What to do after disembarking Magic while waiting for 6 PM flight out of Fort Lauderdale?

[Jack15129]

Hi! We are taking our first cruise on the Magic Nov 14-20 out of Miami. Our flight leaves at 6 PM from Fort Lauderdale on the 20th and I'd like some suggestions on what to do to pass the time. (We will still be on vacation after all!). We'll have our luggage and will likely rent a car, especially if you all would recommend doing that.

Thanks for the help! It will be just DW and myself on this one! We're so excited!

 

[Saamh]

We are cruising out of Miami in December and also flying in/out of Ft. Lauderdale. On disembarkation day we are renting a car from Alamo (location is 1.4 miles from port and they have a free shuttle) and are going to Everglades Holiday Park for an Everglades tour. The cost to pick up the car rental by the Port and drop at the FLL airport is less than a shuttle from the Port to FLL. We lived in Ft. Lauderdale for a year a while back and enjoyed taking guests there to see alligators and take an airboat ride! Our kids have never seen the Everglades so we thought it would be a good way to spend the day.

 

[gismo1554]

Hi. Just to say there is a tour DCL do which is available to book once you get onboard. It is called the HOHO bus tour or something like that on the DCL site. Basically you get a bus from the ship and they store your bags then you get to do the Hop On Hop Off bus around Miami for as long as you want. When you are done (or need to get back for flight) you return to where they drop you off in the Central Hub, pick up your bags and you get a bus to the airport. It goes to both Fort Lauderdales airport and Miami airport at certain times so you need to work out the time you would need to get to get there for check in. I think its $54 per person which for me is fine as travelling solo but might be a bit steep for a family. Still its definitely an option if you don't fancy driving but want to see a bit of Miami. The Central Hub area has Hard Rock Cafe there along with Bumba Gumps and a couple of other chain restaurants (no Buffallo Wild Wings much to my disappointment as we don't have these at home and love them)! If you go on to the DCL site you should be able to find the trip under Miami port adventures

 

[professorandmom]

Plan to do something - the Ft Lauderdale airport is incredibly small on the pre-security side (IMHO). Not very enjoyable while you wait until 4 hours before your flight so you can check your bags and go through security.

 

[gumbypee]

maybe check out tripadvisor?

I havent been down that way in awhile but I remember going to Lion Country Safari as a kid. or if you like football maybe see if there is a tour of the stadium conducive to your timing

 

[bethy]

We have the same issue and are travelling with young children and our flight home is 6.5 hours long. Gulp.

So we booked two nights (the night before we disembark and the night after) at a nice beachfront resort so we can relax and swim and get organized for our flight home. It was the only way to get the room for the times we wanted.

As we get a little closer to the date I'm going to see if there might be a nice resort offering day rates nearby. Apparently they sometimes offer them if bookings are low.

 

[Jack15129]

Thanks for the suggestions! That airboat tour sounds fun so I'll definitely check that out!
We're now kicking around staying an extra night. Something about getting off the Magic and not wanting to be home the same day...

 

[gismo1554]

Pier 66 offers Day rooms but not sure if thats near the miami port or not as usually cruise from Port Everglades

 

[pjpoppins]

saamh, would holiday park be your suggestion for doing an airboat ride? Always wanted to do one. I didn't realize we were so close to the everglades. Was gonna consider the hop on hop off but this would be awesome. My DD is a total animal lover too so I think she would really like it.

 

[SeattleSuz]

Go on an everglades tour and see some alligators (not a super far drive and a pretty cool experience) or heck, just go to the beach at Fort Lauderdale. It's a gorgeous beach and you will love the last bit of relaxing before heading back to reality.

 

[SeattleSuz]

We have the same issue and are travelling with young children and our flight home is 6.5 hours long. Gulp.

So we booked two nights (the night before we disembark and the night after) at a nice beachfront resort so we can relax and swim and get organized for our flight home. It was the only way to get the room for the times we wanted.

As we get a little closer to the date I'm going to see if there might be a nice resort offering day rates nearby. Apparently they sometimes offer them if bookings are low.

We did the same thing on our last trip. Took the latest flight out a few days after getting off the ship, drove to The Keys, and enjoyed the beach for a couple of days (and an airboat tour). It was def worth it.

 

[bethy]

We did the same thing on our last trip. Took the latest flight out a few days after getting off the ship, drove to The Keys, and enjoyed the beach for a couple of days (and an airboat tour). It was def worth it.

Yes, but we are only going to be at the hotel for about 5 hours. We would have stayed one extra night but ended up with the same dilemma with early check out and a late flight. There is only one direct flight home to seattle out of the Miami area per day. Plus we get benefits by flying Alaska Airlines.

I think I need to change to a different airline loyalty program if we are going to make Florida a regular destination!

 

[SeattleSuz]

Yes, but we are only going to be at the hotel for about 5 hours. We would have stayed one extra night but ended up with the same dilemma with early check out and a late flight. There is only one direct flight home to seattle out of the Miami area per day. Plus we get benefits by flying Alaska Airlines.

I think I need to change to a different airline loyalty program if we are going to make Florida a regular destination!

That's why we flew in and out of FLL, it was way cheaper and more options for flights, and yes, we flew Alaska. Granted the drive to and from the MIA port was kind of annoying, but hotels were cheaper up there too and ON the beach.

 

[pjpoppins]

Not trying to hijack the post (hopefully helping OP and others) but how is traffic in the area? This would be on a Sunday. If google or mapquest says 45 min to the airport is it truly 45 or is it 1.5 hours? Thanks!

 

[Jack15129]

Hi Group!

Well...we thought about it and now we found what we are doing after disembarkation. We're going to Disney World, (for a day anyway)! We found out that on the Friday we get off the Magic there is a Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom. We've never been to that and so we very excited to be going! We changed our departure flight from FLL on Friday to MCO on Saturday. We also booked one night at Port Orleans RS for Friday. The new flight also gives us a full day to hang around the World on Saturday before taking ME to airport.

Now for our last challenge...Does anyone have a suggestion on getting a reasonable rental car from the Miami port area to WDW area? We just need it for 24 hours.

Thanks for the help!

 

[dcassetta]

Two suggestions for getting a rental car. One is to work with National Rent-A-Car, you can return that car to the Disney car care Center, and then they will shuttle you to your hotel. The other option is to work with Alamo Rent-A-Car. Their office is at the Dolphin Hotel, when you drop your car there you can then take transportation over to the parks. I would think you would be able to get a midsize car from either agency for under $100.