lauderdale or miami

[fancyfree]

help? I am going on first ever cruise out of miami on dec 24> Should I fly into miami or ft lauderdale or does it even matter?

[ab0si]

Miami airport is considerably closer. Ft. Lauderdale is considerably saner. Pay your money, take your choice.

[cruisinbuddy]

<sarcasim> Well duh! <end sarcasim> Logically I fly into the closest airport.

[flarad]

Sometimes it's worth the few extra miles to be able to understand the language spoken! I live in Florida. Not far from both and I'd pay an extra $50 per ticket to fly into F. Lauderdale. It's much nicer, much saner and not hard to get in and out of. My philosopy has always been avoid Miami International at all costs!:)

[ESMBDS]

I hate the Miami airport. It's such a headache there. I would fly into Fort Lauderdale and get transportation to Miami.

 

Stacey

[patches123]

For some FLL is cheaper to fly into than MIA. For me its $75 cheaper RT.

[lmondrop]

Sometimes it's worth the few extra miles to be able to understand the language spoken! I live in Florida. Not far from both and I'd pay an extra $50 per ticket to fly into F. Lauderdale. It's much nicer, much saner and not hard to get in and out of. My philosopy has always been avoid Miami International at all costs!:)

 

What do you mean by, "Sometimes it's worth the few extra miles to be able to understand the language spoken"?

I've never run into someone that doesn't speak English at the airport...as a matter of fact I used to work at the check-in counter at MIA for a central american airline and I speak English very fluently, grew up in new Orleans but have a Latin background.

[lmondrop]

help? I am going on first ever cruise out of miami on dec 24> Should I fly into miami or ft lauderdale or does it even matter?

 

IDeally people would like to fly in to FLL becuase more times than not it is cheaper than flying into MIA. Although some cities the cost differential is minimal between MIA & FLL that you really have to weigh out what's more beneficial to you...saving $20 or $30 on a plane ticket and then turning around and spending that money on transportation to MIA or just flying in to Miami and being close by and having an easier time with transportation.

[logan1_2000]

I have reluctantly flown into and out of MIA a few times during recent years and it has almost always been a problem. I have also been insituations where there is a long line stretching from one area to another and you cannot tell what the line is for, and there are no signs anywhere near to indicate what the line is, and I got blank stares or "no lo se" or other spanish in response to "excuse me, is this a line for online check in" or a question of that ilk. People cut to front of the line and disregard any comment to them directing them to where the back of the line is, and more often than not the response is to ignore everyone else. If I drag a heavy load of my entire family's luggage for a weeklong cruise a very long distance, maybe I can get close enough to the front to find an airline employee who will speak english. And it has appeared to me that those who hire a porter at check-in seem to bypass all lines and go straight to the front. These most recent impressions were from January 2006. Also, the baggage carousels were unbelievably slow, the cab stand is unmarked, there is no sign to tell you that you have to squeeze by people getting into a cab to find a uniformed officer to ask that officer to summon a cab for you, and the baggage never made it out of MIA on the return, so we didnt get our bags until the next day, after we had returned to work, which is not when we wanted to do all that laundry. Can that happen anywhere? sure. does it happen everywhere--not to us, but in Miami we all manner of problems.

 

A month later I flew through Fort Lauderdale and it was like night and day. Easy, logically operating procedures to get a cab just like in every other major united states airport through which i have flown except miami. luggage did not take long to get and it was promptly processed when we checked in for the return. the signage was clear, the people were organized and complying with normal line procedures. And 4 months later flew through FLL for a non-cruise related trip, rented a car and stayed in north miami/sunny isles, and it was a convenient, easy pleasure.

 

we vowed never to cruise out of miami again, and luckily the radiance--a gorgeous ship--has shifted from miami to port everglades. sorry if some folks might have been offended by things others have said or by things I have said--i will add that i didnt experience any of these problems in the airport in san juan, so I'm not making any broad characterizations about folks for whom spanish is their native language--I'm making these statements specifically about miami airport and how it operated during my own first hand experiences. i am booked for another cruise from san juan, but not miami, and will not fly into or out of MIA again if I can avoid it at all. I lived in new orleans for three years, and that is a lovable if hopelessly inefficient slow moving town (and this is pre-katrina) and it still has a more efficient airport that is a more pleasant experience than MIA, and I continue to go back a few times a year.

