Another Pre-cruise Hotel Query. Port Everglades/FLL, this time.

[CruiseGoon]

Got a cruise booked on the Destiny for January, 2026 with Castaway Cay and Lighthouse Point. Is there any stand-out preferences for a pre-cruise hotel?

We're looking for included shuttle airport-hotel and hotel-cruise terminal. Breakfast would be great. Also wondering if any places have large suites or family rooms?

I tried searching but couldn't find out the hotels Disney would be using for pre-cruise stays.
UPDATE: I did a little bit of research and found that the Red Carpet Inn Airport/Cruise port Fort Lauderdale has both complimentary airport and cruise port shuttles. It looks like they run at specific times an/or might be a call to request. It doesn't look like they have a complimentary breakfast.
2460 West State Road 84, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
*Was strongly recommended against. Thanks for the feedback. I got that sense by looking at the photos, but the local opinion carries more weight.

The Courtyard By Marriott Fort Lauderdale Airport and Cruise Port looks like they have a regular shuttle to the cruise port (not sure if it has a charge or is included) and an included airport shuttle. There is no complimentary breakfast.
400 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach, Florida, USA, 33004

 

[Kwami]

I don't have any personal experience at this port. Disney's pre/post-cruise hotels can be found here: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ports/fort-lauderdale-florida/

They list Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa and Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

No previous experience either. I can report back as I leave in 10 days and staying at the Marriott. I was booked at the Hilton through DCL. I then received an email from DCL that a large party had booked there. They were closing the pool, limiting the gym and allowing no outside food or beverages. Absolute deal breaker. DCL had no availability at the Marriott this late in the game, but I was able to book myself. And they canceled by Hilton stay, even though it was beyond their cancellation period. Marriott has breakfast. There is not a shuttle from the airport for either of these hotels- either private, taxi or Uber. You can book transfers to the port. It is close and $25/pp. If your party or family is large, not cost effective.

 

[OKW Lover]

While you may find some hotels that offer a free shuttle from the airport I don't think you'll find any that offer it to the port.

 

[justafigment27]

We stayed at the Hyatt House Fort Lauderdale Airport - South & Cruise Port in November. There is a Hyatt Place directly across the street.

They both have a free airport shuttle (actually shared between the two) and included breakfast. You can purchase transfers to the cruise port from the hotel, but we took an Uber.

Both have rooms that sleep 6 with 2 queens and a sofa bed. They are located in a sort of outdoor mall area with several restaurants and a Sprouts grocery store within walking distance. Our flight got in around 6:30pm, so it was good for our purposes … we walked to a Tex-Mex place for dinner and then came back to the hotel to crash. In the morning, we ate the free breakfast, walked to Sprouts and got a few bottles of water to carry on and then packed up and called the Uber.

There’s a second Hyatt Place at the cruise port (it has sunshine yellow siding) and that doesn’t seem to get as high of a rating in reviews, so that’s why we stayed at the airport location.

We have a lot of Hyatt points and tend to stay on Hyatt Place or Hyatt House locations if available because we like the three separate sleeping spaces and the included breakfast. And, you know … it’s free. LOL.

 

[PAGA2003]

The Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach is a DCL transfer hotel and absolutely fantastic. Beach front with resort style pool, cabana rentals and good restaurants onsite. We did 2 nights pre-cruise and did the DCL transfers which were absolutely seemless. I booked direct to take advantage of my status benefits and added the transfers through DCL separately.

 

[jwalk03]

I don't think any hotels offer a free shuttle to the port. Many offer a paid option though. There are some that have free shuttles from the airport.

We just stayed at the Marriott Fort Lauderdale Airport and it was a nice hotel with several stores and restaurants in easy walking distance. Free airport shuttle and they offered a paid cruise shuttle that you could reserve. $20/pp

 

[iona]

The Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach is a DCL transfer hotel and absolutely fantastic. Beach front with resort style pool, cabana rentals and good restaurants onsite. We did 2 nights pre-cruise and did the DCL transfers which were absolutely seemless. I booked direct to take advantage of my status benefits and added the transfers through DCL separately.

Was it like a transfer from WDW to Port Canaveral where a) you say goodbye to your bags at the hotel and don’t see them again until you’re on the ship and b) you get an earlier PAT/boarding group?

