Ft. Lauderdale Q&A/FAQ

[santa24]

Hello royalcruz,

 

Once again you have come through for me! Thanks so much. This will be a great help in deciding where to stay.

[royalcruz]

Hello royalcruz,

 

Once again you have come through for me! Thanks so much. This will be a great help in deciding where to stay.

 

You are welcome. The Fort Lauderdale beachfront has changed a lot in the last 5 yrs, and there are a lot of great choices. My favorite is the W, but it's not for everybody because if you are older or conservative you might find it to be too over the top (i.e. there is a DJ at the pool on weekends playing club music). The best advice is just to avoid Hotwire and Priceline if you want to be right at the beach.

[dexsas]

Hi Royalcruz:

My family will be staying at the Embassy Suites (12/30-1/2) before our cruise. Our 22 year old girls are looking for a fun place to celebrate the new year within walking distance from the hotel. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[K-Roo-Zers]

Hi Royalcruz,

 

DH and I disembark Island Princess on 20th Dec, 2010, in Fort Lauderdale, before heading off on Regatta on 21st Dec, 2010, from Miami.

 

We are first time visitors to Florida, and wonder whether we should stay in FL overnight and use SAS Transport (heard they are good), or stay in Miami.

 

Commonsense says it would be smarter to stay in Miami, but heart says FL may be better.

 

Any advice re above and good hotel - clean, comfy (we Aussies shorten everything!!) and not too expensive, close to food (we aren't into fast food - we like the healthy option - perhaps Sushi - don't do fried food), and need to be within walking distance of a store - Walmart, Walgreens, or a drugstore (?) to stock up on essentials - plus of course, the mandatory bottles of wine for the sailaway!! Have heard op's mention some huge type of grog shop. Can't remember the name though.

 

Do many of the hotels offer a shuttle to the port? Have read that a taxi is faster as the shuttles "do all stops" and it can take a lot longer.

 

Sorry about all the questions.

 

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you.

 

Nicki

[royalcruz]

Hi Royalcruz:

My family will be staying at the Embassy Suites (12/30-1/2) before our cruise. Our 22 year old girls are looking for a fun place to celebrate the new year within walking distance from the hotel. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

That's a good question...I can't think of anyplace near there where young people go for nightlife. Maybe Duffy's sports bar behind ES, Waxy O'Connors across the street, Carlos & Pepes next door, or Quarterdeck (across the street from ES and a block down on Cordova Rd) will have a party. These places are all very casual. If they are looking more for nightlife, they can take a taxi downtown to the Himmershee Village area/2nd St or to Yolo or Solito on Las Olas (dress up) or to Beach Place at the beach. These are all within 3 miles of ES.

[whacked max]

We are looking for a Clean, and hopefully unique small motel or Inn near the beach for one night. Any suggestions?

[cascargirl]

Hiya...

We are tossed up between 2 different hotels, and hoping someone can assist. The hotels are:

 

Hyatt Place - South

Summerfield Suites

 

Does anyone have any feedback on either of these? Good/bad/ugly? We're looking for somewhere that we can easily walk for food etc.

 

Thanks,

L

[wisteria1019]

You are welcome. The Fort Lauderdale beachfront has changed a lot in the last 5 yrs, and there are a lot of great choices. My favorite is the W, but it's not for everybody because if you are older or conservative you might find it to be too over the top (i.e. there is a DJ at the pool on weekends playing club music). The best advice is just to avoid Hotwire and Priceline if you want to be right at the beach.

Hello, We will be staying at the W for 3 nights prior to out 10/03 cruise. We aren't planning to rent a car, but will spend a day touring via the Water Taxi. Will we need to grab a taxi to get to Total Wine or is it accessible at one of the Water Taxi stops?

Thanks for your wealth of information,

Dawn

[highland2]

We have booked the Riverside Hotel for our Nov. precruise hotel. Any thoughts on this hotel? Thanks for all your help.:)

[Kitcito]

We have booked the Riverside Hotel for our Nov. precruise hotel. Any thoughts on this hotel? Thanks for all your help.:)

 

Three of us stayed at the Riverside Hotel in May 2010. The hotel has two sections old, and newer. I was put in the old section witch was clean but dated and the view was overlooking the pool. The resturant in the hotel was expensive so you may want to eat outside. There are shops and some eateries on Las Olas that you can choose from. Honestly I would have rather stayed at the Hyatt or something similar on S.E.17th street for the money. They do not have a shuttle if this is important. Taxi cost was about $20-25 If I can remember right and about the same to the port the next morning. Hope this helps.

 

Kitcito:D

[arpster]

Hi Guys...booked a 3 night post cruise stay at Hilton marina Fort Lauderdale ...hotel looks great but it means our return flight to the UK is now out of Miami :( .....anyone have advice / links about the best way to make the journey from the hotel to the airport?

 

cheers

[mii]

Has anyone stayed at a Homewood Suites in Dania? I have read that it is fairly new and near the airport and the port. any information would be welcome.

