BEST WAY TO TRAVEL FROM WEST PALM TO PORT EVERGLADES AND BACK

[bdchili]

Here we go....do to my procrastination and choosing to sail on the Oasis during Spring Break, plane tickets from Dallas to Fort Lauderdale or Miami....went throught the roof.  There are 5 of us and I just couldn't absorb the 8oo+ per ticket the airlines were asking, so I chose to fly into West Palm Beach instead and save....oh... 3 thousand dollars.

 

I realize its only 50 miles or so away and I am coming in a day early.  The plan is to stay in Fort Lauderdale on Friday night, and get to the ship early on Saturday.  So two questions:

• Best way to get to Fort Lauderdale and back?
• Does the "Luggage Program" work for PBI(West Palm) on return?  (Unfortunalty, I think I know the answer to this one.)

Our return flight doesn't leave until 6:15pm, so we have a silly amount of time on the back end, but we will also have a ton of luggage to tote around, if someone doesn't have a great idea as to what to do with it.....Somebody please lend me your expertise.

 

B-

[Matt]

I don't blame you for flying into West Palm instead.  It's actually an easy drive (assuming you are renting a car).  Take I-95 to 595 and then follow 595 to the end; then follow the Port Everglades signs.

 

You may find this blog post helpful in getting to Port Everglades: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2013/12/13/getting-your-port-fort-lauderdale

 

In regard to luggage, I think you may be on your own.  

[Tylor]

I don't know where you'll be staying in the Ft. Lauderdale area, but you probably only have a couple options. 1: Rent a vehicle and drive yourself there and back. This might be pricey as you'll have pay for the vehicle the week while you're on the ship. 2: Take a taxi back and forth, which will also be expensive.

 

I'm not familiar with West Palm Beach airport, so not sure about other options. Fort Lauderdale Airport is almost in walking distance to the port. If you fly into FLL you'll likely see Oasis of the Seas (among other ships if they are there) from your plane window.

 

Enjoy your trip on Oasis of the Seas! It's a magnificent ship and you'll be WOWed from the moment you step onboard!

 

Just to tease you, here is what you'll first see...

 

[cj9200]

As Matt mentioned, it is an easy drive from Palm Beach to Ft. Lauderdale.  Sometimes a lot easier than from Miami.  Another option over a rental is a car service to a hotel that has a shuttle to/from the port.  Lots of different car/shuttle services available with various prices/services.  I never used one at PBI so can't make any recommendations.  You can also ask the hotel if they would check your bags for a few hours on the return trip.  Even though you are not staying the night, they may say yes, especially if you belong to their loyalty program.  I am a Holiday Inn rewards customer and they go out of their way to make their rewards people happy.

 

Good luck and have a great time. 

[bdchili]

Thank you guys for this input.  So based on your feedback here is my initial idea....please tell me if this makes sense and BTW I will still be pressing American to move us to a flight leaving out of FLL for my return.  I don't always win these battles, but I fly enough with them that if there is a way they sometimes make it work with minimal additional cost.

 

So here we go:

• I get an SUV to take mi famillia from West Palm to our hotel (TBD) on Friday
• Take Shuttle or Van to Port early Sat
• On return take Van back to hotel and tip bellman that I will have already spoken to before we checked out that previous Sat to store the 500 bags we will have.
• I will either get suggestions from the concirege on transpiration (shuttle to West Palm) or one way rental back.

Based on this...it leads me to my next question:

 

Our flight leaves at 6:15pm if you were going to take in the sights with a 13/10/9 year old kids...Lauderdale or West Palm?  If West Palm.. we could alway go the rental car option and drive to airport in AM check bags, then tour around for the day without all the luggage. Thoughts?

[Matt]

For sightseeing, I think there's more to do in Fort Lauderdale.  If you're just interested in a beach, you could make an argument for WPB.

[cj9200]

In West Palm you could go to Palm Beach and drive down A1A and look at the mansions.  The Breakers is there and Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate.  Worth Avenue is the east coast’s Rodeo Brive.  There is a nice walking area on the WPB side of the Intercoastal.

 

Ft. Lauderdale has more to do.  Many restaurants, good public access beaches and multiple land or water tours.  Probably not enough time to make a run to the Everglades but the air boat rides are fun.  Las Olas is a vibrant area with shops, restaurants and near the beach.

[Matt]

 

In West Palm you could go to Palm Beach and drive down A1A and look at the mansions.  The Breakers is there and Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate.  Worth Avenue is the east coast’s Rodeo Brive.  There is a nice walking area on the WPB side of the Intercoastal.

 

Ft. Lauderdale has more to do.  Many restaurants, good public access beaches and multiple land or water tours.  Probably not enough time to make a run to the Everglades but the air boat rides are fun.  Las Olas is a vibrant area with shops, restaurants and near the beach.

 

Great recommendations