Ft. Lauderdale Q&A/FAQ

[royalcruz]

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

 

Key West is 4-5 hrs drive from FLL! Besides shopping and beach, Ft Laud has great dining and has the water taxi, boating, water sports, and Carrie B river cruises. There are also lots of casinos, Jai alai, race tracks, etc. Zoo Miami is very nice.

Edited February 1, 2011 by royalcruz

[RaiderFaninNM]

Key West is 4-5 hrs drive from FLL! Besides shopping and beach, Ft Laud has great dining and has the water taxi, boating, water sports, and Carrie B river cruises. There are also lots of casinos, Jai alai, race tracks, etc. Zoo Miami is very nice.

 

4-5 hour drive to Key West..................:(

 

How many tolls are there between FLL and Key West?

 

Plan to be off the ship by 7 or so and in Key West by say by 1ish, the drive a scenic drive? Being from the Great Southwest any body of water will be nice to look at......

[wwinfl91]

The drive to Key West is something everyone should do at least once in their lifetime but depending on the day of the week it can take a lot longer than 4 or 5 hours. Because the highway down to KW is mainly two lane blacktop with a few exceptions if anything happens, an accident or car breaks down, traffic starts backing up. Also the drive down gets longer on Friday afternoons when people are heading down for the weekend. Another factor is the local police as well as the Fl State highway patrol both watch traffic pretty closely so speeding is not really a good option.

 

So just plan accordingly. The views off the bridges are fantastic although during much of the drive you won't be able to see the ocean at all because of trees, vegetation and buildings along side the road.

 

I know there are toll roads between FLL and the Keys but I don't remember what they cost. Almost all rental cars in Florida now can be equipped with Toll card which you pay for when you rent the car, which would be what I would recommend rather than having to stop at the toll booths.

 

I don't know how long you are planning on staying in Key West but be sure to attend the Sunset celebration at Mallory Square at least one evening. It is a real trip.

 

Have a great next cruise.

Edited February 1, 2011 by wwinfl91

[RaiderFaninNM]

The drive to Key West is something everyone should do at least once in their lifetime but depending on the day of the week it can take a lot longer than 4 or 5 hours. Because the highway down to KW is mainly two lane blacktop with a few exceptions if anything happens, an accident or car breaks down, traffic starts backing up. Also the drive down gets longer on Friday afternoons when people are heading down for the weekend. Another factor is the local police as well as the Fl State highway patrol both watch traffic pretty closely so speeding is not really a good option.

 

So just plan accordingly. The views off the bridges are fantastic although during much of the drive you won't be able to see the ocean at all because of trees, vegetation and buildings along side the road.

 

I know there are toll roads between FLL and the Keys but I don't remember what they cost. Almost all rental cars in Florida now can be equipped with Toll card which you pay for when you rent the car, which would be what I would recommend rather than having to stop at the toll booths.

 

I don't know how long you are planning on staying in Key West but be sure to attend the Sunset celebration at Mallory Square at least one evening. It is a real trip.

 

Have a great next cruise.

 

 

AWESOME!!!!

 

Thanks for the info and the toll info, will def take that option! We are staying 2 days/nights in Key West then on the Miami for 2 days. We are so looking forward to this almost as much as the cruise itself!! Mallory Square, that is on the radar now you mentioned it, thanks! Also any ideas on a good place to stay in Key West I have the Sheraton Suites Key West on my radar but no def place yet.....THANKS!

[wwinfl91]

Key West has a lot of great B&B's if you enjoy that type of accomodations. We stayed at the Key West Harbor Inn the last time we were in Key West and loved the location and the people who ran the B&B. Here is the link to it.

 

http://keywestharborinn.com/

 

We stayed in what they now call a junior suite with a jacuzzi tub and a king sized bed. They had a nice pool area and an outdoor hot tub as well as afternoon happy hour that was a great way to start the evening before walking down to Mallory Square.

