husband travels with a wheelchair (collapsible) and we have caught a taxi at FLL many times.  There's a line (with lots of people) you get in (outside baggage claim) for the taxis and someone there (dispatcher) is coordinating calling a taxi for the next person in line.   Every single time I have asked for either a large taxi or van and every single time a regular size taxi shows up.   However, we have been able to load his wheelchair into the taxi trunk each time.  Sometimes we have to take off the foot rests but it does fit.  I figured worst case scenario, if the taxi is too small I can tell the dispatcher to call a larger taxi.    We do the same from the ship back to FLL.   There are tons of taxis at both locations and getting one is actually fairly well coordinated.   

Thanks!  We have loaded Bob's scooter into taxis in the US (including Puerto Rico) and in Europe.  Drivers are always amazed that it fits!  But we will have a couple of suitcases in addition to the scooter so the larger vehicle is vital.  We will keep thanking the dispatcher and passing the cab along to the next patron until he/she gets it right!

[Benthayer Gonbak]

On 7/16/2021 at 3:23 PM, pno4te said:

Thanks!  We have loaded Bob's scooter into taxis in the US (including Puerto Rico) and in Europe.  Drivers are always amazed that it fits!  But we will have a couple of suitcases in addition to the scooter so the larger vehicle is vital.  We will keep thanking the dispatcher and passing the cab along to the next patron until he/she gets it right!

on one of our trips when I had a rollator, we got a fairly small taxi.  The luggage went in the trunk but the driver tried to put the walker in the front, the door wouldn’t close as I warned him, but it would fit in the back with me, hubby sat in front!    I now have a folding scooter which would actually fit even better.   
 

we toured in Japan and taxi drivers would go weird until the guide assured the driver the scooter folded.  Only one Camary did the trunk not completely close and we tied it down as we weren’t traveling too far.  Almost all the taxis were Toyota’s.
 

fwiw, our suitcases are 28 inch, or nearly cases.  We also have 3 carryons, on fully of medical equipment.  While we didn’t regularly have then on tours we did have to get from the hotel to the port in Toyko.  
 

I now worry more about vans being too high to step into! 

[Id rather be diving]

As long as you don’t need a handicap accessible taxi, it should be a quick wait.  Last year when we traveled in February and needed a handicap accessible taxi it took over an hour for the taxi coordinator to get one.  The concierge at the hotel ordered the handicap accessible taxi the next morning for us and the taxi driver gave us his number and name and told us to call him directly anytime we are in FLL.

[pno4te]

I came back to update this set of posts. 

 

I called the Yellow Cab dispatcher prior to leaving home and, although she was very nice and tried, she couldn't find a wheelchair accessible taxi available to book in advance for us but told me that we might find one when we arrived at the airport.  Arriving at FLL we found the taxi area and the dispatcher working that kiosk made certain that we had a large SUV type taxi and everything was packed into the back with no problem.  We didn't even need to take the scooter completely apart!

 

After disembarkation we joined everyone else in the taxi line and had no assistance from the dispatcher there at all.  In his defense, we did not stop and hunt down a dispatcher since we were being herded into a line with everyone else. The drivers kept trying to get us to get in the taxis but we knew Bob's scooter would not fit.  Finally, one of the drivers said, "why didn't you get in the accessible taxi back there?"  Well, it wasn't there when we arrived in the line nor did we receive any assistance from the on-site dispatcher so that would be the reason for that! 

 

We would use taxis again.  But this time I would have my husband stay put somewhere at the terminal until I could find the right people to talk to. Hope that helps someone in the future.

[ProfessorandtheGeek]

On 9/2/2021 at 11:25 PM, Id rather be diving said:

As long as you don’t need a handicap accessible taxi, it should be a quick wait.  Last year when we traveled in February and needed a handicap accessible taxi it took over an hour for the taxi coordinator to get one.  The concierge at the hotel ordered the handicap accessible taxi the next morning for us and the taxi driver gave us his number and name and told us to call him directly anytime we are in FLL.

Can I get his number? I am struggling to find transportation with my scooter from FLL to Miami and back. Thanks! 

[Id rather be diving]

His name is Dieune (pronounced Dion).  954-706-5295.  Best to call him rather than texting. We just used him this past Saturday when we got off the Emerald.  He took us to a restaurant to meet our friends.  Then I called him when we were done and he came and picked us up to take us to the airport.