Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale

[flparalegal]

I was checking cruises departing from Fort Lauderdale for Nov-Dec. 2009 and notice that Celebrity is no longer sailing out of Fort Lauderdale. Instead Celebrity is now departing from Miami. Does anyone know the reason for this change?

[cruzmaven]

Don't know the reason the change but between the two I prefer Miami. I've found it easier to get in and out of.

[ellbon]

FLl is closer to me and i prefer sailing form the closest port.

[Xcruiser]

I was checking cruises departing from Fort Lauderdale for Nov-Dec. 2009 and notice that Celebrity is no longer sailing out of Fort Lauderdale. Instead Celebrity is now departing from Miami. Does anyone know the reason for this change?

Equinox will be homed in FLL in Nov. Dec. 2009 so Connie will move to MIA, Century has been sailing out of MIA so that’s about the only change between 08 & 09.

[Orlandocruiser]

Oh geez - I hate driving to Miami (both of my sons went to the University of Miami and so after many years we were glad not to have to drive there again). Of course I don't much like sailing out ot Ft. Lauderdale so I guess we will have to suck it up and drive on to Miami.

[dkjretired]

Celebrity has their two new ships, Equinox and Solstice leaving from FLL in Nov and Dec. of 09 so they are not leaving. They have two ships in Miami and at least two in San Juan. They have for many years had ships in San Juan so I don't see this as being any big change.

[cruzmaven]

The Port of Miami is only about 20 minutes down I-95 from Port Everglades (w/o traffic). So I don't see how location really matters.

 

Parking at Port Everglades can be a pain if your ship isn't docked in front of the parking garage. When I was on the Constellation, I had to drop off luggage, drive to parking, take a shuttle to the ship. On return had to leave my wife with the luggage, wait for the shuttle to get back to the garage and drive back to pick up, a real pain. Others tried to manuver with their luggage on the shuttle, also a pain. At Miami (the couple of times I've left from there) the parking garage was right by the ship. Given the choice between the two, I'd take Miami every time.

[spearmint]

The Port of Miami is only about 20 minutes down I-95 from Port Everglades (w/o traffic). So I don't see how location really matters.

 

Parking at Port Everglades can be a pain if your ship isn't docked in front of the parking garage. When I was on the Constellation, I had to drop off luggage, drive to parking, take a shuttle to the ship. On return had to leave my wife with the luggage, wait for the shuttle to get back to the garage and drive back to pick up, a real pain. Others tried to manuver with their luggage on the shuttle, also a pain. At Miami (the couple of times I've left from there) the parking garage was right by the ship. Given the choice between the two, I'd take Miami every time.

 

Having never been to Miami, I would like to ask how Miami Airport compares in nearness to the Port of Miami. I have always liked the short distance from Fort Lauderdale Airport to Port Everglades.

 

Also, on the return shuttle from the ship to the airport, does the shuttle in Miami also drop off passengers after passing the terminal completely? Normally, this is not a problem but if one cannot walk well, having to retrace the route back to the beginning of the terminal to your airline counter is ridiculous.

[ladyjane550]

Is the Solstice still sailing out of FLL in Feb. 2009?????

[candbgirl]

Having never been to Miami, I would like to ask how Miami Airport compares in nearness to the Port of Miami. I have always liked the short distance from Fort Lauderdale Airport to Port Everglades.

 

Also, on the return shuttle from the ship to the airport, does the shuttle in Miami also drop off passengers after passing the terminal completely? Normally, this is not a problem but if one cannot walk well, having to retrace the route back to the beginning of the terminal to your airline counter is ridiculous.

 

 

Do you know why they did that? That is just goofy. Maybe they are required to drop passengers at a certain spot. Was it a Celebrity bus?

 

Miami International is pretty close to the port. Not as close as FLL is to the port but not a lot further.

[cruise47]

The only draw back at the Miami cruise port: The local cab drivers do not want to make a short trip to downtown Miami hotels (Loss of money to short of cab ride).

[Conrycol]

Is the Solstice still sailing out of FLL in Feb. 2009?????

 

 

Yes!

[Duanerice1]

If I have a choice, I prefer FLL. Miami is about 30 minutes farther and more of a pain to get into. We go there to take the weekend Carnival cruises.

 

I'll take FLL any day

Duane

[spearmint]

Do you know why they did that? That is just goofy. Maybe they are required to drop passengers at a certain spot. Was it a Celebrity bus?

