Off site parking Port of Miami

[CrusinAgain]

Well I too am getting sick of getting ripped off for parking at the port. It is ridiculous. So I was searching around the forums and the web and found globalairportparking and found a place there.

 

I entered a discount code and got some $$$$ off. Going on a two day cruise. I got matched with a parking garage at: 1415 NE 2 Ave for total price of $18.40 with discount. It appears to be a parking garage only a few minutes from the port with free shuttle service.

 

I hope this turns out to be a good experience.

 

 

Do let us know how this turns out for you. We want to park somewhere other than the port for future cruises but until they get this closer one straighten out we won't be parking there. Port Everglades was so simple and there was two of them right there at the port.

[weloverunning]

Thanks so much for your post. This is exactly what I had read and you can even see when you look for it thru google street view. When we drove by there on our return home we saw all the homeless folks outside of the fence and did not see any police. I will not park here. If your husband, a former Police Sargeant says no, he certainly knows what he is talking about. I cannot believe that you had prepaid and they appeared not to have saved you a space. Clearly they are not ready for cruisers yet. I am sure it won't be long before we see complaints on here about their cars.

 

Her husband is a former police sargeant I do think he would know alot more about people and take their advice (especially after I saw the same thing but didn't use it) over some one who doesn't care if something happens to their vehicle. Sorry....not saying you don't care but there are too many on here that are saying they don't care what happens to their car. That carelessness makes all of our insurance premiums climb.

 

Saylorgirl: Thank you so much for responding to this nonsense. I read it yesterday and nearly had a fit. You and I both wrote to tell our stories since we actually DID park there. We sure don't need people speculating what might happen one day. Even the ex police sargeant's wife said there wasn't an issue with their car. There are cones saving the spots for the prepaid people. The Miami Heat is playing again so they probably use some open spots for the basketball games. I do not worry about homeless people stealing my car. I worry about the thugs and lowlifes in the rest of the world who steal cars. The homeless people aren't bothering anyone or anything. Heck, most of them can barely walk.

 

Cruisinagain: You will probably be better off not parking anywhere except for port parking. If you are that worried about your vehicle and it will mess up your trip because you are worrying about your car, you are better off paying the $20 per day for piece of mind. However, don't think there isn't vandalism/dings and accidental dents in the port garages. This happens everyday and I am sure it is not the homeless of the world doing this.

 

Just think, a thief could watch you leave your car in the garage at the port, watch you walk across the street and go into the terminal, and know you will be gone for a week. They can steal your car, pay one day's parking and leave with your car. It would be a week before you would even know it.

[CrusinAgain]

Saylorgirl: Thank you so much for responding to this nonsense. I read it yesterday and nearly had a fit. You and I both wrote to tell our stories since we actually DID park there. We sure don't need people speculating what might happen one day. Even the ex police sargeant's wife said there wasn't an issue with their car. There are cones saving the spots for the prepaid people. The Miami Heat is playing again so they probably use some open spots for the basketball games. I do not worry about homeless people stealing my car. I worry about the thugs and lowlifes in the rest of the world who steal cars. The homeless people aren't bothering anyone or anything. Heck, most of them can barely walk.

 

Cruisinagain: You will probably be better off not parking anywhere except for port parking. If you are that worried about your vehicle and it will mess up your trip because you are worrying about your car, you are better off paying the $20 per day for piece of mind. However, don't think there isn't vandalism/dings and accidental dents in the port garages. This happens everyday and I am sure it is not the homeless of the world doing this.

 

Just think, a thief could watch you leave your car in the garage at the port, watch you walk across the street and go into the terminal, and know you will be gone for a week. They can steal your car, pay one day's parking and leave with your car. It would be a week before you would even know it.

 

I don't have a car down there, I fly, it is my sister's car and its doubtful a thief would watch at the port since it is a secured zone and you do have to show cruise docs to get in, but someone hitting a car and leaving I certainly would believe as that is rampant now. Someone stealing parts off of a car at the place outside of the port I would believe since I read about that one. I believe the ones who parked there without incident but I am certainly not going to tell my sister it is safe and to park her car there and then I would feel responsible to pay her deductible if something happened. She is the one who makes the final decisions where to park since it is her vehicle and I hated absolutely hated paying half of port parking at 10 a day my share so I do need to find some place safe for her to park next time.