 

[PAGA2003]

Was it like a transfer from WDW to Port Canaveral where a) you say goodbye to your bags at the hotel and don’t see them again until you’re on the ship and b) you get an earlier PAT/boarding group?

Yes! They took our bags from our room at 8ish I believe and then we met in the lobby at 945 the best I remember (the port is only 15 minutes away). We were walked immediately to check in at the port with no line. We were assigned boarding group 5.

 

[ironz]

We stayed at the Hyatt House Fort Lauderdale Airport - South & Cruise Port in November. There is a Hyatt Place directly across the street.

They both have a free airport shuttle (actually shared between the two) and included breakfast. You can purchase transfers to the cruise port from the hotel, but we took an Uber.

Both have rooms that sleep 6 with 2 queens and a sofa bed. They are located in a sort of outdoor mall area with several restaurants and a Sprouts grocery store within walking distance.

We also stayed at this Hyatt House in May 2024. Used the free shuttle from airport to hotel. The shuttle from hotel to cruise port was available, but I wasn't 100% sure if it was a nice shuttle bus or a small van prior to our stay, so we booked transportation (including 2 car seats) for our group of 9 with Jiffy Jeff and had a good experience. Turns out the Hyatt House has a nice shuttle bus, so we would have been fine taking that to port for about $15 per person.

One of the family groups of our group has 5 in the family, so the larger suites with ample sleeping spaces worked out great. Prices were reasonable. Free breakfast was good.
We also walked to nearby restaurants, and to Sprouts. (and had an Instacart delivery with a few other snacks delivered)

 

[Joel0917]

I’ve stayed at embassy suites 17th. Uber to port was $13 for family. Super easy. Great pool to chill at day before and also awesome breakfast

 

[princesscinderella]

We live locally and I recommend any of the hotels in Dania pointe it’s a new shopping area with a 3 different hotels there of various price points. They have an amazing 4dx theater there which is so fun to see a movie in 4dx. Theres a ton of good restaurants and stores if you need to grab something last minute all walkable. It’s not by the beach but super close to the airport and the port too.

Harbor beach Marriott is an amazing hotel but it can be overrun with teens for prom/homecoming Fridays and Saturday nights during those times of the year. It’s also one of the pricer hotels since it’s directly on the beach. There are also nice restaurants and hotels on 17th street near the port too. Pier 66 just reopened and it’s a Ft Lauderdale classic hotel with a rotating restaurant/bar on the top.

 

[CruiseGoon]

We live locally and I recommend any of the hotels in Dania pointe it’s a new shopping area with a 3 different hotels there of various price points. They have an amazing 4dx theater there which is so fun to see a movie in 4dx. Theres a ton of good restaurants and stores if you need to grab something last minute all walkable. It’s not by the beach but super close to the airport and the port too.

Harbor beach Marriott is an amazing hotel but it can be overrun with teens for prom/homecoming Fridays and Saturday nights during those times of the year. It’s also one of the pricer hotels since it’s directly on the beach. There are also nice restaurants and hotels on 17th street near the port too. Pier 66 just reopened and it’s a Ft Lauderdale classic hotel with a rotating restaurant/bar on the top.

Thanks for the local insight.

 

[Lesverts]

Do not stay at the Red Carpet Inn. Absolutely awful.

 

[Gentry2004]

I’ve stayed at embassy suites 17th. Uber to port was $13 for family. Super easy. Great pool to chill at day before and also awesome breakfast

This is what we are doing for our summer cruise. Stayed at the Hyatt Place in Dania Point for a quick in/out for Taylor Swift at Miami and it was fine but nothing special.

 

[RedHead0186]

I’ve stayed at embassy suites 17th. Uber to port was $13 for family. Super easy. Great pool to chill at day before and also awesome breakfast

We stayed here as well last September. The hotel was very busy as there was some sort of local comicon/convention, but that's luck of the draw. Super easy to get to port, and there's a grocery store across the street if you want to stock up before boarding. Bonus, if you're on the correct side of the hotel, you can see the ship docked when you wake up that morning (that was so cool!).

The restaurant on site was not great-the food was fine, but the service was slow and it was pricey. But the evening reception and breakfast (both included) were nice.

