Flying into Lauderdale, cruising out of Miami

[farler05]

We're cruising on the Celebration in March.  We fly into Lauderdale on Saturday & then leave from the port of Miami on Sunday.  We're trying to figure out where our hotel for Saturday night & transportation.  It's spring break so hotels aren't cheap.  It's just one night so we're not terribly picky.  As long as it's clean.  We've looked at the TriRail & Bright line to get to Miami.  Sounds doable in theory but is it?  What would you do in our circumstances?

[CruiserBruce]

There are dozens of threads here on hotels. 

 

You could do the rail options...its discussed here with some regularity. But I think a shuttle would be the easier and pretty reasonably priced option.

[Ashland]

I would stay at a Fort Lauderdale hotel and use one of the many private shuttle companies offered to POM from there. Try Hyatt Place booking through ValueTrips or as a Hyatt member for rates.

[Ilovesailaway]

I have often flown to FLL for a cruise from POM. I have done the rail, taxi, uber, and rental options. I have also traveled to Miami as soon as I land and I have stayed near FLL.

In my experience without a doubt the most straight forward, cost effective, and lease stressful way to do it is to stay at a FLL area hotel and use a company like SAS transportation to get to POM the next morning. They have a long list of hotels on their website that they pick up from.

Obviously flying into MIA for a POM cruise is preferable but often times cheaper flights and cheaper hotels can be found in Fort Lauderdale.

[jy_cruisefan]

11 hours ago, Ilovesailaway said:

I have often flown to FLL for a cruise from POM. I have done the rail, taxi, uber, and rental options. I have also traveled to Miami as soon as I land and I have stayed near FLL.

In my experience without a doubt the most straight forward, cost effective, and lease stressful way to do it is to stay at a FLL area hotel and use a company like SAS transportation to get to POM the next morning. They have a long list of hotels on their website that they pick up from.

Obviously flying into MIA for a POM cruise is preferable but often times cheaper flights and cheaper hotels can be found in Fort Lauderdale.

Agree. We have used SAS from Fort Lauderdale hotel to POM. We are using them for our cruise in February of this year. Very prompt and efficient. Note that the SAS website has a list of all of the hotels that they service. There are many to choose from.

Edited January 9, 2023 by jy_cruisefan

[Itchy&Scratchy]

do check the prices. FLL hotels are usually much cheaper, but to my huge surprise (I am shopping for a hotel for our spring break cruise), some hotels are cheaper at MIA airport on April 1. We are sailing out of POM, but we may fly to either FLL or MIA, depending on the ticket prices.

[cruisegal40]

We did this in September.  We grabbed a cab at the airport and the driver actually did runs to the port. I grabbed his card and we made arrangements for him to pick us up at the hotel the day of the cruise and drive us to Miami. Worked out well. We stayed at the Pelican Resort on Ft. L beach. Hope this helps.

[Elaine5715]

On 1/8/2023 at 5:06 PM, farler05 said:

We're cruising on the Celebration in March.  We fly into Lauderdale on Saturday & then leave from the port of Miami on Sunday.  We're trying to figure out where our hotel for Saturday night & transportation.  It's spring break so hotels aren't cheap.  It's just one night so we're not terribly picky.  As long as it's clean.  We've looked at the TriRail & Bright line to get to Miami.  Sounds doable in theory but is it?  What would you do in our circumstances?

I would not do TriRail out of Fort Lauderdale with cruise luggage.  The train stations are also bus stations with no luggage assistance and many transients around.  When I have used the buses in Fort Lauderdale, the drivers advise passengers to remain on the buses when they need to wait and keep the doors close. 

There are several shuttle services but a rideshare is probably the most convenient and cost effective.   

[Flymia]

The rail is not worth the cost savings. Brightline won't be much cheaper if at all compared to a shuttle/ride share and tri-rail is just a pain and not worth the hassle to still need to transfer bags and get a taxi/rideshare. 

 

I am bias, but if the hotel cost are not much different, and you have never been. Spend the night in Miami. Find a hotel in Downtown or Brickell (preferably Brickell) and enjoy the city. Don't get me wrong I like Ft. Lauderdale too, and Downtown Ft. Lauderdale/Las Olas is great as well, and that is where I would focus my search for hotels there. 

