Florida has a lot to offer visitors. There are theme parks in Central Florida, as well as beautiful beaches on the west coast (facing the Gulf of Mexico), and, of course, the Atlantic Ocean runs all the way up and down the east coast of the state.
Florida also has the distinction of having seven cruise ports, 3 of which are among the busiest in the world.
- PortMiami (Miami): Often referred to as the “Cruise Capital of the World,” PortMiami is one of the largest cruise ports in the world and welcomed the most cruise passengers in 2024.
- Port Canaveral (near Orlando/Cocoa Beach): Located on the east coast of central Florida, Port Canaveral had the world’s second most number of cruise passengers in 2024. It’s also conveniently located about an hour from the theme park tourist corridor.
- Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale): Located in Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades is another significant cruise hub, handling a vast number of cruise passengers each year. It was the 5th busiest in terms in passengers in 2024.
- Port of Tampa Bay (Tampa): Situated on Florida’s west coast, the Port of Tampa Bay offers cruises to the Caribbean and Mexico.
- JAXPORT (Jacksonville): Located in the northern part of Florida, JAXPORT offers cruises primarily to the Bahamas.
- Port of Palm Beach (Riviera Beach): This port is smaller compared to the others on this list but still serves as a departure point for cruises, especially to the Bahamas.
- Port of Key West: While it’s not home to any cruise ships, Key West is a popular port for many Caribbean cruises.
Getting to the Port of Miami
Since it’s the busiest, let’s say you have a cruise scheduled out of the Port of Miami. If you need to travel to get to the port, it’s always wise to arrive at least a day ahead of time. If you plan to fly in the morning of your cruise, you run the risk of delays or even cancellations forcing you to miss embarkation. If you drive to the port, again, a major accident or even massive traffic could add hours to your drive time and potentially cause you to arrive after last call (we live in Central Florida and whether we drive down to Miami or we take the Brightline train to get there, we still go the day before, just in case).
Arriving the day before your cruise out of the Port of Miami involves finding a place to stay the night before. Unfortunately, although there are several hundred hotels in the greater Miami area, none of them are within walking distance to the Port of Miami (OK, OK…technically you COULD walk to your cruise, but it’d be a really long walk).
Most people who cruise just take an Uber, Lyft or even a taxi to get to the port on the day of their embarkation. But through the years, I’ve seen lots of people ask about the possibility of hotels that offer a shuttle – preferably a free one – that goes from the hotel to the port.
Free shuttles
Some hotels offer a shuttle service to get to the port. The vast majority of those that do, do so with a nominal fee attached – typically $10 to $15 per person.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many hotels that offer free shuttle service to the port. But there are a small handful:
Comfort Inn and Suites Miami International Airport
Located 1.2 miles from MIA, the Comfort Inn & Suites is listed as the #8 hotel of 19 in Miami Springs. It offers free hot breakfast, free high speed wireless, free overnight parking, meeting space, pillow top mattresses and a swimming pool. For transportation, they offer a free shuttle to and from Miami International Airport, as well as a free shuttle to the Port of Miami.
Here’s what they say about the free shuttle to the port:
Your trip has been trying enough and you haven’t even had the opportunity to relax. You are in Miami to take that long-awaited cruise and you can’t wait to get underway. But now you are faced with the long taxi lines and the airport hustlers trying to get a quick fare at your expense. Don’t worry, help is nearby. You are staying the new Comfort Inn & Suites Miami International Airport.
We understand how you feel and we want to help take some of that stress away! We are proud to say that we are the ONLY hotel in the area that offers complimentary shuttle service to the Port of Miami to all our guests. After all, “comfort” is in our name!
Upon arriving at the hotel, notify the front desk clerk that you will need a shuttle to the Port of Miami for your cruise. They will sign you up for transportation at that time. Early times are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The shuttle going to the Port of Miami is complimentary to all our guests, but the return shuttle from the Port is not. You can arrange for a pickup at a charge of $10 per adult and $5 per child, at the hotel, before leaving for your cruise with the same company that will bring you there.
Comfort Suites Miami Airport
Comfort Suites Miami Airport is 5 minutes from Miami International Airport. Listed as the #3 hotel of 19 in Miami Springs, it offers free hot breakfast, a fitness center, interior corridors, free overnight parking, a business center, valet cleaning service, free airport transportation and free transport to the Port of Miami.
The owner of the Comfort Inn & Suites and the Comfort Suites must be the same person, because the information about the free transportation to the port (and the $10/$5 charge on the way back) is identical.
La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Miami Airport East
The La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Miami Airport East (that’s quite a mouthful!) is the #13 of 19 hotels in Miami Springs. It touts itself as having free breakfast, free parking, free Wi-Fi, an outdoor pool, and an airport shuttle. Their website doesn’t say it has a free shuttle to the Port of Miami but I called them and they said they did, so…The shuttle apparently runs from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily and can accommodate up to 11 passengers at a time.
Heads up that whereas the two Comfort Inn hotels gets decent reviews, this LaQuinta has more recently been getting multiple reviews on TripAdvisor that are not so great.
Grand total? 3
So yeah…a total of 3 hotels in Miami that offer a free shuttle to the port. Frankly, in this day and age, I wasn’t even expecting to see that many. Glad to see there are still a small handful out there.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
