distance from fort lauderdale airport to pier? and port canaveral

Hi

I have been on 3 cruises that all sailed from Miami

I would like to try some other options. what is the distance from airport to pier?

Also I wondered about port canvaeral, what airport do you use for that pier?

and whats the distance to pier

I like to book my own air to save money but have to figure out distance to plan time of flights.

thanks all

I love to sail from Ft. Lauderdale. The airport is about 2 or 3 miles to the pier and hotels are all very close as well. Cab rides are never more than $12 - $15 for airport to hotels and hotels to the pier.

As far as Port Canaveral, you would fly into Orlando and its about a 40 minute ride to the pier. Hotel options, from what I understand, are more limited than Ft. Lauderdale or Miami.

I would also highly recommend you fly a day ahead, any delay's along with line could put you in jeopardy of missing your ship.

We cruised out of Port Canavaral last year, we planned everything without "cruise air" The air fare savings was about $100 each, however we rented a limo for the trip to the port and return ($225) OuR flight was delayed and we barely made the ship departure by 15 minutes. We are going this November out of Ft lauderdale, the airport is reasonable close, however I once again tried to make reservations independent of the cruise line,I saved $90 per person. The transfer to the ship is $15. I booked on Spirit Air, they recently advised me they change the itiniery, we would have missed the cruise. I now book all air through the cruise line, I let them worry about getting me there on time, It's worth the extra Money and includes all the transfers. No more worries about getting there on time, if they screw up I get a free trip to the next port.

I strongly disagree with booking the air through the cruise line... There are NO guarantees you'll make the ship by doing that whatsoever. They won't hold the ship unless there are a LARGE number of people delayed, and then they'll only hold it for a relatively short time. They'll merely fly you on to the next port if "they" screw up.

Cruise line air isn't booked until about 45 days out and you get stuck with whatever they get the best deal on, which frequently means very odd connections, strange times, etc. It's not only cheaper in most cases to book your own, it's also far more convenient to get the flights and times you want.

However... NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU FLY TO A PORT ON THE DAY OF YOUR CRUISE!!!... ALWAYS fly in at least a day early!!! There are just too many things that can happen with delayed/cancelled flights, mechanical/weather problems, delayed baggage, etc... Flying in early and spending the night before your cruise in a local hotel enables you to get on the ship by noon, well rested, and able to fully enjoy that first day onboard that you have paid for!

Don't bother booking ship's transfers from FLL to Port Everglades, they're adjacent, no more than 5-10 minutes apart and the cab ride is less than $10 - Much cheaper, and far more convenient than the cruise line's transfer!

I second the above poster...

To book on your on will more than likely save you money... unless you are talking Alaska, or something with 2 different airports involved, then it might be worth using the cruise air... not sure though.

Last year we booked our air through RCCL, Philly to Galveston. The flights were horribly inconvenient. With long lay-overs, etc. We got to the ship less than an hour before the ship was scheduled to set sail. We were exhausted, hot, weary... you name it! Return flight was just as bad.

From that point forward, I vowed to get my own air. The past 2 cruises (and the next one coming up in November) I've saved alot of money, was able to fly in the night before, and start my cruise rested, relaxed and ready to vacation!

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

Good Luck!

A~:)

Hi we flew from Seattle to melbourne instead of orlando in April. It cost more and the shuttle was 35$ for 2 from the pier to the airport. we stayed in cocoa beach and the shuttle from our hotel to the pier was 8$. All in all it cost us close to the same to fly into melbourne as it did to fly into orlando and we did not have a 45 minute drive. The melbourne airport was much smaller and quieter than orlando too.

First of all, I must disagree somewhat with the last poster. We live in Orlando, while many of our family members live in Melbourne and Palm Bay. Believe me when I tell you that the driving time from Orlando International to Port Canaveral (about 45 minutes on SR 528) is about the same as the driving time from Melbourne airport to the port. But your options for flights to Orlando is very much better from just about anywhere than it would be to Melbourne, a nice but small regional airport with a limited selection of airlines and flights.

As to the question of booking air through the cruise line, I must agree with those who advise against it. Living in Florida, we usually can drive to the ports for our cruises. But last year we were sailing in the Baltic Sea, so we decided to let NCL book our air transportation. Big mistake! As a previous poster pointed out, the cruise lines apparently wait until the 11th hour in order to get the lowest price. So instead of NCL booking us directly to London out of Orlando, we found ourselves flying Orlando to Chicago with a one hour connection to Heathrow on the day before our cruise. If all went well, we would arrive in London around 10:00 am on departure day and could expect to arrive in Dover in plenty of time for our 4:00 pm sailing.

But all did not go well. Our 5:30 pm American flight from Orlando departed one hour late, getting us to O'Hare at the scheduled departure time for our flight to London. Not to worry...there was a mechanical problem with the 767 at O'Hare and a replacement plane had to be found. It was nearly midnight by the time we left Chicago. We arrived at Heathrow in the early afternoon to discover that all of NCL's buses had long since left for the port. After a long delay while the NCL reps tried to decide what to do with us (and another couple from our flight), they put us in a private limo for our drive to Dover. We arrived at the pier at 3:45 pm, 15 minutes before the ship departed.