 

Miami International is pretty close to the port. Not as close as FLL is to the port but not a lot further.

 

It was a Celebrity bus transfer. The driver said that they were no longer allowed to stop at the airlines' area of the terminal since the 9/11 horror. He did this at each terminal that we passed.

 

Last December, my wife developed difficulty with swelling of the legs before we left the ship and needed a wheelchair to travel any distance (including getting off the ship). I had to leave her where the bus dropped us off, run down to the opposite end of the terminal where my Westjet airline counter was, hoping to obtain a wheelchair from that airline, only to discover that the counter was not open yet. I begged the United Airline representative outside the terminal to provide me with one of his wheelchairs, which he somewhat begrudgingly did (and for which I am very grateful!). This is not the first time that we have been dropped off like this, but this time, we noticed it due to our mobility problem.

[SCCAcruiser]

For those of you that may not have had the <pleasure> of dealing with Miami International:

 

Firstly, don't get me wrong - I like American as an airline overall, BUT, if you are flying into/out of MIA on American, it is probably the worst experience of any major airport in the U.S. MIA is essentially one giant, horseshoe shaped building, with concourses A-J. They have recently completed and opened a partially new and partially re-built "South Terminal", which is really Concourses H and J. Concourses A-D comprise what will become the North Terminal, however, it is in the middle of an overdue mess of its construction. B has been closed for quite sometime, now A is closed. AA, which comprises something like 2/3 of ALL flights at MIA, uses C, D and E now (AA will have the entire North Terminal when it is finished). The check-in areas and security areas for AA are a mess (congestion-wise), and in Concourse D (the primary one), you feel like you're walking all the way to Ft. Lauderdale!

 

So, if you're coming into MIA on pretty much any other domestic airline, and most of the foreign carriers, you'll have a pretty decent experience. But on AA, prepare for aggravation. Where we live, we're almost equidistant from MIA and FLL - needless to say, we try to always use FLL for domestic travel!

 

OTOH, at least with MIA, unlike the other major international airports in this country, the "air side" operations are excellent; there are almost never flight delays, unlike JFK, ORD, ATL, DFW, etc., etc. And FLL is a breaze as well in that regard.

 

If you're coming down here on the weekend (when most cruises depart anyway), and your cruise departs from the Port of Miami, you should seriously consider flying into FLL. With cheaper airfares (usually) into FLL, you'll offset the more expensive shuttle ride to the port, and FLL is such a pleasure to fly into/out of!

 

If anyone has any other specific questions about the two airports (we use both of them quite a bit), feel free to ask.

[ArtM]

Until the above post, I had resisted posting anything about MIA. However, the message above echoes the negative comments about MIA that are rampant over on FlyerTalk. Whether they are 100% true or not, I am a why take a chance person who will only do Port Everglades departures.

 

Art

[hcat]

We always prefer Port Everglades--it's a smooth run from the FT laud airport by cab or free hotel shuttle..same for disembarkation day. They are going to expand this port so I know the port fees will increase & not sure how it will be changed, improved or made worse? Only time will tell--we have a Solstice cruise from there next yr so we'll find out.

 

Miami port is a much longer trip from Ft Laud airport which is where our local airline goes to... one time we took a shuttle & were lucky with only one other couple on board so we got to our hotel at Bayside very nicely. next day it's a short cab ride over the bridge to the port..

 

This year time we stayed near Ft lauderdale, rented a car & returned it to FT laud airport & then took an airport shuttle to the port in Miami... had so many stops on the shuttle that we literally got a complete tour of the South beach hotel zone--it was nice but took forever to get to the port...And afte the cruis we took ship's transp--the cheapest way--really a zoo. Unfortuately, our Connie cruise leaves from there so we have to do Miaimi at least another time.......But the itin we picked is going to be worth the aggravation on our return...

[SCCAcruiser]

Just to highlight from my above post - MIA is FAR from the worst airport you can deal with, most importantly because "air side" operations are excellent, with NO delays except if a strong thunderstorm is right in the arrival/departure pattern (and since the T-storms move so quickly, even that kind of occurrence lasts 15 minutes or so). The "trick" in using MIA is to avoid American Airlines! A good airline (great availability of frequent flyer seats, compared to other carriers, at least my experience), but a mess in AA's terminal area. Use Delta, United, Continental, etc., and you'll think that MIA is GREAT. Of course, you will probably find better fares on those airlines into FLL, if they have flights to there from where you are!