Fort Lauderdale tips and tricks

[Love2Cruise2015]

My family (DH, DS 16, DS 18) and I will be flying into and sailing out of Fort Lauderdale for the first time and I was wondering if you could give me some tips and tricks of places to stay and is the Disney Port close to any hotels or the airport? (I am used to Port Canaveral)

 

[erionm]

My family (DH, DS 16, DS 18) and I will be flying into and sailing out of Fort Lauderdale for the first time and I was wondering if you could give me some tips and tricks of places to stay and is the Disney Port close to any hotels or the airport? (I am used to Port Canaveral)

Cruise Terminal 4 at Port Everglades is roughly 5 miles from the airport. There are a lot of hotels with the area.

We are sailing out of Port Everglades next year and I currently have two different hotels booked for the night before. They are the Hyatt Place & Four Points by Sheraton and both are in Dania Beach (near airport). Neither room is prepaid and can be cancelled up to 2 days prior to check in.

 

[MaidMarian444]

We stayed at the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas Blvd with our two kids (13, 11) before our cruise in June and were very happy. This hotel is NOT on the beach but is on a canal/river with tons of pleasure boats floating by. The pool is nice and there are two or three restaurants, all decent. Las Olas Blvd is fun and there is a lot of partying, but we never felt unsafe. Some really nice shopping on the street too. The Tommy Bahama bar was very pleasant with an excellent live musician. There weren’t many young kids at the hotel, but lots of families with older kids who were there before a cruise. People are having fun, with smiles on their faces.

On the morning of the cruise, there were tons of people standing around waiting for their Ubers to their cruises, but no one waited long. We decided to have lunch by the river and head to the port afterwards and I’m so glad we did that. The hotel lunch was peaceful and good, while the cruise ship felt chaotic and overstimulating when we first got on. Plus the food at the hotel was better. I wish I could remember how much the Uber cost, but I believe it was reasonable. Under $20.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

erionm and MaidMarian444 are the hotels near the port within walking distance or do you need to take an uber or some form of transportation?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

erionm and MaidMarian444 are the hotels near the port within walking distance or do you need to take an uber or some form of transportation?

There are some within "walking distance", but I'd take some form of transportation, as the roads are big traffic corridors.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

There are some within "walking distance", but I'd take some form of transportation, as the roads are big traffic corridors.

Ok, Thank you

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We just got home on Friday from a 4 night out of Port Everglades where we stayed the weekend before in Fort L. We stayed at the Maren Hotel (Curio Collection/Hilton). It was a 10 minute Lyft from the airport with Traffic and a 5-ish minute Lyft to the port. It's on the A1A across the street from the beach and within walking distance of tons of restaurants. Rideshares are plentiful (we use Lyft to get free Hilton points) and quick to arrive. Where ever you go, there's tons to do.

 

[auntlynne]

The Hilton is shown as a 20 minute walk. But checking out the area, There are no sidewalks visible in the port area.

These are from Google maps.





I like to recommend Dania Beach if you are without a car. Pick a hotel you like that offers complimentary airport shuttle (or use rideshare / taxi) and you can walk to a choice of restaurants for dinner (look at a map to see hotels like Hilton Garden Inn, Hyatt Place and more that are in this area). The morning ride to the port is so much closer than Orlando to PC. I hope it works out great for you.

Even a stay at Ft Lauderdale Beach, itself, or the above-mentioned Las Olas give you great options.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

The Hilton is shown as a 20 minute walk. But checking out the area, There are no sidewalks visible in the port area.

These are from Google maps.

View attachment 893146

View attachment 893147

I like to recommend Dania Beach if you are without a car. Pick a hotel you like that offers complimentary airport shuttle (or use rideshare / taxi) and you can walk to a choice of restaurants for dinner (look at a map to see hotels like Hilton Garden Inn, Hyatt Place and more that are in this area). The morning ride to the port is so much closer than Orlando to PC. I hope it works out great for you.

Even a stay at Ft Lauderdale Beach, itself, or the above-mentioned Las Olas give you great options.

True re: the Hilton. We stayed at the Maren a Hilton property.

 

[IrishEye]

So now that we are ast thinking of walking to the port, a hotel on the River or Intracoastal is what we do. Love taking the water taxi up and down the river, it is a day pass. 15th Street Fishery is one of my favorite restaurants. Right at the mouth of the harbor and across from the Hyatt Pier 66 with several yachts. Boats coming from the river or Intracoastal to the harbor pass to get under lift bridge. Several taxi stops and boat operators give you information as you head up the river. Stop at the end of Las Olas through the shops to the street with lots of shops and restaurants. There's the river walk and more restaurants and parks. Port Everglades is our favorite port if we are not doing WDW pre cruise. Have Fun !

