Should your loved ones contemplate staying in an Airbnb as an alternative of a lodge for one evening earlier than your subsequent cruise?
One of my high suggestions for anybody happening a cruise is to fly in not less than at some point earlier than their cruise to guard themselves in opposition to a journey delay impacting their means to make their cruise ship.
Once you resolve to journey to your embarkation port a day early, you will want someplace to remain. Like most individuals, I instantly began resorts to e book.
When travelling with simply my spouse, lodge rooms work extraordinarily nicely for his or her worth and house offered. But once we journey with youngsters, discovering the proper lodge room could be a problem if you would like sufficient house for everybody.
For my Odyssey of the Seas cruise out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this week, I used to be not discovering a ton of nice choices at an excellent worth for my household of 4.
Certainly there have been loads of resorts that supplied a conventional lodge room expertise with 2 beds and a single toilet, however with my youngsters getting older, sharing a lodge room (and toilet) is turning into extra problematic than prior to now.
I additionally didn’t discover an awesome number of suite choices in resorts, and those I did discover weren’t low-cost. South Florida resorts vary drastically in costs, however I used to be seeing a collection lodge room coming in simply over $300 per evening, particularly when together with resort charges and taxes.
Airbnb various
I like reserving trip leases by way of Airbnb or VRBO for longer keep holidays due to the facilities and house you will get. But I had by no means thought-about it only for one evening.
At first, I used to be not even sure there could be any one-night choices as I assumed the folks itemizing their homes would all need longer stays from their friends.
So once I began looking Airbnb, I used to be stunned what number of good decisions there have been at cheap costs within the larger Fort Lauderdale space.
In wanting by way of the listings, I discovered numerous decisions. What attracted me to the Airbnb possibility was we may get a spot to remain that supplied loads of house for us and the children, in addition to additional facilities. We may get a pool to take pleasure in with simply our household, laundry machines to have the ability to not begin the cruise off with soiled garments, and the proper sleeping preparations.
Of course, there are some downsides to an Airbnb, such because the charges added onto the associated fee, and there isn’t any long-term parking possibility.
I additionally freely admit I take pleasure in a nicer lodge keep, so the additional facilities of an Airbnb actually attraction to me. I’m positive there are many different folks that might be positive with a lodge room for only one evening, particularly in case you fly in late.
Airbnb execs:
- Wide number of various kinds of stays
- Feels extra like residence
- More house and bedrooms than a lodge room
- Extra facilities comparable to a pool, lounge, sport room, and extra
- Convenient laundry possibility
Airbnb cons:
- Extra charges
- No long-term parking choices
- No shuttle to/from airport or cruise port
Given that I did not need to sleep in the identical room as my youngsters, would love an additional toilet to not compete with the children, and love the concept of getting a personal pool to take pleasure in, I discovered Airbnb a compelling possibility.
Our Airbnb selection
After contemplating all choices, we determined to e book a 2 bed room, 2 tub unit in Fort Lauderdale that had a personal heated pool and proper on a waterway.
It additionally had outside seating, fuel grill, and a foosball desk.
It’s situated north of Port Everglades, and with out site visitors is 24 minutes (15 miles) away.
The Airbnb was listed for $351 per evening, however with charges and taxes, it jumped as much as a complete of $533.89. I knew the charges Airbnb assesses wouldn’t be low-cost, however it was a bit eye opening how a lot it ended up being, which might be why an extended keep makes extra sense with Airbnbs so that you could maximize the worth of your keep.
The home is precisely what we would have liked for one evening, with numerous dwelling house and two bedrooms and two full baths.
I cherished having the lounge with loads of seating so we may lounge excess of we may in a lodge room.
The pool was nice, however a chilly entrance had pushed by way of the state the evening earlier than so it was a bit chilly for a swim. Nonetheless, it was so nice exterior that we spent a while on the water having fun with the view.
Is an Airbnb price it?
Does it make sense to e book an Airbnb for only one evening the subsequent time we take the household on a cruise?
There are numerous decisions with resorts or a house rental, so it is troublesome to select one or different solely.
I like the additional house a house gives, together with bonus facilities that may improve the keep past something a lodge can supply (personal pool, lounge, yard, and many others).
However, the additional charges Airbnb has makes discovering a deal very troublesome. It’s exhausting to think about a state of affairs the place an Airbnb could be cheaper except we drastically diminished our necessities for a spot. To me, a part of the attraction of an Airbnb is to search for a enjoyable place to remain, not only a mattress and toilet.
In locations like South Florida the place there are such a lot of lodge decisions, the number of rooms and costs will probably maintain it the first place we search for a room. When you add youngsters or multigen to the equation, then Airbnbs begin to look extra interesting.
I’m pleased with our Airbnb selection for a pre-cruise keep. It might not have been the most cost effective deal, however the additional dwelling house and pluses you’ll be able to solely get with a house rental made it a pleasant change of tempo for our household.