Travel Help

[phawk1423]

Hi, Family of Six(kids ages 17,15,13,11) will be sailing out of Miami Nov 23rd-29th on the Magic. We are considering flying into Miami on Nov 20th for a few days. I see the days before being pretty chill with hopes of hanging out by the pool, some shopping, eating and general relaxing. I am looking for advice on the following:

1.) Should we fly into to Fort Lauderdale or Miami? Right now, flights are similarly priced. With kids that are teens and pre-teens, what area do you think they are likely to enjoy the most.
2.) Since the majority of the time we will be on the cruise, do I need to rent a car to enjoy the area? If I save on parking and car rentals, I would be okay with paying more for lodging.
3.) Recommendations on where to stay.
4.) Recommendations on what to do, where to eat, etc. 11/20 is basically be all travel since we are traveling from SD so we would have two full days before the cruise. Looking to fly out on the 30th so just one day/night after the cruise.

Thanks!

 

[kaytieeldr]

1. Miami.
2. You should research what there is to do in the area and decide accordingly. Are there free tours, museums, beaches, etc? How will you get to them?
I think you're not going to get a lot of responses about Miami on a Disney-centric forum? Maybe try Trip Advisor? Or Miami Tourism?

 

[Vincent Biesiot]

Hi, Family of Six(kids ages 17,15,13,11) will be sailing out of Miami Nov 23rd-29th on the Magic. We are considering flying into Miami on Nov 20th for a few days. I see the days before being pretty chill with hopes of hanging out by the pool, some shopping, eating and general relaxing. I am looking for advice on the following:

1.) Should we fly into to Fort Lauderdale or Miami? Right now, flights are similarly priced. With kids that are teens and pre-teens, what area do you think they are likely to enjoy the most.
2.) Since the majority of the time we will be on the cruise, do I need to rent a car to enjoy the area? If I save on parking and car rentals, I would be okay with paying more for lodging.
3.) Recommendations on where to stay.
4.) Recommendations on what to do, where to eat, etc. 11/20 is basically be all travel since we are traveling from SD so we would have two full days before the cruise. Looking to fly out on the 30th so just one day/night after the cruise.

Thanks!

Hi, Family of Six(kids ages 17,15,13,11) will be sailing out of Miami Nov 23rd-29th on the Magic. We are considering flying into Miami on Nov 20th for a few days. I see the days before being pretty chill with hopes of hanging out by the pool, some shopping, eating and general relaxing. I am looking for advice on the following:

1.) Should we fly into to Fort Lauderdale or Miami? Right now, flights are similarly priced. With kids that are teens and pre-teens, what area do you think they are likely to enjoy the most.
2.) Since the majority of the time we will be on the cruise, do I need to rent a car to enjoy the area? If I save on parking and car rentals, I would be okay with paying more for lodging.
3.) Recommendations on where to stay.
4.) Recommendations on what to do, where to eat, etc. 11/20 is basically be all travel since we are traveling from SD so we would have two full days before the cruise. Looking to fly out on the 30th so just one day/night after the cruise.

Thanks!

We did Miami last year spent a couple days on Miami Beach. I would recommend staying more to the north end in a more modern hotel. But would suggest staying off the beach because of inflated price. We walked the beach kids will like to see that, we also did a Duck Boat tour that’s pretty awesome too. Vince from ND

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

If the price of the tickets is are the same I would fly to Miami since that is where you are sailing out of. Less travel on the day you set sail.

 

[rg35]

I suggest posting your questions on Cruise Critic. There is a board there specifically for Florida departures.
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/386-florida-departures/

 

[JimMIA]

Hi, Family of Six(kids ages 17,15,13,11) will be sailing out of Miami Nov 23rd-29th on the Magic. We are considering flying into Miami on Nov 20th for a few days. I see the days before being pretty chill with hopes of hanging out by the pool, some shopping, eating and general relaxing. I am looking for advice on the following:

1.) Should we fly into to Fort Lauderdale or Miami? Right now, flights are similarly priced. With kids that are teens and pre-teens, what area do you think they are likely to enjoy the most.

MIAMI. Okay, I'm biased, but the truth is Miami is WAY better than Ft. Lauderdale. MUCH more to see and do.

And in addition, it is much closer to Port Miami than FLL.

2.) Since the majority of the time we will be on the cruise, do I need to rent a car to enjoy the area? If I save on parking and car rentals, I would be okay with paying more for lodging.

I would research that carefully, but I'd be inclined to rent a car for your pre-trip stay.

(Full disclosure: I drive for Uber and Lyft in Miami, so I have a vested interest in you using Uber, lol. But that said, I'm also an enthusiastic ambassador for Miami, and I want you to have a great time.)

