Advice on Miami vs FLL airport

[Lizzie67]

Hello fellow mouse-eared cruisers! Quick question on the amount of inconvenience it would be to fly into FLL for a cruise out of Miami. I was in the Keys a few weeks ago - in and out of FLL - so I know the distance between the airports (I've flown out of both). What I can't seem to figure out is ..........how much of a pain would it be to fly in and out of FLL and also stay in a hotel there (pre and post cruise)? The reason I ask is because flights to Miami are absolutely insulting in price and FLL is cheaper/has better schedule. We would fly in on Friday, stay the night in FLL then take transportation to the cruise port the next day. Reverse it on the way out. Is there a reasonably priced transportation from FLL to the port? The ticket price difference is about 600-700 dollars. My husband actually values 'less complicated' over my 'less expensive' tendencies. The hotel I have picked for Miami offers airport shuttle and also shuttle to the port (complimentary). So, I would have to figure in transportation down to the port if I stayed in FLL.

Oh and P.S.- For our Keys trip, we had a car so MIA vs FLL wasn't really an issue. We don't want to rent this time.

Any experience/advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Cheburashka]

I'm flying into Fort Lauderdale in June, renting a car to do an errand, then will drop off my car at the Miami airport and take the Disney transfer bus to the Port of Miami. I don't think that's excessively complicated, personally. YMMV.

 

[ldo]

We just did this. Easy to Uber from FLL hotel to port then back to fLL. We stayed at Marriott springhill suites near fLL. Entire hotel was filled with cruise passengers. It’s a fine place-a bit crazy in am at breakfast.

 

[princesscinderella]

FLL is our preferred airport it’s way less crazy than MIA.

 

[CruiseGoon]

We're going on the Dream in March for my kids' Spring Break. I already have tickets flying in to MIA and spending the night at the Comfort Suites to take advantage of the airport and cruise port shuttle. The return flight through MIA was out of the question because of the prices. We're leaving out of FLL when I managed to find tickets that were marginally reasonable. The return flight isn't until after 8PM, so we'll be likely renting a car from the port and returning it to FLL.

 

[mjkacmom]

Most people I know who go to Miami fly through fll and stay there if they need a hotel, so much cheaper and still close.

 

[BrokeMack]

Based on my recent experience at MIA I would jump through any and every hoop necessary to use FLL instead.

 

[jujubiee4]

I have and would continue to do this in the future. We found FLL much easier/cheaper to fly
into. I can't wait until Disney opens their new port later this year or next.

 

[tlovesdis]

FLL had cheaper and better flight options for us coming from CA. I also heard Miami is a pain so I was glad to find something to FLL. We will uber to our hotel in Miami.

 

[SeanSD]

Another vote for FLL

 

[Lesverts]

Done both, both are major pains currently because of ongoing construction. Cruise lines typically offer transfers to both airports on disembarkation, just give yourself an extra hour to go from Port Everglades to MIA or Port of Miami to FLL. I prefer Lauderdale because it is easier in general. And I'd trade the extra travel time for 700 dollars in my pocket any day of the week.

 

[TreeFalls]

We did FLL. We didn't use uber/taxi, but based on what we observed it would be very easy to do what you describe.

 

[hrhdhd]

We're going on the Dream in March for my kids' Spring Break. I already have tickets flying in to MIA and spending the night at the Comfort Suites to take advantage of the airport and cruise port shuttle. The return flight through MIA was out of the question because of the prices. We're leaving out of FLL when I managed to find tickets that were marginally reasonable. The return flight isn't until after 8PM, so we'll be likely renting a car from the port and returning it to FLL.

Just know that there are no car rental offices at PortMiami itself.

