Flying into FLL but sailing out of POM

[StuckiTribe]

We are booked on the NCL Escape on May 28- June 4, 2016. I have been researching flying into either FLL or MIA from OKC to see which is cheaper, and we finally booked into FLL this morning when Southwest finally opened their June schedule (and 1 flight sold out and the other went up $60 in less than 4 hours from me checking at 3:30 am this morning- wow!)

When we booked our cruise, I didn't realize that it was Memorial Weekend, so we are actually flying in on Thursday instead of Friday (since the flight time we wanted was already sold out). Now for the dilemma and I'd like some advice from seasoned travelers.

There are 9 of us going on the cruise. We could stay in a hotel (and get 3 rooms probably) in Ft. Lauderdale and hope to find a nice hotel with stuff for the kids to do and restaurants within walking distance so that we don't have to spend vacation money renting a car. I am hoping to find a hotel with free airport shuttle. Now, I figure we will use a car service (I have read about Jim's or John's and GoShuttle for around $15 a person I think is what I remember) to get to the POM.

OR, we could fly into FLL, then just head on down to Miami and stay near the port and hope to find a hotel with free port shuttle. We are flying home the same day we return from the cruise, so we only need a hotel for the 2 nights pre-cruise. But it's the beginning of Memorial Weekend, so I am hoping to reserve our hotel now.

Anyone have advice or think one way is better than the other, or do you think it will all even out in the wash and we could stay either place? I thought the kids could play at the beach or whatever the Friday before the cruise. I'm still researching things to do in both cities, but I thought it would be nice to hear from others who have gone before us.

 

Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

A little reading on the board would find many hotel recommendations, including the common recommendation to visit sunny.org, which lists the area hotels with their amenities, like shuttles.

 

 

Yes, there are many recommendations for GOShuttle, SAS, Jiffy Jeff, QLS and a couple others.

 

 

It is also commonly discussed FLL is cheaper than the Miami area for your hotel needs.

[capriccio]

 

 

It is also commonly discussed FLL is cheaper than the Miami area for your hotel needs.

 

Another reason you might find cheaper accommodations in Fort Lauderdale is because Memorial Day weekend is Urban Beach Week in South Beach (I don't know if it spills over to Miami or not) when there are 100,000s (Wikipedia estimates over 250,000) extra visitors in town.

[StuckiTribe]

Another reason you might find cheaper accommodations in Fort Lauderdale is because Memorial Day weekend is Urban Beach Week in South Beach (I don't know if it spills over to Miami or not) when there are 100,000s (Wikipedia estimates over 250,000) extra visitors in town.

 

Ooh that's good information to know. We probably want to avoid those areas. I'm not specifically looking for hotel recommendations, I was asking how other people have planned their stay, either staying in Ft. Lauderdale, or going ahead to Miami a couple days early. I have never vacationed in either area. I have been reading and reading these boards trying to glean info! Just wanted some opinions. :)

[capriccio]

I'm partial to Fort Lauderdale since I live just north of it.

 

Given your large group have you considered suite hotels? The following in Fort Lauderdale have suites:

 

 

• Embassy Suites- lots of shopping and restaurants around
  
• Bahia Mar (Doubletree) - on the intracoastal, across (with its own pedestrian bridge) from the beach, shops and restaurants nearby
  
• Gallery One (Doubletree) - on the intracoastal a couple of blocks from the beach, next to the Galleria Mall (shops and restaurants), has its own water taxi stop
  
• Residence Inn - on the intracoastal
  

For lots of info on Fort Lauderdale hotels, restaurants, attractions and transportation check out http://www.sunny.org. The highest rated attraction - and justifiably so - is the water taxi (http://www.watertaxi.com) a hop on/hop off boat complete with commentary. Cheap transportation ($1/ride or $3/day pass) is available from the sun trolley (http://www.suntrolley.com) - the first 3 hotels above are on the sun trolley route.

[Jenner9]

We have a group of 6 and to save some money I wanted to try to find a room that fit 6 people. We found a small, older hotel in Hollywood, FL right on the beach called Riptide Oceanfront Resort. It is right on the Broadwalk. The hotel and Broadwalk area get favorable reviews. We are flying into FLL and sail out of Miami. I booked John's car service for the 6 of us for each leg of our travel (FLL to hotel, hotel to port and port to FLL). He is sending a SUV and the price was all inclusive so includes gratuity. No pool but it is literally right on the beach. Memorial weekend will be crazy busy!

[StuckiTribe]

Thank you both for the info! I think we've decided to stay in Ft. Lauderdale and then just get a car service/shuttle on Saturday morning to POM to board the ship. Hotels down there are expensive, and probably more so with it being the holiday weekend, so I'm hoping to book early! I think being close to the beach will be nice and the kids can play and have an extra day of vacation (and mommy a day to relax hopefully). There are 7 of us in our family, so a larger hotel room would be nice- one of the older kids could stay with my folks in the other room if we can find one that sleeps 6. I was also looking at Newport Beach Resort. I'm just trying to not to spend my "cruise" money before we even get there, so I'm hoping to find a nice, but not crazy expensive hotel (hoping for less than $200 a night for each room since we're staying 2 nights). Again, thanks for the info! It definitely helps.