If we had arrived 30 minutes later, the ship would have been long gone. NCL assured us that if that had happened, they would have arranged for a flight to the next port. Since our next port of call was Warnemunde, Germany, this information wasn't too comforting to us. For obvious reasons, we will never again make the mistake of having a cruise line book our air travel. Book your own air and arrive at the port of departure a day early! You won't regret it.

Jack

We sailed out of Fort Laderdale last Nov. and saved $200.00 each over the cruise air.And had a direct flight from Boston.We paid $7.00 each for a van from our hotel at the airport to the pier.The hotel picked us up at the airport at no cost.Ask the hotel shuttle driver for a drivers name to get you to the ship as thier shuttle won't take you there and make arrangements with him to pick you up on the return.There are a lot of taxis at the pier but there is also a ton of people lined up for them.

The money saved on the flight pays for the hotel.

Be aware you will usually need a valid passport to catch up to the ship if you miss a Florida cruise. Unless the next port is in the US or a territory (San Juan, USVI, etc) the airline will not allow you to board a flight. Although a passport card or other proof of citizenship is OK to return to the US via ship from some ports (Bahamas), the airline can't be sure you will board the ship. Therefore they have to assume you will return by air, which requires a passport.

Be aware you will usually need a valid passport to catch up to the ship if you miss a Florida cruise. Unless the next port is in the US or a territory (San Juan, USVI, etc) the airline will not allow you to board a flight. Although a passport card or other proof of citizenship is OK to return to the US via ship from some ports (Bahamas), the airline can't be sure you will board the ship. Therefore they have to assume you will return by air, which requires a passport.

And if the next port is in the US, you might be in breach of the PVSA, which means you would be denied boarding the ship even if you flew to the port.

We cruised out of Port Canavaral last year, we planned everything without "cruise air" The air fare savings was about $100 each, however we rented a limo for the trip to the port and return ($225) OuR flight was delayed and we barely made the ship departure by 15 minutes. We are going this November out of Ft lauderdale, the airport is reasonable close, however I once again tried to make reservations independent of the cruise line,I saved $90 per person. The transfer to the ship is $15. I booked on Spirit Air, they recently advised me they change the itiniery, we would have missed the cruise. I now book all air through the cruise line, I let them worry about getting me there on time, It's worth the extra Money and includes all the transfers. No more worries about getting there on time, if they screw up I get a free trip to the next port.

We sailed out of Port Canaveral last year on the Freedom of the Seas. We flew into Orlando (we booked our own air) and rented a car one way to Port Canaveral. Driving on the BeeLine hwy is a breeze. It's one of the straightest roads that I've been on. Most of the car companies have a drop off near the port. I just walked to our hotel from the drop off. They also have a shuttle that will take you to the port if you want.

Joe<----Will probably sail on the Freedom next Halloween.. :D

We cruised out of Port Canavaral last year, we planned everything without "cruise air" The air fare savings was about $100 each, however we rented a limo for the trip to the port and return ($225) OuR flight was delayed and we barely made the ship departure by 15 minutes. We are going this November out of Ft lauderdale, the airport is reasonable close, however I once again tried to make reservations independent of the cruise line,I saved $90 per person. The transfer to the ship is $15. I booked on Spirit Air, they recently advised me they change the itiniery, we would have missed the cruise. I now book all air through the cruise line, I let them worry about getting me there on time, It's worth the extra Money and includes all the transfers. No more worries about getting there on time, if they screw up I get a free trip to the next port.

Another strongly disagree!! Your problem was Spirit air not the fact that you booked it yourself. # 2 You rented a LIMO a plain car or a taxi would have been cheaper. Perhaps cheaper yet a rental car one way. Perhaps the cheapest yet purchase the cruise line transfer. You can get a transfer on the BUS without buying the air. They do not hold the ship particularly late for late passengers -- you must get to the ship on time.

Planning is the key because crap does happen:eek: It seems it happens more when time is short!:rolleyes:

Please read the explanations here on cruise air and choice air. Once you know the risks that you are taking you might not want to just let the cruiseline worry about it and that free trip to the next port has lots of strings attached too. It sounds more comforting than it really is.

Hey, I have a cruise booked September 6th out of Port Canaveral.

I will be flying in from NYC, the price is over $200 less to fly into Fort Lauderdale vs Orlando. I plan to fly in the night of September 5th.

Wanted to know what would be the best / least expensive way from Ft Lauderdale to Port Canaveral? :confused:

Any and all advice is welcome and truly appreciated. :)

Hey, I have a cruise booked September 6th out of Port Canaveral.

I will be flying in from NYC, the price is over $200 less to fly into Fort Lauderdale vs Orlando. I plan to fly in the night of September 5th.

