Flying into FLL to cruise out of Miami

[Ragnrok23]

Looking for advice on flying in the day before (and leaving day ship docks)

It will be me and my wife with an almost 4 yr old and 2 yr old (along with my mom)

Should we stay in Fort Lauderdale for the night, then take the shuttle to Miami, or take shuttle to Miami and get a hotel there? Any recommendations on companies to use?

Also our departure flight is 1:30 out of FLL- do you think that's enough time?

 

[bfamily5]

Our last cruise was this past March break and it was not a DCL cruise. Canadian and trying to save a loonie or 2. We flew into FLL and used Jiffy Jeff transportation. Recommended all over the cruise critic boards and tripadvisor. He was awesome! We chose to go to Miami and spend the day before the cruise touring around. BIG MISTAKE! We paid a fee per person to go to our hotel in Miami and then another fee per person to get to the cruise port. Had we stayed in FLL we would have been able to get the one shuttle to POM (and probably a free airport shuttle to a FLL hotel) On the way back Jiffy Jeff explained he has some inside rates with a few FLL hotels and could hook us up with a discount (an offer a few members of our party took him up on for this fall) Highly recommend Jiffy Jeff!

 

[olookasquirrel]

Highly recommend staying in FLL, especially with little children, preferably near the airport.

Why?

Nightmares happen. Think about it: your flight is delayed by HOURS, your kids have been running roughshod over the airport and possibly missed naps, food has been airport-quality, husband is cranky, flight was bumpy, on and on. Now, you land. Do you want to cram your 2 kids in a shuttle (after possibly waiting for it for a while, still at the airport) and drive to Miami? And now you can't even go to the beach in Miami because your flight got in so late... Friends of ours had their flight cancelled before our last cruise and they were so happy to be able to land and go straight to the hotel with their 2+5 year olds. You want to get your butt to the hotel, have a pizza delivered, and decompress if things go sideways. Bags go missing? So much easier to coordinate finding them from an FLL hotel than Miami as well.

Also, I have a 2 year old, and even during regular travel, if I have the option to break up the trip, I do so, just because he gets tired of sitting still and being good. Find a hotel with a pool, go swimming, go out to dinner, and have a shuttle come get you in the morning when everyone's well rested and excited for the next phase. This is my heartfelt advice.

 

[Shanti]

Also our departure flight is 1:30 out of FLL- do you think that's enough time?

Yes. Ample.

 

[Rabb it]

We did this in February, stayed at a Best Western near FLL, and used SAS Transport to get to the ship in the morning. SAS was cheap, great, and got us to and from the port is great time!

 

[sbridgeman]

Prior to the cruise is up to ya. Personally we like staying near the port so we're not concerned with traffic and we have the added benny of being able to see the ships in the morning and a short cab ride to port. But again this is a personal choice and you'll be fine either way.

departure flight is 1:30 out of FLL

YES! Plenty of time ;-)

 

[anricat]

We've actually done it both ways. In October 2015, we flew into FLL, used SAS shuttle to go to Miami, staying downtown (we got an incredible rate on the Intercontinental on Hotwire), then in the morning we took a taxi to the port (around $10).

This year, in March, we again flew into FLL, rented a car and drove to a hotel on the beach in FLL. It was spring break so this was a big mistake. The hotel was very nice, though and any other time of year, it would have been fantastic. The next morning we dropped the car off at Avis in downtown Miami and took their shuttle to the port.

Both worked well. I think I preferred the former just a little more, but mostly because of the spring breakers. Drunken college kids aren't my scene.

 

[mdrob214]

We are also flying into FLL for our 2/9 cruise out of Miami in Feb. We will spend 2 nights prior to cruise (arrival time is 5pm on the 2/7 and I've never been to Miami so we wanted time there) We are thinking we'd like to find a place nearer the port and on the beach. Any recommendations? Or would you still stay nearer FLL? We may consider renting a car, but honestly would prefer not to have the hassle of returning it.

