Cruise port hotels in Fort Lauderdale: which ones publish the parking term and the port shuttle

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The verdict

1. The Rodeway Inn & Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport & Cruise Port is the pick, because it is the only hotel here that publishes all three numbers — nights of parking included, the rate after they run out, and the shuttle schedule in both directions. Check its dates against your sailing, then compare Fort Lauderdale hotel rates for the night before you board.
2. Red Carpet Inn is the pick if you want a flat, published park-and-cruise rate rather than a package: $10 a day, arranged at the front desk. Read its deposit and pet terms first, because both are unusually steep.
3. Cambria Hotel Ft Lauderdale Airport South and B Ocean Resort are shuttle-only — neither publishes a cruise parking term. Book them if you are flying in, not driving in.

The benchmark: what Port Everglades actually charges

Unlike PortMiami, Port Everglades publishes one fee list covering every garage and lot, so your terminal does not change your rate. Read on 22 September 2026:

• "$20 daily maximum" for a standard vehicle, and "$25 for oversized vehicles, daily maximum."
• Short stops: "$4 for 0 - 1 hour" and "$8 for up to 5 hours, and fees for additional hours vary up to the daily maximum."
• The clock: "All daily rates begin when you pull the parking ticket from the machine at the garage or parking lot."

Four operational facts matter as much as the rate:

• No advance booking. "The port does not accept reservations or pre-payment for parking" — you take your chances on the day across "two parking garages and several parking lots totaling over 5,500 spaces."
• Payment is broader than Miami's. The FAQ states "Payment can be made on-site with cash, credit or debit card" — PortMiami's page says debit cards are not accepted, so a debit-only traveller should note the difference.
• Clearance is the constraint. Both garages are published at "7-foot clearance" — the Heron at 1,818 spaces, the Palm at 1,966. Anything taller goes to the limited oversized parking, described as being for vehicles up to a "maximum of 24 feet."
• You cannot linger on return. "All vehicles must leave the parking area once debarkation activities are concluded on the return morning of the cruise."

One inconsistency to carry rather than smooth: the port gives two definitions of "oversized" — the parking page ties it to garage height and a 24-foot maximum, the rates page to the standard width or height of a parking space. If your vehicle is near either line, call first.

And one thing Port Everglades does not publish: whether both travel days are billable. Port Canaveral states plainly that its rate includes the day of arrival and the day of departure — the spine of our Port Canaveral comparison. Port Everglades says only when the clock starts. Budget both days until a booth says otherwise.

We limited this shortlist to hotels publishing a parking or shuttle term on their own website. That excludes most properties ranking for this search.

1. Rodeway Inn & Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport & Cruise Port

The only complete row here, as of September 2026. Its Park, Stay & Cruise package "allows up to 10 days of on-site complimentary parking", with a shuttle running both ways — "A complimentary shuttle service drops guests off directly in front of the terminal and upon return; the free shuttle will bring guests back to the hotel for their car." The overage is named, not hinted at: "add additional parking days for 10$ a day for long term parking." (The dollar sign sits on the wrong side on the hotel's own page; reproduced as published.)

Ten days at zero, then ten dollars a day, against a port charging twenty from the moment you take the ticket. For a seven-night sailing that is the clearest margin here.

The shuttle detail is equally unusual. The hotel publishes its schedule: "Our Free Shuttle Service to the Port Everglades Cruise Terminal schedule starts at 10:00 AM and 11:00 am unless otherwise noted. Please be in lobby 15 minutes prior to your shuttle service." Off-peak runs cost money — "EARLY 9:00 AM cruise shuttles are available for a small charge of $5 a person", and the same $5 applies to the "LATE DAY shuttle @12 PM & 1 PM & 2 PM" departures. The free slots are cruise-only on cruise days, pushing airport runs to 9am or noon.

Parking outside the package is free during a stay, and the hotel states it is "open 24 hours a day -7 days a week" — relevant if your flight lands at 1am, the scenario in the 24-hour airport shuttle shortlist.

2. Red Carpet Inn Airport / Cruise Port

A flat rate rather than a package, published twice on its own site as of September 2026: "We do not charge a parking fee during your stay with us. We do offer Park and Cruise at $10 per day." The shuttle is reserved rather than scheduled — "Please reserve your Port Everglade Cruise Port shuttle at check-in" — and the airport shuttle window is published as "5:30 AM to 11:00 PM."

