Flying into Fort Lauderdale but cruising out of Miami

My large family is cruising to the Eastern Carribean, out of Miami, on Carnival Liberty in October. However we will probably fly into Fort Lauderdale (Southwest). Any suggestions/tips regarding transportation from airport to hotel to port and vise versa and whether to stay our pre and post day/night in Fort Lauderdale or Miami :confused:

Another cruiser had taken the Tri-Rail from FLL to MIA and said that it was really enjoyable. She mentioned that it ran every 30minutes at the terminal and I believe takes you to the terminal in MIA.

Also, look up SAS transportation online....many use them.

As far as where to stay....depend that upon what time you'll arrive! If you'll have time to explore Miami, then go and stay there...you'll be close to port in the morning. If you're arriving late, just stay in Ft. laud (cheaper, too!) and head to the ship in the morning....it's only about a 40 min. drive! There's no sense in paying the higher Miami prices, if you can't make use of the city!!!

We plan to take the earliest flight possible into FLL so we will prbably go straight into Miami (never been there before). Thanks for the feedback, appreicate it!

I just want to note that if you have other questions about Florida a good source is the Florida Ports of call board and this link will take you to it.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

Also, I would not fly in the day of the cruise. If your flight is cancelled or significantly delayed you may miss the ship.

Keith

We just returned home last week from our Destiny Cruise. We as well flew into Fort Lauderdale and cruised out of Miami. We flew in on AAir and the flight in was fine but they changed our return flight from 12:55 to a 3:00 departure coming back. Don't know if we will fly out of FLL again. We got to the airport at 10:30 and you can't check in until 4 hours before you flight. We and about 75 other people had to stand outside along the curb in line for 30 minutes and other alot longer. We found the customer service to be terrible. But nothing we couldn't live with just will do different next time. We used SAS transportation and they were WONDERFUL! They were there instantly to pick us up and take us to the Hampton Inn and Suites Blue Lagoon in Miami. The Hotel was great, good hot breakfast buffet included in your price. We shuttled to pier by 11:00 and were eating lunch on ship by 11:45. SAS picked us up from Pier immediately and again service was above and beyond. You will do fine in FLL but hopefully you won't have a late departure or you wait outside or should say AA did and looked like others were as well. Have a wonderful Trip.:)

Thanks Gradmabee, Great info!

There is a van/shuttle system out of Fort Lauderdale airport -- I think it is still the Go Shuttle, but it might be the Blue Shuttle. At any rate, they have vans, shared rides and limos. The limos get pricey but if you have enough people they might be the right overall price. The vans are the cheapest and the shared rides (limos) are mid-priced. Just another alternative for you.

A van/shuttle is the best way go on line

We did the same. We flew into FLL the day before we cruised (always do to be safe) and we got a hotel in downtown Miami for the afternoon and night. It was only about 4 blocks from the port and Bayside Marketplace which is where we planned to (and did) spend the evening. Had a blast....anyway. Becuase there were 6 of us (plus luggage) we hired a shuttle van (I think it was about $200 total r/t). They picked us up at the airport and dropped us off at the hotel. Then our flight out of FLL was scheduled for 12 noon (which is pushing it usuallly) but we were confident and we self disembarked and our shuttle was right there waiting for us. We made it to FLL in record time and we actually caught an earlier flight (8:30 am I think). Back in Milwaukee having lunch by 11:30 am!!!! It was amazing!!

I would definitely fly in/out of FLL if the price is better. It's almost the same drive time as it it flying into MIA (and a much nicer airport in my opinion). If you have a big group, hire shuttle vans. They are priced per van and not per person. This should be a much better price than catching a number of cabs. I would also "highly" recommend going down the day before you sail. With the airlines these days, you just never know when flights will be cancelled and rescheduled and you will want that cushion. PLUS it makes your vacation one day longer!!!!

We're flying down to FLL next week for a cruise out of Miami. We booked a 3 star hotel in the FLL area through Priceline for under $50.(a little more with taxes and fees) We have booked the SAS shuttle for the next morning to go to the pier from FLL. It will pick us up at the hotel. Checked with Go Shuttle. They seem to only leave from the airport. Since there are 4 of us going on the shuttle, the price is $13pp.

The TRI RAIL runs from the Fort Lauderdale airport to the Miami airport. You could do that if you are coming in a day prior to the cruise and stay in Miami close to South Beach or the downtown area as its close to the terminal. A taxi from the airport to the hotel & the port would be your best bet. If you stay in Fort Lauderdale you most likely will find hotels a bit cheaper and since you have a family the beach there is nice. Its not a long ride from the airport to the beach so a shared taxi might run $20-$25. Just don't expect really high luxery hotels in either Fort Lauderdale or Miami as they they can be expensive. Fort Lauderdale has lots of small hotels close to the beach. If you decide to stay in South Beach, check for hotels on Collins or Washington Boulevard as they are 2 and 3 blocks over from Ocean Drive. Everything you would want or need is within walking distance and its a short taxi ride to the Port Of Miami terminal that exits just south of the southern most end of South Beach. You can actually see the cruise ships as they leave while standing on the beach.

