Car Hire from Port of Miami

Hi everyone

Can anyone help with a car hire question. We are sailing into Miami in November and were wondering which is the best hire car company to use. Do any of them run a shuttle service.

Many thanks

Lanzer

:):)

Hi everyone

 

Can anyone help with a car hire question. We are sailing into Miami in November and were wondering which is the best hire car company to use. Do any of them run a shuttle service.

 

Many thanks

Lanzer

:):)

Best to ask this on the Florida Departures forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

Where do you need to go? Taxis are plentiful, if you're headed to either the MIA airport or a hotel in Miami. If you're going to Ft. Laud. from the Port of Miami, check out SAS Transportation...google it. Taxis (or Uber/Lyft) are good options if you're staying within the city limits. Outside of each area, taxis are way too expensive....SAS will take you for much less.

If you reserve in advance, Hertz will pick you up at the port and take you to their downtown office. I have found it is easier to take a taxi to the office rather than wait for the van. There are often more than a few people doing the same thing. It can be very busy with people coming to return cars and those getting cars.

I recently cruised on the Equinox out of Miami (few weeks ago). I injured my hip right before I sailed, so decided a limo/car service was the way to go. I used Guillermo from Miami Vice Limo and he was FAN-TAS-TIC! He was always waiting for me well before I got there (from airport to hotel, hotel to cruiseport, cruise port to airport). Not inexpensive but worth every penny and then some.

https://miamivicelimoservice.com/

The big car rentals companies all have shuttles that bring you to and from a downtown office which are only five minutes away. We hired a car at the budget Miami airport and returned to the budget office in downtown. After the cruise we rented a hertz car and took the Hertz shuttle from the port. The shuttles are running on and off the port. So you just have to look for a shuttle and do not need to agree on a specific time with the rental company. However you must have a reservation to use the shuttle.

Another option is to take a taxi to the Miami airport car rental center. They have more cars, more rental companies and nicer offices and you do not have to drive out of downtown Miami. However the airport is further and you have to pay for the cab.

In times past, National used to have a great shuttle bus (a large greyhound type of bus) that would circulate to the port of Miami and pick us all up for free and bring us to the airport rental location. That has now gone the way of the do do birds. Same thing happened in Fort Lauderdale. Useless to make your way to Budget or Hertz downtown locations. A zoo of people showing up there and bad service. So we have to choice now but to Uber it to Miami airport and rent from the many car rental agencies there at our disposal. I guess the real estate at the port is just to high to service car rental locations

oops.

National, Alamo, Thrifty and Enterprise offer shuttles between their MIA airport location and POM. If you get a good deal from someone else at MIA a taxi from POM will run $27 and Uber/Lyft will run about $20

Hertz, Avis and others with downtown locations (close to POM) usually offer shuttles - if not a taxi will run about $12-13

Have a great cruise! :D