What to do in 4 hours before boarding Allure?

[saus]

I have already posed this question on the "Florida Departures" board, but that board doesn't seem to get much traffic. I'm hoping someone here can help me.

 

If we arrive to FLL at 7:20 a.m. and the soonest we can board Allure is 11 am, do you have any suggestions on how we should spend the time waiting to board?

 

I had considered taking taxis directly to the port, dropping our bags with porters, then going to a nice breakfast spot somewhere in Ft. Lauderdale. However, other posters have said dropping bags for boarding in the 8 o'clock hour is asking for trouble - the porters aren't accustomed to taking bags this early and the risk of the bags not making it on the ship or some other confusion is just too high.

 

My group of 9 isn't looking for a full-blown excursion or anything else that would put us on the ship later than noon, but any other ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. FYI, only 5 of us are really in any shape to carry luggage, so lugging our bags onto a water taxi or anything similar is not an option for us.

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

[BillOh]

Lets cut that time down a bit. Assuming your plane is ontime, which frequently happens that early, don't expect to have all your bags and headed out to the curb till 8am. If your absolutely killing time as it sounds like you may be, plan on arriving at 10:30. That is the earliest I've heard of anyone getting there. So that only leaves 2 hours to kill. Perhaps a little breakfast and minor shopping in the airport to pick up last minute things like another book or magazine? (Sure its more expensive, but killing time is worth money) I wouldn't hesitate to get there as early as possible if your frame of mind is that you can relax knowing your not going to work the next day! Many of the hotels have free shuttles to the port, even though you don't need one, perhaps you can catch the motel shuttle to the motel, have a nice breakfast and catch their shuttle? It might be worth calling them and asking? We stayed at the Rodeway and their first shuttle left at 10:45 You have a large enough group to entertain each other, and watch bags, whether that be at the airport or at the terminal that killing a little time shouldn't be too stressful.

[CaptData]

I agree. You will not have all your bags untill around 8 am. I was at the port at 10:15 once. They start taking new pax bags at just after 10 am (most of pax that were on board have left with their bags). I would stay at the airport and find some place to eat and relax for a while. You can do a small bit of shopping too. Great time to pick up nail polish remover. Find a book for on the ship. Take a nap. Then at around 10:15 grab cabs and head to port.

[saus]

Lets cut that time down a bit. Assuming your plane is ontime, which frequently happens that early, don't expect to have all your bags and headed out to the curb till 8am. If your absolutely killing time as it sounds like you may be, plan on arriving at 10:30. That is the earliest I've heard of anyone getting there. So that only leaves 2 hours to kill. Perhaps a little breakfast and minor shopping in the airport to pick up last minute things like another book or magazine? (Sure its more expensive, but killing time is worth money) I wouldn't hesitate to get there as early as possible if your frame of mind is that you can relax knowing your not going to work the next day! Many of the hotels have free shuttles to the port, even though you don't need one, perhaps you can catch the motel shuttle to the motel, have a nice breakfast and catch their shuttle? It might be worth calling them and asking? We stayed at the Rodeway and their first shuttle left at 10:45 You have a large enough group to entertain each other, and watch bags, whether that be at the airport or at the terminal that killing a little time shouldn't be too stressful.

 

Okay, 8 to 10:30 is the time we need to fill. I have read numerous posts on the lack of quality concessions at FLL. As a result, I'm not crazy about having breakfast there. But it may be the wisest choice. Does anyone know if there is a halfway decent spot there for breakfast? The FLL website was no help.

 

BillOh, I love the idea of taking a free shuttle to a hotel with a nice breakfast restaurant. And then getting either a free or paid shuttle from the hotel to the port. I will look into this.

 

Thanks to you and CaptData for the information and suggestions.

[negrilbride]

I wouldn't be keen on killing time in the airport. I worry enough about my luggage actually meeting me at my destination airport. I would simply go bonkers wandering around the terminal while my luggage goes round and round on an empty carousel!

 

If it were me, I'd get my bags and sit on a bench in the airport until it is time to go, or call and rent some sort of van that can accommodate you all and have it take you around to sight-see and take you to get breakfast, while leaving your luggage on board the bus/shuttle. I would just try to hire a van for 3-4 hours basically.

[mysparky]

Uggg...hate spending time hanging out at the airport! And you are correct, not a lot of options at FLL.

 

I would do one of two things: 1) try to find a hotel w/ breakfast that would hold your bags while you ate (Hilton Beach Resort or W are options), or 2) rent a Passenger Van for a few hours. Pick up at airport, drive over to Las Olas Boulevard for breakfast and casual window shopping, drop everyone off at the port, and then return the van (some rental companies like Alamo and National have a free shuttle from the airport to cruiseport).

[justwayneaia]

17th Street Causeway is closer. North of the airport on US 1. There is a hotel there that was an Embassy Suites. I think it changed names. The causeway has a lot of restaurants. Los Olas Blvd. has a few nice breakfast places but they normally have waits. 17th St Causeway connects to the north end of the port. There was a dinner there but I think it closed. Good luck.

