Miami recommended hotels close to port

[hawkaye19]

Morning all,

Just curious as to the best hotels near the port to stay the night before we set sail on the Magic?

Also, best way to travel to the ship

We are very familiar with Cape Canaveral but rookies in Miami

Cheers

Bruce

 

[cwdefouw]

We stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay, which was very nice, and right on the water. It is also connected to a Doubletree and there is a small mall with shops (including a liquor store), and restaurants between the two. The hotel was about a 20-25 minute walk to the Bayside Marketplace, although you reduce that by riding the free Metro Mover part of the way. We took a cab to the port, about a 5-7 minute ride, I think it was 15 bucks with tip.

There is also a Holiday Inn right across the street from the Bayside Marketplace and the entrance to the causeway to the port. A lot of people recommend that but we have not stayed there, so I cannot comment.

There are a lot of hotels out near the MIA airport as well, these would be less expensive and not within walking distance to anything touristy, however for just a night before stay, that might be fine.

A cab is probably the best way to get from any of these hotels to the port. We could not find any place that offered a free shuttle although that was not something that I looked really hard for. The port is so close to downtown and the airport, pretty much anywhere should be less that 20-25 bucks for the cab.

I don't know if you have looked at any hotels in Miami yet, if not, be prepared for sticker shock! They are all pretty expensive compared to Orlando Airport or PC area hotels.

 

[epfootballcutie04]

Back when I worked for Hyatt, my hubby and I stayed at the Regency when we sailed out of Miami for our honeymoon cruise. The taxi from the airport cost 15 bucks and the taxi from the hotel to the port was like 10? It was reasonable and available waiting for us at the hotel.

But even with a very generous employee discount, it was still crazy expensive. We ordered room service for breakfast. He got eggs, a bagel and a side of bacon... i got hash browns, a bagel and side of bacon and we each got an orange juice... and it came to 40 bucks!!! With the employee discount attached...

But it was a very nice hotel and close to the port and about a 20 minute ride from the airport.

 

[dannirose]

I also stayed at the Marriott before and after my cruise out of Miami. It was very nice and easy to get to/from the port but as PP said, it is pricier than hotels near PC. That being said, I will likely stay there again before our cruise in April.

 

[su_A_ve]

FLL hotels are cheaper. Also the airport area ones are better priced than downtown.

The No.1 in TripAdvisor is the Hampton Inn Brickwell downtown. We stayed at the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon (by the airport) - no. 10 at tripadvisor - because parking was free and it was a secure garage.

 

[meldobbs]

We've booked the Comfort Suites Miami Airport North for our cruise in March 2014. The place gets pretty good reviews - $129 for 2 Queen beds, and free shuttle from the airport and to the cruise port.

 

[pearlieq]

We found a surprisingly reasonable rate at the Intercontinental last April. It's right on the waterfront. The Bayside Marketplace was just across the park and the Metro Mover was right across the street.

Nothing at the hotel besides the room rate was reasonable (breakfast was exorbitant, internet was pricey) but if you don't need extras, it was a nice treat for a couple nights.

We could see the port from our room, but the port is not walkable so you'd need a cab or shuttle from anywhere, and I can't imagine it would be any cheaper than from there!

 

[pershing]

I'm interested in a Miami hotel too for pre-cruise Jan 2.

Has anyone used Priceline or Hotwire for this or for Fort Lauderdale? Any tips? Tricks? Or Free Re-bidding Zones?

Or has anyone used a Hyatt Stay Certificate for Miami.

I'm looking to get as good of a price as I can. Breakfast is not a must as we normally wake up late and not hungry upon boarding.usually.

Thanks for all the answers so far!

 

[cwdefouw]

A follow up, if the OP is familiar with the "Stay Certificates" that a lot of people use at the Hyatt MCO. There is a Hyatt in downtown Miami, when we looked into it, the "Stay Certificate" there was actually cheaper than the one in Orlando. This was the absolute cheapest way to stay in a higher end hotel, If I recall correctly, it was only $129 a night with the "cert". Of course, those "certs" are based on room availability for that "cert" so there may not be anything available and the whole reason we didn't stay there was that the reviews for that Hotel were pretty bad, which is hard to understand for a Hyatt Regency.

 

[Delrea]

We've booked the Comfort Suites Miami Airport North for our cruise in March 2014. The place gets pretty good reviews - $129 for 2 Queen beds, and free shuttle from the airport and to the cruise port.

