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Fort Lauderdale hotel before cruise?

We are taking our first cruise in April and decided to drive to Ft. Lauderdale instead of fly. Can anyone recommend a hotel where we could stay the night before, which would be near the Princess Cruise Line boarding area and might permit us to leave our car parked there for a week? Thanks so much!

For our upcoming cruise from FL we're using Priceline (haven't booked yet). I've learned a bunch of info at: www.BetterBidding.com If you go to the Florida section (TIPS area), they give info about all the hotel zones that cruisers can use, and they show the hotels that have been reported on Priceline and Hotwire. For Hotwire, they've also figured out how to identify some of the hotels offered by the amenties shown. In that TIPS area of Florida, there is also a list of the hotels that allow you to park there while you're on the cruise. If you ask for help there, they'll give you specific advice on how to bid.

Not to promote Hyatt Hotels, who my husband works for, but the Hyatt Pier 66 is quite near the cruise docks. We stayed recently and had a nice view across the water of all the ships in port, and I know several of the lines put up guests in that hotel. There was a huge hotel check-in for one cruise while we were there, and organized enough that they had their own check-in area, so the hotel must be very familiar with the cruising guests' needs. I would guess you could leave your car during the cruise if you had been a guest, but am certain there will be a charge for doing so.

I second the vote for the Hyatt. A lovely property.

I've stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66 several times and like it -- and it is certainly convenient. The cruise line will pick you up right at the hotel, although you could basically walk if you really wanted to. I checked their website, thinking the April prices might be out of sight, but for a couple random dates I checked there were numerous prices from $149 -$154 -to $239 a night. Just beware that their lowest rate is usually a total prepayment and there is never any credit or return if you cancel for ANY reason. Their parking is only $10 a night if you self park and you CAN leave a car there for the week.

I glanced at this request this a.m. before I went out to garden and thought well, I would recommend Pier 66 or the Marriott Marina which is across the street from the cruise terminal. Pier 66 is a great old hotel, I haven't stayed at the Marina Marriott for a while but we used to enjoy it if we could get a room on one of the top floors. A lot of noise otherwise as it is right on the 17th st. bridge. One of my favorite experiences is to sit outside at the California Cafe (on the Pier 66 property) and watch the mega yachts that park there. In the past, the Highlander would be parked there, a 200ft. plus dark green yacht owned by Forbes. Last time I was there there was a 200 ft sailboat with quite the crew....blonde adonises (how would one spell the plural of Adonis). I was interested to see the owner, but alas, did not. Always something to watch, a great wine list and often very good, even great food.

lest you think I am a boating ignoramus, I will edit my prior comments to say "docked" instead of "parked". <G> LMF

Thanks so much for your help! I'll definitely look into the hotels/websites you all recommended. We usually "wing it" and this time I'm trying to actually plan ahead and maybe save some time/money/aggravation/etc!

LilMsFoodie--the "boats" at those docks are absolutely incredible, aren't they? I've never seen such a collection of megabucks yachts in one place! Glad to hear others liked the hotel. It was our first trip over and I was very pleasantly surprised, having known in advance 1) that it was a franchised hotel, and 2) that it was older. Now Ill happy to go back anytime! We were lucky enough to have been invited out on the Highlander for an evening cruise while we lived in Savannah and it was in town during the Summer Olympics (Savannah was the sailing venue). It's an amazing vessel...complete even with it's own heliport! The staterooms were more lavish than you would expect to find even in your average mansion. It was quite an experience!

You'll love this story, OO. Many years ago (maybe about 1970?) we were going up the glass elevator at Pier 66 which was jam packed with people heading up to the famous revolving cocktail lounge. The elevator got stuck near the top for over an hour, apparently because it was overloaded. We pushed the button right away and an operator in the lobby answered. We said we were stuck and to send drinks, half joking. After 10 or 15 minutes we rang again and she said, "oh my goodness, I thought you were joking". They had to call the special Otis repairman. Meanwhile people out by the pool all pulled up chairs and sat watching us --presumably to see if we'd fall. When they finally got it "unstuck" and we got to the top, they never even offered us a drink and we got horrible stares from everyone waiting to go down because we had "held up the elevator so long". I still get a little nervous when I get in that elevator. Also having stayed in the tower and seen the views a few times, I'd now just as soon have one of the cheaper "lanai" or "cabana" rooms which are out through the garden area, some on the water. They are nice and large, and quieter than the main tower.

Patrick, funny, that was the era when exterior elevators and spinners were hot. Smoking. I remember it well. Hyatt Regency Dallas opened in '77 (and we were there :>) with both. Lines to get into Reunion tower (aka, The Ball) went around the block. People in the elevator gasped as it rose. It really was impressive, looking north from downtown. We went to Pier 66's spinner, and were one of a handful of folks there. Spinners are now a "has been", dating us all. Fun for old times sake, however, and I still have the same difficulty orienting myself as to who and what is acutally moving. The worst part of your story was that there was no free drink at the end of the tunnel. What sort of Hyatt Touch is that anyway? Unpardonable. Complain now...perhaps they will redeem themselves? I have a good elevator story too....actually two of them. Hyatt Regency Dallas opened in the spring...and we had house guests of our own at the time (fortunately also hotel people so they understood). DH got a call that a main water pipe had broken on day #2 and water was literally cascading down the elevator shaft of the atrium lobby, creating a spectacular waterfall as it hit the top of the elevator and bounced on down. Guests impressed with all this new hotel had to offer, thought it was part of the program. :> Didn't see DH again until the next day and he was just managing committee at that point. Second story occurred not too long after that opening day, when a guest intent on being as impressive as the hotel, doffed his clothes as soon as the elevator doors closed, and pressed his naked body to the glass panels as the elevator rose the 20 something floors through the atrium. Too funny, and unfortunately for him, most everyone else thought it funny too. :> It'll take me a while to become inured to the view from the tower in Lauderdale, but did you think the villas were better quality? It sounds like the same arrangement we have here, casitas and tower. I love being in the casitas, for the same reason you enjoyed your lanai rooms, probably. Separate and private...minimizing the hotel feel. When you are on the go all summer, are you staying in hotels?

Well, when on the go all summer, yes mostly hotels, although more and more renting apartments for a week at a time -- most of those travels in Europe. Before my "retirement" I was going across the Alley to Ft. Lauderdale frequently on business at the Design Center of the Americas in Dania. And no trip was complete without an overnight and a dinner at Mark's Las Olas, once it opened.