 

If you interested I can add a bunch of links about Key West or you might want to check out the Key West forum on CC. They have a lot of good info there also.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[royalcruz]

I wouldn't stay at Sheraton Suites in Key West because it is a couple of miles from downtown and parking is scarce downtown. I like to walk to everything. If you prefer a big hotel check out Ocean Key House, Pier House, Hyatt, or La Concha, all in the middle of everything. We like Garden House, a B&B, but the pool is very small. The route down is very scenic with lots of bridges and water views. Take the turnpike south for as long as you can go or you will spend an extra hour or more in Miami traffic.

[wwinfl91]

Good points Royalcruz. The B&B I mentioned had street parking right in front of it as long as you got a spot and then didnt move the car until you were ready to go home again.

 

Taking the turnpike down as far south as you can was also a great point. IMHO you want to stay out of Miami and its traffic as much as possible.

 

Here's one of the many links I have collected that shows you some of the things you can do in Key West.

 

http://www.key-west.com/

 

Have a great next cruise.

[RaiderFaninNM]

Key West has a lot of great B&B's if you enjoy that type of accomodations. We stayed at the Key West Harbor Inn the last time we were in Key West and loved the location and the people who ran the B&B. Here is the link to it.

 

http://keywestharborinn.com/

 

We stayed in what they now call a junior suite with a jacuzzi tub and a king sized bed. They had a nice pool area and an outdoor hot tub as well as afternoon happy hour that was a great way to start the evening before walking down to Mallory Square.

 

If you interested I can add a bunch of links about Key West or you might want to check out the Key West forum on CC. They have a lot of good info there also.

 

Have a great next cruise.

 

B&Bwould be great but we are taking our teenage son who will want lots of beach time as well as the swimming pool time.....

 

Love the links as I can never have enough info!

 

I wouldn't stay at Sheraton Suites in Key West because it is a couple of miles from downtown and parking is scarce downtown. I like to walk to everything. If you prefer a big hotel check out Ocean Key House, Pier House, Hyatt, or La Concha, all in the middle of everything. We like Garden House, a B&B, but the pool is very small. The route down is very scenic with lots of bridges and water views. Take the turnpike south for as long as you can go or you will spend an extra hour or more in Miami traffic.

 

Turnpike south< have to remember that as we will be heading out to Key West as soon as we get off the ship and get the rental!

Have a great next cruise.

[mev]

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.

 

Can anyone tell us if there are any tour companies that we can contact. When we disembark the ship, we have a 6:00 pm flight home, will want to be at the airport by 4:00, so no car rental for us. Would love to take a tour, but prefer not to go throught the ship. Went to sunny org site, but I didn't see any tours listed. Also, we are a small group of 6.

 

Thanks for any information.

[terryde]

We were just there at the Rodeway on 84 Jan 13-14 2011, and I am surprised by the bad reviews on these boards. We found the hotel to be clean and updated inside, and our room was also clean and updated. The outside of the hotel is not as sharp, but the service was great, shuttle service great, they have a great large sports bar with a zillion tvs. We drove down from JAX, Fl, got in after their kitchen closed at 11pm, but they cooked us dinner then anyway. We also were given a jacuzzi king room but had only reserved a king! Would recommend this place for sure.

[royalcruz]

Key West has a lot of great B&B's if you enjoy that type of accomodations. We stayed at the Key West Harbor Inn the last time we were in Key West and loved the location and the people who ran the B&B. Here is the link to it.

 

http://keywestharborinn.com/

 

That is a great location.

[the admiral12]

I am leaving on the Solstice in two weeks. Is it feasible to drop your rental at the dock or is it a pain?

[wwinfl91]

My experience with rental cars at Ft Lauderdale is you either drop them at airport and ride the free shuttle to the port or at the car rental agency and they shuttle you over to your ship in a van. As far as I know there is no place to actually drop a car off at the port itself.

 

But the other options were relatively easy to do. The only problem was at wait the car rental agency as they only had two vans doing the shuttles and with luggage they could only take 6 or so people each trip. Other than that it wasn't a problem. Just plan on getting there early enough to do a little waiting and still get to the ship before it sails.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[NoWhiners]

Hi All

 

We are flying into Orlando pre-cruise, going to see harry potter at universal (I hope), then driving down to FLL the day before we head out. I have 2 questions:

 

1) Anyone care to speculate on how crowded the theme parks will be from April 11-13? This is before Easter but likely coincides with some schools spring break??

