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South Florida Questions

My husband and I will be taking a cruise in April. The cruise departs from the port in Miami but we will be flying into Ft. Lauderdale. Also, we were thinking about flying in a day early and staying 1 night in South Beach. I would appreciate any help in answering these questions: 1. How far is the Ft. Lauderdale airport from South Beach? 2. What is the best way to get from the airport to South Beach and approximately how much will it cost? 3. I would appreciate South Beach hotel recommendations. 4. How far is South Beach from the Miami pier? Thanks to all that can help.

1.Ft Laud.airport is about 35-40 min. to South Beach=there are car services 2.Definitely take a car service=a taxi will cost a fortune if you get stuck in traffic on I-95 3.Best way to get to S.Beach is straight down I-95 to I -395 over to the beach- you run right into S.Beach 4.The Abbey Hotel is right in the thick of things as is the Hotel Cardozo-and neither will break the bank- High end hotel in S.Beach would be the LOEWS or the Delano 5.South Beach is approx 20 min across Biscayne Bay to the Miami Pier

I had the potential for a similar scenario but ended up just flying in/out of Miami. However, one option i looked into was renting a car at FLL airport and dropping off at a location in downtown Miami (where you could then take a taxi to the cruise ship), or i believe there is even a car rental company that allows drop off at the pier. Car rentals in FL are CHEAP... looking at the above i think the cost was <$35/day, which was cheaper than a taxi was going to cost. Just keep in mind that many hotels will charge for parking as well, so you may have to factor that into your budget. If budget is a concern, you may want to look into staying in downtown Miami.. many people have been getting the Miami Hyatt for <$30/nite on Priceline, and downtown is pretty close to the cruise ships. We are flying down a day early and staying at the above mentioned Hyatt, and then staying a day late in South Beach.

Thank you Andy and thereuare for your replies. Andy, are there any specific car services that you can recommend? I don't know how to go about looking for one without a specific name since I am not from the area. Once I have some names, I can look up websites or phone numbers and contact the companies. Also, thanks for the hotel recommendations. thereuare, where are you flying in from. I live in NY so it's not a long flight to Ft. Lauderdale at all. My flight leaves from Islip at 8AM and I will arrive FTL at 11:11. That actually gives me plenty of time since the ship does not depart until 5:00PM. I am just worried about possible unexpected delays, although mid April should be fine. We're just past snow and before hurricane seasons at that time... but you never know. So, to make a long story short, I am trying to decide if it is worth all the hassle to fly in a day early, or if I should just fly in the same day as the ship departs. What do you think?

I too am flying from NY (this trip out of LGA to MIA). I've always been told, whenever possible, arrive a day before your cruise departs. Last cruise was to Alaska in Aug '00, we flew out the day before and although our plane was set to leave at 11am or so, it was delayed due to mechanical problems, first by only 1 hour, then by another, and on and on... we didn't depart until well after 4pm. Fortunately for us we were traveling a day early, but there were others on the plane who's ship was departing that day, and they DID miss their boat... there were about 25 people or so in that situation. Since they booked airfare on their own, they were responsible for getting themselves to the next port to meet the ship. My fiancee and I both enjoy sailing on the ship more than we enjoy the ports, so for us, we would consider this time away from vacation. I'd rather start my vacation early, fly out a day early, get a good nite's sleep, and wake up and go right on board (also avoiding some of the line that develops later in the day). As i stated above, we bid for a room on Priceline and are staying at the Downtown Hyatt which i got for $27 (about $35 with taxes and fees). For that price, i can get a lot of extra peace of mind. On another thread i recently read they also brought up the issue of the airline losing luggage, which i think is an unreasonable, although possible fear.