 

[MomOTwins]

Has anyone stayed at Lago Mar? Seems like it gets good reviews with a beach with a view of ship sailing in and some rooms that sleep 5

 

[CruiseGoon]

No previous experience either. I can report back as I leave in 10 days and staying at the Marriott. I was booked at the Hilton through DCL. I then received an email from DCL that a large party had booked there. They were closing the pool, limiting the gym and allowing no outside food or beverages. Absolute deal breaker. DCL had no availability at the Marriott this late in the game, but I was able to book myself. And they canceled by Hilton stay, even though it was beyond their cancellation period. Marriott has breakfast. There is not a shuttle from the airport for either of these hotels- either private, taxi or Uber. You can book transfers to the port. It is close and $25/pp. If your party or family is large, not cost effective.

Let us know how things went for your stay when you get a chance.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Let us know how things went for your stay when you get a chance.

Hi @CruiseGoon- Just got back home last night. Here are my thoughts. We took a cab to the Marriott from the airport. There were just two of us (two adults). Finding and getting a cab was easy. They do form a line and everything is orderly. $25 + tip for driver was the cost. Keep in mind this was a holiday weekend for many, so the traffic, everything was super busy. I was happy we did not try renting a car. The room was not ready when we arrived at around 11am. They were fully booked and super busy-weddings, two conferences etc. We had a nice lunch there and got into room around 1pm. Clean room, no view. This was a last minute change, hotel fully booked, so I didn't expect much. Pool was packed, beach was packed. You do pay a $47 resort fee which gives you a chair at the pool or a lounger at the beach. You are sort of tucked away here, so if you want to shop or eat elsewhere (because the food is expensive) you will need transportation-cab, golf cart, rental. We did find our way and walked along Seabreeze Blvd, and found some places to eat right across from the ocean. I saw many families bringing in food like pizzas. There is a Starbucks on site for morning coffee. A really nice smoothie place. And they offer a breakfast buffet. We did smoothies. Bus to port was easy. They did take the bags from our room. So my final thoughts are-lovely hotel and resort that offers everything (pool and oceanfront), which is great if you have kids. Pricey for both room and food. Transfers for us was the way to go for ease, but if you have a larger party, not cost effective-arrange for a cab. The port is very close. I must admit, I love Port Canaveral for ease of renting a car from Orlando and driving around. That is most familiar to us as we have been doing it for years. I am not sure what I would do the next time if our ship left from this port. Maybe not such a pricey hotel and one where things are more walkable area to food and stores. Then a cab or something else to the port.

 

[CruiseGoon]

Hi @CruiseGoon- Just got back home last night. Here are my thoughts. We took a cab to the Marriott from the airport. There were just two of us (two adults). Finding and getting a cab was easy. They do form a line and everything is orderly. $25 + tip for driver was the cost. Keep in mind this was a holiday weekend for many, so the traffic, everything was super busy. I was happy we did not try renting a car. The room was not ready when we arrived at around 11am. They were fully booked and super busy-weddings, two conferences etc. We had a nice lunch there and got into room around 1pm. Clean room, no view. This was a last minute change, hotel fully booked, so I didn't expect much. Pool was packed, beach was packed. You do pay a $47 resort fee which gives you a chair at the pool or a lounger at the beach. You are sort of tucked away here, so if you want to shop or eat elsewhere (because the food is expensive) you will need transportation-cab, golf cart, rental. We did find our way and walked along Seabreeze Blvd, and found some places to eat right across from the ocean. I saw many families bringing in food like pizzas. There is a Starbucks on site for morning coffee. A really nice smoothie place. And they offer a breakfast buffet. We did smoothies. Bus to port was easy. They did take the bags from our room. So my final thoughts are-lovely hotel and resort that offers everything (pool and oceanfront), which is great if you have kids. Pricey for both room and food. Transfers for us was the way to go for ease, but if you have a larger party, not cost effective-arrange for a cab. The port is very close. I must admit, I love Port Canaveral for ease of renting a car from Orlando and driving around. That is most familiar to us as we have been doing it for years. I am not sure what I would do the next time if our ship left from this port. Maybe not such a pricey hotel and one where things are more walkable area to food and stores. Then a cab or something else to the port.

Thanks for the review. I'm probably not all that interested in the priciness, but to know how you felt about the hotel and the surrounding area is very good to know. Glad you enjoyed your stay.