Thursday, April 21, 2011

It's Not too Early to Book Your Flights

So initially I was not too worried about booking my flight. After all, the trip isn’t for another 8 months. Heck, Southwest doesn’t even have their December flights posted. But I realized something. Since I’m planning a trip to Disney World before the cruise, I would be traveling during THE busiest travel day of the year. November 27th, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, is the most traveled day of the year because everyone is returning home. This means that flights will fill up that much quicker, they will be more expensive, and not to mention all the craziness that I’m sure will take place the airports. Ugh, I’m already dreading the lines.

So if you’re anything like me and plan on extending your trip, just keep this in mind as you make your travel arrangements. I’m still trying to decide the best day to travel. My goal is to make sure I have enough time to see Mickey.

If you're planning on going straight to the cruise, when booking your flight, you have 2 options of airports to fly into- Miami (MIA) or Fort Lauderdale (FLL). Flying into Fort Lauderdale tends to be cheaper than flying into Miami. But FLL is also 14 miles further from the port than Miami. So you need to factor in that added cost of getting to the port. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Getting from Fort Lauderdale Airport to the Port

Travel Options
  • Taxi cab- $67 though this is an estimate. Generally available immediately. Could work out to be cheaper if you travel in a group.
  • Shared Ride- $21 per person. The van will hold a maximum of 10 people. Maximum waiting time of 30 minutes but most shared vans leave within 10 minutes. This method could save you quite a bit of money, especially if traveling on your own.
  • Luxury Sedan- $70. Generally available immediately.
  • Rental Cars- FLL offers 12 rental car companies in one building next to Terminal 1. If you are traveling with a group and plan on doing some additional site seeing, you may want to consider this option to allow for more flexibility.
Travel Time
On average it should take about 45 minutes but during traffic, you should allot up to 90 minutes for travel.

Getting from Miami Airport to the Port

Travel Options
  • SuperShuttle- $14 This is basically a shared taxi service. Reservation not required. Good option if you're traveling by yourself.
  • Taxi- $24 flat fee
  • Car Rental- There is a shuttle at the airport that will take you one mile away to the Miami Rental Car Center which has over 16 rental companies to choose from. This may be a good option if you're in a group and want to have extra flexibility.
  • Hotel shuttle- You may want to double check to see if the hotel you are staying at has a shuttle to the airport. I assume that would be free but you’ll have to double check.
Travel Time
On average it should take anywhere from 15-20 minutes depending on traffic.


As for me- I’ll be doing none of the above haha. Since I’ll be going to Disney, I'll fly into Orlando airport but I anticipate flying out of Miami.

1 comment:

  1. yeah, if you see a good rate for a flight you should def scoop it up...im going to st maarten the week after the cruise and the airfare just jumped from $199 to over $700...i had no idea it would increase that much, that fast!!!

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