[784caroline]

What is the best means of either going to or returning from EITHER the port of Miami or Ft Lauderdale?

Do you rent a car one way.....if you did what was the cost?

DO you use Cruise Connection of FLorida bus service and book in advance?

If you are using the same port to leave and return you amy drive and park at the port....is this adviseable?

Other alternatives??

We are thinking of flying to San Diego (or South America), cruise thePanama canal, and return to either Miami or FLL..and would need to find a way back to TV.

[Carla B]

Under "other alternatives" many people wouldn't consider this, but you can take Amtrak from either Miami or Fort Lauderdale. You would disembark at Lakeland, FL and an Amtrak bus would bring you to Wildwood. The whole trip is about four hours, leaving around noon from So. FL., if they are on time. I've done it twice going the other direction and enjoyed it. If you couldn't arrange other transportation, at least you wouldn't be stranded.

Re parking at the port, we took Royal Caribbean out of Miami and left the car in Royal Caribbean's parking garage. No problem at all, although it was a short cruise. You could contact the cruise lines in regard to parking facilities.

[swrinfla]

I almost always use Cruise Connection (CC) from McDonald's across from Walmart on 27/441. I book it as a part of the cruise booking. Last time, it was $65 roundtrip. BUT, this is for Port Everglades only. I've never sailed from Miami. And, while CC does serve Miami, I think you have to change buses somewhere along the way.

On my last cruise, in March, I did drive my own car to Port Everglades. This was because I went down a couple of days early, and visited in Palm Beach Shores first. Using Holland America, I parked at the Mid-Port Garage, right across the street from Pier 25. Very convenient. $15 per day.

Last fall, I took a Princess Cruise. There's a parking garage right at the pier used for our departure. But, when we returned, we docked at a completely different pier, and folks had to take a taxi back to the garage. There were some unhappy campers, that time.

784: if you come back to Port Everglades, you can book CC one-way. They usually leave there about 11am, get back to Lady Lake between 4pm and 5pm. You cannot, of course, leave your car at McDonald's while you're gone, but I'm sure someone will take you, or retrieve your car for you. Or, you could book The Villages Taxi, now that they offer "pre-dawn" service!

SWR

[KayakerNC]

If you want to relax, some motels will include free parking in their lots, and offer shuttle service to and from the airports for their customers.
We've done that in Raleigh NC, Charleston SC, and Tampa FL.