Miami airport to FLL hotel

[RandS]

We're flying into Miami the night before our cruise which sails from Fort Lauderdale. What's the best way to get from the Miami airport to FLL hotel?
There is a free shuttle from FLL airport to hotel so should we pay to go from Miami airport to FLL airport. Any idea how much this would be and how to go about booking this? Or should we just pay cab fare from Miami airport to FLL hotel?

Thanks.

[thereuare]

Most hotels are only a $7-$8 cab ride from the airport... when you consider the cost just to enter a cab amounts to a couple of bucks, taking a cab directly to the hotel instead of the airport will only add about $5 to your fare.

In my opinion it's not worth the hassle of taking your bags out of the taxi, waiting for the hotel's shuttle, putting your bags on the shuttle, unloading again upon arrival at the hotel.

[Deloresgardella]

Is it better to fly into Miami then take a taxi to a FLL hotel, we will be arriving the night before. Or is it just as easy to fly direcly to FLL. Since we will only need one way. Thank you
Delores

[thereuare]

It depends upon where you are flying from.

It's obviously easier to fly directly into your distination port city, but FLL and MIA are only about 45-50 minutes apart so if you can save enough money on airfare to justify the cab/shuttle fare between the two areas than it's not that big of a deal.

I always prefer to get a hotel closer to the port... makes the next day less stressful knowing that the ride to the port is relatively short. If you hit obstacles along the way (ie- car trouble, difficulty getting a taxi, forgetting something at the hotel, etc) it makes correcting it a LOT easier if your embarkation point is close.