Wanted to know what would be the best / least expensive way from Ft Lauderdale to Port Canaveral? :confused:

Any and all advice is welcome and truly appreciated. :)

Probably a one-way rental car. That trip is around 3 hours.

I strongly disagree with booking the air through the cruise line... There are NO guarantees you'll make the ship by doing that whatsoever. They won't hold the ship unless there are a LARGE number of people delayed, and then they'll only hold it for a relatively short time. They'll merely fly you on to the next port if "they" screw up.

 

Cruise line air isn't booked until about 45 days out and you get stuck with whatever they get the best deal on, which frequently means very odd connections, strange times, etc. It's not only cheaper in most cases to book your own, it's also far more convenient to get the flights and times you want.

 

However... NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU FLY TO A PORT ON THE DAY OF YOUR CRUISE!!!... ALWAYS fly in at least a day early!!! There are just too many things that can happen with delayed/cancelled flights, mechanical/weather problems, delayed baggage, etc... Flying in early and spending the night before your cruise in a local hotel enables you to get on the ship by noon, well rested, and able to fully enjoy that first day onboard that you have paid for!

 

Don't bother booking ship's transfers from FLL to Port Everglades, they're adjacent, no more than 5-10 minutes apart and the cab ride is less than $10 - Much cheaper, and far more convenient than the cruise line's transfer!

This is a very old post that was drawn up but it is very much correct today. FLL you can see the ships sailing out from the lounge windows of the airport. The only problem is that cabs and traffic and huge road to cross means no way to walk or "bus" to pier. Not a walk-in way that I know of. Very easy to cab to the pier but the area is congested and it takes longer than you think it will. I would bet the cab ride is $15-20 because of the time waiting to enter port. Closest car rental to port is airport. If flying in and you can go early -- air fares Tuesday through Thursday AM are at least 50% cheaper sometimes more. I can predict the ship schedule by looking at the air fares:p

I also think Trent is correct on doing your air. I really care about the schedule, the time and the cost to my pocket. I do not EVER give up that control and the ability to select my seat. Do the homework on airline home pages to see what is available, when and how much. When you find a reasonable and fair rate for what you know the fare to be then buy it. There are no magic bullets that the airlines, a travel agent (what travelocity, expedia, cheapo air etc really are) or a shyster gets that you want to chance your vacation funds on. I book all my travel on the airline website and I am usually satisfied because I know I have worked hard to get myself the fair/fare deal.

Hi we flew from Seattle to melbourne instead of orlando in April. It cost more and the shuttle was 35$ for 2 from the pier to the airport. we stayed in cocoa beach and the shuttle from our hotel to the pier was 8$. All in all it cost us close to the same to fly into melbourne as it did to fly into orlando and we did not have a 45 minute drive. The melbourne airport was much smaller and quieter than orlando too.

We also did this several years ago and have no regrets. A word of caution though, if anything goes wrong you will not have many options with such a small airport. At the time, I believe Delta was the only major carrier using Melbourne. That said, Orlando and Palm Beach are options, just further away. As long as you know this, Melbourne is a good choice.

I now book all air through the cruise line, I let them worry about getting me there on time......No more worries about getting there on time, if they screw up I get a free trip to the next port.

Please tell me you are kidding. I have read stories of people who booked cruise air and the were given a flight that was scheduled to land a mere hour before final check in at the pier! What happens then if the plane has a mechanical problem and departs 2 hours late? As for getting a free trip to the next port, I wouldn't find that to be much consolation if the cruise started off with a couple of sea days, or the first day was to a private island, or to a port where you can't board due to the PVSA.

booking the air through the cruise line... There are NO guarantees you'll make the ship by doing that whatsoever. They won't hold the ship unless there are a LARGE number of people delayed, and then they'll only hold it for a relatively short time. They'll merely fly you on to the next port if "they" screw up.

 

Cruise line air isn't booked until about 45 days out and you get stuck with whatever they get the best deal on, which frequently means very odd connections, strange times,

 

Yep. People frequently talk about the horrible schedules they get stuck with when booking air through the cruise line.

 

Don't bother booking ship's transfers from FLL to Port Everglades, they're adjacent, no more than 5-10 minutes apart and the cab ride is less than $10 - Much cheaper, and far more convenient than the cruise line's transfer!

Agreed.

Old posts, I know, but, please be aware that there is a detour from the airport to the port. FLL is constructing an additional runway that will go over US 1. This construction is south of the pier route but there are trucks galore and lane issues that will continue for several YEARS.

It is no longer a ten minute ride, nor is it $10.

Old posts, I know, but, please be aware that there is a detour from the airport to the port. FLL is constructing an additional runway that will go over US 1. This construction is south of the pier route but there are trucks galore and lane issues that will continue for several YEARS.

It is no longer a ten minute ride, nor is it $10.

Is this a change from say Jan, 2013? I am heading to DD's in Plantation on June 26 and wonder if heading west from the airport on the interstate will have major delays. We always rent a car so know the way but not too many variations.:rolleyes: