We've decided to take a 5-day caribbean cruise that departs from Miami. We're planning on flying in a few days early to spend 2 nights in Miami. We're not huge partiers so we don't necessarily want to stay in the middle of South Beach. We'd like a simple place on the beach for around $150 a night if possible. Priorities: Simple room, nice beach, clean hotel, and price. Thank you!

When is your cruise? That will have a huge affect on what is available for $150 per night. We're doing the same thing next March and want to avoid the Spring Break crowd so we're probably staying in Hollywood, near Ft. Lauderdale - we'll just take a cab to the cruise terminal. We're looking at the Sea Downs - www.seadowns.com - but there are others.

A lot of people also recommend Lauderdale-by-the-Seas. The Blue Seas Courtyard there - www.blueseascourtyard- looks great.

First week in April. How much would cab be from Ft. Lauderdale? I'm not at all familiar w/the area. Thanks.

Just an fyi - sometimes its cheaper to fly into Ft. Lauderdale for Miami cruise, even factoring in transportation to and from the port.

Any idea how much transportation from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami cruise port would be? Would car rental be necessary?

http://www.floridalimo.com/
This is a popular company to use. Right after you claim your bags, you can walk outside where they have a little stand. No reservations needed, and its $18 a person in a shared van to Miami. If you have a larger group, you might want to rent a limo. We used a limo with them on the way back to FLL and had no problems either way.

If you grab a cab, I've heard it can run around $75 or higher, depending on time of day and traffic.

just an fyi - lots of cruise info here
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/