 

Oh and one more thing, maybe I wouldn't be so picky about any damage to vehicles if someone just didn't hit me in parking lot and left without a note. Then it happened to my son who lives in a different state. Then it happened to my son-in-law so yeah, this economy is different in how people react to other's property.

Edited December 31, 2011 by CrusinAgain

[floridabum]

I really hate fear mongering!!!

[weloverunning]

Cruisinagain: The Port of Miami is NOT secure. You do not have to stop and you definitely do not show cruise documents. This may have been true right after 9/11 but we have left from POM on twelve cruises in the past four years and there isn't any checking in at a gate at the port or anywhere else until you walk up to your cruiseline terminal.

 

Bottom line, if someone doesn't feel comfortable leaving their car anywhere but the port, then don't. But please don't wait for something to happen so you can say, "see, I told you so" because meanwhile while someone is waiting to say "I told you so" tens of thousands of cars have been vandalized and stolen elsewhere in the country. The owners of the lot want to run a business and make money. I am sure they do not want anything to happen to your car which will hurt their business.

[MKsol]

I thought I would chime in here as well having just cruised on the NCL Dawn 12/14 - 25 and I DID park at the 7th street lot.

 

So lets begin.

 

Upon arrival I turned the corner to see multiple people sitting at the corner in the shade. I noticed them to be more blue collar worker looking then homeless and did notice it appears to be a bus stop. My interpretation was a bunch of people waiting on their bus, sitting on the ground in the shade. Could a couple have been homeless - possible but they certainly did not look concerned about me, my car or the lot.

 

Upon reaching the entrance I was immediately approach by a worker, who was sitting near his car with a cooler and a large umbrella. I handed him the prepaid receipt and he looked it over and told me to proceed into the lot and select any spot I wanted and that spots that were blocked with cones were specifically for those who have prepaid but I was welcome to park in any spot I choose, but if I didn't use one with a cone in front of it to let him know so him pull a cone from a spot. This tells me that on the day I arrived they were actively monitoring the prepaid commitments they had.

 

No cabs were waiting, but the attendant did call a cab and one arrived within five minutes. I shared the cab with another couple and my total cost was 6 bucks.

 

Upon my return, a worker was stationed in the same place the attendant was when I got there, she greeted me nicely, I went to my car, which was absolutely fine - albeit dirty. Looked it over and it was exactly as I left it, got in and drove back to the port to pick up the wife and bags.

 

Bottom like is for the 11 day cruise I paid $49.50 verse $220 at the port, with cab fare my total cost was $66 for a total savings of $154. In my mind my car was in more more, nor no less, risk of a rude person parking next to me and damaging my car as I would have been in the port garage. Was the car slightly less secure than it would have been at the port garage - perhaps, but not enough that I gave it a moments thought while I was enjoying my cruise. All in all for a savings of over $150 would I park there again - without a doubt.

 

That was my experience, take it for what it is worth.

[CrusinAgain]

Cruisinagain: The Port of Miami is NOT secure. You do not have to stop and you definitely do not show cruise documents. This may have been true right after 9/11 but we have left from POM on twelve cruises in the past four years and there isn't any checking in at a gate at the port or anywhere else until you walk up to your cruiseline terminal.

 

Bottom line, if someone doesn't feel comfortable leaving their car anywhere but the port, then don't. But please don't wait for something to happen so you can say, "see, I told you so" because meanwhile while someone is waiting to say "I told you so" tens of thousands of cars have been vandalized and stolen elsewhere in the country. The owners of the lot want to run a business and make money. I am sure they do not want anything to happen to your car which will hurt their business.

 

I do believe I have the right to my opinion as I did see the place and I did start this thread. Let's just agree to disagree.

