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Guide To Florida Car Rental (Transfer To Port)

Acrossenger

By Acrossenger,
in Florida Departures

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stargate fan

stargate fan

Posted
Posted
Is this true? Does Avis NOT have a shuttle to the port?

 

I have 2 reservations - pre cruise and post cruise. I was planning on picking up at FLL and dropping off at MIA and taking shuttle to port pre-cruise. Then post cruise take shuttle to MIA, pick up car, then drop off at FLL.

 

Will that not work?

 

Thanks,

Maggie

 

I want to make sure I understand this...

We are flying in on a Friday night. FLL is less expensive and has more non-stops from Boston than MIA, so I am leaning that way.

We are trying to decide if we should spend the night in FLL or MIA.

(Any opinions?)

So, if we rent a car at FLL and spend the night in a hotel, we drive to the rental car office in MIA the next morning and get a shuttle to Port of Miami, right? Then do the opposite on the other end of the cruise.

Or, we rent a car at FLL, drive to MIA for the night, go to the rental offcie in the morning and get a shuttle to the port then do the rest.

Does this all sound right? (Feeling a little dense today. Sorry.) I assume there are no rental car agencies at the ports, right?

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  • 1 month later...
Jade13

Jade13

Posted
Posted

 

Miami International Airport

Avis (In airport terminal)

Budget (In airport terminal)

Hertz (In airport terminal)

National (In airport terminal)

Alamo (In airport terminal)

Typical cost: $43

 

Fly in/out of Fort Lauderdale and cruise out of Miami

Avis FLL (in terminal) -M6I (5 minutes / $7 cab ride to port)

Avis M6I-FLL

 

Fly in/out of Miami and cruise out of Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale)

Avis MIA (in terminal) -FLL (complementary shuttle to port)

Avis FLL-MIA

 

If anyone have any comments or updates, please post in this thread. I will update the summary from time to time. If this information has benfited you, please feel free to post else where or pass on to benefite your fellow cruisers.

 

Where is Thifty located at MIA? We are picking up at FLL and dropping off at MIA (no drop off fee) and taking the Thifty shuttle to the port.

 

The best code I can find so far is "Wild" (mid size or better) for $43.00. Walmart and Sams Club at 10% off but the rate is still higher. They do not have a AAA discount.

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JoeSmooga

JoeSmooga

Posted
Posted
Where is Thifty located at MIA? We are picking up at FLL and dropping off at MIA (no drop off fee) and taking the Thifty shuttle to the port.

 

The best code I can find so far is "Wild" (mid size or better) for $43.00. Walmart and Sams Club at 10% off but the rate is still higher. They do not have a AAA discount.

 

I BELIEVE it is located near the airport, along with Alamo, National, and Dollar. It better be... I have Thrifty booked for 1/4 and plan on dropping it there/using the free shuttle to the port from that location!

 

Joe

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Prairie_Gal

Prairie_Gal

Posted
Posted

Just wanted to mention that for anyone with an American Express card go to the Alamo.com website and click on the link for 15% off, and combine with coupon code AD3829MRB, which is an e-coupon for another $25 off. We are renting a full size in December for 10 days for a total of $127 (taxes, fees, everything). It doesn't get much better than that! :)

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sunshineminnie

sunshineminnie

Posted
Posted

I just finished reading this thread. I went ahead and tried the Avis code and it worked. I'm not quite understanding why we can't use it? Any help is great.

 

Also, if we fly in to MCO, is the pickup/drop off at the airport or do we shuttle to it?

 

How far is the pier from the drop off point in Cape Canaveral? Do they shuttle you to the pier for free?

 

When you get off of the ship, how do you get back to Avis to pick up another car?

 

Sorry if these questions are basic. Just want to make sure that I understand everything.

 

Thanks!

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lucky13gal

lucky13gal

Posted
Posted

After reading several threads on car rentals from the Miami Port and then checking out the various rental sites, I found this to be the best price today:

. Dollar Rent A Car

. Using the promo code of KISS (thanks to other posts)

. From the Port of Miami (Location = Miami - Cruise Ship Only Pickup)

. To Fort Lauderdale Airport

. In mid-Jan for a 1-day rental of a minivan was $49.00 base rate. No extra drop off charge.

 

(most others were in the $90 range, even with some of the promo codes suggested in this thread.)

 

And per other posts I understand Dollar does shuttle from Miami Port to their location.

 

Whew! Done!.

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JoeSmooga

JoeSmooga

Posted
Posted
I just finished reading this thread. I went ahead and tried the Avis code and it worked. I'm not quite understanding why we can't use it? Any help is great.

 

Also, if we fly in to MCO, is the pickup/drop off at the airport or do we shuttle to it?

 

How far is the pier from the drop off point in Cape Canaveral? Do they shuttle you to the pier for free?

 

When you get off of the ship, how do you get back to Avis to pick up another car?

 

Sorry if these questions are basic. Just want to make sure that I understand everything.

 

Thanks!

 

Avis is located on the airport property at MCO.

From Avis Port Canaveral to the port itself it's approx 3 miles. They have a free shuttle that will take you right to the ship itself.

The driver will tell you when taking you to the ship where to meet them at the end of your cruise. Typically it's on the far side of the parking lot (where the other rental shuttles will be). Not a long walk at all.

