Fly into West Palm or FLL for FLL cruise??

[grammie2maddie]

We will be cruising out of FLL - is it possible to fly into West Palm Beach and shuttle to FLL - is there a shuttle, cost, etc., or is it a hassle? Flights are much cheaper into PBI.

 

TIA

[brunello22]

We will be cruising out of FLL - is it possible to fly into West Palm Beach and shuttle to FLL - is there a shuttle, cost, etc., or is it a hassle? Flights are much cheaper into PBI.

 

TIA

 

I am not sure about a shuttle per se, however you can take the Tri-Rail (train) from WPB to FLL. Here is the link for you to check out:

 

http://tri-rail.com/rider_info/system_map.htm

 

You may need a taxi to/from each of the stations.

[CarnivalBreeze319]

We will be cruising out of FLL - is it possible to fly into West Palm Beach and shuttle to FLL - is there a shuttle, cost, etc., or is it a hassle? Flights are much cheaper into PBI.

 

TIA

 

FLL is about 5 minutes away from the port and fairly easy to navigate. Love flying into and out of FLL. Cant speak for West Palm though as I have never flew into there. I would also consider the price difference between the two... Big price difference, etc?

[kdawg954]

It is definitely a hassle when you can fly into FLL and be 10 minutes from the port . . . however depending on the savings it may/may not be worth it. How much are you saving for your entire group?

[JohninDC]

Fly in the day before you cruise and rent a car - easy drive! ;) The SMART cruiser ALWAYS arrives at least one day early to avoid having a delayed or cancelled flight :( cause you to miss the ship! :eek:

 

You can check out shuttle service from both QLS transportation (www.qualitylimoservice.com ) and Go Airport Shuttle (http://goairportshuttle.com/), but my bet is that a rental car will be a better option. :cool:

Good luck! :)

[Florissouri]

We will be cruising out of FLL - is it possible to fly into West Palm Beach and shuttle to FLL - is there a shuttle, cost, etc., or is it a hassle? Flights are much cheaper into PBI.

 

TIA

 

It's sounds odd to me that flying into PBI is much easier and cheaper than FLL. I guess that depends on where you're coming from and what airline you're flying. I'm used to flying Southwest from the Midwest and FLL is much easier to get to and cheaper than PBI.

 

The two airports are 50 miles apart down I-95, so I would think a shuttle would cost a lot more than what you save on airfare. The only other option would be a one way car rental with no drop charge. Regardless, I would still think flying to FLL would be less of a hassle than going into PBI and then getting to Ft Lauderdale.

[DanJ]

We flew into PBI a couple years ago, and would use it again, if the flights were that much cheaper than FLL again ($100 per person cheaper). We also had 4 people so the savings added up. We flew in a day in advance, as we normally would, and rented a minivan, which we also normally would. So the difference in cost was gas, although the van was also quite cheap from PBI, so maybe I wouldn't have got it that cheap at FLL, we'll never know.

 

Coming home, PBI had a more favourable flight schedule than what I could get from FLL. FLL was either 11am (pushing it for a 7am arriving cruise ship), or 3pm and who wants to sit around that long. We took a limo back (splurged for the kids birthday), but could have taken a cheaper town car. Had the time to rent, but not having dealt with PBI before I wasn't sure if timing would work. Flight was at 130pm. We left the pier in the limo at about 915. Dropped off at the airport just after 10 and were sitting outside our gate before 1030, and hardly any people around. Compare that to the see of humanity at FLL. I doubt someone leaving the pier at the same time as us and going to FLL was at their gate by the time we were at ours, after driving that far. Wouldn't want to have dealt with the stress of making an 11am flight that morning.

 

PBI is definitely a much more pleasant experience than FLL. You just have to take all factors into consideration to decide if it's something you want to do. The advantages for 2 people are obviously significantly less than 4 like us.

[Ashland]

Fly in the day before you cruise and rent a car - easy drive! ;) The SMART cruiser ALWAYS arrives at least one day early to avoid having a delayed or cancelled flight :( cause you to miss the ship! :eek:

 

You can check out shuttle service from both QLS transportation (www.qualitylimoservice.com ) and Go Airport Shuttle (http://goairportshuttle.com/), but my bet is that a rental car will be a better option. :cool:

 

Good luck! :)

Please...don't always assume those of us that at times don't have the option of arriving a day precruise are not "SMART" cruisers...Hope you never have to make this decision and feel it's not being "SMART".

[DanJ]

Please...don't always assume those of us that at times don't have the option of arriving a day precruise are not "SMART" cruisers...Hope you never have to make this decision and feel it's not being "SMART".

 

I agree. He says this A LOT and while I agree it's a good idea to come early, not everyone who comes in the day of is being an idiot or less than travel savvy.