[Sunnyweather]

Hi,

I'm interested in parking here for my 11 day cruise but when I try to book a reservation the form asks for the state you're from and being Canadian, that doesn't work for me. It won't let me book until the form is completed. Does anyone have an email address I can send to so I can find out more? I can't seem to find it on the site. Thanks :confused:

[floridabum]

Hi,

I'm interested in parking here for my 11 day cruise but when I try to book a reservation the form asks for the state you're from and being Canadian, that doesn't work for me. It won't let me book until the form is completed. Does anyone have an email address I can send to so I can find out more? I can't seem to find it on the site. Thanks :confused:

 

 

try this... Reservations@portofmiamicruiseparking.com

 

or just give them a call (347) 770-4310

Edited January 1, 2012 by floridabum

[diverdon48371]

I am thinking about parking at this lot and have a question. Do I need to drop off my bags at the port first or can we just take them with us to the port? Also the same when leaving. It will just be my wife and I and we will only have 2 bags. Was there any issue getting a cab from the port to the parking lot?

 

Thank you in advance for your comments.

[weloverunning]

I am sure you don't HAVE to drop them off ahead of time. We drove over the bridge and left our luggage with the luggage handlers and then drove back over the bridge to park. However, I pack heavy so we had 4 pieces of luggage. I was concerned that if we shared a cab with another couple( which we did) all the luggage wouldn't fit in a cab's trunk. Coming back we just got the next cab in line and brought our luggage back over the bridge to the lot with us.

Edited January 3, 2012 by rpbcouple

[TravlGrl]

This thread has been incredibly informative and I my thoughts keep going back and forth on what to do. After having my husband weigh in, we've decided to book with portofmiamicruiseparking.com rather than spend the $20/day at the port. I too, was wondering about whether we should drop our luggage at the port first before parking the car, but since we only have 1 bag each, we're going straight to the parking lot, and will bring our luggage with us in a cab to the port.

 

We don't cruise until Feb 11, but for what it's worth, I'll post our experience when we return after the 18th.

[diverdon48371]

How was the trafic heading to the port and how long did it take to drive to the port and drop off the bags? Was if hard to get a cab from the parking lot (were they waiting or did you call). If I did not have my bags, do you think it would be safe to walk to the port (not to save money, just for the exercise)?

 

Thanks for the post, it is nice to have the information from people that actually parked at this location.

 

Counting down the days - Liberty Feb 18th, our 10th carnival cruise

[TravlGrl]

Before booking with portofmiamicruiseparking.com I decided to contact the "competitors" they listed on their website. I just heard back from Courtyard by Marriot Miami Downtown. They DO allow cruisers to park there for $15/day, not quite as cheap as some other lots, but cheaper than the port and could potentially be an option for some people who are not comfortable with some of the other off-site options. I thought I'd post it here to let everyone know.

 

Here is what Marriott's Customer Care said in an email to me --

 

We have contacted the hotel and spoke with William. He advised that parking is available to non-guests for $15.00 U.S. Dollars per day. They request you contact the front desk directly to arrange extended parking.

 

Courtyard Miami Downtown

>200 SE Second Avenue

>Miami, Florida 33131 USA

>Phone: 1-305-374-3000

Edited January 4, 2012 by TravlGrl

[floridabum]

Before booking with portofmiamicruiseparking.com I decided to contact the "competitors" they listed on their website. I just heard back from Courtyard by Marriot Miami Downtown. They DO allow cruisers to park there for $15/day, not quite as cheap as some other lots, but cheaper than the port and could potentially be an option for some people who are not comfortable with some of the other off-site options. I thought I'd post it here to let everyone know.

 

Here is what Marriott's Customer Care said in an email to me --

 

We have contacted the hotel and spoke with William. He advised that parking is available to non-guests for $15.00 U.S. Dollars per day. They request you contact the front desk directly to arrange extended parking.

 

Courtyard Miami Downtown

>200 SE Second Avenue

>Miami, Florida 33131 USA

>Phone: 1-305-374-3000

 

Thanks for that info! Its always good to have more parking options.

[MKsol]

To reply to the questions.

 

We dropped our bags and drove back to the lot to park (11 day cruise and we pack heavy so this was a no-brainer for us). Others had their bags at the lot so its really a personal choice.

 

Traffic was a non-issue at all. Since the lot is about three blocks from the bridge to the port it took me just a few minutes to get there and get back to the lot by cab.

