Renting a car with Budget

Has anyone rented a car with either budget at the cruise port location or at the airport? We will be traveling from South Carolina with a rental van to the port dropping it off and then needing another rental van for the drive home after the cruise. Just thought it would be nicer traveling with a larger car then my small compact car. After reading some of the reviews I see online for many of the car rental companies in that area I'm started to doubt my decision to rent a car after all. Just would like some info from anyone that has used Budget or any other companies that you can recommend. Was it very time consuming getting a car after the cruise? And was the car you reserved there at the time you scheduled the pick up for? Also how was your experience with the shuttles. Many horror stories online. Any replies appreciated.

Not sure what port you're leaving from so my answer pertains to Port Canaveral. We've rented cars from Budget at the airport (Orlando) when we lived in California and on cruise day we would return it at the Budget office very near to the port and catch the shuttle to the ship. Very easy! The driver would tell us where to go to catch the shuttle when we returned. It can be a bit crowded but nothing horrendous. You can always catch a taxi or Uber to return to the Budget office to save some time.

I’ve used many different car rental companies over the years, including Budget. Have never had a problem with them. My only negative experience with a car company was Hertz in Long Beach, CA last month. But I’m chalking that up to just that location being lousy because I’ve had good experiences with Hertz before. I would take the reviews you have read with a grain of salt. Most people only take they time to write a review when they have had a bad experience. But, for every bad one there could be hundreds of good ones.

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I'm sorry! Forgot to mention it will be Port of Miami.

Try the Port of Miami departures forum for better answers for this question. This thread will get moved there anyhow.

Try the Port of Miami departures forum for better answers for this question. This thread will get moved there anyhow.

Where do I find that forum? I would love to follow that...

Florida Departures: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

We have done Budget to/from Miami often.

We tried the Budget location cruise port/downtown which is really small and very crowded and although they offer a shuttle the line for the shuttle is very long and so we ended up just catching a cab to the ship anyway. We continue to use Budget (I find it is one of the only rental companies that does not charge a drop fee) to/from home to the MIA airport location and catch a cab from there. Cab is about $20, very quick, and well worth it considering the crowds at the cruise port/downtown location. After our cruise we then just hop in a cab and take it to the airport and get our vehicle there. Easy.

We have done Budget to/from Miami often.

We tried the Budget location cruise port/downtown which is really small and very crowded and although they offer a shuttle the line for the shuttle is very long and so we ended up just catching a cab to the ship anyway. We continue to use Budget (I find it is one of the only rental companies that does not charge a drop fee) to/from home to the MIA airport location and catch a cab from there. Cab is about $20, very quick, and well worth it considering the crowds at the cruise port/downtown location. After our cruise we then just hop in a cab and take it to the airport and get our vehicle there. Easy.

I concur.

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I’ve used budget before without any issues. The only rental car company I’ve had a major issue with is hertz. Outside of that, the process of renting a car is based on the luck of the draw. Do you get there when there is hardly anyone there and walk up and grab a car or do you get there when there’s a ton of people there and wait in a huge line to find out your car isn’t available yet. Both options can happen with most lines; just the luck of it being a slow day or busy day.

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We continue to use Budget (I find it is one of the only rental companies that does not charge a drop fee)...

Hertz and Alamo don’t charge drop fees either. I’ve rented with both and dropped the car off at a different location. No fee. In fact, with Alamo I picked it up in Seattle, WA and dropped it off in Vancouver, Canada. No fee and it wasn’t even the same country.

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While the no drop fee for Budget is true (usually for in-state rentals), I am not sure this would apply for a rental coming in from out of state. You need to explore this for a definite answer. Drop fees can easily exceed $100.

As an alternative, do you have access to Amtrak?...it would bring you to South Florida with no traffic problems where you could uber or taxi to the ship.

Note that Amtrak has it's own book of problems, but becoming familiar with the service, you may find them manageable.

I prefer Alamo. Their headquarters is in Fort Lauderdale I believe and they always have tons of cars available for great rates

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Last year we had a good experience with Hertz out of FLL with drop off at Miami cruise port. Upon return we took the Budget shuttle from port and picked up a car from Miami airport to FLL. We had a problem where they did not ask us if we wanted the prepay tolls and got about 12 citations for the one day after we got home. Afterwards they adjusted the total and I believe their toll policy has since changed.

In July we decided to go back to Budget because of their much better terms in Orlando. On cruise day we dropped off early around 9:15, because we had FTTF, and because the Magic had been embarking early in Port Canaveral.

While there the Budget shuttle would not take us to the port even though 4 or 5 of them went back and forth within a 45 minute time frame, because they told us that they were still disembarking the other ships. At around 10:00 we decided to uber our way to port. By 10:15 we were all checked in and by 10:30 we were on the ship. Other than that it was ok, their availability of full size cars was low on our way back and had to get a mid-size instead.

Is there a Budget shuttle from cruise port to MIA? We have always caught a cab which might be faster but shuttle would be good option.

We cruised from Port of Miami in July with 10 people. I had decided to rent a 12-passenger van after our cruise since we were staying overnight and wanted to explore Miami. First, after debarkation, NO ONE at the port seems to be aware of where to get the shuttle to Budget facility. Then, once you see the shuttle, you practically have to run over with your whole group because there is no “reservation” to get on it and others are waiting for it too. Once we finally got the Budget downtown rental facility, we were told that our van wasn’t there because they were waiting for it to be returned by someone who had embarkation that day and we’d just have to wait an undetermined amount of time for it. Finally, after waiting an hour, we just asked for 2 vehicles. They did it for the same rate, but the vehicles that they had available crammed the 10 of us and our luggage. Not the way I wanted to end my vacation!!

We usually reserve our rentals with National. In August my wife decided to try Budget for whatever reason. As soon as we got there, I realized WHY we used National. We won't use Budget again. The vehicle we had (2018 Dodge Challenger) had all sorts of dings in it, we had to wait in a line forever long where we bypass the line with National, the customer service rep was not very friendly, and it just left a sour taste in my mouth.

The downtown Miami locations tend to be very busy on turnaround days. The locations are close to the Port Of Miami but are relatively small and usually are very crowded. If you rent from Alamo, National, Enterprise, Dollar, or Thifty they provide free shuttle service to the Miami International Airport Rental Car Center which is located directly across from Miami International Airport. The Rental Car Center is a large building that houses all rental car companies in the same location. They usually have plenty of vehicles available at all times and the facility is open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Usually the crowds are a lot smaller than the downtown Miami locations. You also have a better chance of getting a free upgrade if you have a confirmed reservation. Personally, I usually rent from either Dollar or Alamo, depending on price.

I have use Budget from the POM, as others have said it is a small place. The last time I rented from them I took the SAS shuttle from the port for $15.00 per person to FLL and got my rental there. The price was lower than the POM price. If you have joined their loyalty program, you can just go to the desk and pick up your paper work without talking to anyone, then head straight to you vehicle.

Hertz, Avis and Budget have downtown locations close to POM.  Sometimes overwhelmed by cruisers and other vacationers - taxi, if you do not want to wait for the shuttle will be about $12 or Uber for under $10

National, Alamo, thrifty and Enterprise offer shuttle service between their MIA airport location and POM - show the driver your reservation/rental papers.  If you get a good deal from another agency at MIA a taxi to/from POM will be $27+ or you can Uber/Lyft for just under $20