Fly into FLL and cruising from Port of Miami

[sunandfunatsea]

For others that have done this....

 

Is it better to shuttle to Hotel stay over night in FLL and go to the port in the morning ? Or stay at Hotel near the Port of Miami ?

 

Is there a hotel that 14 people could walk to the ship from the hotel ?

3 of them are kids .. 5,7,9

 

Thanks in advance for the info...

[Visa711]

I can't tell you what is the best thing to do but I can tell you what we did!

 

We left on Carnival Triumph on a Saturday. We flew in to FLL on Friday night, and stayed at the Hampton Inn close to the FLL airport. They had a free shuttle & picked us up right away when we called. Then we used the company called Sun and Moon to pick us up at the Hampton Inn around 10 a.m. on Saturday (google them - I contacted them by email but don't have it anymore). They were prompt & we have no complaints. We were on the ship's deck having drinks by 11:30!! That worked out great for us!

[rebelinfl]

Well it really depends on a number of factors. What time are you arriving? What do you want to do? How is cost playing a factor? If arriving early do you want to go out and see things or just stay pretty much in the hotel and take advantage of what the hotel offers? If you want to go out and see things then I wouldn't recommend staying near the Port or MIA but Miami Beach. Although South Beach at night is not really a kid friendly destination. If you don't mind staying in FLL you could stay at a nice hotel near the Ft. Lauderdale airport that is going to be less costly than in Miami.

 

With that many people either way you are going to have to use a private company for shuttle service. http://www.floridasunshineshuttle.com offers the best pricing from Ft. Lauderdale lower than TFOrlando ( doesn't have very good reviews) and also lower than http://www.miamibeach411.com . They also can book a hotel for you in Ft. Lauderdale which is a very nice Comfort Inn. I do believe they book in Miami as well, might want to ask them. They have special pricing and we only paid $95 (2A and 2 Kids) total with taxes for a night.

[wiskt]

Thanks for the info. I am also planning on doing this with our group of 15 in Sept leaving on the Destiny.

 

All of us are coming in the night before and were planning on staying at a hotel in MIAMI. The cost is a little lower if you stay somewhere between FLL & MIA rather than right downtown at the MIA port.

 

A shuttle service seems the best way but also check with your hotel. Some also offer a free shuttle service from the airports. Then you only need to arrange a paid shuttle to the port.

 

I believe the Hilton MIA is only about 6 blocks from the port. Most are close especially if they are near the airport.

 

If you get any othe good prices or ref's for a shuttle service to take you in the morning to the pier pass it on. THANKS

[cot427]

We had a similar experience last October, altough we had 12, not 14. Anyway, we flew into FLL on USair and cruised out of Miami, on the Freedom of the Seas.

 

Anyway, we chose Sleep Inn Dania about 10 minutes from the FLL airport. My mom got a AAA rate online, and we only got 2 rooms for the night 6 in each because there were 2 queen beds and a pullout couch in each, so 6 beds, two people each.

 

The room we had was considered a suite, but they have other rooms, with just 2 queens or 1 king.

 

Sleep Inn shuttles you for free from FLL to the hotel, and they have a comp continental breakfast, with warm waffles and eggs, etc. The have an okay pool, the hotel was clean, the room was clean, and there were 3 okay restaurants, a dollar store, a supermarket, and a drug store within walking distance.

 

After one night there, we hired a private transportation service called Quality Limo Service to port of miami that day, and then back to FLL airport after the cruise. They were great, clean van, nice people, and reasonably priced. (Actually, we are using them this year again, and they quoted the exact same fare).

 

Quality Limo Service's website is : http://qualitylimoservice.com/default.aspx?pageid=1

 

Sleep Inn Dania's website is :

http://www.sleepinn.com/ires/en-US/html/HotelInfo?hotel=FL664

 

Any other questions, i'll be happy to answer them.

[Guest moe46]

Last week we flew into FLL and stayed at the Laquinta (Hollywood) which had a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel. We had a shuttle service (www.ridesas.com) pick us up the next morning to shuttle us to Port of Miami. Worked out great for us.

[sanditoes4]

Moe46: about how much did that cost you?????

[Guest moe46]

$13 per person each way. That price required a min. of 4 people.