 

Can you walk - sure its about a mile to a mile and a half I would think. It seemed safe enough and going over the bridge is safe with a pedestrian walkway.

 

When we returned, we gathered our bags, I left the wife at the port with the bags, hopped in a cab and got the car and came back, it was just easier with the number of bags - all very painless.

[TravlGrl]

Another hotel lot just got back to me today, and I thought I'd post the information here, for what it's worth.

 

When I inquired directly with the Hilton Garden Inn, I received this reply --

 

Thank you for your email, we do offer a parking service here at the hotel. You can either reserve your parking online at onestopparking.com, or just come to the hotels front desk and pay for parking. The fee is $5.00 a day to leave your car; we also provide transportation to the port of Miami each day. It is a charge of $12.00 per person and it leaves the hotel at 10:45 am, 12:00 pm, or 1:00 pm. Please let me know if you have any further questions as it will be my pleasure to assist!

 

Best Regards,

 

Colleen Osborn

Front Office Manager

Hilton Garden Inn

Miami Airport West

3550 NW 74th Avenue

Miami, Fl. 33122

(305) 629-7701-Phone

(305) 629-7702- Fax

(305) 921-3102- Direct Line

Colleen.Osborn@Hilton.com

 

I responded with several questions regarding security, whether it was a surface lot vs a garage, and whether I can reserve directly through the front desk as opposed to one of the vendors on the link she sent me. The link she sent takes me to two different vendors. I would prefer to reserve directly with the hotel.

 

Her response --

 

Our parking lot is a surface lot and we do have 24 hour security on premise!

I recommend paying for parking at the front desk, we will have parking, we have a huge lot!

 

When I asked if we could get on a list to make sure we're on the 10:45am shuttle, I received this response --

 

I will get your name and inform the front desk, what day are you coming in?

 

I gave her our names, dates we need, and she confirmed via a return email. I'll bring that with me when we go to drop off the car, and will let everyone know how this works out. Though there is a charge for the shuttle, we're feeling more comfortable with this option than other off-site options.

[CrusinAgain]

Another hotel lot just got back to me today, and I thought I'd post the information here, for what it's worth.

 

When I inquired directly with the Hilton Garden Inn, I received this reply --

 

Thank you for your email, we do offer a parking service here at the hotel. You can either reserve your parking online at onestopparking.com, or just come to the hotels front desk and pay for parking. The fee is $5.00 a day to leave your car; we also provide transportation to the port of Miami each day. It is a charge of $12.00 per person and it leaves the hotel at 10:45 am, 12:00 pm, or 1:00 pm. Please let me know if you have any further questions as it will be my pleasure to assist!

 

Best Regards,

 

 

Colleen Osborn

Front Office Manager

Hilton Garden Inn

Miami Airport West

3550 NW 74th Avenue

Miami, Fl. 33122

(305) 629-7701-Phone

(305) 629-7702- Fax

(305) 921-3102- Direct Line

Colleen.Osborn@Hilton.com

 

I responded with several questions regarding security, whether it was a surface lot vs a garage, and whether I can reserve directly through the front desk as opposed to one of the vendors on the link she sent me. The link she sent takes me to two different vendors. I would prefer to reserve directly with the hotel.

 

Her response --

 

Our parking lot is a surface lot and we do have 24 hour security on premise!

I recommend paying for parking at the front desk, we will have parking, we have a huge lot!

 

When I asked if we could get on a list to make sure we're on the 10:45am shuttle, I received this response --

 

I will get your name and inform the front desk, what day are you coming in?

 

I gave her our names, dates we need, and she confirmed via a return email. I'll bring that with me when we go to drop off the car, and will let everyone know how this works out. Though there is a charge for the shuttle, we're feeling more comfortable with this option than other off-site options.

 

Thanks so much for posting everything you are finding out and asking questions on some of our concerns. This one sounds good and inexpensive and safe. That is what we were looking for. Wished we knew about it a few weeks ago.

[winterfleer]

We used portofmiamicruiseparking on 7th St. for our Christmas cruise. No problems with our vehicle while we were gone.