[veryhotred]

I have flown in and out of both airports and they are about 20 minutes apart but I generally fly into Ft. Lauderale as it is almost always cheaper. We live in the Midwest and fly out of KC and I have found RT's for as low as $134 (that is round trip per person) and next weekend we are flying there again and found our round trip for $200 per person. If we were to choose Miami it would be at least $75 higher if not more per person. And I have NEVER had any problems with language at either airport or any problems at all for that matter.

[Splish Splash]

We are booked on a cruise next month that leaves from the Port of Miami. We got a better deal taking a Southwest flight into FLL rather than MIA.

 

So for those of you who have done this before, what is the best mode of transportation to get you from the FLL airport to MIA. In our case we are staying at a hotel in Miami and then will be going to the Port the following day.

 

The return trip will be from the Port of Miami directly to the FLL airport.

 

I found a web site for Try County Airport Express. They offer a shared ride so I am looking into that. Any other suggestions?

[Bequia]

So for those of you who have done this before, what is the best mode of transportation to get you from the FLL airport to MIA. In our case we are staying at a hotel in Miami and then will be going to the Port the following day. The return trip will be from the Port of Miami directly to the FLL airport.

 

Tri-County Airport Express shared ride shuttle service to downtown Miami is a very economical choice at $18 per person. A cab from your hotel to the port should be around $10 +/-. On the return, check and see what the cruiseline is charging for their shuttle to FLL. ;)

[Lois R]

Hi,:) I agree with the FLL airport suggestion.

Actually in my opinion, there is no comparison.

 

FLL airport is much easier to navigate....language barrier

or not.

 

Enjoy your cruise:)

[miami_guys]

I bet most of the people criticising the "language problem" in Miami were already biased against latin people before they came here. I have lived here my whole life...latins are just as friendly and helpful everyone else...but if you talk down or insult them they probably will treat you rude. I fly in and out of miami many times during the year....I live in Miami...but if the airfare is more than $100 cheaper I will fly out of Ft Ldl...Ft Laud airport is a newer much smaller airport....easy access to I95 or Fla Turnpike to get to Port of Miami...Miami airport is only about 4 miles from the cruise terminals. By the way I am white non hispanic...Miami is a melting pot but we love it here and we get along with each other.

[capecodrn]

transportation port to fll is $25.00 pp well worth it .

i flew in and out of miami in oct for a cruise.. that airport is so confusing, busy, and stressful......i wll not travel to that airport again...im going again in jan.. and looking forward to rccl transportation for 25 dollars

[cruisin4kicks]

We just got into the port of Miami this morning on RCI Explorer of the Seas. We normally fly out of MIA but all the flights were full today so we had to fly out of FLL this time. We ended up taking a cab to FLL. In case anyone is wondering, cab fare from port of Miami to FLL with the meter running was $69.30. It took just a shade less than 30 minutes door to door. We left the port at 7:00am and got to FLL right before 7:30am and caught a 9:00am flight home.

 

All you FLL lovers, what is the deal with the TSA people over there? I have never seen so many people on such a power trip as that group. We've flown out of MIA (and many other airport) a number of times and never had to put up with that stuff. Maybe they were just having a bad day... as I've said, I've never flown out of FLL before.

 

Tim

[veryhotred]

The return trip will be from the Port of Miami directly to the FLL airport.

 

I found a web site for Try County Airport Express. They offer a shared ride so I am looking into that. Any other suggestions?

 

When we got off our ship at the Port of Miami and did not have any ground transportation secured. We simply walked off the ship and there were tons of people waiting and willing to take us to the FTL airport. We asked how much before we climbed in however. A cab quoted us $65, the shuttle van said $40 for the two of us so we took the shuttle van. We arrived at the airport half an hour later, no problems at all.