Miami vs. Ft. Lauderdale and a couple other questions from a new cruiser

hello! My husband and I are taking our first cruise Jan 6th on NCL getaway. We we be flying out of Detroit the day before the cruise and staying the night near the terminal. I’ve noticed some people fly into Ft. Lauderdale and some into Miami. Is that just because it’s cheaper? If you do fly into Ft. Lauderdale, how do most people get to Miami. Do you usually stay in Ft. Lauderdale over night or in Miami. I kinda wanted to stay in Miami at a hotel near the terminal so we could watch the ships come in. We are so new at this and it’s a bit overwhelming. Thanks for the help!

Welcome to the boards! :cool:

If your cruise is from Miami it is easier to fly into Miami; many choose to fly into FLL instead because of $$ savings or better flight options. To get from the FLL area to Miami is easy - taxi, Uber/Lyft, shared shuttles, limo, etc. The drive will take 30-60+ minutes depending upon the day of the week and traffic conditions.

I would book your flight first and then focus on hotels and transport.

If you choose to fly into FLL it may be easier to stay in the area and then make your way to POM and your ship the morning of your cruise. www.sunny.org has lots of FLL area hotel and tourist info. SAS, QLS and others are often suggested for shared shuttle service (they pick up at many hotels as well as the FLL airport) and fares are usually about $15 per person each way. UberX or standard Lyft will be about $35+ for the car (good for 2-3 passengers plus bags, and a taxi will run about $70+ on the meter. Same fares will get you from FLL to downtown Miami hotels, but shared shuttles may not be running or more expensive later in the day.

If you fly into MIA then I would look at downtown Miami hotels (Hampton Inn Mary Brickell, Intercontinental, Doubletree, and various Hilton and Marriott options are all often suggested) with lots of nearby dining and nightlife. Unless you are flying in late and just want a room I would avoid airport area hotels; if you stay near the MIA airport the Homewood Suites and Hampton Inn (both in the Blue Lagoon area) are often suggested. A budget option popular with cruisers (with no nearby shopping or dining) is the La Quinta East. Taxi to downtown hotels will run about $27-30, and UberX or Lyft will be just under $20.

Hotel prices will be high in January - you are not the only one seeking to escape winter weather. Good luck with your planning and have a great cruise! :D

Hotels in January are $ 250 plus per night.

The budget airlines fly in to Fort Lauderdale (Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit). The reason people fly in to one airport or the other almost certainly has to do with flight schedule and price. Maybe a direct flight, etc. The airports are close enough (about 30 minutes), where you can pretty much take the best flight you can find between the two. Just have to make sure you factor in the extra taxi or Uber cost if you are at the further airport. But any sort of "Miami is a nightmare" type issues is not why people fly in to one or the other. Both airports are easy to get in and out of.

The Intercontinental downtown Miami sits right on the bay. If you get a room overlooking it you have a great view of the port. The Intercontinental is not cheap but you can find deals sometimes on the booking sites. Last time we stayed it was in February got a good deal through one of those booking sites for $189.00. Cab, Uber, or Lyft will run somewhere around $8.00 to $10.00 to the port. To watch the ships depart, the best place is on the south tip of South Beach at South Pointe Park. Smith & Wollensky is a nice place to view and grab something to eat and drink. It’s right by the park.

Just look at MIA and FLL as one of the same for the airports. It is basically like saying if you want to fly into JFK airport or Laguardia airports in New York. Both airports to close enough to either Port Miami or Port Everglades that there is not a huge difference in cost nor time. There is a difference but not huge.

For Port Miami, flying into and leaving from MIA will be easier. If the price difference is not huge go with MIA. If you can save $200 per-person then go with FLL vice-versa.

As for where to stay, it depends on what time your flight gets in. If its late, just stay near either airport. If you get in earlier that you have the entire evening/afternoon to enjoy then go to Miami. You can stay in either Downtown Miami/Brickell or Miami Beach/South Beach. There are not a ton of hotels that have great views of the port to watch ships come in and leave though.

As for watching the ships, if you get in on a Thursday-Saturday earlier in the day a great place to go is South Pointe Park in Miami Beach. You can get great very close views of the ships leaving port.

A lot of ships come in early in the morning before sunrise btw.

As to getting to Miami from FLL, just take an Uber/Lyft, especially if its only two people. By far the easiest and quickest way.

Hi Melanie (MrMrsSteelman) and welcome to the boards. (I’ve recently departed from Detroit and cruised NCL Getaway). Upon a suggestion from my Daughter of a less expensive flight, I flew into FLL on the day before embarkation in Miami. The ride to the port (Lyft) was not too long. You stated that you’d like to see the ships therefore than by all means stay in a hotel near the port. Regardless of where you choose to stay try to get in at a time where you can enjoy the pre-cruise day so check what is near the hotel you choose. With my upcoming cruise I’m flying into Miami and staying for the first time at the Hampton Inn Brickell area a popular choice on the boards (husband wasn’t happy with the travel back and forth to FLL). Yep, the planning for your first cruise can be a bit overwhelming, so the cruise critic boards will give you many answers to your many questions. “John in DC” is a plethora of knowledge and also Keith. Enjoy all you do...even the planning. I find that it may help to make the anticipation of the upcoming cruise even more exciting.

I always fly Chicago to FLL because Southwest doesn't fly to MIA, bags fly for free. Getting around between the 2 cities is very easy.

We just flew into Fort Lauderdale instead of Miami because it was significantly cheaper. There is a train called the tri rail that connects the two airports for $5 a person. Very convenient and easy.

Tri-Rail will get you from FLL to MIA airport - but still leaves you a $27+ cab ride from POM :(; better to stay near FLL and use a shared shuttle or Uber, or use Uber to stay in downtown Miami close to POM.