 

2) I have read that we have to take toll roads--is this true? can't we just take I-95 down (and that isn't a toll road)? the last time we did this, we mostly took A1A, but this time we just want to get there faster.

 

Thanks for any help/advice

ML

[fllchick]

Harry Potter at Universal is amazing.....you'll love it! Make sure you try the butterbeer!!

 

it'll be crowded in april, but since you'll be there on a weekday you should have a little less of a crowd. Universal also sells a front of line pass, although i can't remember what it costs. You can check it out on the website..

 

95 is not a toll road, but it's so out of your way from the theme parks. Save yourself the aggravation and pay the tolls on the turnpike. It's such an easy drive.....You can switch over to 95 in Ft Pierce and save a bit of money.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I am leaving on the Solstice in two weeks. Is it feasible to drop your rental at the dock or is it a pain?

 

We just returned from Ft. Lauderdale on a RCI cruise. We picked our rental car up at the airport and dropped it off at a spot that is very near (but not directly at) the port. It seemed like only a few blocks.

 

After we dropped the car off we rode a large shuttle bus to the pier. This all worked out great--and we were with 7 kids! I really didn't think it was a pain.

 

After the cruise we took the same shuttle bus back to the close-to-the-pier rental car place and picked up the van we had reserved ahead of time.

 

Outside of a little wait times for shuttles to show up (not much) it worked very well.

 

My best advice: We took along our GPS from home to facilitate driving in Ft. Lauderdale. It made things so much easier!

[NoWhiners]

Harry Potter at Universal is amazing.....you'll love it! Make sure you try the butterbeer!!

 

it'll be crowded in april, but since you'll be there on a weekday you should have a little less of a crowd. Universal also sells a front of line pass, although i can't remember what it costs. You can check it out on the website..

 

95 is not a toll road, but it's so out of your way from the theme parks. Save yourself the aggravation and pay the tolls on the turnpike. It's such an easy drive.....You can switch over to 95 in Ft Pierce and save a bit of money.

 

fllchick

 

Thank you for this info. I did read about fast pass but not sure it is worth the money. Hubby is very careful with our money!!

 

Do you have some idea of what the tolls will run? I also read that we should just get the ezpass from rental car company, since that will save money. except that it costs money to get this, so how do i end up saving anything:confused:? I understand Florida is switching over to cashless but this seems inconvenient for people like me--one trip down part of a toll road. i would just as soon stop and pay cash. Is that still an option for us? Will cashless be in effect in April?

 

Thanks

ML

 

PS: Thanks for the Ft Pierce tip--I didn't notice that!!

Edited February 3, 2011 by NoWhiners
add info

[TrishOB]

ML, the Florida Turnpike from I-595 in Fort Lauderdale to I-4 in Orlando, one-way is $14.70 with cash, or $11.65 with a SunPass according to the Florida Turnpike Toll Calculator. How much extra does the rental car agent charge for the SunPass?

 

From what I can tell on the Florida Turnpike website, the all-electronic tolling system is only going to be from U.S. 1 in Florida City to the Miami-Dade/Broward county line, so does not affect the route between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.

[Jeanine&Jim]

What car rental agency did you use?quote=Nebr.cruiser;27792535]We just returned from Ft. Lauderdale on a RCI cruise. We picked our rental car up at the airport and dropped it off at a spot that is very near (but not directly at) the port. It seemed like only a few blocks.

 

After we dropped the car off we rode a large shuttle bus to the pier. This all worked out great--and we were with 7 kids! I really didn't think it was a pain.

 

After the cruise we took the same shuttle bus back to the close-to-the-pier rental car place and picked up the van we had reserved ahead of time.

 

Outside of a little wait times for shuttles to show up (not much) it worked very well.

 

My best advice: We took along our GPS from home to facilitate driving in Ft. Lauderdale. It made things so much easier!

[cruisegirl29]

What car rental agency did you use?

 

 

I think Budget is the car rental place that is nearest the port.. google it!

