Late arrival to FLL, getting to Miami

[Cara]

We flew into FLL and cruised out of Miami last year. Our flight got in at around 7 or 8 p.m. or so. We had no trouble getting an Uber to Hampton Inn Miami Brickell. I had a first-time user code, which cut the cost down, but I don't think it was more than $40 or so before the discount.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

When we sailed from Miami (2015 IIRC) it was Easter week. Miami hotels were astronomical, $500+ so we spent 2 nights at WDW. We were staying at BCV so it was easy to rent a car from Alamo at the Dolphin that last night. In the am we ate bf at the Cape May Cafe then drove to MIA. Alamo in MIA provides free shuttle to the port as long as you show your rental car paperwork. Very easy drive with GPS or google maps phone app. It had been a while since we rented a car in FL and so nice that we could use the Sun Pass lanes. They billed the tolls plus a small daily fee for any days that tolls were used. I think it was around $12 total for the day.
If we had to pay an arm and a leg for a hotel stay, we wanted a place where we know for sure there’d be fun even if it rained.

 

[RedSox68]

We've decided to fly to FLL because we really prefer Southwest and they don't go to Miami. I think we'll shuttle to Miami and then rent a car. My husband wants to celebrate his birthday post-cruise by going to the Everglades National Park. Even though I spent my younger years in Miami, we never did go there. So it should be fun.

 

[Partyof4LA]

Thank you all for your suggestions and input, I appreciate it!
Our flight was rescheduled to arrive even later, now won't be landing until almost 11pm so I was really second guessing the hotel in Miami. I kept checking and a room at the Hampton Inn near the airport in Fort Lauderdale finally opened (we only book Hilton chain hotels bc of the ability to use points or book at very low employee rates). We cancelled our room in Miami. There is a free shuttle running from airport to hotel that runs until midnight. If we don't make it, we will try uber for the first time. We booked private transportation with Larry's Limo to get from our hotel to port the morning of the cruise. Post cruise, we will take the free shuttle from port to MIA to pick up a rental car from Alamo for our 2 days in Hollywood. I've read that pickup is easier there than near port. We will return the car at FLL the morning of our flight home. All said, transportation will cost $233 (if we catch the hotel's free shuttle). And it seems relatively hassle free.

For any others who might be planning to arrive in FLL and travel to Miami late at night as we were originally planning to do, Jiffy Jeff's does offer a shared ride with pick up from FLL after 3pm, but charge a higher rate to do so. Our quote was $135 (as opposed to the $60 it would have been before 3pm). We also had a quote from Larry's Limo for private transport that night and it was around the same price as Jiffy Jeff's. FG Car services never responded to my quote request. A one way rental from FLL to be dropped off near port the next morning was $68 with parking at hotel. The idea of getting the car after our long flight, then trying to find my way around Miami at midnight, then fighting the crowds to return the car the next morning and waiting for another shuttle to port just was not appealing to me. A rental car for the entire week to pick up and drop back off at FLL plus parking at the hotels and port was $430.

I feel much better about our current plans. Thank you all again!

 

[SleepyDeb]

We flew into FLL and cruised out of Port of Miami last week. Stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn FLL Airport. We took Uber to the Port. Very easy. Tooks about 30 mins and cost about $35.

Editing to add that this was UberX (the standard Uber.) There were just 2 of us for we didn't need the big one.

 

[richmo]

...
I feel much better about our current plans. Thank you all again!

Sounds good. As I mentioned much earlier, we did two one way rentals with Alamo: FLL to MIA, then the free shuttle to the port and then the free shuttle from the port to MIA, then drive to FLL. For us, that was by far the cheapest option.

Taking the Alamo shuttle from the Port of Miami to MIA is easy..the Alamo bus comes pretty frequently just in front of the cruise terminal. Just make sure you have documentation for your rental with you, the driver will ask to see it. The bus will take you to the roof of the MIA rental car center, then take the elevator down to Alamo, where you'll pick up your car. Of course, do online checkin for your car (you can do that before you leave home) and you can go straight out to the garage.