What area to stay in before a Miami departure

[monarchsfan16]

We will be flying into FLL on Monday 4/25 for a Wednesday 4/27 departure on the Wonder out of Miami. Thinking we would like to go to the Shark Valley area of the Everglades on Tuesday, and stay in Miami Tuesday night. But what area (FLL, MIA, somewhere in between) would be recommended to stay Monday night? We're 2 29 year olds, so not opposed to hotel/city switching. In fact, hotel switching is typical for us, and we are really hoping to use Marriott points one night and Hilton points the other, to give us 2 free nights. We've never been to southern FL, so the whole area is new to us. We will have a rental car, so we have to take parking into account. If you have recommendations for the night right before the cruise too, those are also appreciated.

 

[MunFam]

We actually did what you did. We flew in on a Wednesday morning for a Friday departure. We went to Shark Valley and did an amazing airboat tour with Everglades Safari Park. It was fantastic and our guide was super. We then went to the actual National Park Vistor Center too. That same day, we drove all the way to Islamorada in the Keys for dinner at sunset. We got rained out on arrival day, so our plan was to do that on separate days but it did not work out.

We stayed at the Homewood Suites-Miami Airport Blue Lagoon. We flew in to MIA, so it worked better for us. They offered free parking, free wifi (that actually worked!), daily breakfast and weekday dinners with wine that were actually really good. Just down the street was a Marriot with an Enterprise rent a car inside of it, so that is where we picked up our rental car. We returned it there and used Uber to get to the port. It was our first Uber, so the ride only cost us $5 (it would have been $30 if it was not our first ride). We would definitely stay there again. They went above and beyond to make sure we had a good stay. They offered us a 2 bedroom suite since there were 3 adults and 1 kid in our group...even though we only booked a one bedroom. There is also a Costco and super market near by.

 

[DisneySisters]

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami last year. It was ok, nothing special, but nice being able to see the ship when we woke up the morning of embarkation from our room. It's right across from the port and the mall, lots of places to eat and shop. This year we are trying the Intercontinental Miami, down the street, just because it looks like it might be a little nicer.

 

[martiniglassesforme]

We stayed at the Sheraton at MIA. Beautiful property. Nominal charge for parking but it was fine. We dropped our car at the Avis lot for cruise passengers and took their free shuttle to the terminal. Easy money.

 

[SantaMonicaDisney]

Are there kids activities near the port? Or do we have to go further to find a park?

 

[Ofinn]

We actually did what you did. We flew in on a Wednesday morning for a Friday departure. We went to Shark Valley and did an amazing airboat tour with Everglades Safari Park. It was fantastic and our guide was super. We then went to the actual National Park Vistor Center too. That same day, we drove all the way to Islamorada in the Keys for dinner at sunset. We got rained out on arrival day, so our plan was to do that on separate days but it did not work out.

We stayed at the Homewood Suites-Miami Airport Blue Lagoon. We flew in to MIA, so it worked better for us. They offered free parking, free wifi (that actually worked!), daily breakfast and weekday dinners with wine that were actually really good. Just down the street was a Marriot with an Enterprise rent a car inside of it, so that is where we picked up our rental car. We returned it there and used Uber to get to the port. It was our first Uber, so the ride only cost us $5 (it would have been $30 if it was not our first ride). We would definitely stay there again. They went above and beyond to make sure we had a good stay. They offered us a 2 bedroom suite since there were 3 adults and 1 kid in our group...even though we only booked a one bedroom. There is also a Costco and super market near by.

Are there restaurants around the Blue lagoon area? Places to walk to? I've noticed the hotels in that area are a little cheaper than downtown.

 

[MunFam]

Are there restaurants around the Blue lagoon area? Places to walk to? I've noticed the hotels in that area are a little cheaper than downtown.

Ummm...sort of. Not like a downtown would be, but there are some within a half mile. The hotel shuttle will drive you there.