 

We had to walk out to Biscayne Blvd. (one block) to flag down a taxi. We would park there again.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

p.s. Don't forget to write down the address of the lot from the website for when you return from the cruise. We had to look it up on the smartphone to give the taxi driver when we were going to get our car.

Edited January 6, 2012 by winterfleer

[SaylorGirl]

How was the trafic heading to the port and how long did it take to drive to the port and drop off the bags? Was if hard to get a cab from the parking lot (were they waiting or did you call). If I did not have my bags, do you think it would be safe to walk to the port (not to save money, just for the exercise)?

 

Thanks for the post, it is nice to have the information from people that actually parked at this location.

 

Counting down the days - Liberty Feb 18th, our 10th carnival cruise[/quote

 

On our November cruise my DH and I decided to walk from the parking lot to the Port. We each had one bag and I had my purse. It was really a nice easy walk, I love walking over bridges, it has a separate walking area across the bridge. We saw another couple walking and several runners. As it is only a 1.6 mile walk it is very easy for most people, we enjoyed the walk before getting on the ship.

[pamgall]

We just returned from our cruise and used portofmiamicruiseparking.com at $4.50 a day. Will use them again with no problem. We dropped our luggage off first, parked the car and walked down to Biscayne and got a cab with no problem (they are every where). On our return we brought our luggage in the cab with us back. Yes there are bums that hang out at the opposite end of the lot on the outside where you go in but are harmless and far enough away. It is an easy walk if you can walk the distance and want exercise. Huge savings on this parking compared to others. Would I take an expensive car? Probably not, but I probably would not want my mini anywhere in Miami for long term. Common sense, on any where, if you have a valuable car there will always be more possible problems anywhere. There was someone there when we dropped the car off (on Christmas day) and someone there when we picked up. If you only have valuable cars, then get a rental car each way. Still cheaper than the port parking. That is what we were originally going to do and decided to try this instead. Like I said. Will do this lot again. Good luck!

Edited January 6, 2012 by pamgall

[kathiean]

Thanks so much for everyone's comments. We are going to book portofmiamicruiseparking.com but we are very early arrivers to the port. Does anyone know what time the lot opens? We plan on arriving at 9 a.m. the morning of our cruise departure. Thanks!

[Yo Eleven]

Thanks so much for everyone's comments. We are going to book portofmiamicruiseparking.com but we are very early arrivers to the port. Does anyone know what time the lot opens? We plan on arriving at 9 a.m. the morning of our cruise departure. Thanks!

I saw that lot and who walks around that place. No way was I gonna leave my vehicle there. NO WAY!!!!!!

 

I just got off a two nighter and parked at a garage that i booked through globalairportparking.com. I clicked on cheap cruise parking and ended up at some garage on 1415 NE 2nd Ave (premier). I must say I was impressed with the service. We got there at our assigned time. Waited no more than 10 minutes when the shuttle took us to the port. When we got back we waited no more than 10 minutes and they took us back to the garage.

 

The garage is locked up and has an attendant. I felt my vehicle was safe there. I would use their service again.

[kdoodle22]

We just got back from the Glory yesterday. We had 4 cars parked at the portofmiamicruiseparking.com. Everything was fine. We all dropped off our passengers and the luggage at the port around 10:45am. The 4 drivers took the cars to the lot. There was an attendant there. She looked at our printed confirmation sheets and told us to park by the back fence. We then walked out of the lot and across the street and waved down a taxi. It took about 5 minutes to drive back to the port and we all split the $10.00 fare.

 

When we came back to the port the following week, we got a taxi and got the cars back to the port before 8:00am. I would definitely use this place again. Each car only paid $31.50 compared to $140. at the port.

 

Kim :)

[arhoden]

We used the portofmiamicruiseparking.com lot last Dec 4 thru Dec 18 with no problems whatsoever. I'll definitely do it again. We dropped off the bags at the port before going to the lot. We didn't have to call a taxi as an older gentleman in a ford explorer was standing by to take people to the port for $5 a head. We caught a taxi at the port for the ride back which cost $13. So, for $86 ($63 for parking, $23 for ride to and from port) I saved $194 on parking compared to port parking.

Edited January 12, 2012 by arhoden