 

Sue

[Nebr.cruiser]

We used Dollar. There was another agency that used the same drop-off spot and shuttles, but my brain is fuddled, and I can't remember it. Dollar and.....it will come to me, maybe.

[NoWhiners]

ML, the Florida Turnpike from I-595 in Fort Lauderdale to I-4 in Orlando, one-way is $14.70 with cash, or $11.65 with a SunPass according to the Florida Turnpike Toll Calculator. How much extra does the rental car agent charge for the SunPass?

 

From what I can tell on the Florida Turnpike website, the all-electronic tolling system is only going to be from U.S. 1 in Florida City to the Miami-Dade/Broward county line, so does not affect the route between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.

 

Hi Trish

 

thank you for posting this! After I posted yesterday, and asked fllchick my question, it occurred to me I could search online to get info and I found the calculator:o:) Not sure why i didn't figure that out sooner. When i checked, it was going to cost $7 using sunpass or 8.75 using cash. I think the rental car places charge 2.50 a day but it might be 2.50 for the week. Either way, it is still cheaper to stop and pay cash, even if it takes a few more minutes.

 

We would get on in orlando, either at I-4 since we will be on International Drive or at John Young parkway, then head down to FLL. It was hard to tell from the map! We will also use fllchick's tip on getting off at Ft Pierce--saves $7!! It looks like there is an entrance from I-drive, but it was hard for me to tell if this was further away than John Young.

 

I didn't read that it was all cashless on the toll site and thanks for clarifying this for me as well. it did say that the larger toll stations are always staffed and that there was usually a cash option, although you pay more!!

 

So, i know more than i did and now am only confused about where to actually get on up in Orlando. We have a GPS, so I think we should be able to figure it out between that and google maps!

 

Thanks again

ML

[katron]

Hi All

 

I have read that we have to take toll roads--is this true? can't we just take I-95 down (and that isn't a toll road)? the last time we did this, we mostly took A1A, but this time we just want to get there faster.

 

Thanks for any help/advice

ML

 

Best way (I think) to travel from Orlando to FLL:

Take the FL turnpike south to Rt 60, which is Yeehaw Junction. Exit and drive East to I-95; then take I-95 to FLL. Follow signs to airport, or I-595 to port---

 

We used to take turnpike all the way, but we always hit a lot of construction. Turnpike is 2 lanes each way, while I-95 has several lanes most of the way. It's easier to catch I-95 from Rt 60 rather than going farther south to Ft Pierce--less expensive, also. Driving time from Yeehaw Junction to port is about 2 1/2

hours

 

Kathy

[DMKahlan]

Hey guys and gals,

 

My g/f and I, along with another couple are sailing out of FLL in Sept. I started looking at hotels and I see there are a lot. Does anyone recommend a place to stay that close to the port, inexpensive, offers shuttles and possibly offers free parking for the week (our friends are driving down from Tampa and we're flying in).

 

I've been looking at the Marriott - Airport and Cruise Hotel and the Renaissance Cruise Port Hotel. Only problem is most places charge $ to park.

[TrishOB]

Hey guys and gals,

 

My g/f and I, along with another couple are sailing out of FLL in Sept. I started looking at hotels and I see there are a lot. Does anyone recommend a place to stay that close to the port, inexpensive, offers shuttles and possibly offers free parking for the week (our friends are driving down from Tampa and we're flying in).

 

I've been looking at the Marriott - Airport and Cruise Hotel and the Renaissance Cruise Port Hotel. Only problem is most places charge $ to park.

 

I've been researching hotels in FLL that include parking and shuttles, as we're also cruising out of Port Everglades in September on Allure of the Seas, and I'm leaning towards Cambria Suites in Dania Beach at the moment. It's about 5 miles from Port Everglades, and has a package that includes parking for 7 days and transportation to and from Port Everglades. Other hotels I've researched have transportation TO the Port, but not back, so that's why this one is my front-runner.

 

Comfort Inn and Suites on Stirling Road is a bit less expensive than Cambria Suites, but its website only says it provides transportation to the Port, doesn't say anything about coming back to the hotel after the cruise. Haven't called them yet to get more details, was going to start making calls around March.

Edited February 4, 2011 by TrishOB
Removed question about sail date