Miami transportation

[Cruiser58]

We are cruising on Symphony from Miami in April. We will be flying in to Miami airport on Southwest Airlines. What is the best way to get to the port? Are there shuttles? Also, any recommendations for a nearby hotel. We aren't sure if we're flying in the night before, or the day of departure. Thanks

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

We are also flying to Miami in early April on SWA for our cruise.  We booked Comfort Inn & Suites Downtown Brickell this time as it has close proximity to the port as well as Bayside Marketplace (loved this place when we were there in November).  In November we stayed at Holiday Inn Port Miami...absolutely loved the location but the hotel itself is old and totally needs updating.  If I were staying there for more than one night I probably would have looked for another hotel!  Hoping the Comfort Inn will be a better choice for our one night stay.

Oh...and we took UBER both from airport to hotel and then next morning from hotel to port.

[kadmgs]

I would highly recommend flying in the night before for a whole host of reasons, but the biggest being flight delays. You are taking a huge chance of missing the ship if you fly in the morning of your cruise. We were there in December and stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel on Biscayne Bay. You can see the cruise terminal from your room if your room faces the bay. We used Lyft to get from the airport to the hotel and then from the hotel to the terminal. We have also stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami-Downtown. It's older, but was fine and just across the street from Bayside Marketplace. 

[teddy]

We usually stay at one of the hotels around the airport.  Most of them have airport shuttles 

Last week a Lyft XL from hotel to port cost $30-$40 each way.

[Cruiser58]

12 minutes ago, kadmgs said:

I would highly recommend flying in the night before for a whole host of reasons, but the biggest being flight delays. You are taking a huge chance of missing the ship if you fly in the morning of your cruise. We were there in December and stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel on Biscayne Bay. You can see the cruise terminal from your room if your room faces the bay. We used Lyft to get from the airport to the hotel and then from the hotel to the terminal. We have also stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami-Downtown. It's older, but was fine and just across the street from Bayside Marketplace. 

Yes, we usually come in the night before. We're coming from about 2 hours from Dallas, and the cruise leaves on a Saturday. We both still work, and the latest flight on on SWA (which we have credits on) leaves around 6:30 pm Friday night. We haven't decided if we want to take an additional half day on Friday. There is a nonstop Saturday flight that gets in around 11:30 am.

[kadmgs]

15 minutes ago, Cruiser58 said:

Yes, we usually come in the night before. We're coming from about 2 hours from Dallas, and the cruise leaves on a Saturday. We both still work, and the latest flight on on SWA (which we have credits on) leaves around 6:30 pm Friday night. We haven't decided if we want to take an additional half day on Friday. There is a nonstop Saturday flight that gets in around 11:30 am.

We didn't have any delays flying into Miami out of Houston, but we did have a delay flying back. You might look at flying into Ft. Lauderdale. I just looked at 4/15 and there's a 8:10 departure nonstop out of Love. It's a 40 min. drive from FLL to Port of Miami and Lyft estimate is showing about $100 for it.

[wordell1]

With the way the airlines have been recently, I highly recommend coming the day before. 

I use Lyft in Miami with no issues.  Cabs are plentiful as well, but I prefer to pay by card and cabs make it difficult.

[teddy]

1 hour ago, wordell1 said:

With the way the airlines have been recently, I highly recommend coming the day before. 

This is so true. 
 

With an extra day (or two), an inconvenience doesn’t become a nightmare.  I can’t imagine the horror of being somewhere else when the ship departs.
 

Even going home it’s a good idea…We got off Oasis last Sunday and expected to get home Sunday night.  We both took Monday off to have a day at home to recover before starting work again. 
 

Because of flight cancellations, delays, and multiple rebookings, we ended up getting home at 1230 am Tuesday.  Having Monday off meant we didn’t stress  about missing work. 

[SpeedNoodles]

Definitely Lyft.

[GatorCruiser]

What  are recommendations for multiple people and bags that likely won’t fit into and UberXL , some have mentioned Larry’s limos , anyone use this company’? 

[wordell1]

14 minutes ago, GatorCruiser said:

What  are recommendations for multiple people and bags that likely won’t fit into and UberXL , some have mentioned Larry’s limos , anyone use this company’? 