We fly SW exclusively due to the rewards program and I was stressing flying into FLL and cruising out of Miami. I found Hilton Garden Inn at Dania which shuttles between FLL airport and port of Miami but it was not available (full I assume) for our cruise date with check in day before. I also found a Homewood at Dania that would shuttle between both places so we booked that. I will post a follow up on how it goes after the cruise!

We fly SW exclusively due to the rewards program and I was stressing flying into FLL and cruising out of Miami. I found Hilton Garden Inn at Dania which shuttles between FLL airport and port of Miami but it was not available (full I assume) for our cruise date with check in day before. I also found a Homewood at Dania that would shuttle between both places so we booked that. I will post a follow up on how it goes after the cruise!

Thank you for your information, but this thread is three years old and the original poster has already taken their cruise. If you post on how your cruise goes, I suggest starting a new thread to relate how your experience was.

Sometimes flying into FLL is not always the best option.

Sometimes its just as cheap to go directly into MIA so factor in the cost of the round trip shuttle.

also-- sometimes the tri rail is not always the best option either.

here is the schedule= you will see that it sometimes runs once an hour.

http://www.tri-rail.com/train-schedules/stm_wday.asp

and if you just missed one-- thats another hour waiting.

I would not do the tri rail for your return trip.

and if you are cruising out of MIA and flying out of FLL leave plenty of time to get there. FLL will not allow you to check bags if you are not within a 3 hour window of your flight

I was reading this thread because we will be flying in to Ft. Lauderdale and cruising out of Miami. I went on the SAS transportation website and noticed there have been some changes that are important to know before booking with them. Due to high gas prices they no longer offer service to Miami Beach, South Beach, or Miami area hotels. Just an FYI. :(

http://www.ridesas.com/html/rates.html

I was reading this thread because we will be flying in to Ft. Lauderdale and cruising out of Miami. I went on the SAS transportation website and noticed there have been some changes that are important to know before booking with them. Due to high gas prices they no longer offer service to Miami Beach, South Beach, or Miami area hotels. Just an FYI. :(

 

http://www.ridesas.com/html/rates.html

We used MJS. I highly recommend them. $13/pp from FLL to port of Miami or Miami hotel. :-)

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We flew into FLL last year and cruised out of Miami. Flew in the day before, rented a car and had almost a full day to explore. Dropped the car off at the rental office in Miami and they gave us a free shuttle to the port. It was extremely convenient and not very expensive (approximately $50) considering we picked up in FLL and dropped off in MIA. The drive was 30 mins at most.

I've heard the airport in Ft Lauderdale is a lot nicer/less busier than in Miami.

My large family is cruising to the Eastern Carribean, out of Miami, on Carnival Liberty in October. However we will probably fly into Fort Lauderdale (Southwest). Any suggestions/tips regarding transportation from airport to hotel to port and vise versa and whether to stay our pre and post day/night in Fort Lauderdale or Miami :confused:

You can use a shuttle, I have done this several times.

Every time we fly into FLL we use Black Pearl Limo. They will have a driver meet you at luggage pickup. I always just book a round trip. I have used a Limo (special occasion) but usually just book a town car. It cost about $5 more than a taxi. They have vans as well. They are very professional. You can reserve and pay on line. They give you both the dispatchers and drivers cell # in case you need them. If your flight is delayed - no problem just send them a text or call them and they will adjust. Our last trip the Victory was delayed 2 hours because of a fire in the Everglades (too much smoke to navigate the channel). I called and they adjusted no problem no extra charge!!

Great people to do business with!

Two years ago, I used GO Shuttle. Around $25 from FLL to my Miami hotel. Only around a half hour. Worked out great.

Have an 11am Flight out of FLL ,arriving in Miami at 7 am on a Sunday ... Planning a self disembarkation and arranging a Ride- Hoping it goes smoothly...

Any tips to expedite our morning are appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

We did the same thing on our last cruise and it went great. You can buy shuttle passes from the concierge desk on the ship to get you back to airport. I think you will have plenty of time don't worry! Have a great cruise!

*why can't i delete*

In December, we flew into FLL but we were cruising out of Miami. We used SAS transportation. The charge is $13 or $14 pp each way. They give you their cell number. They were waiting on us when we arrived back at the port to go to the airport. We're doing the same thing again in June and using them.