Ft. Lauderdale Q&A/FAQ

[cruzgal11]

Has anyone stayed at the BEST WESTERN Oceanside Inn, 1180 Seabreeze Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida? Is it close to restaurants/ shopping? Clean/safe? We are staying there 2 days precruise.

 

Thank you

[royalcruz]

Not sure if this is the right thread but am wondering how long the drive is to Key West from FL??

 

It is about 4-5 hours. Take the FL Turnpike for as far as you can go south to bipass another hour of Miami traffic.

[royalcruz]

Has anyone stayed at the BEST WESTERN Oceanside Inn, 1180 Seabreeze Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida? Is it close to restaurants/ shopping? Clean/safe? We are staying there 2 days precruise.

 

Thank you

 

I don't have information about how clean it is but it is safe. It is almost a mile walk to the main shopping/dining/bar area but there are a few restaurants closer, like Bubba Gumps, 3030, and Bahia Mar (not much shopping by the beach anyway). The walk is pleasant.

[RaiderFaninNM]

it is about 4-5 hours. Take the fl turnpike for as far as you can go south to bipass another hour of miami traffic.

 

thanks!

 

Wow, thats a nice drive, oh well we will be on vacation!!

Edited January 18, 2011 by RaiderFaninNM

[aarep]

I don't have information about how clean it is but it is safe. It is almost a mile walk to the main shopping/dining/bar area but there are a few restaurants closer, like Bubba Gumps, 3030, and Bahia Mar (not much shopping by the beach anyway). The walk is pleasant.

We stayed there 3 years ago. It was fine. Had a really good free breakfast. Right next door to the Sheraton Beach Hotel. Another restaurant not mentioned which is a fun place right on the water is the Bahia Cabana. It is located at the Bahia Cabana Days Inn (a real dump) but the restaurant is fine and real lively in the evening. This is across the street and up about a block from your hotel.

[Cruiseaholichal]

A few years ago we took a FREE bus from FLL to Port Everglades- does this still run?

[mrsaknar]

So, we are sailing out of FL on April 1st, but flying in on the evening of March 30th to spend a couple of days pre-cruise winding down and relaxing. We will be getting a room via priceline very soon, although not sure which part of town we are going to try for. I am curious ~ should we rent a car for the 2 days (Thursday and Friday) to get around town, go to the beach, etc. or rely on taxis and public transportation? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[royalcruz]

I don't have information about how clean it is but it is safe. It is almost a mile walk to the main shopping/dining/bar area but there are a few restaurants closer, like Bubba Gumps, 3030, and Bahia Mar (not much shopping by the beach anyway). The walk is pleasant.

 

I meant the Bahia Cabana, not the Bahia Mar.:o The Bahia Mar does have a restaurant and market/deli but I don't know anything good or bad about them. Bahia Cabana looks grungy but it is a really relaxing place to have a meal, on a marina.

[royalcruz]

So, we are sailing out of FL on April 1st, but flying in on the evening of March 30th to spend a couple of days pre-cruise winding down and relaxing. We will be getting a room via priceline very soon, although not sure which part of town we are going to try for. I am curious ~ should we rent a car for the 2 days (Thursday and Friday) to get around town, go to the beach, etc. or rely on taxis and public transportation? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Go for downtown. You will be close to the airport, port, and restaurants, and can easily get to the beach, Las Olas downtown, or Galleria Mall by taxi, water taxi, or trolley. You won't need a car unless you want to go outside of the area, which you won't feel the need to do. The airport zone could leave you in an area with nothing to do and higher cabfare to the beach; you might or might not get airport/port shuttles. The beach zone can put you a $35-40 taxi ride from the airport because it is a wide zone.

[Music City]

So, we are sailing out of FL on April 1st, but flying in on the evening of March 30th to spend a couple of days pre-cruise winding down and relaxing. We will be getting a room via priceline very soon, although not sure which part of town we are going to try for. I am curious ~ should we rent a car for the 2 days (Thursday and Friday) to get around town, go to the beach, etc. or rely on taxis and public transportation? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

A car rental over those two days is going to cost you about $125, so I would probably stay in one of the 17th Street hotels that has shuttles to the port/airport and spend the 31st on the Water Taxi.

Edited January 20, 2011 by Music City

[mrsaknar]

"A car rental over those two days is going to cost you about $125, so I would probably stay in one of the 17th Street hotels that has shuttles to the port/airport and spend the 31st on the Water Taxi"

 

Thank you ~ that helps! Do you have a recommendation of a hotel on 17th street? Or I guess what I really want to know is if I will be doing Priceline or Hotwire, do you have a recommendation on how I can get a hotel on 17th street?

[mrsaknar]

Go for downtown. You will be close to the airport, port, and restaurants, and can easily get to the beach, Las Olas downtown, or Galleria Mall by taxi, water taxi, or trolley. You won't need a car unless you want to go outside of the area, which you won't feel the need to do. The airport zone could leave you in an area with nothing to do and higher cabfare to the beach; you might or might not get airport/port shuttles. The beach zone can put you a $35-40 taxi ride from the airport because it is a wide zone.

 

Thanks! That is exactly the information I was looking for :D

 

So, when bidding on Priceline or Hotwire, do I simply request 'downtown'? Any other tips on bidding to get a good hotel down there?

[royalcruz]

Thanks! That is exactly the information I was looking for :D

 

So, when bidding on Priceline or Hotwire, do I simply request 'downtown'? Any other tips on bidding to get a good hotel down there?

