Pre Cruise Hotels/Transportation

[RCCL Fan]

We are suggesting our guest fly in the night before the cruise, stay the night and board the next day.

We're thinking about getting a cheap block of rooms on priceline.

but wondered if you guys worked with a particular hotel which may have thrown in transportation to the pier or from the airport or breakfast or something of the sort.

What did you guys do to get everyone to the pier the morning of?

[cmt8185]

What port?

[LilBlackDress]

The port does make a difference. A lot of hotels near the ports offer free shuttle service, the problem is they don't start until about noon. I have a few hotels that we frequent so I called them up told them my situation, how many rooms I would be needing and the time I needed a shuttle to arrive. I found a hotel willing to work with my timeline for the shuttle and the rest fell into place. They allowed some of our local guests to park at the hotel and ride the shuttle over with the group, some followed the shuttle. They also offered if there were returning at x times they could return to the hotel on the shuttles that were taking passengers to the ports. Unfortunately the wedding ran over and the shuttles were no longer running but we had enough cars there to get those few back to the hotel

[RCCL Fan]

Sorry --- Fort Lauderdale!

[chellebells]

Embassy Suites would be my pick. They have free cocktails and snacks in the evening for an hour or so and they have a great cooked to order breakfast. They are ten minutes from the airport and five from the cruise terminal which they have a special cruise rate that includes shuttle which will take you when you are ready.

[RCCL Fan]

what's it like hopping the shuttle? I would imagine that's crowded!

[chellebells]

It wasn't bad, and since you are a wedding party you need to leave earlier than the regular cruises. The staff was phenomenal each time we have stayed there and if you let them know the night before I am sure they will accomodate whatever time you would like and give you a dedicated shuttle for you and your party. They also have a wonderful pool, 5 minutes from pier, lots of restaurants in walking distance and did I mention the free cocktail hour? LOL

[LilBlackDress]

For our wedding, the hotel we used was La Quinta Inn in Ft. Lauderdale. They set up a section for us to have a beer and pizza party the night before the cruise. They arranged a private shuttle that would accommodate us getting there on time. When going to the port we had 4 cars following the shuttle, it did seem like we went thru the security check point at the port gates faster since the shuttle driver said we were all one group.

We have also stayed at the Marriott Courtyard, very nice accommodations but also a bit more money. They did offer the private shuttle for the time needed at an extra charge. (I was willing to pay for the shuttle so that wasn't a deal breaker for me)

Both hotels offered a nice breakfast bar, close to pier, and will do their best to work with special needs. The main reason I picked LQ for our wedding is the price difference, at the time I went it was about 60.00 less per room per night and I wanted to save my guests the extra expense. Some of our guests that didn't take the cruise stayed at the hotel for the weekend.

[aprill121]

Another vote for Embassy Suites!

[mykebob]

I think you should not worry about the hotel facilities near the ports. They provide all kind of facilities according to your demand, but the main problem with these hotels are that they have their timeline. Some of hotels are provide these facilities without any timeline and you should search out them.

[RCCL Fan]

I typically priceline rooms for us when we travel to FLL. I never pay more than $80 a night for a 4 star spot. I've stayed the the Westin, W, and Sheraton. But since it was a group I figured I should try to work with a hotel directly and just do a room block, I'll check around. I just wondered what others had done.