Does anyone know a modestly priced hotel in Fort Lauderdale that has free or inexpensive shuttle service both from the airport and to the cruiseship piers? Would appreciate any leads for October.

The Holiday Inn Express on 17th Street is a nice modest hotel with shuttle service to and from pier/airport. It is located very close to Port Everglades. They include continental breakfast and free internet service as well. It's very clean and newer. I have no problem recommending it. If you're looking for something more upscale than I'd recommend the Hyatt Pier 66. Unlike the Holiday Inn Express, all the rooms have balconies which is very nice. They don't have shuttle service but this is no big deal as cabs will only run about $10. The best way to get this property is on priceline (bid 4 star; Beach for area) Before bidding go to www.biddingfortravel.com for lots of helpful information.

I wouldnn't recommend Amerisuites....kind of dark and more shopworn than Holiday Inn Express IMO.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn North (there are two locations) in April. It served the purpose for one night without breaking the bank They have a free shuttle service (their vans are easy to spot at a/p as they have pink flamingos on the roof - tacky but effective in a sea of vans).

When you check in they assign you a van time to go to pier, we went at 12 noon and it was about a 10 min. ride.

Rooms were fine, breakfast was ok (breakfast room was a little crowded, lots of cruisers and a gymmastic group from North Carolina), but it worked out ok. They had free internet access in the lobby too which was a plus, and the staff and van drivers were all very pleasant.

There was a strip mall across the street with a grocery store and Wendy's, McDonald's etc. I do not think there are any "nice" resturants in the immediate area but that was OK with us. We picked up a couple of sandwiches and salad at the Winn-Dixie grocery store and ate them in our room as were were dead tired anyway from having to be at a/p at 5:30 a.m. that day.

Judy:

I booked the Ramada Inn at the airport for our trip in June 06. Free shuttle from airport and to cruise port the next day. Free hot breakfast, pool, dance club, restuarant, and tiki bar that also sells hamburger type foods around the pool area.

I am traveling with 4 graduating seniors so I wanted to have everything available at the hotel.

Is the Hampton Inn North, the same as Hampton Inn Airport North? I'm assuming they are, but you know how assuming turns out sometimes.

The Hampton Inn Airport North will allow you to park your car there while you cruise for something like $10-15 for the entire cruise and they will shuttle you to the port. I'm staying there also because in addition to the almost-free parking, I am using Hilton points to get a free night - it doesn't get much better than that.

No complaints for Holiday Inn Express on 17th Ave. It's newer, quite spacious for a budget hotel, modern, and very clean. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat. A very nice staff with free newspapers, breakfast and free internet. I may be wrong but it seemed like the closest to the cruise pier as well. It's not a resort though if you're looking for something more than just a basic, clean motel for a good price.

For October, which is a dirt cheap time to be in FLL, you really will save money and get a nice hotel by using Priceline as the first post suggests (4 star, downtown). I bid 65 dollars last September and got the Marriott Harbor for my family and later the Embassy Suites for us.

TTT for norjus

Thanks for the lead to all those great emails!