Help - family friendly ground transportation from FLL to Miami

In May, we will be going on a 7-day cruise our of Miami with our daughter, who is four years old. We are flying into FLL very early the day before our cruise and we plan on staying overnight in South Beach.

I am really REALLY trying not to have to bring my daughter's car seat. I'm pretty confident that she will be able to do the airplane without a seat, and I do not plan to use any ground transportation at our ports. Therefore, I need to figure out ground transportation from FLL to our hotel in Miami and then from the hotel to port the next day.

Are there any large coach buses that make trips from FLL to Miami? I know there are car/van services that will provide a car seat, but I'm not really a fan of that either. I've heard really horrid stories about cars showing up with an infant seat for a preschooler, seats being disgusting, and who even knows if they are expired or have been in an accident. So best case would be a large bus that we wouldn't need a car seat at all for.

Has anyone else done this with the same considerations? Or am I just going to have to suck it up and bring my seat?

FLL to South Beach will run $90 or so (plus tip) in a taxi or private limo. Notwithstanding the nuisance, I suggest bringing the car seat that you know and like to protect your daughter.

It is my understanding that in Florida a child over the age of 3 does not need a car seat.

Whether or not you feel safe with this is up to you but I would get a shuttle and take a chance on the car seat they provide.

It is my understanding that in Florida a child over the age of 3 does not need a car seat.

Whether or not you feel safe with this is up to you but I would get a shuttle and take a chance on the car seat they provide.

Not quite - here's the details on FLA car seat requirements:

Birth–1 year old Use a rear-facing child car seat.

1 year old–3 years old Use a rear-facing child car seat until they outgrow the weight and height limit of the child car seat.

Normally when children are over 1 year old and weigh over 20 pounds, you can switch to a forward-facing car seat.

4 years old–7 years old Use a forward-facing child seat until they reach the weight and height limits recommended by the manufacturer.

8 years old–12 years old Use a booster seat in the back seat until your child is big enough to use the car’s seat belt.

I would check the family cruise board for suggestions from others who have made the same trip - your biggest problem will be getting from your SB hotel to POM, or did you think the same large van/min-bus would drive empty to SB to pick you up and take you to POM? :confused:

I have three kids and do not understand the objections from many to bringing car seats that you know will be safe and appropriate for your child. :confused:

I would check with Go Airport Shuttle (based inside FLL), Holland Limo and Larry's Limos (often suggested for Miami service) and also call you hotel to see if they can suggest a transportation provider. Good luck! :)

Sorry, I stand corrected.

Not quite - here's the details on FLA car seat requirements:

 

Birth–1 year old Use a rear-facing child car seat.

 

1 year old–3 years old Use a rear-facing child car seat until they outgrow the weight and height limit of the child car seat.

Normally when children are over 1 year old and weigh over 20 pounds, you can switch to a forward-facing car seat.

 

4 years old–7 years old Use a forward-facing child seat until they reach the weight and height limits recommended by the manufacturer.

 

8 years old–12 years old Use a booster seat in the back seat until your child is big enough to use the car’s seat belt.

 

I would check the family cruise board for suggestions from others who have made the same trip - your biggest problem will be getting from your SB hotel to POM, or did you think the same large van/min-bus would drive empty to SB to pick you up and take you to POM? :confused:

 

I have three kids and do not understand the objections from many to bringing car seats that you know will be safe and appropriate for your child. :confused:

 

I would check with Go Airport Shuttle (based inside FLL), Holland Limo and Larry's Limos (often suggested for Miami service) and also call you hotel to see if they can suggest a transportation provider. Good luck! :)

I have 7 grandchildren and I "can" understand how hard it might be/is to travel with a carseat in certain circumstances ;)

Please research the threads. The best value is to rent a car, Alamo?, drop it off in Miami and they will shuttle you to the port. Car seat optional, your cost.

Please research the threads. The best value is to rent a car, Alamo?, drop it off in Miami and they will shuttle you to the port. Car seat optional, your cost.

You might be correct, but Miami Beach hotels (where the OP is planning to stay) all charge $25-30+ per night for parking, making the rental car option expensive; and I'm not sure driving from Miami Beach all the way out to MIA in order to get a "free" shuttle to POM is the best option for a family travelling with a young child.

John is correct about hotel valet parking on South Beach, it is spendy. We just park on the street. As for free shuttles, there is a thread about rental car offices near the port, Hertz comes to mind, but please check for yourself, as some offices near the port have closed.

Sorry, I stand corrected.

Marie51, I thought you were correct so I researched this.