[saus]

This is why I love the people on these message boards. Where I was lost before, I now have three excellent options that hadn't really occurred to me before:

 

1. Shuttle (possibly free) to a hotel, eat/shop, then shuttle or cab to port;

 

2. Rent a van for the morning, as mysparky suggested;

 

2. Hire a company to drive us in a van around Ft. Lauderdale, as negrilbride suggested.

 

There is something to be said for all three of these options. I'm going to try and price it out over the next few days, then I'll report back.

 

I'd love some breakfast suggestions, if anyone knows of an outstanding spot in Ft. Lauderdale. But that can also wait for another thread.

 

Thank you all for the help.

[Langley Cruisers]

Personally, I woudn't rent a vehicle. To me, it's too short a time and too much money for the time you'll use it. Obviously, JMO.

 

I see you already posted on the Florida board and did get some replies in your thread. royalcruz lives there, and she gave you some good ideas.

[saus]

Personally, I woudn't rent a vehicle. To me, it's too short a time and too much money for the time you'll use it. Obviously, JMO.

 

I see you already posted on the Florida board and did get some replies in your thread. royalcruz lives there, and she gave you some good ideas.

 

Yeah, for whatever reason, I received a bunch of helpful comments on the other board right after I posted the same issue here. royalcruz did provide a number of tips on places to stop for juice and soda.

 

My initial pricing shows a van rental would be under $150 inclusive and using a service for the morning would be a minimum of $200 plus tip.

 

I haven't done any research yet into free shuttles to hotels or shuttles from a hotel to the port.

[cello56]

Personally, I would just suck it up and hang out at the airport for the two hours. I would collect my luggage and then find a chair to sit on and read a book.

[saus]

Personally, I would just suck it up and hang out at the airport for the two hours. I would collect my luggage and then find a chair to sit on and read a book.

 

I don't think that will fly with this group. If I had heard better things about the airport, I might push for this, but from what I've read on these boards, FLL doesn't offer much. And a few in my group just aren't the sit-in-the-airport-and-read types.

 

Here's the best post I found on free shuttles:

 

Thanks to everyone for their inputs.

 

Here's a summary of shuttle hours for hotels near FLL that I found (confirmed by calling each hotel):

La Quinta -- runs from 5am to 1am

Sleep Inn -- runs until midnight

Cambria Suite -- runs 5am to midnight

Hyatt Place South -- runs until midnight

Hyatt Summerfield -- runs until midnight

Fairfield Inn -- runs 24/7

Hampton Inn Airport North -- runs 24/7

 

I ended up booking the Hampton Inn because it had the free airport shuttle 24/7, free cruise port shuttle, free breakfast, and had generally good reviews. But, I may cancel if I find a better deal on a hotel on hotwire between now and our sail date (August). I can't use priceline because we need to accommodate 4 people per room.

 

Based on this post and a few others, it doesn't appear that any of the destination hotels that offer nice restaurants/breakfasts have good deals on shuttles. As a result, I will be deciding between a hired van or a rented van.

 

An advantage of a hired van might be avoiding any time spent finding parking for a big van. I have no idea what the parking situation is like in Ft. Lauderdale.

[travelpeon]

You can see if a shuttle company will give you a quote for FLL to port with a stop. Sometimes they'll let people stop at a grocery store to pick up a few things for half an hour.

 

If you want to eat, you can see if they'll hire by the hour instead of an airport->port drop off quote.

 

You can also check on the prices for a stretch limo. Sometime shuttle prices per person and towncar/limo prices per hour aren't too far off.

[Vanilla]

Embassy Suites on 17th will allow you to buy breakfast/hold your bags/purchase a ride to the port - they have a lovely pool and coy pond you could hang out at until your trip to the port. Also a small shopping mall and grocery store behind Embassy Suites.

[jcaccountant]

Do they have baggage storage at the airport or lockers that you can put the luggage in, they do have baggage carts that you can use and then stay in the airport to have breakfast.

 

Call local Limo companies and see if they can help you out for a couple of hours at a reasonable rate. 9 people will need 2 cars (the Lincolns are less expensive) and maybe you can get a good rate that early in the morning.

[cindivan]

Embassy Suites on 17th will allow you to buy breakfast/hold your bags/purchase a ride to the port - they have a lovely pool and coy pond you could hang out at until your trip to the port. Also a small shopping mall and grocery store behind Embassy Suites.

 

and within walking distance is a strip mall with grocery, liquor store, sports bar, etc.

 

then it's a 5 minute ride to port.

 

not the cheapest way to do it, but will keep you busy

[FTLcruisers]

If you do decide to rent a vehicle, make sure you return it EARLY! The later in the afternoon it gets, the longer it takes for you to make the return and get a shuttle to the ship.