 

[Calantha]

We've sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale twice this year. First time stayed at the Hilton Homewood Suites in Dania Beach - free shuttle and then Uber to airport. I don't recommend the Homewood Suites. Second time, stayed at the Residence Inn across the street from the Homewood Suites. Same thing - free shuttle to hotel and then Uber to the airport. No issues with Uber either time. Residence Inn is undergoing a renovation and the renovated rooms are pretty decent.

Only downside is aren't good dining options unless you do delivery.

 

[semiswtkindalife]

We stayed at Embassy Suites on 17th St in the port area. It was spacious, had a variety of restaurants/shops nearby, and there were no issues grabbing an Uber to either the port or the airport.

 

[SomePixiedust]

We stayed at Embassy Suites on 17th St in the port area. It was spacious, had a variety of restaurants/shops nearby, and there were no issues grabbing an Uber to either the port or the airport.

How long ago was this? I've heard they are renovating one floor at a time but are still open. I'm hesitating due to construction noise.

 

[semiswtkindalife]

How long ago was this? I've heard they are renovating one floor at a time but are still open. I'm hesitating due to construction noise.

We were there mid-July. There was some construction but I think it's certain sections at a time vs one floor at a time. We had a room on the opposite side of the building from the construction so it wasn't noisy at all.

 

[SomePixiedust]

We were there mid-July. There was some construction but I think it's certain sections at a time vs one floor at a time. We had a room on the opposite side of the building from the construction so it wasn't noisy at all.

Good to know, thank you!

 

[erionm]

We stayed at Embassy Suites on 17th St in the port area. It was spacious, had a variety of restaurants/shops nearby, and there were no issues grabbing an Uber to either the port or the airport.

I looked into that Embassy Suites as well as the Holiday Inn Express on 17th St, but both were more expensive than the Hyatt Place and Four Points by Sheraton in Dania Beach that I have reserved for next August. The price difference between the two I have reserved is only $10 and I'll might keep the Hyatt. I have quite a while left to decide before the cancel deadline of 2 days prior.

 

[mmouse37]

We stayed at the Hilton Marina in January pre cruise. It was OK but not sure I would stay there again. The main building was nice but the annex buildings needed a refresh (that's the room we had). Service was good, Pool was nice. Lots of nice yachts sailing by. We had a rental car so we did not eat at the hotel. There is an Avis car rental return on Miami Road which is right by the port but when we went to return the car the line waiting for the shuttle to the port had about 35 people waiting. We knew by looking at the crowd that it would at least an hour before we got on a shuttle. We called an Uber instead and the uber was there before the shuttle bus returned to the office to get more people. So glad we did it that way.

Post cruise we stayed at the Marriott Airport Dania Point. We took a taxi from the port to the hotel. A very nice hotel and the manager, Michael, is a huge Disney and DCL fan. There is even pin trading some nights. He chatted with us for about an hour all about DCL when we check in. Would definitely stay there again. Took a shuttle from the hotel back to the airport.

MJ

 

[gatordoc]

I’ll put in a plug for the Snooze Hotel. It’s on A1A across from the beach, with great ocean views from both the second floor and roof decks. Very reasonably priced, the rooms are clean and comfortable, and they have all sorts of extras like beach toys, floats, chairs, etc. Lots of shops and restaurants within walking distance. We only stayed one night before our cruise (about a 5-10 minute drive to the port), but would definitely stay a few days if we wanted a beach vacation.

 

[MaidMarian444]

I’ll put in a plug for the Snooze Hotel. It’s on A1A across from the beach, with great ocean views from both the second floor and roof decks. Very reasonably priced, the rooms are clean and comfortable, and they have all sorts of extras like beach toys, floats, chairs, etc. Lots of shops and restaurants within walking distance. We only stayed one night before our cruise (about a 5-10 minute drive to the port), but would definitely stay a few days if we wanted a beach vacation.

This was our first choice for our June cruise, but it was booked, so book early!

 

[JWG]

We stay at the Marriott FLL Airport at Dania Beach. It has a free airport shuttle, is a full service hotel (we have status with Bonvoy, so why we prefer Marriott), and is about 3.5 miles from the port. We pre-book an Uber from the hotel to the port which works out very well.

It’s also a 10-20 minute walk to a bunch of restaurants and entertainment. Last time we stayed the day after and went to a movie.

We’ll be staying there the night before our next cruise again.