My opinion... AVIS is the way to go in MCO/Port Canaveral. REALLY easy.

 

Joe

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KodakUnderSea

KodakUnderSea

Posted
Posted
Avis is located on the airport property at MCO.

From Avis Port Canaveral to the port itself it's approx 3 miles. They have a free shuttle that will take you right to the ship itself.

The driver will tell you when taking you to the ship where to meet them at the end of your cruise. Typically it's on the far side of the parking lot (where the other rental shuttles will be). Not a long walk at all.

My opinion... AVIS is the way to go in MCO/Port Canaveral. REALLY easy.

 

Joe

 

 

Agree. Use U405347 AWD which seems to provide same level of discount as before.

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njmomof2

njmomof2

Posted
Posted
Avis is located on the airport property at MCO.

From Avis Port Canaveral to the port itself it's approx 3 miles. They have a free shuttle that will take you right to the ship itself.

The driver will tell you when taking you to the ship where to meet them at the end of your cruise. Typically it's on the far side of the parking lot (where the other rental shuttles will be). Not a long walk at all.

My opinion... AVIS is the way to go in MCO/Port Canaveral. REALLY easy.

 

Joe

 

Have they reinstituted their free shuttle from their office to the Port? When I called them, they told me they did not offer a free shuttle. I had a ressie w/ the code that is now blacklisted so I'll have to cancel that. Hertz does not have any minivans available for my date. I tried the Budget BCD code (U023812) and it dropped my rate by about $10 from what I had previously booked with them. Is this still a valid code and will I have a problem producing some sort of ID?

 

I'll try the substitute code w/ Avis and see if that gets me as low as the blacklisted one.

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njmomof2

njmomof2

Posted
Posted
Agree. Use U405347 AWD which seems to provide same level of discount as before.

 

Does anyone know where this code came from? It did indeed drop my rate back to almost as low as the blacklisted one (same coming from MCO but a smidge higher back to the airport). I'd hate to find out it's been blacklisted as well.

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snelsonbrown

snelsonbrown

Posted
Posted

OK if you are calling for Avis information here in Port Canaveral, just tell them you found their information on this CC board and they will know that they gave me permission to say that they would beat or meet anyone else's prices.

also Avis here at the port has always had free shuttles to the cruise ships.

They are great to work with and if you have ANY type of problems, don't hesitate to ask for Bob Fink or Jeramy - they are a super group of folks to work with.

Hope that this will help.

Always

Shirley

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njmomof2

njmomof2

Posted
Posted
OK if you are calling for Avis information here in Port Canaveral, just tell them you found their information on this CC board and they will know that they gave me permission to say that they would beat or meet anyone else's prices.

also Avis here at the port has always had free shuttles to the cruise ships.

They are great to work with and if you have ANY type of problems, don't hesitate to ask for Bob Fink or Jeramy - they are a super group of folks to work with.

Hope that this will help.

Always

Shirley

 

Shirley, you're always a fountain of good information. It's interesting about the shuttle. I remember back a few months ago when this discussion was going on and I seem to recall that I called Avis in Cape Canaveral and they told me they did not have a shuttle...that a cab was about $7 or so. I think I'll call again and double check. Not that I doubt you but I wonder why the different information.

 

Also, this issue with the codes is a bit unnerving. I'm nervous that this new Avis code will end up being a problem like the previous one. Believe me, the difference in price is significant (from about $127 one way to $84) so if there is a problem with the code, I'd rather know now than when I get to the desk in MCO. What are your thoughts about this? I don't know that the local office would know if a code is any good other than when they input it into the computer and get a notation on it.

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njmomof2

njmomof2

Posted
Posted
If you are a member of Costco. BJ's or Sams Club, they have codes too with very good savings. That is what I use and so I don't have to worry about the rental compny asking for proof on these mystery codes that are out there.

 

I have both BJs and Costco but I've found that the codes are better for a rental longer than 1 day. Have you found that they work for a one day rental?

 

I called Thrifty and got a minivan from MCO to PC for around $84 pre cruise. This is w/o any codes, which is almost exactly what Avis was charging with their code (but they are in airport and Thrifty is off site). The return, however, is higher (and almost exactly what I have booked with Budget, which is also on site). Unless I can confirm that the Avis code is a good one and won't give me any trouble, I might have to suck it up and pay $30 more with Budget.

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JoeSmooga

JoeSmooga

Posted
Posted
Have they reinstituted their free shuttle from their office to the Port? When I called them, they told me they did not offer a free shuttle.

 

Just checked their website... http://www.aviscapecanaveral.com/index.php

 

Looks to me like they still have the free shuttle service to/from the port... as much as it is plastered all over their site they better :)

 

Joe

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Jade13

Jade13

Posted
Posted
If you are a member of Costco. BJ's or Sams Club, they have codes too with very good savings. That is what I use and so I don't have to worry about the rental compny asking for proof on these mystery codes that are out there.

 

When I phoned, Thiftys "Wild Car" price was cheaper than Sams Club/Walmart. It was about $43.00 before taxes for a Mid Size or up (1 day) in February. I know someone posted they got a mid-size for $42.00 with taxes but I can not find that price. Thifty has no drop off fee for FLL to MIA and free shuttle service to MIA port. It will be our first thifty rental.

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