[cruisewiththekids]

Moe46, just curious what transportation you used to get from POM back to FLL and what the cost was.

[oogeyboots]

would like this info also, Thanks Lynn

[MomtoCCC]

Last week we flew into FLL and stayed at the Laquinta (Hollywood) which had a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel. We had a shuttle service (www.ridesas.com) pick us up the next morning to shuttle us to Port of Miami. Worked out great for us.

 

Did you like LaQuinta in Hollywood?

[Guest moe46]

It was very basic but it was fine. The shuttle service and location was good but the breakfast and service was below par. We had to pick up everything (that should have been provided in the room) at the front desk and the attitude there was not very good.

[hockeymom97]

Last Dec we flew into FLL and used GO shuttle to take us to MIA. It was only $64 for a private town card for the 3 of us, however I do know that they also have mini-van type shuttle service for larger groups and I think that is $18 per person? If you search for posts by "Bequia", she has a lot of useful info about the FFL area an getting to MIA from there. You can also do a Google search for GO shuttle in Ft lauderdale and you'll find all the info you need.

 

So we paid $64 to get to MIA and we were at out hotel (Hyatt downtown MIA) within about an hour after getting off the plane. We only paid about $85 for our hotel romm thru Priceline. So it only cost about $150 for us to fly in a day early - not too bad :p

 

Would definitely recommend the GO shuttle service as being the cheapest way to get from FLL to MIA. Will definitely use them again....

[BlueHerons]

Is there a hotel that 14 people could walk to the ship from the hotel ?

3 of them are kids .. 5,7,9

 

Thanks in advance for the info...

 

No. You would never make it to the port alive. It is one a very very busy highway.

 

I would stay somewhere like the Doubletree Coconut Grove which is in a fantastic area, you can walk to shopping and dining, and is a short cab ride to the port.

 

I would not stay downtown.

[hockeymom97]

No. You would never make it to the port alive. It is one a very very busy highway.

 

I would stay somewhere like the Doubletree Coconut Grove which is in a fantastic area, you can walk to shopping and dining, and is a short cab ride to the port.

 

I would not stay downtown.

 

I don't suppose you can see the ships come in at all from the Doubletree? I've had great experiences with Doubletree in the past and wouldn't mind staying there, however I do really like waking up and seeing the ships in the morning. That's the primary reason for us staying downtown.

[SNJCruzers]

Take the tri-rail train from the Fort Lauderdale airport to the Miami airport...it costs 3 bucks one way...it takes 42 minutes. they have a free shuttle at the airport that takes you to the nearby train station. The end of the line is near the Miami airport, after getting back on another free shuttle, you're now at the Miami airport and it only cost you 3 bucks....now you take your free shuttle to a hotel that offers free port shuttles the following morning like the Red Roof Inn...there are other options available hotel wise..do a search on the forum...

Being frugal like this enables you to be able to spend more freely while cruising and treat yourself to the supper club or have that extra drink or 2 or 3....:rolleyes:

[dptt]

How Dependable is this shuttle service. We are thinking about using them. Thank you.

Well it really depends on a number of factors. What time are you arriving? What do you want to do? How is cost playing a factor? If arriving early do you want to go out and see things or just stay pretty much in the hotel and take advantage of what the hotel offers? If you want to go out and see things then I wouldn't recommend staying near the Port or MIA but Miami Beach. Although South Beach at night is not really a kid friendly destination. If you don't mind staying in FLL you could stay at a nice hotel near the Ft. Lauderdale airport that is going to be less costly than in Miami.

 

With that many people either way you are going to have to use a private company for shuttle service. http://www.floridasunshineshuttle.com offers the best pricing from Ft. Lauderdale lower than TFOrlando ( doesn't have very good reviews) and also lower than http://www.miamibeach411.com . They also can book a hotel for you in Ft. Lauderdale which is a very nice Comfort Inn. I do believe they book in Miami as well, might want to ask them. They have special pricing and we only paid $95 (2A and 2 Kids) total with taxes for a night.

[poochierebelbear]

Take the tri-rail train from the Fort Lauderdale airport to the Miami airport...it costs 3 bucks one way...it takes 42 minutes. they have a free shuttle at the airport that takes you to the nearby train station. The end of the line is near the Miami airport, after getting back on another free shuttle, you're now at the Miami airport and it only cost you 3 bucks....now you take your free shuttle to a hotel that offers free port shuttles the following morning like the Red Roof Inn...there are other options available hotel wise..do a search on the forum...

