Cruise out of Miami and Port in Grand Cayman Qs

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Hi Everyone,
DH, DS, MIL, and I will be cruising out of Miami to Grand Cayman and CC. As I plan this, I realize that I have many questions and I'm hoping you can help.

1. What is the best airport to use?

2. What hotel would you recommend staying at? (please include things like whether or not they have a shuttle, cost of shuttle to port, free meals, pool/no pool, etc)

3. What is there to do in Miami?

4. If we were take an earlier excursion in GC (currently considering the submarine DS would go NUTS) will we still have time to get back to GC to shop?

5. Anything else I should know?

ANY insight is GREATLY appreciated. We typically cruise out of Port Canaveral and this is throwing a wrench in easy planning.

TYIA

 

[dcassetta]

Hi Everyone,
DH, DS, MIL, and I will be cruising out of Miami to Grand Cayman and CC. As I plan this, I realize that I have many questions and I'm hoping you can help.

1. What is the best airport to use?

2. What hotel would you recommend staying at? (please include things like whether or not they have a shuttle, cost of shuttle to port, free meals, pool/no pool, etc)

3. What is there to do in Miami?

4. If we were take an earlier excursion in GC (currently considering the submarine DS would go NUTS) will we still have time to get back to GC to shop?

5. Anything else I should know?

ANY insight is GREATLY appreciated. We typically cruise out of Port Canaveral and this is throwing a wrench in easy planning.

TYIA

1. I would check the rates into both Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

2. I would book one that offers an airport shuttle. I don't have any advice beyond that, as I book private transportation to the port. If you are flying into Fort Lauderdale, I recommend SAS transportation. They pick up at FLL and a number of Fort Lauderdale airport hotels. $15 per person They do not provide transportation from Miami airport. http://www.ridesas.com/

Disney does provide transportation from the Miami airport, it's about $20 per person each way. Cabs from the Miami airport are a $27 flat rate plus tip.

3. Beaches, cultural attractions, the Everglades. The list is endless, Miami is a huge city with lots of options. What do you like to do?

4. If your schedule is similar to the one we had last week, you'll make anchorage between 7 and 8 AM, with the first tenders leaving shortly after that. On our cruise the last tender back to the ship was at 3:45. There was plenty of time to do an excursion and shop.

5. Happy to answer further questions. Does your cruise include a Marvel Day at Sea?

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Thank you for the quick reply..We are 313 days out and I'm panicking LOL. Better to know that I have things to get in line 313 days our rather 13 days out--right? My responses are below...

1. I would check the rates into both Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Sounds good.

2. I would book one that offers an airport shuttle. I don't have any advice beyond that, as I book private transportation to the port. If you are flying into Fort Lauderdale, I recommend SAS transportation. They pick up at FLL and a number of Fort Lauderdale airport hotels. $15 per person They do not provide transportation from Miami airport. http://www.ridesas.com/ I'll check them out...I don't mind using private transportation.

Disney does provide transportation from the Miami airport, it's about $20 per person each way. I'm guessing this is to port-right? Cabs from the Miami airport are a $27 flat rate plus tip.

3. Beaches, cultural attractions, the Everglades. The list is endless, Miami is a huge city with lots of options. What do you like to do? We will probably fly early and get there mid-day the day before the cruise. Beach or boardwalk type area might be best with limited time.

4. If your schedule is similar to the one we had last week, you'll make anchorage between 7 and 8 AM, with the first tenders leaving shortly after that. On our cruise the last tender back to the ship was at 3:45. There was plenty of time to do an excursion and shop. Awesome. This is our first time using a tender...This ought to be cool!

5. Happy to answer further questions. Does your cruise include a Marvel Day at Sea? Very Merry...although DS would loose his mind if we did Marvel.

 

[Dug720]

1. What is the best airport to use?
I've only used MIA when I've cruised out of Miami. I don't see the point of going 30+ miles outside of the city I'm leaving from if there's an option. I also don't so Southwest, so...

