Car hire at Port of Miami

[peterlee]

We are planning to take a cruise trip from Port of Miami and want to find out the best way (the most cost effective and convenient) of hiring a car.

We will be spending a week in Orlando before going to Miami for the trip and also needing a car to travel back to Orlando after the cruise.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[jimiansville]

We have sailed out of Miami on cruises a number of times. Each time we have rented cars from Alamo. They provide a free shuttle service from the airport to the port. We normally drive down from Orlando, drop the car off at the airport and catch the free shuttle to the ship. The shuttle will drop you off right on the pier by the ship. On return the shuttle will pick you up at the pier and take you back to the rental desks by the airport to pick up your car for the return journey to Orlando.

Our last couple of cruises were from Ft Lauderdale so we haven't used Miami since the new car rental centre opened at Miami airport where all the car rental desks are centred in one location. However, they have recently built a car rental centre at Ft Lauderdale and the same system was in place there so don't think anything will have changed. I know there are other regular cruisers on the forum who may be able to confirm this.

Enjoy your cruise. Your sure to have a fantastic time!

[peterlee]

Thanks for the useful info. I often use Alamo and it is nice to know that they provide such service.

How frequent does this free shuttle service run and do I need to pre-book the service to and from the port?

[ellie]

Peter, the shuttle runs whenever there are people waiting to go, so you don't need to book. When you return to the port the shuttles automatically run to and from the depot - you normally just wait until it turns up.

[VIOLET]

WOW - thank you for this info Ellie, we also found it very useful - next week we are taking a cruise out of Miami and thought we would have to get a taxi to and from the port back to Alamo.

Thats why I love this forum - such great people and fantastic information.

Thanks

[jimiansville]

The shuttle is a great service. As Ellie says, no need to book. The shuttles go between the port and the car rental centre on a very regular basis on days when the cruise ships are due in. Just a 10-15 minute ride - very convenient!

Have a fantastic cruise! We have become real cruise addicts in recent years and try to fit one in each time we visit the villa....and our waist sizes have gone up accordingly!!

[peterlee]

Thanks guys for all info. Looking forward to the cruise.

[ellie]

I am sure you will have a great time.

If we find that the shuttle is very busy on our return we just pick pu a taxi, so that we don't have to hang about. There are always plenty of taxis.

When you get off the ship you will find lots of porters around and they will pick up your luggage for you (it is usually in a big hall, in areas with specific colours or letters so that you can find it easily) and then they will walk you through passport control and out to the shuttles. They will also find you a taxi if you want one. We find it is well worth the few dollars tip to get you through this area easily.

Which ship are you going on, Peter?

[zanderbuchan]

Jim,

can you please clarify if the new car rental centre is at Fort Lauderdale Airport? Are the shuttles rental company specific or is it a general service for all companies?

Thanks
Zander

[jimiansville]

Hi Zander,

We last used the shuttles to Port Everglades when we went off on a cruise in March this year. We had an Alamo rental car and dropped it off in the new Ft Lauderdale rental centre at the airport. It is very close to Port Everglades. We got a free shuttle down to the cruise ship - 5 - 10 minutes or so. As far as I can remember, the shuttle was shared by all the car hire companies including Budget. On return, we got off the ship and straight onto a shuttle back to the rental centre and picked up a car from Budget.

Prior to using the shuttles we have used taxis from the airport to the pier as it is so close. Very cheap, $13 or so and avoided struggling with the suitcases.

Just booked flights tonight for our trip to the villa on the 29th of this month. Will be staying through until Christmas and spotted an 11 night cruise leaving Port Everglades on December 6th......think we may be heading back down to Port Everglades!

[ellie]

The car rental centre at Fort Lauderdale has been there for a number of years, and offers a very efficient service. The shuttle buses are to be found outside the car rental centre and serve all the cruise ships, so you may find at peak times that they are very busy, and they go to every ship that is in port - yours could be the last one!

It is quite easy to walk across the bridge from the Car Rental Centre into the main terminal, down the escalator and then outside where there are taxis waiting. We often use a taxi rather than the shuttle as you then go directly to your cruise ship and this can save time. The taxi system is very well organised, as you are directed to the next available taxi.

Everyone must show their passports as they enter the dock and this can cause long tail backs of traffic, causing the shuttle buses to be delayed on their return to the airport, which is why we tend to use a taxi.