Car Rental at Port of Miami

[Pr0spect0r]

Since our ship returns to port at Oh-My-God-Its-Early, and we don't have to catch a plane until 7:00 PM, we are thinking of renting a car for our day of fun in Miami.

 

Anyone here have advice on getting rentals at the port of Miami? I see that Hertz offers a service to the port, but their 'best rates' are dependent on prepaying and giving a time of day to pick up the car.

 

Not sure what time we'll roll out of bed and get down the gangway. Of course I guess I could tie myself to a schedule, but whats the fun in that??

 

Any other options?

[SteelerCruiser]

I have a car reserved from Sixt car rental for May. We areflying into Fll and will be dropping the next day at their downtown Miami location as we depart from Miami. On the return trip I have one reserved for pickup at downtown Miami and will be returning later in the day to Fll as we have a late flight out as well. I am hoping this will go good and smoothe!

[loanshark]

Rent from alamo, national or budget... They will shuttle you from the ship to the Miami airport facility as the pickup is located at the airport.

[Pr0spect0r]

Thanks - I need a oneday to get from the airport to our hotel, then another one day to get from the boat to the airport. Travelling with a family means taxis aren't really the best way to go.

 

Do Alamo et al. have a drop off downtown where we could ditch the car? It would seem silly to rent at the airport, drive the family downtown, then drive back to the airport to drop off the rental.

[loanshark]

Hertz is the only one downtown that has a shuttle. For the other companies you need to use the Miami airport facility.

[Corby114]

Hertz, Avis and Budget have downtown Miami locations that are very close to the Port Of Miami. There are no car rental companies located directly at the Port Of Miami. Recent Cruise Critic posters report that Hertz recently discontinued their shuttle service to their downtown location. I'm also very sure that Avis and Budget do not provide shuttle service and you need a taxi to get to their location. If you rent from Alamo, National, Dollar, or Thifty they provide free shuttle service to the Rental Car Center which is located directly across from Miami International Airport. The free shuttles circle the Port Of Miami area and pass by each of the terminals. Just flag down the driver and usually they will stop. On some occasions the driver will ask to see your rental car reservation before they allow you to board the shuttle because some cruisers are looking for free transportation back to Miami International Airport. Also, I recently read that Alamo has a rental car location located at the Miami Intercontinental Hotel which is located in downtown Miami which is very near to the Port Of Miami. I am unsure about any free transportation to that facility.

[Big Tillie]

We rented from Avis in Downtown Miami. They do not have a shuttle. We really had a hard time getting a taxi to take us to the Avis location from the cruise terminal after our cruise. All the taxis wanted to go to the airport. Some were real jerks. We finally found one who would take us. It's only about a 5-7 minute ride. We gave him a big tip.