Miami or Ft Lauderdale?
 

Our cruise is out of Miami, and we plan on spending a few days pre-cruise in Miami. I'm reading many negatives about MIA airport. Will it be easier for us to fly to FLL and take a shuttle to our Miami hotel late at night?

We will not have a car, and flying from West Coast our arrival wll be late due to time difference. How easy is it to find a shuttle to Miami?

Or should we forget Miami, stay in Ft Lauderdale, and take a shuttle to Miami port? We are not adventurous travelers, like museums, and it seems Miami has more to offer.

Stay in Miami - I was the one who started the thread about MIA airport. But it is not like you are flying Iran - it is an annoying airport but certainly easier than trying to get from FLL to MIA.

Keep in mind, for hotels, that Miami and Miami Beach are 2 different entities. You want to stay in Miami Beach.

Gail, it not you, or at least not only you :) Found negatives about that airport on CruiseCritic too.

Flying into MIA is a big plus for us as this is a non-stop. Flying back we don't care as much if something goes wrong, so we'll fly out of FLL - much cheaper.

As Gail notes, MIA isn't a highlight of a trip to Miami. However, it isn't so terrible that it would be worth rearranging your whole pre-cruise plans.

Dayenu, the Miami airport is gross... but that's NO reason not to fly non-stop (agree with other posters). I think you're from the SF area? When we recently flew to SFO, we actually drove down to Miami (we live in Ft. Lauderdale) in order to fly non-stop. I just wouldn't worry about it at all. Weather delays would affect either airport the same way (when is your cruise?)

Thank you all for reassurance. The cruise is in January. Yeah, I know, too early :) I have 2 more shorter trips to plan, so starting now.

We'll stop in Honduras, Belize, Roatan (sounds like furniture ;) ) and the private island of Norwegian.

Plan to spend Wednesday - Sunday in Miami, found a nice hotel in Coconut Grove next to a Metrorail station, working out the price details.

Then will start searching for flights. I'd rather pay a bit more to have convenient flights. We tried red eye - my husband was not feeling well all day.

Oh, well, the usual ;)

You SURE you don't want to rent a car? For 4-5 days in Miami? I'd be lost in South Florida without a car (it's kinda like L.A. in that sense). I'm not really "up" on Metrorail (no one I know uses it), but I believe it's pretty limited, especially for where you will want to visit... our transit system here is not like SF or NY where you can rely on it and use it to get your way around town. Taxis are really expensive here, so if you want to explore Miami Beach, South Beach, etc., you'll have a problem without a car.

Which hotel in Coconut Grove? If it's next to a Metrorail station, it'll be pretty much right on U.S. 1 (main thoroughfare, very noisy, lots of traffic). Be sure to check that all out...

Cruise stops sound great! No weather worries that time of year (compared to summer, early fall, etc.) It'll be beautiful ;)

If you're staying in Coconut Grove, you should really reconsider the no-car thing. And if you want to be near the beach, Coconut Grove is not the place to stay.

No, thank you, I don't want to be near the beach.