Thread: Port of Miami

After reading several posts about avoiding a certain cruise line because it leaves from the Port of Miami, I'm wondering why. What is it about the Port of Miami that would make someone think twice about leaving from there? I have a personal interest in this one because we are sailing on the Norwegian Dawn in February, 2012 and I want to know what to expect!

I am one that complains about Miami, its not all that bad with a liitle patience . We always arrive about midday, and every time its took over an hour to check in. its one port we have always found long lines.

The views when you get onto your ship are amongst the nicest we have seen from a port. Its the cruise that matters, pre cruise is soon forgotton.

Other people have differed to myself, but problems in checking in and leaving a ship has mostly happened in Miami to us.

Thanks, Norman. Hope we can avoid long lines - neither one of us can stand that long!

We've sailed out of Miami several times and on several cruise lines. It's not really fair to say that one should avoid the Port of Miami because the port itself is fine, albeit a little tight because there are often several ships and they all leave at the same time. But it's really the cruise line that has a problem with the long lines. We've found the best time to arrive is after 1:00pm.

For example, we sailed on the Celebrity Eclipse last month out of Miami and there were no lines whatsoever.

The last time we sailed out of Miami on NCL was several years ago on the Star. While we had a line, it was not all that long.

Besides when you get that many people doing anything, there are going to be lines. It depends on your ability to handle a line and your patience. Some people have none, so they complain about it, which does absolutely no good whatsoever.

Don't listen to those who complain, just relax, take everything in stride, and have a little patience - you'll be fine and won't start your vacation off with negativity.

By the way, as of last month, the flat rate taxi fare from the Miami airport to the Port of Miami is $25 each way (not per person) and only takes about 20 minutes, so it beats the prices offered by the cruise lines. If you're flying into Ft. Lauderdale, the flat rate price is $75.

Pete

Pete, thank you so much for the info. We are fllying in the day before the cruise because we are interliners who fly non-rev. There are 4 flights a day from Newark to Miami so please God we'll be on one of them!
We are going to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn and I'm not sure if they will have a shuttle to the Port or if we will have to take a cab. They will shuttle us from the airport to the hotel.
We will do a taxi from the port to the airport when we return. And then pray that we get on a flight home to Newark. That's why we don't do this too often. My DH can't stand the suspense!

We have never had any issues with sailing out of Miami. Sometimes there can be lines but that can happen with any cruise line.

As for you shuttle... very few hotels have shuttle service to the port. As Pete mentioned there are flat rates that apply to taxi service to the port.

Originally Posted by BarbR

Pete, thank you so much for the info. We are fllying in the day before the cruise because we are interliners who fly non-rev. There are 4 flights a day from Newark to Miami so please God we'll be on one of them!
We are going to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn and I'm not sure if they will have a shuttle to the Port or if we will have to take a cab. They will shuttle us from the airport to the hotel.
We will do a taxi from the port to the airport when we return. And then pray that we get on a flight home to Newark. That's why we don't do this too often. My DH can't stand the suspense!

Our son works for United, so I hear what you're saying about the flights. When we came back from our last cruise, we could not get a flight home, so we rented a car and drove 6 hours to Jacksonville and just spent a few days with our daughter, her husband, and our 2-1/2 year old grandson. So it all worked out well. But sometimes those standby seats can be very difficult. Our son ended up driving 12 hours back to Washington, DC from Jacksonville because we could not find any flights for him from anywhere down there and he had to get back to work the next day. But then again, on the upside, we've flown to Europe twice and we're flying to Hawaii in 3 weeks, so it's not all bad.

We've also stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn and it's nice enough, but no shuttle to the pier. Unfortunately, I don't know of any that do offer complimentary shuttle, but at least it's not a real expensive cab ride.

We've sold several interline rates to our son's co-workers - often it's a good deal, but depending on the cruise line, sometimes it's better to book the special through the cruise line than it is through Interline. Your agent will be able to check the rates and advise you which is the best way to go on those.

Pete

Thanks, Pete. I'm hoping that since our cruise leaves on a Sunday and returns on a Thursday that, hopefully, there will be at least 2 seats available to Miami and back.