orlando to port of miami

[mazz1]

i don't really want my husband to drive in Miami itself so we're trying to figure out our best options on how to get to cruise port 

 

we have some leeway before the cruise so at the moment we're looking at perhaps staying a few nights in Fort Lauderdale pre cruise and using Brightline to get to the port 

 

for those that live in Florida can you please help with suggestions, there will be 3 of us and 3 medium sized suitcases 

 

thank you in advance 

Edited June 21, 2023 by mazz1

[CruisingWalter]

Good morning! We live in the Orlando area as well and I'm strongly considering the Brightline for our Thanksgiving cruise on Valiant. They are getting some pretty good reviews of late and it certainly beats that 3 1/2 hour drive.  I just priced it out at $318 round trip for our cruise for the 'Smart Fare.'  They have a Premium Fare as well at $149 each way per traveler. When Ben and David tried out the train for their recent cruise, there was an extra fee for luggage, but I can't find any mention of that on their website. 

 

Now if you're planning to stay in Ft. Lauderdale for a few days before the cruise there are shuttle services that will take you from your FLL hotel directly to Port Miami. I would probably do that vs. hotel to lyft to train to lyft to port. You can find hotels that partner with a third party shuttle so you can book the shuttle directly via the hotel or simply book one yourself. You can also book a Lyft, it's only about 25 minutes or less from most Ft. Lauderdale hotels to Port Miami. With 3 people, 3 suitcases be sure to get an SUV if you go with a Lyft/Uber.  

 

On the way home you could just take the Brightline all the way back to Orlando.

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by CruisingWalter

[mazz1]

i can see one personal item for free and checked bags at $10 

 

we have signed up for offers and hoping some special offer drops into my email box 

 

our plan is to drive to Fort Lauderdale spend a few nights here and go on from there, fares as low a $20 std and  $37 for a premium ticket (one way)

 

at the moment it seems our best option

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by mazz1

[mazz1]

Cruising Walter will you report on it if you do decide to go on the train ?  🙂 

[CruisingWalter]

1 hour ago, mazz1 said:

our plan is to drive to Fort Lauderdale spend a few nights here and go on from there, fares as low a $20 std and  $37 for a premium ticket (one way)

 

Curious, if you're going to drive to Ft. Lauderdale, why not go the last 25 minutes to Miami from your hotel and just park next to Terminal V in parking garage G?  You're already most of the way there at that point. Just curious why you'd want to do the train, thanks!

 

[mazz1]

18 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

Curious, if you're going to drive to Ft. Lauderdale, why not go the last 25 minutes to Miami from your hotel and just park next to Terminal V in parking garage G?  You're already most of the way there at that point. Just curious why you'd want to do the train, thanks!

 

we just fancy a few nights along that coast and my husband really doesn't want to drive in the Miami traffic he has a stressful life at home so this is to remove some of the stress so to speak 

 

along with Fort Lauderdale we've also been looking at Boca Raton and Vero Beach, staying 2 nights probably in a airbnb or condo before the cruise 

Edited June 21, 2023 by mazz1

[CruisingWalter]

2 hours ago, mazz1 said:

we just fancy a few nights along that coast and my husband really doesn't want to drive in the Miami traffic he has a stressful life at home so this is to remove some of the stress so to speak 

 

Gotcha, I was just curious because you're so close at that point. When I drive down, going through Ft. Lauderdale is usually much worse than Miami. Especially if you drive in on cruise morning, it's usually pretty easy if you're coming in early. It gets nutty later in the day if there are more than 4 ships in port. 🙂

[hrhdhd]

2 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

Gotcha, I was just curious because you're so close at that point. When I drive down, going through Ft. Lauderdale is usually much worse than Miami. Especially if you drive in on cruise morning, it's usually pretty easy if you're coming in early. It gets nutty later in the day if there are more than 4 ships in port. 🙂

Agree. Anything further south than Ft. Pierce is entering Lord of the Flies territory. If you can make it to Ft. Lauderdale, keep going to Miami. 

[Marie51]

What does Orlando have to do with this plan, I don’t understand?
If you are leaving from Miami, why not fly into Miami?

[Pyrate13]

1 hour ago, Marie51 said:

What does Orlando have to do with this plan, I don’t understand?
If you are leaving from Miami, why not fly into Miami?

I was wondering the same thing.

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Because Orlando is the happiest place on Earth!

[thinfool]

On 6/21/2023 at 9:10 AM, CruisingWalter said:

Good morning! We live in the Orlando area as well and I'm strongly considering the Brightline for our Thanksgiving cruise on Valiant. They are getting some pretty good reviews of late and it certainly beats that 3 1/2 hour drive.  I just priced it out at $318 round trip for our cruise for the 'Smart Fare.'  They have a Premium Fare as well at $149 each way per traveler. When Ben and David tried out the train for their recent cruise, there was an extra fee for luggage, but I can't find any mention of that on their website. 