The age range listed by the other poster are recommendations. The law in Florida states you can be ticketed if you have a child under 5 without a car seat. But any child age 5 or over may ride without a car seat with no risk of police penalty. This is per the DMV website. I'm not recommending anything or correcting anyone, I am just a person who appreciates facts.

http://www.dmv.org/fl-florida/safety-laws.php#Florida-Child-Car-Seat-Laws

Thank you for the input.

I definitely want the safest option. If I have to bring her seat, that's fine, but to me, arranging ground transportation on a bus, on which a car seat is neither possible or necessary, would be an acceptable substitute.

It does not sound like there are any SB hotels that people know of that would have an option like this--a big bus that goes around to hotels and picks up people. I have seen this before in other cities, so I was wondering if there was something similar in the Miami area that went to POM.

The rental car option does not seem like a very easy idea. I would rather just arrange for a sedan or taxi pickup and install her seat. She is not big or old enough for anything less than a five-point-harness in a car, so we would need to haul her seat on the plane and install it (we do not check our car seats), install/uninstall in the car to the hotel, install/uninstall in car to port, lug it around with us during embarkation (again, not checking it), store it in our cabin, lug it around during debarkation, install/uninstall to airport (and oh yeah, our flight home isn't until 5:00, so we'll have a whole ton of crap for several hours), install on plane, and then reinstall in our car on the way home.

So yeah, it's a pain. I'll do it if it's the best option, but just trying to think this through so we can do something more convenient if it's equally as safe.

ETA: The family board sent me here. It's really specific to the options available in FLL/MIA.

Instead of staying in SB you might look at staying in Fort Lauderdale -- easier transportation options to get to the hotel and more options to get to POM the next day. www.sunny.org has lots of tourist and lodging info. :)

Why don't you stay in Downtown Miami. We took Johns' car Service in Ft Lauderdale to downtown Miami. We loved it. You can walk with your lil one. They have free people movers. Look on Price line . We did this year and did Intercontinental in downtown Miami. Last year we did Hampton Inn suites at downtown brickell. We just did the breeze for the second time in a row. Favorite ship.

Marie51, I thought you were correct so I researched this.

 

The age range listed by the other poster are recommendations. The law in Florida states you can be ticketed if you have a child under 5 without a car seat. But any child age 5 or over may ride without a car seat with no risk of police penalty. This is per the DMV website. I'm not recommending anything or correcting anyone, I am just a person who appreciates facts.

 

http://www.dmv.org/fl-florida/safety-laws.php#Florida-Child-Car-Seat-Laws

Actually, starting at age 4 you can use just the safety belt if it fits the child.

http://www.sheriff.org/safety/carseat.cfm

Florida law requires children under 5 years of age to be properly restrained no matter where they are seated in the vehicle. Children through age 3 must be secured in a separate carrier (child safety seat) or in a vehicle manufacturer's integrated child safety seat. For children ages 4 - 5, a separate carrier, an integrated child safety seat, or a safety belt may be used. If a safety belt does not fit the child correctly, a booster set should be used to correctly position the lap and shoulder belts once they outgrow forward facing child safety seats (generally at about 40 pounds and 4 years old). Children from approximately 40-80 pounds and under 4'9" in height should ride in a booster seat.

Infants must ride rear-facing until they are at least one year old and weigh 20 pounds or more. Rear-facing, the infant should be semi-upright at an angle or no more than 45 degrees. A forward-facing older child should ride sitting upright.

Never place a child in a child safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped with a passenger air bag. Always use the back seat.

Violation of the child restraint law carries a fine of $60 and 3 points on the driving record.

In May, we will be going on a 7-day cruise our of Miami with our daughter, who is four years old. We are flying into FLL very early the day before our cruise and we plan on staying overnight in South Beach.

 

I am really REALLY trying not to have to bring my daughter's car seat. I'm pretty confident that she will be able to do the airplane without a seat, and I do not plan to use any ground transportation at our ports. Therefore, I need to figure out ground transportation from FLL to our hotel in Miami and then from the hotel to port the next day.

 

Are there any large coach buses that make trips from FLL to Miami? I know there are car/van services that will provide a car seat, but I'm not really a fan of that either. I've heard really horrid stories about cars showing up with an infant seat for a preschooler, seats being disgusting, and who even knows if they are expired or have been in an accident. So best case would be a large bus that we wouldn't need a car seat at all for.

 

Has anyone else done this with the same considerations? Or am I just going to have to suck it up and bring my seat?

I have used top shuttle http://www.topshuttle.com/index.php in the past and they were able to provide a car seat for my 13 month old. The Car seat was clean and appeared to be in like new condition. I used them in 2006 and 2010 with very good results.