Ten dollars a day beats the port's twenty, but read the rest of that FAQ, because two terms on the same page are steep. The deposit is tiered by where you live: "We require a $250 deposit by credit card for guest that reside in Broward, Dade or Palm Beach counties. For other guests we require a $50 incidental deposit." And the animal charge is the highest published figure in this article: "We have a $250 per day pet or emotional support animal charge." Service animals are free. No price is published for the port shuttle itself — ask.

3. Cambria Hotel Ft Lauderdale Airport South & Cruise Port

Shuttle only, and priced: "Transportation to and from Port Everglades is available at only $10.00 per seat, please arrange for this service at check-in time." The airport shuttle is free.

Note the ambiguity we will not resolve for you: "to and from" at "$10.00 per seat" does not say whether that is each way or the round trip. Confirm at booking. No cruise parking allowance is published anywhere on the site, so if the car is staying, price a port garage at $20 a day and treat this as a bed plus a ride.

4. B Ocean Resort Fort Lauderdale

The beach option, and a transfer rather than a parking deal. The B Cruisin' package includes "One-way transportation for up to 4 guests to or from the Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port (Port Everglades)", delivered by a third party: "Express Lyft will contact the guest directly to coordinate transportation details", with larger vehicles or extra passengers charged by that operator.

Two deadlines are published: "Book at least 3 days prior to arrival to secure your stay and ride!" and a cancellation rule stricter than a standard rate — "A 72-hour cancellation policy applies; cancellations made within 72 hours of arrival will result in a penalty of one night's room and tax." The terms also exclude resort daily fees, the kind of line we unpack in what a hotel night actually costs.

What the beachfront hotels publish instead

Sonesta Fort Lauderdale Beach publishes a "Stay & Cruise Package - $150 in added value" that "Includes one way transportation to Port Everglades, complimentary breakfast for two, and flexible early check-in & late check-out" — and separately publishes its valet tariff at "Day parking (0-8 hours): $36 plus tax" and "Overnight: $58 plus tax." There is no long-term or park-while-you-cruise rate on that page. At $58 a night, the beach is a place to sleep, not a place to leave the car.

How to price this in ten minutes

1. Decide whether the car is staying. If yes, only the Rodeway and Red Carpet terms are relevant.
2. Compare against $20 a day, flat, from the moment you pull the ticket.
3. Check your vehicle height against the seven-foot garage clearance.
4. Count the shuttle direction and the departure time. The free Rodeway slots are 10am and 11am; everything else is $5 a head.
5. Flying in? Skip parking entirely — book an airport transfer with a fixed fare and choose the hotel you want.

Sailing from Miami instead? The rates split by terminal there, and we work through it in our Miami cruise-port hotel shortlist. If the trip starts with a flight rather than a ship, whether a park-sleep-fly package pays and the cheapest way to park and fly for a week are the companion reads.

FAQ

How much is parking at Port Everglades?

Port Everglades publishes one daily maximum across its garages and lots rather than pricing by terminal. As read in September 2026 that is twenty dollars a day for a standard vehicle and twenty-five for an oversized one, with short-stay rates of four dollars for the first hour and eight for up to five hours.

Can you reserve parking at Port Everglades?

No. The port states on its own parking page that it does not accept reservations or pre-payment for parking, so spaces across the two garages and several lots are taken as they come on the day. Payment is made on-site by cash, credit or debit card at contactless machines on the first floor of the garages, and the port recommends paying before you return to your car.

Is it cheaper to park at a hotel near Port Everglades or at the port?

At the two hotels here that publish a rate, the hotel wins. The Rodeway Inn & Suites includes up to ten days of parking in its package and charges ten dollars a day beyond that, and Red Carpet Inn publishes a flat ten dollars a day, against the port's twenty-dollar maximum. Most hotels near the port publish no parking term at all.

Do Fort Lauderdale hotels offer free shuttles to the cruise port?

Some do, on a published schedule, and some charge per seat. The Rodeway Inn & Suites publishes free ten and eleven o'clock departures on cruise days with a five-dollar charge for earlier or later runs, while Cambria publishes a per-seat fare and B Ocean includes a one-way transfer for up to four guests through a third party. Check whether the ride is one-way or return.

How tall can your vehicle be to park at Port Everglades?

Both public garages are published at a seven-foot clearance, so anything taller cannot use them. The port operates limited oversized parking for RVs, trailers and similar vehicles up to a stated maximum of twenty-four feet, priced at the higher oversized daily maximum. Its two pages define oversized differently, so call the parking team if your vehicle is near either limit.