 

[Lizzie67]

CAN I HAVE A SEMI-TANTRUM OVER FLIGHT PRICES? I mean, they are so high atm they almost seem like a parody. I check every day (sometimes multiple times). I have a credit with United so I'm stuck with them. Grrrrrrrr

 

[CisforCookie991]

CAN I HAVE A SEMI-TANTRUM OVER FLIGHT PRICES? I mean, they are so high atm they almost seem like a parody. I check every day (sometimes multiple times). I have a credit with United so I'm stuck with them. Grrrrrrrr

Are you looking for spring break? They’re super crazy. We’ve never flown for spring break before but, based on flying in general, thought it would come down around 2 months before. I watched the prices climb and climb for months then at about 3 months before our trip, I finally bought because it didn’t look like it was going to come down and planes were starting to fill up. Checked again a few weeks later and the price had gone up another $500. We’ve only flown to Florida in August but this was easily 2-3x more than we’ve ever paid. Also all the Southwest vouchers that are out there from the Christmas mess are probed by helping drive up prices.

 

[Lizzie67]

This is for July. The 'bouncing' for prices is not the normal 20-50 bucks. It is bouncing - like you said - hundreds of dollars. With 4 tickets, that is amounting to 2k in difference. I'm watching each day so that when the prices do hit a low, I will know when to grab. But I just can't help but feel that there is a good degree of 'screwing the customer' when prices vary that wildly. It does not seem to be rooted in actual cost fluctuations. Airlines have been bailed out numerous times and with this type of insane pricing and changing prices, I can see why intervention is often needed.

Yeah, I'm salty this morning. From eggs to airlines, I'm tired of being siphoned for every cent I have.

 

[CisforCookie991]

This is for July. The 'bouncing' for prices is not the normal 20-50 bucks. It is bouncing - like you said - hundreds of dollars. With 4 tickets, that is amounting to 2k in difference. I'm watching each day so that when the prices do hit a low, I will know when to grab. But I just can't help but feel that there is a good degree of 'screwing the customer' when prices vary that wildly. It does not seem to be rooted in actual cost fluctuations. Airlines have been bailed out numerous times and with this type of insane pricing and changing prices, I can see why intervention is often needed.

Yeah, I'm salty this morning. From eggs to airlines, I'm tired of being siphoned for every cent I have.

We flew a couple of times last July, and looks like we bought in mid-April and early May for those trips, so you might still be too early. Or maybe we're all just screwed and this is the new normal. Might I make a suggestion? Set some Google flight trackers for now (though I've found that sometimes, by the time they send me the email, the price has changed again) then resume your daily checking in a bit. I've also bought single legs at a time if the price was good for one way but not the other.

 

[BrokeMack]

CAN I HAVE A SEMI-TANTRUM OVER FLIGHT PRICES? I mean, they are so high atm they almost seem like a parody. I check every day (sometimes multiple times). I have a credit with United so I'm stuck with them. Grrrrrrrr

Our Vancouver flights are looking rough as well. I can either pay $3,500 for 3 (main cabin) or spend 200k points (also United). Delta is cheaper but it's Delta via WestJet, so we'd still have to pay for seat selection, etc.

 

[tlovesdis]

CAN I HAVE A SEMI-TANTRUM OVER FLIGHT PRICES? I mean, they are so high atm they almost seem like a parody. I check every day (sometimes multiple times). I have a credit with United so I'm stuck with them. Grrrrrrrr

Flight prices are insane everywhere! My BFF lives in Denver and I used to pay less than $200 round trip and my last trip was almost $400. My flight total for my upcoming cruise was over $600 from CA to FL.

 

[crauen]

My flight from Newark to Miami last August was cancelled at the last minute and I was able to rebook on a flight to FLL with my son later that same day. We were staying a pre-cruise hotel in Miami before our cruise on Royal and took an Uber from FLL to our hotel in Miami. Honestly the nicest Uber I have ever taken. Immaculately clean new SUV with an ipad with trivia mounted on the back of the front seat. I checked my receipts and the total was $70 with a 25% tip. Could not have been easier. Trip was about 45 minutes in the middle of the day.