2. What hotel would you recommend staying at? (please include things like whether or not they have a shuttle, cost of shuttle to port, free meals, pool/no pool, etc)
Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon in Miami. Free airport shuttle. Shuttle to the port for $10/person (I think it's per person...I'm solo, so it was $10 for me). Included breakfast. Pool - no comment on it as I don't do pools. A few restaurants, drug stores, and a grocery within walking distance (a block or two or right across the street).

3. What is there to do in Miami?
LOTS! Depends on what your interests are.

4. If we were take an earlier excursion in GC (currently considering the submarine DS would go NUTS) will we still have time to get back to GC to shop?

5. Anything else I should know?

I've not been to GC yet, so I can't help with that. As to Question 5 - about what? That's a huge area. The ship? The ports? Miami?

 

[dcassetta]

Yes, the Disney transfers are only to and from from Miami international airport, they currently do not serve FLL. However, you can book a hotel through Disney, and attach it to your cruise reservation. It is my understanding that they would then provide transportation from the hotel. But, I have no personal experience with that.

On my most recent cruise, there were people who stayed at the comfort suites north, and they said it included both airport transfers and transfers to the port of Miami. Others stayed at the Hampton Inn blue lagoon, which they said had a really nice pool area. However, Miami in the winter can be pretty cool and maybe too chilly to swim.

I think that one of the hotels that Disney uses is the Marriott on South Beach. That might be a really nice place to stay for the evening before your cruise. It's right on the beach and in an area with lots of restaurants.

The one drawback to tendering, is that sometimes the seas are too rough to make tendering safe. In the winter in Grand Cayman, sometimes the seas and winds are too high for the ships to even make anchor, and if tendering is unsafe, the ships won't stay at anchorage. When we were there last Wednesday, we were able to tender, but all of the Excursions involving small boats were canceled. So, no snorkeling excursions and nothing to stingray city. It was still a nice day, but not as nice as it would've been if we had been able to go on our excursion.

 

[xavier2001]

We just got off the magic Friday, doing the same itinerary. We flew into Fort Lauderdale because it was much cheaper. We then took an Uber to Miami and stay the night at the Marriott Biscayne Bay. It was easy Peezy and we got a great view of the port in the morning. Going home was very easy as well, we hired a car service to pick us up at the port, but you could very easily get an Uber as well. The other nice thing about the Fort Lauderdale airport is that it’s much smaller, so check in and security was a breeze. We didn’t do much in Grand Cayman, so I can’t help you there. I’m in the middle of writing a trip report if you want to follow along.

 

[xavier2001]

1. What is the best airport to use?
I've only used MIA when I've cruised out of Miami. I don't see the point of going 30+ miles outside of the city I'm leaving from if there's an option. I also don't so Southwest, so...

For us it was cost. Even factoring in the $40 Uber ride we saved over $150 a ticket by flying into Fort Lauderdale versus Miami.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I’m in the middle of writing a trip report if you want to follow along.

Can you post the link please?

 

[Dug720]

For us it was cost. Even factoring in the $40 Uber ride we saved over $150 a ticket by flying into Fort Lauderdale versus Miami.

What airline though. I also look at where I get non-stop flights...and MIA has far more options for me for that. It's worth a lot for me to not have to deal with connecting flights.

 

[xavier2001]

Can you post the link please?

https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...uise-on-the-magic-with-mdas-jan-2019.3731510/

 

[xavier2001]

What airline though. I also look at where I get non-stop flights...and MIA has far more options for me for that. It's worth a lot for me to not have to deal with connecting flights.

We flew Delta. Although I researched several airlines and departure/arrival options based on where we live. I could not get anything cheaper than flying into Fort Lauderdale. I live near the Cincinnati Delta hub, so that may make a difference. We had a connection on the way there, but a nonstop flight home. We could’ve had a non-stop on the way but I really didn’t like the early flight time. In the end the distance from Fort Lauderdale to Miami is actually less than from MCO to Port Canaveral.