 

Again, don't know your dates, so not sure on prices. But if its a matter of saving $20-$50 I would go with Miami or at least go with a hotel in Downtown Ft. Lauderdale area to enjoy the evening. 

 

As for getting to Port. If you are in Downtown Miami/Brickell just pick up an Uber/Lyft. It would cost $10-$15 quick 10-min ride. If you are in Lauderdale, either book a shuttle from the hotel, or again (my preference) get a rideshare that morning. Most shuttles are $15/pp a rideshare would likely be around $45.00. So not a huge savings to go in a shuttle with a group of other people and potentially stopping at other hotels. 

 

FLL airport to Miami again, rideshare $45.00 or so. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by Flymia

[bafinegan]

On 1/8/2023 at 9:51 PM, Ilovesailaway said:

I have often flown to FLL for a cruise from POM. I have done the rail, taxi, uber, and rental options. I have also traveled to Miami as soon as I land and I have stayed near FLL.

In my experience without a doubt the most straight forward, cost effective, and lease stressful way to do it is to stay at a FLL area hotel and use a company like SAS transportation to get to POM the next morning. They have a long list of hotels on their website that they pick up from.

Obviously flying into MIA for a POM cruise is preferable but often times cheaper flights and cheaper hotels can be found in Fort Lauderdale.

I am looking for transport for just myself ( others in my party are flying back out of Miami) from POM to FLL airport.  I saw you recommend SAS.  I went to their website but was wondering if a 1:20 pm flight is doable using SAS?  Or should I just use an UBER.   Thanks for your input!

baf

[CruiserBruce]

22 minutes ago, bafinegan said:

I am looking for transport for just myself ( others in my party are flying back out of Miami) from POM to FLL airport.  I saw you recommend SAS.  I went to their website but was wondering if a 1:20 pm flight is doable using SAS?  Or should I just use an UBER.   Thanks for your input!

baf

No problem making a 1:20 flight.

[Ilovesailaway]

35 minutes ago, bafinegan said:

I am looking for transport for just myself ( others in my party are flying back out of Miami) from POM to FLL airport.  I saw you recommend SAS.  I went to their website but was wondering if a 1:20 pm flight is doable using SAS?  Or should I just use an UBER.   Thanks for your input!

baf

I have not used SAS to get to a FLL flight after a POM cruise. In those cases I have shared a taxi.

And Btw I would have no worries making a 1:20 flight 

[Riverroad]

On 1/15/2023 at 4:39 PM, Ilovesailaway said:

I have not used SAS to get to a FLL flight after a POM cruise. In those cases I have shared a taxi.

And Btw I would have no worries making a 1:20 flight 

Can we make a 12:10 flight from FLL after a POM cruise? This is on Sunday, March 12 with 8 ships at POM. We would do this to avoid the anticipated crush at MIA. If so would you recommend SAS or Uber or taxi?

[Ilovesailaway]

3 minutes ago, Riverroad said:

Can we make a 12:10 flight from FLL after a POM cruise?

I have not used SAS for POM to FLL  but I have used taxi and uber for FLL flights after a Miami cruise. If you carry off as soon as your ship allows debarkation then you should have no problem with a noon flight from FLL.

Taxis will be lined up and Ubers are pretty quick to arrive. That would be the way I would go.

Others may want to chime in if they have used a pre arranged shuttle like SAS but I like a taxi because as I said, they are lined up and ready to go.

[capriccio]

1 hour ago, Riverroad said:

Can we make a 12:10 flight from FLL after a POM cruise? This is on Sunday, March 12 with 8 ships at POM. We would do this to avoid the anticipated crush at MIA. If so would you recommend SAS or Uber or taxi?

 

If you fly out of FLL on a high (winter) season Saturday or Sunday you should also anticipate a crush at the airport.  Five or more ships (8 is the most I've heard of) is standard during the winter and FLL is smaller than MIA.  Still there should be no trouble flying out of FLL just don't dawdle getting of the ship.