# Fort Lauderdale to Miami Cruise ship port



## RandRseeker (Oct 8, 2010)

We are planning a cruise out of Miami.  It is much more economical for us to fly into Ft Lauderdale.  Can anyone tell me how far apart FLL and the Miami cruise ship port is?  Are there hotels near the cruise ships?  We would likely fly in the day before the ship sets sail.  What would be the best way to get from Ft Lauderdale to Miami?  We are not interested in renting a car.

Thanks for any advice you can provide, as we are unfamiliar with this part of Florida.


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## jjmanthei05 (Oct 8, 2010)

It looks like its about 30 miles according to mapquest so I don't know if a cab would work. I did a quick google search and found this site. It might help out.

http://www.fort-lauderdale-to-miami.com/

Jason


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## Bruce W (Oct 8, 2010)

*Van service cheap.*

Have not used them, yet, but, according to many reviews they are very reputable.  We had planned to do the FLL instead of Miami for our April cruise, but, found good fares from Newark to Miami on  AA. 
Very responsive to any email questions as well. 


http://www.ridesas.com/html/rates.html


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## Brian201 (Oct 8, 2010)

We flew into FLL and sailed out of Miami last Sept. We used SAS and they were very good.   http://www.ridesas.com


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## LannyPC (Oct 8, 2010)

RandRseeker said:


> We are planning a cruise out of Miami.  It is much more economical for us to fly into Ft Lauderdale.  Can anyone tell me how far apart FLL and the Miami cruise ship port is?  Are there hotels near the cruise ships?  We would likely fly in the day before the ship sets sail.  What would be the best way to get from Ft Lauderdale to Miami?  We are not interested in renting a car.
> 
> Thanks for any advice you can provide, as we are unfamiliar with this part of Florida.



Unless you do not have a valid driver's license, I think that renting a car is actually the best and most economical way to go.

It costs about $35 to rent a car (then add maybe $15 for gas).  Drive yourself to a decent overnight motel/hotel anywhere between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.  Then drop your car off at the Miami Airport (there's usually no charge to drop your rental car off in the same state).  The car rental company usually has free shuttles to the cruise ship ports.

We went that route about 6 years ago and it worked out great for us. 

That's definitely cheaper than taxis.


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## schiff1997 (Oct 8, 2010)

As stated by Brian201 and Bruce W, we are using SAS in about 9 days, cost is $15.00 each from our hotel in Ft Lauderdale to Port of Miiami, plus tip.  Emailed them and Steve replied very quickly with our confirmation advising us he will have a van at our hotel at 11 am to transport us.    We are also using them to return back to FLL airport after our cruise for the same price.  THe hotel we are staying at has a free shuttle from the airport to their hotel.  The reviews I have read on them is very good.

Only 10 more days until we board for our first cruise.  I am so excited:whoopie:


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## cds62 (Oct 8, 2010)

It is about a 45 minute drive from FLL to the Port of Miami area. If you are looking for a hotel for the night before your cruise I would recommend the Intercontinental in downtown Miami.


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## LannyPC (Oct 9, 2010)

I forgot to add:  If you rent a car, you also have the option of visiting some place(s) in the Miami area before you board the ship.

Also, if you've forgotten to pack something for the cruise or you need to pick up some last-minute items, you can drive to Wal-Mart, Walgreen's, or some other grocery store and pick up what you need for a fraction of what you'll pay on the ship.


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## csalter2 (Oct 10, 2010)

*Use Sas*

As a few others have said use SAS. I had this very question a year ago as my wife and I flew into Ft. Lauderdale and were cruising out of  Miami. 

SAS was a great deal. They picked us up from Beachplace Towers on time. Drove us to the cruise ship. So I did not have to worry about parking fees or a rental. They were on time to pick us up when the cruise was over to take us back to BP Towers. 

We saved good money. We also met others going on our cruise and that was nice to chat with them. 

Do your self a favor and save some money and hassle.


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## chriskre (Oct 11, 2010)

You can hire a private car service like a limo service to get you from FLL airport to Miami.  They are more reasonable than you'd think and will work around your schedule.

I recommend staying somewhere near Downtown Miami or South Beach the night before your cruise and then just taking a cab to the port.  I think the stress of getting to the port on time will be greatly reduced if you overnight in Miami over Ft. Lauderdale.  If you check in to your ship early you can do lunch on the cruise ship and start the fun early.  

I wouldn't recommend staying near the airport in Miami.  It's too far from the port.


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## optimist (Oct 11, 2010)

In August, we arrived at Ft Lauderdale airport and took a cab to the Lauderdale cruise terminal only to find out our ship was docked in Miami   We had no choice but to cab it and the mistake cost us $90 ($15 for the first ride plus an additional $75 to Miami).    
On the way back, we found a van that had extra spaces and took us back to the airport for $20 each.   

Book your round trip van ahead of time is the lesson I learned from that experience


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## carl2591 (Oct 11, 2010)

be sure to check out http://www.cruisecritic.com/ lots of good info and  much like tug you get honest answers to questions. 

have fun..


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## Jennie (Oct 16, 2010)

It's been a few years since I did it but I spent the week before our cruise in a Ft. Lauderdale timeshare. When I reserved the rental car, I picked it up at the Ft. Laud. airport and dropped it right off at the Miami cruise port. It was a Hertz car but I saw other major car rental companies there too. I dropped my husband off with our bags right at the entrance to the terminal, returned the car, and walked back to the terminal, which was equivalent to about a two block walk. There were free airport type vans circling around too, taking renters to and from the car rental area.


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