Back to the drawing board... embarkation day questions

[TexasPirate]

I was flying, then driving...now flying again.... too many things to try to keep track of....

 

Anyway, we are now flying into FLL on Christmas Day for a cruise on the 27th out of the Port of Miami.  I have decided to rent a car since we will have the better part of 2 days in Miami.  At present I have a car reservation for pickup at FLL and returning it to the Alamo counter at the Intercontinental Hotel the morning of our cruise.  I figured I would drop my family off at the port with our luggage, return the car, and grab an UBER back to the port.  Is this a good plan? 

 

I am guessing that Alamo doesn't offer a shuttle back to the cruise port after dropping off the car which is why I say Uber back from the Intercontinental Hotel.  Another option would be to return the car the night before the cruise and just utilize the hotel shuttle for the roughly $10 per person so that I'm not dealing with the rental car the morning of the cruise.  

 

Miami Cruising Pro's - Please help me figure out a plan that's not crazy.

 

Thank You

[vacationlover_mn]

One option is to Uber instead?

[tw67]

1 hour ago, TexasPirate said:

I was flying, then driving...now flying again.... too many things to try to keep track of....

 

Anyway, we are now flying into FLL on Christmas Day for a cruise on the 27th out of the Port of Miami.  I have decided to rent a car since we will have the better part of 2 days in Miami.  At present I have a car reservation for pickup at FLL and returning it to the Alamo counter at the Intercontinental Hotel the morning of our cruise.  I figured I would drop my family off at the port with our luggage, return the car, and grab an UBER back to the port.  Is this a good plan? 

 

I am guessing that Alamo doesn't offer a shuttle back to the cruise port after dropping off the car which is why I say Uber back from the Intercontinental Hotel.  Another option would be to return the car the night before the cruise and just utilize the hotel shuttle for the roughly $10 per person so that I'm not dealing with the rental car the morning of the cruise.  

 

Miami Cruising Pro's - Please help me figure out a plan that's not crazy.

 

Thank You

We are flying in next month to FLL the night before our cruise.  We are renting from Budget so we can pick up wine, breakfast, etc on way to port.  Our plan is for my husband to drop us off at port with luggage.  He will return the car to the Budget Cruise Shuttle in dowtown Miami, and then take shuttle to port.  I guess Almo doesn't have one, but an Uber Intercontinental will be quick.  After a cruise we once rented a car from there.  Small wait at hotel, but wasn't horrible.

[JohninDC]

Do you need the car? What is the Intercontinental charging you to park? Probably at least $30/day. You could use Uber or Lyft to get to Miami, get around, and get to the port for probably less than the combined cost of the rental, parking, gas, tolls, etc.

[TexasPirate]

44 minutes ago, JohninDC said:

Do you need the car? What is the Intercontinental charging you to park? Probably at least $30/day. You could use Uber or Lyft to get to Miami, get around, and get to the port for probably less than the combined cost of the rental, parking, gas, tolls, etc.

Sorry I should have said Alamo has a return desk at the Intercontinental Hotel.  I was not planning to park there just return the car before the cruise. However, I did some basic math and agree Uber is probably a better choice for the limited driving I need to do.   

[JohninDC]

Smart! All of the downtown hotels in Miami charge guests. $25-30+ per day to park.  Add to that the traffic and the parking charges for wherever you go to and Uber or Lyft make lots more sense.  Have a great cruise!

[LHT28]

so easy to walk to places near the IC  no need for a car

we took a taxi from the IC  to the port it was under $15  but I guess Uber is cheaper 

[fishywood]

The omission of one crucial fact is coloring many of the responses:

 

Where are you staying on the 25th and 26th? A Ft Lauderdale hotel? A different hotel other than the Intercontinental near PortMiami? I had to read and reread the entire thread several times before realizing you are not actually staying at the IC, just returning the rental there. Which leaves a huge gap in what we know about your plans.

[BNBR]

For what it's worth, dropping off your family then having them wait 45 minutes while you return a car sounds less than ideal. Providing you want to board together.  Rental car may be fine, as Fishywood said, we don't actually know where you are staying.... 

 

And with a car, depending on what you want to do in Florida, a cheaper non downtown hotel may make sense. Like Blue Lagoon hotels near the airport. Then drop the car off first thing in the morning, return to your hotel and either shuttle or Uber to the port.

 

Whether you should get a car largely depends on what you want to do.  Keys day trip? Everglades tour? Plenty of fun things that having a car would make sense. 