Being frugal like this enables you to be able to spend more freely while cruising and treat yourself to the supper club or have that extra drink or 2 or 3....:rolleyes:

 

Perfect! Thanks. This will definitely be a backup plan if my first one falls through. My original plan is to go on priceline to book a 4 star hotel (surely they have free shuttle) and I will see if they will have a shuttle pick us up from FLL (if they don't think this is too far) and if not, then I'm going to try this (going to the MIA and have them pick us up from there). I want to stay in Downtown Miami because I won't have to worry about all that driving the day of. I'll be too excited already. Also, it is near nice places to eat in shop like Bayside Marketplace.

 

Never been to Miami, does that sound ok or do I need to tweek something? :cool:

[floridacruiser63]

For others that have done this....

 

Is it better to shuttle to Hotel stay over night in FLL and go to the port in the morning ? Or stay at Hotel near the Port of Miami ?

 

Is there a hotel that 14 people could walk to the ship from the hotel ?

3 of them are kids .. 5,7,9

 

Thanks in advance for the info...

There are no hotels right at the Port of Miami, you must first cross the bridge that will take you into the port.

[floridacruiser63]

Perfect! Thanks. This will definitely be a backup plan if my first one falls through. My original plan is to go on priceline to book a 4 star hotel (surely they have free shuttle) and I will see if they will have a shuttle pick us up from FLL (if they don't think this is too far) and if not, then I'm going to try this (going to the MIA and have them pick us up from there). I want to stay in Downtown Miami because I won't have to worry about all that driving the day of. I'll be too excited already. Also, it is near nice places to eat in shop like Bayside Marketplace.

 

Never been to Miami, does that sound ok or do I need to tweek something? :cool:

 

I truly hope you will enjoy your visit to Miami, as well as your cruise. Lots of people have been able to book the Intercontinental (Downtown) or the Hyatt Regency Downtown for great prices through Priceline. They are both great hotels. The Marriott and the Hilton are also very good.:)

[cruising grandma]

Perfect! Thanks. This will definitely be a backup plan if my first one falls through. My original plan is to go on priceline to book a 4 star hotel (surely they have free shuttle) and I will see if they will have a shuttle pick us up from FLL (if they don't think this is too far) and if not, then I'm going to try this (going to the MIA and have them pick us up from there). I want to stay in Downtown Miami because I won't have to worry about all that driving the day of. I'll be too excited already. Also, it is near nice places to eat in shop like Bayside Marketplace.

 

Never been to Miami, does that sound ok or do I need to tweek something? :cool:

 

 

If you are flying into Fort Lauderdale and staying in downtown Miami, and cruising out of Port of Miami, you can get GoShuttle from FLL to your hotel($18 pp for shared ride or $64 (not pp, per limo) for private limo up to 4 people. The hotels in downtowm Miami do not have comp. shuttles to or from anywhere. The taxis will take you to/from Miami airport to the downtown Miami hotels, and to the port of Miami. Hyatt, Holiday Inn and Intercontinental are within walking distance to Bayside. There is also a comp. tram people mover that takes you from Hyatt to Bayside, but kind of scary at times. Taxis are also available for Bayside.

[HMSDingy]

If you are flying into Fort Lauderdale and staying in downtown Miami, and cruising out of Port of Miami, you can get GoShuttle from FLL to your hotel($18 pp for shared ride or $64 (not pp, per limo) for private limo up to 4 people. The hotels in downtowm Miami do not have comp. shuttles to or from anywhere. The taxis will take you to/from Miami airport to the downtown Miami hotels, and to the port of Miami. Hyatt, Holiday Inn and Intercontinental are within walking distance to Bayside. There is also a comp. tram people mover that takes you from Hyatt to Bayside, but kind of scary at times. Taxis are also available for Bayside.

 

I was quoted $48 for 2 for a shuttle from FLL to La Quinta Miam East with GoShuttle. La Quinta offes a complimentary shuttle to POM. Post cruise I've booked a car with Dollar for $19, will drive to La Quinta Hollywood, leave the car in Ft. Lauderdale and take the complimentary shuttle to FLL.