 

Now if you're planning to stay in Ft. Lauderdale for a few days before the cruise there are shuttle services that will take you from your FLL hotel directly to Port Miami. I would probably do that vs. hotel to lyft to train to lyft to port. You can find hotels that partner with a third party shuttle so you can book the shuttle directly via the hotel or simply book one yourself. You can also book a Lyft, it's only about 25 minutes or less from most Ft. Lauderdale hotels to Port Miami. With 3 people, 3 suitcases be sure to get an SUV if you go with a Lyft/Uber.  

 

On the way home you could just take the Brightline all the way back to Orlando.

 

 

 

Good luck getting to Miami from FLL in 25 minutes.  Have you seen the latest hiway construction that is underway in downtown?  Couple that with "normal" Miami traffic and you will easily exceed that estimate.  

[Pyrate13]

14 hours ago, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said:

Because Orlando is the happiest place on Earth!

Yeah, right...not.🤣

[CruisingWalter]

21 hours ago, Marie51 said:

What does Orlando have to do with this plan, I don’t understand?
If you are leaving from Miami, why not fly into Miami?

 

The OP lives in Orlando, like we do. The post is asking about the best way to get from Orlando to Miami without actually driving into the city of Miami. The clue was "For those who live in Florida, can you please help with suggestions." 

[CruisingWalter]

20 hours ago, Pyrate13 said:

I was wondering the same thing.

 

Read the entire post. The OP lives in the Orlando area and is asking fellow Floridians how best to get into Miami without driving all the way into the city. The clue is in the last paragraph. 

[Marie51]

10 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

The OP lives in Orlando, like we do. The post is asking about the best way to get from Orlando to Miami without actually driving into the city of Miami. The clue was "For those who live in Florida, can you please help with suggestions." 

OP says they are from the u.k.

At least that’s the way I read it

[Pyrate13]

27 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

Read the entire post. The OP lives in the Orlando area and is asking fellow Floridians how best to get into Miami without driving all the way into the city. The clue is in the last paragraph. 

Just re-read all their posts and at no point does it say they live in Orlando. Their username icon (or whatever you want to call it) says they are in the UK.

[Flymia]

18 hours ago, thinfool said:

Good luck getting to Miami from FLL in 25 minutes.  Have you seen the latest hiway construction that is underway in downtown?  Couple that with "normal" Miami traffic and you will easily exceed that estimate.  

Eh. Sure in the morning and evening it can be a bit. But on a weekend or any other time its not too bad. FLL to Miami would be around 35-40 mins. Agreed 25mins only at 2am. 

 

On 6/21/2023 at 11:21 AM, mazz1 said:

we just fancy a few nights along that coast and my husband really doesn't want to drive in the Miami traffic he has a stressful life at home so this is to remove some of the stress so to speak 

 

along with Fort Lauderdale we've also been looking at Boca Raton and Vero Beach, staying 2 nights probably in a airbnb or condo before the cruise 

First, Ft. Lauderdale is right next to Miami. The traffic there is not much better. They are separated by 20-miles and its all one region. 

 

Second, the traffic in Orlando is also miserable. Not as bad as Miami and Ft. Lauderdale area, but still really bad. I see no need to think this out so much. If you are already in Ft. Lauderdale you are one highway straight shot away from Port Miami and Downtown Miami. If you drive it on a weekend it is an easy drive. Just stay away from 7am - 10 am and 4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m (weekdays) and it is not a bad drive at all. 

[mazz1]

i am from the UK and we're flying into Orlando, the cruise is part of a 22 night holiday 

 

my husband simply doesn't want to drive in Miami traffic so it looks like we will take the train 😉

however thank you all for your help and suggestions 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

3 hours ago, mazz1 said:

My husband simply doesn't want to drive in Miami traffic so it looks like we will take the train 😉

however thank you all for your help and suggestions 

Brightline train service begins late summer.

I definitely recommend the train.

And if you still want to stop in Fort Lauderdale, you can.

And then continue on to Miami when you want to with an additional ticket.

Edited June 23, 2023 by KINGBOBOFTHENORTH

[Flymia]

9 hours ago, mazz1 said:

i am from the UK and we're flying into Orlando, the cruise is part of a 22 night holiday 

 

my husband simply doesn't want to drive in Miami traffic so it looks like we will take the train 😉

however thank you all for your help and suggestions 

Ft. Lauderdale IS Miami. There is almost no difference in traffic. 

 

If you want to avoid "Miami traffic" then don't drive to Ft. Lauderdale. Take the train all the way from Orlando to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. 

[mazz1]

thank you we will look into this 🙂 

[CruisingWalter]

6 hours ago, Flymia said:

Ft. Lauderdale IS Miami. There is almost no difference in traffic. 

 

Absolute truth in that statement. If you're driving to Ft. Lauderdale, no reason to stop there, just keep going to Miami. 🙂 

[mazz1]

it's good to know that, looks more and more likely that we will get the train all the way down !

[CineGraphic]

On 6/21/2023 at 9:10 AM, CruisingWalter said:

When Ben and David tried out the train for their recent cruise, there was an extra fee for luggage, but I can't find any mention of that on their website. 

 

You don't need to check your luggage, you can bring it on the train...there are racks at the back of each car.