Flying into Ft. Laud but sailing from Miami

[J*e*n]

Hey! Looking for some advice. We are flying into Fl. Laud the day before our cruise in October and sailing out of Miami..... Has anyone done that? Looks like a lot of the transfers are from the Miami airport but it was WAY cheaper for us to go to Ft Laud....

Any advice? Also recommendations for hotels since we are flying in a day early to play it safe?

Thanks!

 

[wdwwishes]

If you're renting a car to get to and from Miami, check the rates to make sure you don't get hit with one way drop fees if you just rent a car to get to Miami and then one to get back to Ft. L.. We were charged and extra $100 once on a one way rental. We were told it's because the cars are specific to the rental office and if they don't get it back, they have to go get the car from where you drop it off. They just pass that expense onto the renter.

 

[ashdquick]

We went on a Norwegian Cruise in December of 2012. There was a total of 17 of us all together. We flew into Fort Lauderdale and stayed for one night in Fort Lauderdale. We stayed at the Sleep Inn & Suites. We enjoyed it there for the little time we were there. There is a Publix grocery store & Walgreens right next door/across the street so in case you forget anything. The morning of the cruise we took a shuttle to the Port of Miami. It took us about 30 minutes to get there (at most 45 minutes). I completely agree with you that it was much cheaper for our family to fly into Fort Lauderdale rather than Miami. I think the shuttle company we used was QLS Transportation. We also used this same company to pick us up from the Port after our cruise and they drove us back to the airport in Fort Lauderdale. We enjoyed the shuttle but there was no way we could afford to get 3 or 4 rental cars to get all of our family to the hotel then to the port and then back to the airport. It would have just been way too expensive for us.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[WiscBill]

We just returned from a back to back on the Wonder from Miami and we flew in and out of FLL on Southwest. We used a car service to get us back and forth from the airport. When we arrived, we used QLS limo service, which used a large Ford van, which could have easily held six people and their luggage (There were three of us, with two big suit cases, three carry ons and a dive bag). They were prompt, called us by cell phone when we arrived, and picked us up right outside the luggage area. It was about a half hour drive to our hotel. We stayed at the JW Marriott Marquis hotel in downtown Miami (using Marriott points, it was pricey with $s). It was very nice, with a lot of good restaurants and shops for last minute items in the area. It had a great pool on the 19th floor and a virtual bowling alley and billiard room. Going back, we used Larry's Limo to pick us up at the port. We had a very early flight at FLL (1010 am) and had heard good things about them. They were excellent. We were picked up in an SUV, which held all our luggage and more. Rod, our driver, was a total professional and got us to the airport in about a half hour in stop and go traffic because of an accident on I-95. I highly recommend Larry and Rod (if you can get him). Both car services cost about $100 each way. There are cheaper alternatives, some as low as $15 per person, but they are scheduled, share ride services. Because of our luggage, we decided to pay for the private car. According to the FLL airport site, a cab ride to downtown is about $75.