[kdawg954]

I think he's just being helpful to the many people who are looking for a proper plan for their family's vacation and probably don't realize the many different things that can happen by flying in the day of a cruise. An accident that ties up traffic to the airport, a delayed flight, etc. You miss that flight the day of, there is a decent chance you miss your cruise and a bunch of money down the drain or added expenses to get you there . . . whereas you miss it a day before, you still have options to get to your cruise on time. Plus it is much more relaxing to wake up in the "port city" after a good night of sleep and just take a short cab ride to the port for a full day of cruising. I have driven to all of my cruises and I certainly feel more tired when I have decided to drive up the morning to Port Canaveral instead of just Price-lining a room the night before and already being there.

 

He's right, it is very smart to fly in a day before. Obviously there are many factors that may effect this decision. The price could be a lot lower the day of the cruise, maybe the family is on a very tight budget and would rather save that hotel money for OBC on the ship . . . everybody's circumstances are different and I certainly don't think John was saying you are "stupid" if you don't fly in early . . . he is just reiterating that it is "smart" to do so.

 

Definitely not something to get bent out of shape about.

[jordanaire]

We've flown into West Palm Beach airport before on the day before the cruise. We rented a van one-way, turning it in at the airport in Fort Lauderdale the day of the cruise. We then took a van cab to the port. After the cruise, we took the shuttle to the airport, picked up another one-way rental back to PBI. With 7 of us going on this cruise, we saved over $800 by flying into PBI.

 

Bill

[nanwel]

We are 5 flying into WPB March 9 -cruising the 10th - we were told we would have no problem getting a taxi van at the airport, and again in the port at the end of the cruise - anyone else agree?? I tried to prebook a limo, but it is very pricey because of the busy time of yr.

[Donna - dsw]

We have 6 of us doing this next week. I emailed EVERYONE - best price I got was from Miama 411 - cost $170. one way. Split that my 6 of us and it is not a bad deal. We saved more by flying West Palm Beach than Miami.

[JohninDC]

We are 5 flying into WPB March 9 -cruising the 10th - we were told we would have no problem getting a taxi van at the airport, and again in the port at the end of the cruise - anyone else agree?? I tried to prebook a limo, but it is very pricey because of the busy time of yr.

 

According to this link a taxi to the FLL area will run $130+ :eek: If you have the time you might look into taking the Tri-Rail train to the FLL area and then a taxi to your pre-cruise hotel. Good luck! :)

 

http://www.pbia.org/guide/ground.aspx

[kdawg954]

We have 6 of us doing this next week. I emailed EVERYONE - best price I got was from Miama 411 - cost $170. one way. Split that my 6 of us and it is not a bad deal. We saved more by flying West Palm Beach than Miami.

 

That's about what it cost via taxi . . . maybe a little more . . . of course you would need a taxi van from the airport.

 

If you consider a one-way rental (minivan) . . . I've seen them for around $100 . . . figure $15 in gas . . . even cheaper if that is an option.

[JohninDC]

I agree. He says this A LOT and while I agree it's a good idea to come early, not everyone who comes in the day of is being an idiot or less than travel savvy.

 

I travel a lot for work and to visit family scattered across the US and UK (and not often enough for cruising :() and can't tell you how many delayed or cancelled flights have disrupted my travel plans.:mad:

 

If you choose to accept the risk involved with flying in the day of your cruise, for whatever family or work related reason, that's your decision - but it is much less risky ("smart" IMHO ;)) to book your arrival for at least one day early to minimize the chance that some travel interuption will cause you to miss the ship. :eek:

 

You can search these boards and find countless posts asking if a flight arriving at 1:00PM or later is okay for cruises that require a 3:00PM check-in. You tell me if you think those are smart travel plans? :confused:

 

Have a good cruise! :)

[Eng23]

I travel a lot for work and to visit family scattered across the US and UK (and not often enough for cruising :() and can't tell you how many delayed or cancelled flights have disrupted my travel plans.:mad:

 

If you choose to accept the risk involved with flying in the day of your cruise, for whatever family or work related reason, that's your decision - but it is much less risky ("smart" IMHO ;)) to book your arrival for at least one day early to minimize the chance that some travel interuption will cause you to miss the ship. :eek:

 

You can search these boards and find countless posts asking if a flight arriving at 1:00PM or later is okay for cruises that require a 3:00PM check-in. You tell me if you think those are smart travel plans? :confused:

 

Have a good cruise! :)

You are correct in that it is up to an individual to be willing to accept the risk of flying in the day of a cruise no matter what the reasoning is to do so. I'm sure there are quite a few people that if they are cruising today and had any flights from the Northeast or New England today they are going to miss their cruise as most of the major airports are closed thanks to 2-3 feet of snow. The airlines were cancelling flights for today very early yesterday, some people may of even had problems getting out yesterday too.