You can do the math yourself, but here are the pros and cons I see with a rental car:

Pros:

• FREEDOM to go wherever you want whenever you want.
• Some of the things you might want to see/do will be pretty close, but some of them will be far away. Having a car makes some things possible, and other things financially feasible. Among the places I would recommend (in addition to the obvious beaches) are Everglades National Park (40 miles to the closest and best spot) and the Florida Keys (about 70 miles). Pretty expensive Uber rides!
• If you avoid rush hour, Miami is not a terrible place to drive. Google Maps makes it easier and the vast majority of our streets run E-W or N-S.
• Car rental is easy and simple at the MIA Rental Car Center right at the airport, and you can probably return the car downtown on your way to the cruise ship.

Cons:

• Expense. Also be sure to check with your hotel to see if they charge for overnight parking.
• Miami drivers. Sorry, but we do have our moments. Just keep ample following distance, expect the unexpected, and we won't disappoint.

3.) Recommendations on where to stay.

I have some friends -- from the DIS, actually -- who cruise out of Miami every year. They stay at the Hampton Inn Mary Brickell Village (50 SW 12 Street). This is in the Brickell area of Miami, just south of the main downtown area -- it's actually our financial district. Very centrally located, LOTS of restaurants nearby (and a major mall). Super-convenient location, and there are a number of other moderately priced similar hotels in the same area.

4.) Recommendations on what to do, where to eat, etc. 11/20 is basically be all travel since we are traveling from SD so we would have two full days before the cruise.

Well, the standard local advice is "South Beach!!!" but I'd recommend something different. You're going to get enough beach on your cruise, so do something different.

I would go to the Shark Valley Entrance of Everglades National Park (www.nps.gov/ever ) and spend about 1/2 day there. Take the naturalist guided 2-hour Tram Tour (https://www.sharkvalleytramtours.co...rates-for-shark-valley-everglades-tram-tours/ ) and learn more than you can imagine about a legit natural wonderland that few Miamians even realize is there. Either on the way out, or on the way back, take an airboat ride (http://www.evergladessafaripark.com/ -- this is where the National Park Service takes VIP's for airboat tours...and they're great) -- it's a must, it's the real deal, and your kids will talk about it to their grandkids.

The second day, I personally would go to the Florida Keys. As an alternative, you might want to go to South Beach, but I would go down to the Middle Keys (the pretty part). It's a long drive (probably 150+ miles round trip), but you'd see and do something really unique. I can give you detailed suggestions if you're interested.

Looking to fly out on the 30th so just one day/night after the cruise.

Are you returning on the 29th and leaving the 30th? If you're arriving and just going to the airport to fly out, no problem.

However, if you are spending the night on 11/29, there is a potential problem. Art Basel is our biggest annual event, and it starts on December 2. That means that thousands of people will be coming in the weekend before and hotel accommodations may be tight (and pricey). Make your reservations early!

If I can be of any further assistance, feel free to PM me, or post questions here.

 

[JimMIA]

One other thing -- MiamiScapes (https://www.miamiscapes.com/index.html#.Wi_9NEqnFPY )

This is a commercial website and has a lot of advertisers/partners/etc. But they also obviously know Miami VERY well, and their narratives on things to do are spot-on.

 

[jec6613]

FLL and MIA basically serve the same city pair, but they are served by different airlines differently. The location of either wouldn't bother me, but I wouldn't fly anybody except AA into MIA, it's their major South/Central American hub and will have more flights. Hence MIA is the better choice just for flight scheduling if the cost is equal. Usually FLL is less expensive, which is why I've flown into there before.

 

[JimMIA]

FLL and MIA basically serve the same city pair, but they are served by different airlines differently. The location of either wouldn't bother me, but I wouldn't fly anybody except AA into MIA, it's their major South/Central American hub and will have more flights. Hence MIA is the better choice just for flight scheduling if the cost is equal. Usually FLL is less expensive, which is why I've flown into there before.

I don't know that FLL is generally less expensive, but it's true that some of the budget airlines only fly there (SWA and Jet Blue, to name two). AAL has roughly 50% of the domestic flights into MIA, but Delta and United also have quite a few.

Either airport would be fine -- I would choose the airport depending on cost and flight convenience. But there is little question that Miami is a better place to STAY for a couple of days prior to or after a cruise. The Ft. Lauderdale area is a great place to live, but it's a small city and there's just not that much to do there.

 

[jec6613]

I don't know that FLL is generally less expensive, but it's true that some of the budget airlines only fly there (SWA and Jet Blue, to name two). AAL has roughly 50% of the domestic flights into MIA, but Delta and United also have quite a few.

As an O&D flight even on airlines servicing both, I've almost always found FLL to always be somewhat less expensive. Connecting, on the other hand, MIA is always less expensive, sometimes considerably.

 

[JimMIA]

The other thing someone might try is open-jaw or two one-way trips -- flying into one airport and flying home from the other.

The two airports are only about 26 miles apart, but depending on where you start the difference may be less than that. There is often no difference between two one-ways and a round trip these days, so that is another options.

Or, you might also choose to fly into MIA on AAL because the flight options are more convenient, but return from FLL on SWA because of cost savings. Lots of options to consider.