[Avista]

Cruises to or from Ft Lauderdale. Is there any transportation from port. A possible cruise will be ending there. Any advise on transportation home?

[swrinfla]

There used to be an outfit called Cruise Connection. They closed a couple/three years ago, but another operator is now using their website: cruiseconnection.com.

Used to leave Lauderdale 11:30-12:00; arrive at the McDonald's across from Walmart on 27/441 close to 5:30-6:00. Used to be about $90 per person, round trip.

SWR

[jackz]

We are doing a transatlantic from Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale late Oct and have arranged a Hertz Rental Car at Ft Lauderdale and dropping it off at Hertz in The Villages at Spanish Springs. Full Size Car, 24 hr rental about $75.

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by jackz

We are doing a transatlantic from Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale late Oct and have arranged a Hertz Rental Car at Ft Lauderdale and dropping it off at Hertz in The Villages at Spanish Springs. Full Size Car, 24 hr rental about $75.

If you don't mind the five-hour drive then renting a car is the quickest and cheapest solution

Most cruise ships dock early morning so you should be well-rested and can be back in TV for a late lunch

Just be aware that Hertz in SS closes around noon on Saturdays and is closed all day on Sundays - they don't always tell you this when you make your booking

[ttown]

We just booked a cruise with Holland America and they arranged a bus trip to and from Ft Lauderdale. The bus is Escot and probably was .Cruise Connection. It was $75 per person round trip and picks up behind the Spruce Creek McDonalds.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by ttown

We just booked a cruise with Holland America and they arranged a bus trip to and from Ft Lauderdale. The bus is Escot and probably was .Cruise Connection. It was $75 per person round trip and picks up behind the Spruce Creek McDonalds.

But, have you looked at your return time from Ft.L to Lady Lake - I think you will find it is not until 6:00pm in the evening and as you will be arriving into port early, real early, in the morning that is an awful long time to wait for transportation. I hope I am wrong and if I am, please post it.

[gjbl8114]

Originally Posted by Avista

Cruises to or from Ft Lauderdale. Is there any transportation from port. A possible cruise will be ending there. Any advise on transportation home?

Contact ESCOTbus.com. They picked up where cruise connection left off. We used them last year. You can reach them at 1-941-256-8762 or 1-888-501-5388. They have pickup service behind the McDonalds on 441 across from Walmart in Summerfield. You will have to make your own way to the pickup point. Don't remember the cost, but whatever it was, it was certainly more relaxing than thinking of driving, parking, paying parking fees and lugging your baggage from point A to B.

I don't understand why they don't advertise better so that Villagers are aware of their service.

[ttown]

We used them last year. We had to wait , maybe, an hour but we were first off the ship. They also went to several...three...ships. Certainly easier than driving.

[buggyone]

Originally Posted by gjbl8114

Contact ESCOTbus.com. They picked up where cruise connection left off. We used them last year. You can reach them at 1-941-256-8762 or 1-888-501-5388. They have pickup service behind the McDonalds on 441 across from Walmart in Summerfield. You will have to make your own way to the pickup point. Don't remember the cost, but whatever it was, it was certainly more relaxing than thinking of driving, parking, paying parking fees and lugging your baggage from point A to B.

I don't understand why they don't advertise better so that Villagers are aware of their service.

I used them last year also. $100 pp round trip. Big clean bus with free wi-fi. It made a couple of stops but was more relaxing than driving. If a rental car is $75 each way plus gas, Escot bus is cheaper.

[swrinfla]

Originally Posted by Madelaine Amee

But, have you looked at your return time from Ft.L to Lady Lake - I think you will find it is not until 6:00pm in the evening and as you will be arriving into port early, real early, in the morning that is an awful long time to wait for transportation. I hope I am wrong and if I am, please post it.

Madelaine:

I think if you look carefully, you will find that the arrival back in Lady Lake is posted at 6:00 pm. This probably means that departure from Fort Lauderdale is closer to 12:00 noon.

I agree that, since you usually arrive in port as early as 6:00 am, this seems like a long wait. What you need to do is arrange disembar****ion time to be as late as possible, then enjoy an extra coffee in the Lido and lessen your stress level!

SWR

[bhillman]

I took a cruise last year from Port of Miami and we used J and E car service. They were there when we called after getting off the ship and 4 1/2 hours later, we were dropped off at our house. Great trip, I would use them again. His number is 352-260-7490.

[buggyone]

Originally Posted by bhillman

I took a cruise last year from Port of Miami and we used J and E car service. They were there when we called after getting off the ship and 4 1/2 hours later, we were dropped off at our house. Great trip, I would use them again. His number is 352-260-7490.

What did he charge per person?

[chicagogal]

My friend and I are taking a Panama Canal cruise to/from Ft. Lauderdale. I am questioning the same thing. Getting there is fairly quick, but we must wait 8-9 hours to catch a short flight back to the Villages since they put you off the ship at 8 a.m. Checking Amtrack, but we may end up driving the 200 miles and sharing the expense.
I too, am from Chicago, IL

[buggyone]

Originally Posted by chicagogal

My friend and I are taking a Panama Canal cruise to/from Ft. Lauderdale. I am questioning the same thing. Getting there is fairly quick, but we must wait 8-9 hours to catch a short flight back to the Villages since they put you off the ship at 8 a.m. Checking Amtrack, but we may end up driving the 200 miles and sharing the expense.
I too, am from Chicago, IL

A flight back to The Villages? Amtrack to The Villages? My advise is to take the Escot bus.

[Arctic Fox]

Just an aside, not strictly relevant to this thread but may be of some interest:

TriRail runs in that area and provides a quick, cheap way to get from Fort Lauderdale airport to Miami airport - about half an hour and $4 per person one way

The station at each end is some distance away from the airport, but a ten minute free shuttle bus meets every train.

On weekends, there is also a free shuttle bus from the FLL station to the cruise terminal.