I would just order multiple rides from Uber/Lyft - probably still cheaper than ordering a limo/van service.

[need2cruz]

14 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Definitely Lyft.

Is Lyft cheaper than Uber?  We fly into Miami this afternoon for Symphony tomorrow.  I only have an uber app.

[Ampurp85]

Try to find a hotel that offers a shuttle to/from airport and to/from port. There will be no shortage of cabs or rideshare vehicles. Supposedly the cab ride is $27 flat from MIA airport to the port.

I recently used Lyft to Port Miami, and it cost me $30 before tip. I was solo and told its normally $20 but the marathon was going on, so surge pricing. Look at all the factors, if you have multiple people and bags. They have private shuttles and shared shuttles that can be purchased. 

[Cruiser58]

Looks like we'll be flying in late Friday night to Fort Lauderdale. Any recommendations for hotels by that airport, or knowledge of transportation from there to Miami port Saturday?

[SpeedNoodles]

5 hours ago, need2cruz said:

Is Lyft cheaper than Uber?  We fly into Miami this afternoon for Symphony tomorrow.  I only have an uber app.

I find generally a little bit (but it can go either way).  Lyft treats their drivers much better than Uber, so that's a factor for  me, and I also get Delta miles using Lyft.  Mostly it's the way they treat their drivers (just like Costco vs Sam's Club).

[kadmgs]

1 hour ago, Cruiser58 said:

Looks like we'll be flying in late Friday night to Fort Lauderdale. Any recommendations for hotels by that airport, or knowledge of transportation from there to Miami port Saturday?

I don't have a hotel recommendation, but I would still use Lyft for transportation to the port.

Here's why I use Lyft... I agree with @SpeedNoodles about treatment of their drivers and that is the main reason for me. The secondary reason is they give discounts. You can get a promo code for $5 off your first three rides with Lyft (I think) when you sign up for an account with them. They also have a discount with Mastercard where you get a discount off a ride after every 5 rides. I don't remember how to activate that one, though. I got in the a notification from either my credit card or the Lyft app. I don't remember.  

[Ampurp85]

Last time I was in Ft. Lauderdale to cruise, sadly not RCG, I stayed at the Ramada INN. They had a shuttle to/from the airport and to/from the port for free. You just schedule and let them know. Rates at that time weren't bad, like $105-ish a night. It's not fancy but it was clean and safe. 

[need2cruz]

I used Lyft to get to my hotel in Miami airport last night.  It was a little cheaper than Uber.  I’m staying at YVE hotel right across from the port. This is my 1st time here it is an excellent location and had the best price I could find for this area.  I’m watching all the ships pull in this morning from my room.  We have a great view.

[SpeedNoodles]

5 minutes ago, need2cruz said:

I used Lyft to get to my hotel in Miami airport last night.  It was a little cheaper than Uber.  I’m staying at YVE hotel right across from the port. This is my 1st time here it is an excellent location and had the best price I could find for this area.  I’m watching all the ships pull in this morning from my room.  We have a great view.

Have a fabulous cruise!

[Cruiser4Life]

On 2/10/2022 at 3:38 PM, wordell1 said:

 

On 2/10/2022 at 3:27 PM, GatorCruiser said:

What  are recommendations for multiple people and bags that likely won’t fit into and UberXL , some have mentioned Larry’s limos , anyone use this company’? 

I highly suggest Larry’s. We use them for clients and also personally for years. Sure you can be fancy and get a limo drop off (not saying I haven’t sprung for it before) but they also have a great selection of private cars and SUVs for reasonable rates. Upon booking, they will ask your port and ship and how much luggage you have to select the right vehicle…. They are usually about 15 minutes earlier than your requested pickup time and wait patiently outside. They know their way around both ports extremely well.  Phone communication is above average with this company as upon disembarkation, I usually wake up to a text msg from my driver that they are already there waiting in the designated area and to text as soon as I clear customs and they pull right into the loop. Sorry for the lengthy response but when I find a good company, I rave about it. Happy cruising! 

[GatorCruiser]

This place is such a good source of info , I never knew Lyft partnered with delta for sky miles. So I just signed up for a Lyft account and linked it to my skymiles. Thanks y’all!!