Pre-Cruise in Fort Lauderdale
We always try to fly into a city of embarkation at least one day prior to boarding. On European cruises, we may even try to add two days to the front end of a cruise. Our experience with airline reliability has not been great.
Our flight from DFW airport to Fort Lauderdale was uneventful on American Airlines. It may be my imagination, but it seems like since they have retired most, if not all, of the aging Boeing 757 fleet and replaced them with the Airbus A321s, there have been fewer mechanical delays.
We originally had booked and prepaid for an AirBnB since most of the hotels we like were full this week. This was our first time to try AirBnB, and I am afraid it may be our last. Two days ago we received a text from the AirBnB host that our reservation was cancelled! Apparently, the city shut them down for not having some sort of license to operate. While we did receive a full refund, we’re left with having to find a place to stay.
We ended up booking a room at Fairfield Inn in downtown Ft. Lauderdale for a hefty $320/night rate, about $130 more than we would spend on a Fairfield. We took a Lyft from the airport to Fairfield ($26 + tip) and checked in around 3:15pm.
The hotel is relatively new and pretty typical for a mid-range Marriott property. Our room on the 5th floor overlooked the Morton’s Steakhouse across the street and a CVS can been seen about a block away, just in case you need any last minute sundries. There are plenty of other restaurants within walking distance.
Lobby/Reception
Our room was large enough for one night, even though the closet is very small. The bathroom looks pretty new with a large walk-in shower. The bed was comfortable enough and there is a small desk with AC and USB ports. The flat screen TV had lots of programming as well as Netflix and YouTube (using your Netflix account). My only complaint with the room was noise coming from a room above us and traffic noise. I am pretty sensitive to noise when trying to sleep and ended up having to utilize my Bose noise-cancelling headphones to get some sleep.
Our room was similar to the one above, but without the sitting area
Bottom line, Fairfield Inn is just okay, but not for $300+ per night. This would not be our first choice for a pre-cruise hotel in Fort Lauderdale. The Dalmar (another Marriott property) is nearby and is a much nicer property with more amenities.
I am writing this early in the morning of embarkation and in a few hours we will be taking another Lyft or Uber to Port Everglades. We are very excited to be boarding Celebrity Cruises’ newest Edge-class ship, Celebrity Beyond. More to come!