Can you park for free there while you're on the cruise?

 

[mmouse37]

Also note that hotels in Miami will be MUCH more expensive in the winter months than the summer months.

Summer in many parts of Florida (other than WDW and theme parks) is low season. High season is winter when everyone gets away from the cold in other areas.

We have experienced this in Key West and in Delray/Boca and other areas. Very reasonable during the summer but come winter double the price for same hotel.

MJ

 

[wiigirl]

FLL hotels are cheaper. Also the airport area ones are better priced than downtown.

The No.1 in TripAdvisor is the Hampton Inn Brickwell downtown. We stayed at the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon (by the airport) - no. 10 at tripadvisor - because parking was free and it was a secure garage.

 

[hawkaye19]

Thanks to everyone who responded, lots of options to check out

We are flying in the night before we sail on the TCM chartered Magic sailing the 8th of Dec, so just a place to relax after flying from Ottawa thru Chicago to Miami.

One last question, when we arrive back from our cruise, we are hopping on a flight to Orlando for a week at WDW, are taxis plentiful at the cruiseport, or should we arrange for something else to get us to the airport?


Cheers

Bruce

 

[pearlieq]

One last question, when we arrive back from our cruise, we are hopping on a flight to Orlando for a week at WDW, are taxis plentiful at the cruiseport, or should we arrange for something else to get us to the airport?

Plenty of taxis queue up at the port. You shouldn't have to wait more than a few minutes for one. There is also the SuperShuttle to the airport. For two, SuperShuttle is slightly cheaper than a taxi (but the difference is only $5-10 dollars), but for 3 or more the taxi is the best deal.

It might be tempting, but don't let yourself get poached by the "unofficial" shuttle operators who hang around the port. There were a bunch of them there when we arrived and while they're a few dollars cheaper than SuperShuttle, they're completely unregulated and not always above board. Stick with a cab or a legitimate shuttle operation.

 

[meldobbs]

Can you park for free there while you're on the cruise?

I think they have park and stay packages. The site I booked through was comfortsuitesmiamiairport(dot)com
(sorry I'm not permitted to post proper links until I am trusted)

Also check the La Quinta Inn & Suites Miami Airport East, they have the same deal with free airport and port shuttles. We just ended up with Comfort Suites because it was a few dollars cheaper.

 

[SeattleSuz]

I was shocked at how expensive so many of the MIA hotels were. We are planning on staying in MIA for two or three nights before we board, and I am a little alarmed at how pricey it is there!

 

[nicswife]

Can you park for free there while you're on the cruise?

here is the page another poster was talking about with the package you can purchase that lets you park there while cruising. It isn't free but may still be a good option for you. http://comfortsuitesmiamiairport.com/specials.html

we're staying here in March. It seemed to have the best reviews combined with most workable prices.

 

[love5pets]

I'm interested in a Miami hotel too for pre-cruise Jan 2.

Has anyone used Priceline or Hotwire for this or for Fort Lauderdale? Any tips? Tricks? Or Free Re-bidding Zones?

Or has anyone used a Hyatt Stay Certificate for Miami.

I'm looking to get as good of a price as I can. Breakfast is not a must as we normally wake up late and not hungry upon boarding.usually.

Thanks for all the answers so far!

I prefer lastminutetravel dot com over Priceline or Hotwire because you can call and find out which hotel rather than buying a pig in a poke. I booked the Intercontinental (3 rooms) in Miami the Saturday before Thanksgiving for $122. per room which I thought was reasonable. I did it months ago, I'm sure it varies depending on occupancy. It's very close to the port. Maybe they have some good deals in FLL too.

 

[neg58]

We stayed once at the Holiday Inn Express in FLL and at the Holiday Inn POM.

The express was fine, and I actually liked it a little better. The Holiday Inn POM is nice, but the walls are thin so don't expect silence. One thing that I liked was I asked for an upper room looking at the port and I saw the Wonder sail in - at about 5am!

I used a government rate at POM and it was pretty fair. Definitely try all the different travel discounts you may have access to - corporate, AAA, AARP - because they were all different


Nancy

 

[dbenlee]

We are staying at Hyatt House Airport (http://miamiairport.house.hyatt.com/en/hotel/our-hotel.html) for our upcoming trip. A 2 bedroom suite with a king and 2 queens for 6 people or $209 plus taxes and fees. They have a shuttle service to POM for about $12/per person.