[TexasPirate]

I apologize for leaving out details - (At the time I didn't think they were pertinent but agree that the more I can tell you all the more you can guide me from your experience). We are part of a bigger group (17) but for the sake of this message I am only worried about the 5 traveling in my immediate party. Myself, DW, DD(18), DD (turning 16 on this cruise), and DD's BFF. - Birthday cruise.

 

We are now confirmed on a flight landing in FLL at 3:30 PM on the 25th of December.   From there we need to make our way to the Hampton Inn East by the Miami International Airport.  I figure we will then go out to dinner (94th Aero Squadron is probably our dinner destination).  Then back to the room for the night.

On the 26th if weather permits we will go down to the beach (somewhere) and hang out for part of the day. Then back to the hotel and get cleaned up for dinner (Need to find another place to try).

On the 27th - We check out and make our way to the cruise port.

 

With all that moving around I thought having a car would be ideal but a car that will seat 5 plus cruise luggage is going to be a minivan or suv.  About $300 for 2 days, plus gas, and parking, and the headache of dealing with it.  Yesterday I used Uber Estimator to guesstimate all the various trips I have planned using an UberXL and came up with a price of around $220 so I canceled the car.  

 

Now maybe if we decide we need a car for one day on the 26th I can take the hotel shuttle to Miami International and rent one just for the day.  It wouldn't need to be so big because we won't be carrying our luggage around on our free day. I could then return it that same night (back at the airport) so I don't have to deal with it on cruise morning.  

 

Anyway - Thank you for all your thoughts and ideas!

 

 

[bouhunter]

13 minutes ago, TexasPirate said:

 

 

Now maybe if we decide we need a car for one day on the 26th I can take the hotel shuttle to Miami International and rent one just for the day.  It wouldn't need to be so big because we won't be carrying our luggage around on our free day. I could then return it that same night (back at the airport) so I don't have to deal with it on cruise morning.  

 

 

 

 

This isn't a bad idea.  Free airport hotel shuttles are great for picking up and returning rental cars  And while one person is doing that the others can be relaxing in their room, enjoying the pool, etc.

[JohninDC]

You will have many more dining and shopping options nearby if you switch to a downtown hotel. Hampton inn or Homewood Suites in the Mary Brickell area of Miami are worth checking out. UberXL or a van taxi from FLL to Miami will run about $70-75, and another $15+ ride will get all of you from downtown to the port.

 

There is a local strip mall near your current hotel with cheaper dining options than 94th Aero, plus grocery and drug stores. If you want to explore Miami Beach take the hotel shuttle to MIA airport and catch the Airport Flyer bus to South Beach for about $3 each!

[o-state girl]

I believe several of the rental car agencies at Miami International have a shuttle that will take you to the cruise terminal.  If you picked the car up on the 26th, you could probably keep it until the next day.  The morning of the cruise you could load up all the luggage and a co-pilot and drop all of the luggage at the cruise terminal while everyone else relaxes at the hotel.  Then you could pick up all the passengers take them to MIA and catch the provided rental car shuttle to the cruise terminal together.  

Edited August 6, 2019 by o-state girl
addition of verbage.

[JohninDC]

6 hours ago, o-state girl said:

I believe several of the rental car agencies at Miami International have a shuttle that will take you to the cruise terminal.  If you picked the car up on the 26th, you could probably keep it until the next day.  The morning of the cruise you could load up all the luggage and a co-pilot and drop all of the luggage at the cruise terminal while everyone else relaxes at the hotel.  Then you could pick up all the passengers take them to MIA and catch the provided rental car shuttle to the cruise terminal together.  

I am a transplanted Okie and you are correct.  National, Alamo, Thrifty and Enterprise offer free shuttles between their MIA airport location and the port. Hertz, Avis and Budget have downtown locations close to the port and also usually offer shuttles.  Good options, but only if you need a car.

[o-state girl]

18 hours ago, JohninDC said:

I am a transplanted Okie and you are correct.  National, Alamo, Thrifty and Enterprise offer free shuttles between their MIA airport location and the port. Hertz, Avis and Budget have downtown locations close to the port and also usually offer shuttles.  Good options, but only if you need a car.

We are pretty similar...Okies who love to cruise and have dog photos as their Cruise Critic avatars.  😁

[BlueHerons]

I agree with John to switch your hotel and I like the Hampton Inn Downtown.

 

Ditch the car and you'll have much better walking options because at the airport you'll have none.

 

Better yet, if you want a beach day, why not a hotel in South Beach?  You can Uber from FLL to South Beach and not need a car or Uber again until the 27th when you go to the port.

 

Miami isn't an easy or quick city to drive around in.