cruise leaves from ft. lauderdale, precruise in orlando, where to stay night before?

my cruise leaves from ft. lauderdale, i am going to disney precruise in orlando for a few days. should i stay in orlando or ft. lauderdale the night before the cruise?

thx

We are leaving out of the POM 0n the 11th of Jan. It is about 4 hrs. from Orlando to Miami- Ft lauderdale area. Not much in the way of motels south of Orlando until you get to Ft Pierce unless you take I-95. We are undecided on wether to stay in the Orlando area becauseof the better pricing or go somewhere south of Ft. Pierce. The further south you go the higher motels are, and south of West Palm $200 a nite is not unusual.:) Bill

We like to stay as close to the ship as possible the night before. This way, we are sure not to miss it due to car accident or broken down vehicle, heavy traffic, whatever else can get thrown our way trying to get to the ship on time.

If price is on object, you probably can stay within a short walk to the port,:D Bill

if i want to get closest to port everglades without breaking the bank, what would be the closest town to get a motel in?

thx

assuming you are taking the Florida turnpike south from Orlando; there are reasonably prices & clean Hampton Inns, Courtyards, etc right off the turnpike; you could stay in the small suburbs, Lauderhill, Margate, Coconut Creek, Sunrise and not pay the "beach" prices of staying in Ft Lauderdale, Hollywood or West Palm; I usually stay at a hotel in Sunrise when I take courses in Ft Lauderdale - to save on pricing

i.e. there is an Hampton Inn (Exit 62 off the Florida Turnpike); reasonable and clean

personally I would stay closer to the port rather than in Orlando, just as a prior poster said; you never know about car problems etc.

We just got back on Sunday. We cruised out of Fort Lauderdale but flew into Orlando. We stayed at Homewood Suites in Maitland, FL. We paid around $90 for a two room suite which included a hot breakfast. It was nice to have the extra room as we were three and we repacked in the hotel room as we were having issues with overweight baggage. It took us 3 1/2 hours to drive from the hotel to the cruiseport and it was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We thought it was very nice, they even had microwave popcorn for us which we prepared the night before.

Hi dog8it; We will be driving from north of Atlanta to Miami. It takes us about 8hrs to get to the Kissimmee area + or - depending on the variables. As I recall Ft Pierce is about 2 hrs. from Orlando. Will we find any place to stay between Orlando and Ft. Pierce on the turnpike if we choose to get out of the Orlando area. My DW is not a happy camper if we spend more than 9 hrs. on the road. We usually leave several days early and just wander down the state with no shedule so am a little fuzzy the turnpike amenities. Thanks Bill

We're flying into Orlando on the 24th of Dec. prior to our Christmas day cruise departure from Miami. We plan to spend the day in Walt Disney World, then stay over in Orlando and head to Miami the next morning. We have since changed our minds and plan to drive about 3 hours and stay at a Springhill Suites in Boca Raton, then head down to Miami the next morning. We're renting a car at MCO and returning it to MIA the next day, then plan to take a cab to the port.

At least we'll have a short drive to the port on Christmas morning, and it shouldn't be too busy early.

Thoughts anyone?

Hi dog8it; We will be driving from north of Atlanta to Miami. It takes us about 8hrs to get to the Kissimmee area + or - depending on the variables. As I recall Ft Pierce is about 2 hrs. from Orlando. Will we find any place to stay between Orlando and Ft. Pierce on the turnpike if we choose to get out of the Orlando area. My DW is not a happy camper if we spend more than 9 hrs. on the road. We usually leave several days early and just wander down the state with no shedule so am a little fuzzy the turnpike amenities. Thanks Bill

at the Ft Pierce exit off the turnpike (exit 152) there are at least a dozen hotels, I have never stayed at them but there is a Holiday Inn, a Holiday Inn Express and a Hampton Inn,... try google: Exit 152 & hotel; read the reviews and hopefully you can find a clean one

We're flying into Orlando on the 24th of Dec. prior to our Christmas day cruise departure from Miami. We plan to spend the day in Walt Disney World, then stay over in Orlando and head to Miami the next morning. We have since changed our minds and plan to drive about 3 hours and stay at a Springhill Suites in Boca Raton, then head down to Miami the next morning. We're renting a car at MCO and returning it to MIA the next day, then plan to take a cab to the port.

 

At least we'll have a short drive to the port on Christmas morning, and it shouldn't be too busy early.

 

Thoughts anyone?

Sorry to have taken so long to answer!

We stayed at the Springhill Suites in Boca. The rate was $89 for the night. The room, though clean, was very poorly designed for 3- the foldout couch completely blocked the way from the door to the bed and bathroom. The breakfast was crowded the next morning, but gave us enough of a start. It took about an hour to get to MIA from there.

All in all it was worth it, but the drive from Orlando the night before was a long one in the rain!