 

Mairlyn

[charlnel]

Hi, we have a late flight (6:30PM) flight out of FLL :(. We do not want to spend the day at the airport and we're looking to find something to do :confused:. The cruise line has a few Miami tours, but other than two touring South Beach, everything brings you to the Miami airport.

 

We were hoping to find a tour that did the everglades (or something like that) or even the aquarium. Hopefully they would keep our luggage on the bus and then return us to FLL. We would prefer to not have to rent a car. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. To change our flight is not realistic. Its over 100.00 and it only saves us an hour. I'd rather spend the money on something fun :).

 

Oh, the cruise is Dec 19-26.

 

Thanks

Charlene

[Nana G]

arpster, We stayed there in April and simply loved it! Took taxi to the airport around 20$ with tip. Enjoy your stay.

[b43147]

We are planning to stay overnight at the La Quinta on 26th st near the airport pre cruise. Do you know if there is a store within walking distance of this hotel that we can buy wine by the bottle? Thank you for any info.

[royalcruz]

Hi Royalcruz,

 

DH and I disembark Island Princess on 20th Dec, 2010, in Fort Lauderdale, before heading off on Regatta on 21st Dec, 2010, from Miami.

 

We are first time visitors to Florida, and wonder whether we should stay in FL overnight and use SAS Transport (heard they are good), or stay in Miami.

 

Commonsense says it would be smarter to stay in Miami, but heart says FL may be better.

 

Any advice re above and good hotel - clean, comfy (we Aussies shorten everything!!) and not too expensive, close to food (we aren't into fast food - we like the healthy option - perhaps Sushi - don't do fried food), and need to be within walking distance of a store - Walmart, Walgreens, or a drugstore (?) to stock up on essentials - plus of course, the mandatory bottles of wine for the sailaway!! Have heard op's mention some huge type of grog shop. Can't remember the name though.

 

Do many of the hotels offer a shuttle to the port? Have read that a taxi is faster as the shuttles "do all stops" and it can take a lot longer.

 

Sorry about all the questions.

 

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you.

 

Nicki

 

Hotels tend to be less expensive in the Ft Laud area than Miami. Sleep Inn in Dania Beach (FLL area) and Hyatt Place north in Ft Laud might be good choices for you. SAS will transport you but book in advance.

[royalcruz]

We are looking for a Clean, and hopefully unique small motel or Inn near the beach for one night. Any suggestions?

The only one that I am familiar enough with to recommend is The Pillars. Tropi Rock has been recommended by some CC members.

[royalcruz]

Hiya...

We are tossed up between 2 different hotels, and hoping someone can assist. The hotels are:

 

Hyatt Place - South

Summerfield Suites

 

Does anyone have any feedback on either of these? Good/bad/ugly? We're looking for somewhere that we can easily walk for food etc.

 

Thanks,

L

 

They are next door to each other and are new. They are across the street from Oakwood Plaza, which has a few chain restaurants.

[royalcruz]

Hello, We will be staying at the W for 3 nights prior to out 10/03 cruise. We aren't planning to rent a car, but will spend a day touring via the Water Taxi. Will we need to grab a taxi to get to Total Wine or is it accessible at one of the Water Taxi stops?

Thanks for your wealth of information,

Dawn

 

Total Wine is a good 8 block walk from the Hilton Marina water taxi stop. You should get a cab or suntrolley or bus 40 instead. I think the nearest water taxi stop is at the Pillars hotel at Sebastian St.

Edited August 10, 2010 by royalcruz

[royalcruz]

We have booked the Riverside Hotel for our Nov. precruise hotel. Any thoughts on this hotel? Thanks for all your help.:)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1249484

[royalcruz]

We are planning to stay overnight at the La Quinta on 26th st near the airport pre cruise. Do you know if there is a store within walking distance of this hotel that we can buy wine by the bottle? Thank you for any info.

 

There is a Kmart a few blocks away and there is a BJ's (you need a membership to purchase wine but might be able to get a free day pass).

[K-Roo-Zers]

Hi royalcruz,

 

Many thanks for the info! Appreciate it very much.

 

Nicki

[arpster]

Hotels tend to be less expensive in the Ft Laud area than Miami. Sleep Inn in Dania Beach (FLL area) and Hyatt Place north in Ft Laud might be good choices for you. SAS will transport you but book in advance.

 

 

just wondering, do SAS pick up from Downtown Ft Laud?...heard a few people mention them now and seems like the most economical way to transfer....need to get from Hilton Marina to Miami Airport - and any idea of prices for 2 people?

 

cheers

[b43147]

thanks for your help, Royalcruz!

[Car-Stan]

I have read through much of this thread, and have not seen my question, so here goes…

We are doing a b2b on the Noordam in November. I believe we will have to leave the ship while it is docked (a Saturday), so are looking for things to do in/around Ft Lauderdale for a few hours. We do not want to take one of the ship’s excursions. We would be interested in any ideas people have, including shopping, sight-seeing, going to places to replace snacks, wine, etc. I saw mention of the water taxi, and would like more info on that – where it goes, where to get it from the ship, etc.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

Stan (Car-Stan)