 

Correct! Go for downtown and 3 or 4 stars and you can't go wrong. You will either get 17th St, Las Olas Blvd, or possibly Crowne Plaza on S.R. 84 (that one is new and is between the airport and downtown areas so it is always possible that it could pop up).

Edited January 20, 2011 by royalcruz

[mrsaknar]

Correct! Go for downtown and 3 or 4 stars and you can't go wrong. You will either get 17th St, Las Olas Blvd, or possibly Crowne Plaza on S.R. 84 (that one is new and is between the airport and downtown areas so it is always possible that it could pop up).

 

I apologize, but I have another question........ On Priceline, when I click on Ft. Lauderdale I don't see 'downtown' as an area of choice. Is there different wording that they use for their downtown area? Thank you VERY much!!

[aarep]

I apologize, but I have another question........ On Priceline, when I click on Ft. Lauderdale I don't see 'downtown' as an area of choice. Is there different wording that they use for their downtown area? Thank you VERY much!!

After you go to Priceline you will see a box on the right side saying "Name Your Own Price". Click on this box and then you will be in the bidding section of Priceline where it lists the areas and stars for the classes of hotels.

[royalcruz]

I apologize, but I have another question........ On Priceline, when I click on Ft. Lauderdale I don't see 'downtown' as an area of choice. Is there different wording that they use for their downtown area? Thank you VERY much!!

 

Priceline calls it downtown Fort Lauderdale (you must click in the name your own price section first).

Hotwire calls the zone Fort Lauderdale downtown-Las Olas-Port Everglades.

[CruiseinNJ]

Does anyone have any recent experience with either of these car services? So far, they both seem like they would be ok to get me to/from Ft. Lauderdale to POM , and the price is comparable between the two. Hoping someone who has some first hand knowledge on them can help sway me one way or the other.

[Sweet Carolina Girl]

Does anyone know if Holiday Inn Express offers a shuttle to the cruise port? If not how much for a taxi? Website says it's only .10 miles from the port. Can you see the ships from the hotel?

[tobecool]

Hi, Royalcruz and everyone,

 

we are embarking from FT in Dec, and we prefer to spend 2-3 days after cruise, either in Miami or Ft. Can anyone give us any recommendation where is better? Besides shopping and beach, what else we can do in these two area? I heard a lot of Key West and wetland, are they far from these two city? I read a lot, and got some ideas, but they are not built up as a good plan in my mind. Please give me any help. Thanks

[mph045]

I am staying at the Westin Beach resort in FLL in December 2011[2 days pre cruise and 1 day post cruise].

 

Can anyone tell me information as to:

taxi Costs/other means of transportation

Costs from Airport to Hotel

Costs from Hotel to Port everglades and approx time to get there.

Costs from Port back to Hotel

 

area restaurants that are nice, liquor store for wine,

I understand its across from the Beach-would the weather be nice around Dec 1-3rd? I understand it varies year to year.

 

Are water taxi available close by?

Did anyone like the Hotel/room/views

 

I appreciate any information

Thanks

Mike

[CR dude]

Correct! Go for downtown and 3 or 4 stars and you can't go wrong. You will either get 17th St, Las Olas Blvd, or possibly Crowne Plaza on S.R. 84 (that one is new and is between the airport and downtown areas so it is always possible that it could pop up).

Thanks for telling it like it is with regard to hotwire and priceline deals.

Although the majority of the hotels offered within a given area would well serve my needs - I will usually be better off by selecting a "bird in the hand" booking rather than risk the possibility of obtaining - for a lesser price - something that could turn out to be really inconvenient for us.

[iluvcrewzn]

I could use some help with transportation. We are sailing out of Miami but flying in to and staying at Ft. Lauderdale. I am renting a car when we first arrive as we will be there two days in advance. Then we drop off the car at the Miami airport so I am good there. But I need transportation from the Port of Miami to the Westin Diplomat on Hollywood Beach. I have e-mailed SAS several times and they never respond. The hotel says that they can hook me up with a cab for $65 or private car $125 but I am looking for something a little more cost effective. Can anyone help?

[eng58]

We are coming back to Ft. Lauderdale on a Sunday then driving back to Orlando to stay, is there something we should see or do in Ft. Lauderdale before we head out. I have heard alot about the water taxi, is there somewhere we could park our car and do a tour or something else you could recommend.

 

thanks,

 

Lori

[royalcruz]

We are coming back to Ft. Lauderdale on a Sunday then driving back to Orlando to stay, is there something we should see or do in Ft. Lauderdale before we head out. I have heard alot about the water taxi, is there somewhere we could park our car and do a tour or something else you could recommend.

 

thanks,

 

Lori

 

Las Olas Blvd downtown

Carrie B cruises

dining/strolling by the beach

You can park your car at the Galleria Mall for free and walk a block east to the water taxi at Gallery One Hotel.

[royalcruz]

I am staying at the Westin Beach resort in FLL in December 2011[2 days pre cruise and 1 day post cruise].

 

Can anyone tell me information as to:

taxi Costs/other means of transportation

Costs from Airport to Hotel

Costs from Hotel to Port everglades and approx time to get there.

Costs from Port back to Hotel

 

area restaurants that are nice, liquor store for wine,

I understand its across from the Beach-would the weather be nice around Dec 1-3rd? I understand it varies year to year.

 

Are water taxi available close by?

Did anyone like the Hotel/room/views

 

I appreciate any information

Thanks

Mike

The weather may be chilly, probably in the 50s at night and low 70s in the daytime. Taxis will cost $20-25 each way. Closest wine is at CVS in beachplace. Recommended nice restaurants are Casablanca Cafe, H2O, and Steak 954, or take a taxi to Las Olas downtown (about 3 miles).