 

[Dug720]

We flew Delta. Although I researched several airlines and departure/arrival options based on where we live. I could not get anything cheaper than flying into Fort Lauderdale. I live near the Cincinnati Delta hub, so that may make a difference. We had a connection on the way there, but a nonstop flight home. We could’ve had a non-stop on the way but I really didn’t like the early flight time. In the end the distance from Fort Lauderdale to Miami is actually less than from MCO to Port Canaveral.

Interesting. I'm in NYC, so several airport options. American non-stop into Miami is almost always the cheapest option for me with lots of different times. I actually prefer getting the first flight out as there's less chance of getting backed-up and more options if anything happens.

Obviously there is a distance from MCO to Port Canaveral - but I specifically said "where there is an airport in the same city". There is not a commercial Port Canaveral Airport that I'm aware of. If I was ever on a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, I'd look at FLL as an option over MIA because convenience.

 

[mickeymom22]

We left out of Miami on the Magic this past December. We really enjoyed staying at the Hilton Downtown Miami the night before our cruise. We had a beautiful view of the port, and on the morning of our cruise we woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the Magic. We reserved a cruise package. We were able to leave our car there while we were on the cruise and take their shuttle to the port on the day of our cruise. The driver told us that the City of Miami will not allow shuttles to pick up passengers after the cruises. He suggested we just take a taxi after the cruise. We are a family of five with lots of luggage and when we disembarked there were plenty of taxis waiting. We found one large enough for all of us and our luggage. I think the ride back to the hotel was around $12. I can't speak on any airport shuttles, but we really liked the Hilton Downtown Miami and would stay there again if we find ourselves in Miami. There is a rooftop pool that we could see from our room. It was too cold for us to go swimming, but it looked really nice. On the morning of our cruise, we walked across the street to the Publix and got some things for a nice breakfast on one of the terraces of the hotel. We drove to the Bayside Marketplace and had dinner the night before and enjoyed some live music by the water. There is a restaurant inside the hotel that I think you can get included with a specific package.

 

[dislvr75]

1) We always fly SW from Chicago so Miami was not an option. We used Jiffy Jeff Transport. They picked us up at FLL and took us back once we disembarked.

2) Hotel- we stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay. It was pricey but it was in a great location, overlooking the port of Miami (when I woke up Sunday morning I went out on our balcony and I could see half of the Magic- there were like 4-5 other ships in front of her) No shuttle but our Uber/Lyft XL was no more than like $8-$10

3) We arrived early and had two full days in Miami. I planned things each family member would enjoy. We did an airboat tour of the Everglades with River of Grass Adventures (I highly recommend them). We also did a golf cart tour of Wynwood - street graffiti. It was very cool, my son the graphic design major loved it. We ate at a local food truck garden. And for my husband, we saw Dwayne Wade in his last season- we saw a Miami Heat game. The arena was walking distance from the hotel as was the popular Bayside Marketplace. We also took an Uber to Miami Beach and walked the beach and the nearby Lincoln Road mall area.

4) On Grand Cayman we did the early Stingray City excursion. We enjoyed it. There was plenty of time to stroll around the shopping area, buy rum cake and souvenirs. When we were done, there was a line to wait for the next tender but it wasn’t a very long wait.

5) I would recommend Trip Advisor to find things to do in Miami. We had a wonderful family vacation- I hope you do as well!

 

[jtntx34]

I am finding this information useful as well. I’m booked for Dec 7th trip for this same itinerary. It will be my first Disney Cruise.

I’ll be with friends of mine who have done several Disney Cruises. I would prefer to fly into FLL as the flights are much less expensive. But they like to use Disney transportation for less hassle, so I will probably stick with them this time. But if I have to take a different flight, I like to know my options.

 

[xavier2001]

I am finding this information useful as well. I’m booked for Dec 7th trip for this same itinerary. It will be my first Disney Cruise.

I’ll be with friends of mine who have done several Disney Cruises. I would prefer to fly into FLL as the flights are much less expensive. But they like to use Disney transportation for less hassle, so I will probably stick with them this time. But if I have to take a different flight, I like to know my options.

This was our first time not using Disney transportation, and honestly I thought it was easier on our own. That said, it was just 2 of us this time, so probably would have been a little easier either way.