 

[JW9DVC]

Looking for advice on flying in the day before (and leaving day ship docks)

It will be me and my wife with an almost 4 yr old and 2 yr old (along with my mom)

Should we stay in Fort Lauderdale for the night, then take the shuttle to Miami, or take shuttle to Miami and get a hotel there? Any recommendations on companies to use?

Also our departure flight is 1:30 out of FLL- do you think that's enough time?

We just rented a car from FLL and drove it to Miami airport. Since we had a car we dropped off. We got the free shuttle to the port.

Not sure if this would work for you, 1day rental are rather cheap.

 

[Chrysama]

I'm glad you asked this question because I am kind of in the same boat (no pun intended). We're sailing out of Miami in Jan; and flying into Miami the day before and staying at a hotel near MIA. The hotel has complementary one-way shuttle TO the port. However, we're considering flying home from FLL rather than MIA and as such we'll have to coordinate transportation accordingly. I'm finding the answers to your question are helpful to me as well.

 

[AudMulloy]

Following....our cruise leaves Miami the end of Jan and we are considering flying inn and out of FLL due to lower cost.

 

[mimi2ty]

We are flying PHL to FLL Jan 25 and I'm surprising famIly with limousine to best western Miami Beach to spend night there. They have suites that will accommodate the 5 of us.
I figured the beach and boardwalk area would let my grandson get rid of some energy after traveling and we should arrive there by 4:30 so plenty of time for us.

 

[pershing]

I find the hotels in Fort Lauderdale are much cheaper than Miami.

 

[NOLA0116]

Flying into FLL for a Miami cruise end of January with me wife and 2 daughters (3yr and 9mo) I'm mostly concerned with travel that has car seats. As of now I think we are staying at Hyatt Place near FLL airport since it has a airport shuttle and cruise shuttle is $12 a person

 

[Dahly]

Do you have a link to the shuttle info? the only thing i can find for the FLL Hyatt Place is about their shuttle to Port Everglades, nothing to Miami.

 

[bigturkey12]

I have spent many hours online trying to find the solution to this same situation. We are flying into FLL and cruising out of POM. This is what I have come up with. I am going to reserve at the new Comfort Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport South. They have free breakfast and free shuttle from FLL. The trip advisor reviews are excellent and it is reasonably priced for the time we are going. I am also going to reserve at SAS for a shuttle from this hotel to the port of Miami. They are also very reasonably priced and have a high recommendation on the DIS Boards as well as Trip Advisor. This is the most economical combination that I have found after long hours of researching. Hope this is of help to others.

 

[rcchello]

A couple of years ago we flew into Fort Lauderdale and stayed locally using the hotel shuttle back and forth to the airport. At the airport we used www.ridesas.com to go back and forth to the Miami cruise port. Worked really well for us.

We actually stayed in Fort Lauderdale for a few days before the cruise, rented a car and used it as our base for siteseeing (Everglades, Fairchild Gardens, Vizcaya, Cuban restaurants).

 

[IrishEye]

We always fly into FLL for cruises out of Miami, much cheaper for us. We stay at Hilton or Hyatt at Marina on points which gives us direct pick up points for water taxi (all day fares). Have also stayed at Sheraton on the beach (2 of them), during off season they offer deals. Love the sera and many options. Jiffy Jeff's to port and then from port to FLL after cruise, carefree.

 

[Engineeringbella]

I have spent many hours online trying to find the solution to this same situation. We are flying into FLL and cruising out of POM. This is what I have come up with. I am going to reserve at the new Comfort Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport South. They have free breakfast and free shuttle from FLL. The trip advisor reviews are excellent and it is reasonably priced for the time we are going. I am also going to reserve at SAS for a shuttle from this hotel to the port of Miami. They are also very reasonably priced and have a high recommendation on the DIS Boards as well as Trip Advisor. This is the most economical combination that I have found after long hours of researching. Hope this is of help to others.

We're heading down this Feb and your plan sounds great. Did this work out well?

 

[ajo]

Last year we flew to FLL and spent the night at the Marriott SpringHill Suites FLL. Jiffy Jeff picked us up the next morning and took us to port. It worked out well and was very easy, especially because our flight landed after 11:00 pm.