Questions leaving from Port of Miami Disney Wonder!

[Terrena]

We are sailing out of Miami in January and having never been there, I was hoping someone here had some experience and could answer a few questions.

We are flying into Fort Lauderdale and are going to rent a car there to drive to a hotel the night before the flight.

Questions:
I was wondering if anyone knows if we can drop off the rental car near the port of Miami if we rented it in Fort Lauderdale also is there a drop off fee since it is not returned to FLL. Maybe you know of a company that will let us do this with no fee?

Do the rental car companies have shuttle service to the port? If so, How much?

Does anyone have hotel recommendations very near the port. A port view would be so nice.

What is the best way to get back to FLL from POM? Thanks so much!

Also, anyone else sailing Jan 9 to the Caribbean?

 

[Kewz1]

We are sailing out of Miami in January and having never been there, I was hoping someone here had some experience and could answer a few questions.

We are flying into Fort Lauderdale and are going to rent a car there to drive to a hotel the night before the flight.

Questions:
I was wondering if anyone knows if we can drop off the rental car near the port of Miami if we rented it in Fort Lauderdale also is there a drop off fee since it is not returned to FLL. Maybe you know of a company that will let us do this with no fee?

Do the rental car companies have shuttle service to the port? If so, How much?

Does anyone have hotel recommendations very near the port. A port view would be so nice.

What is the best way to get back to FLL from POM? Thanks so much!

Also, anyone else sailing Jan 9 to the Caribbean?

We cruised out of Miami this past Feb. We rented a car at FLL and stayed at the Residence Inn Miami Airport. In the morning we returned the car at MIA and took DCL transport to the ship.

Upon returning we just did the reverse.

Sounds crazy but it worked out the best financially for us. It also gave us the freedom to visit Miami before and after the cruise.

Kristen

 

[pirate]

Also interested! We sail out on October 9, on the Magic!

 

[johnatthebar]

You can get a one way rental from any number of companies that have POM and FLL locations. One way rentals do cost considerably more than round-trip rentals (even though renting a car in FL is very cheap overall). Rental car companies near POM do offer shuttles from their office to the port. http://www.miamidade.gov/portmiami/parking-transportation.asp#rentals

Because you're doing just the one night in the hotel, I'd probably check the rental car prices, and then check the estimated cost of a car service or Uber from FLL to the hotel, and from the hotel to POM.

 

[MickeyFan1971]

Also flying into FLL for cruise out of POM...flying in day before cruise, staying day after. Staying in FLL hotel, with shuttle to /from airport. Getting transportation (mjs transportation I believe) for transportation to and from POM at cost of $11 per person. Traveling with group of 10, can all travel in one can and not have to mess with rental.

 

[Terrena]

We did consider getting a shuttle service from FLL to the port on the morning of the cruise, but since it's a week day we thought the traffic would be bad and we want to get there early. 11 dollars per person is awesome. That's the cheapest I have seen.

 

[Terrena]

You can get a one way rental from any number of companies that have POM and FLL locations. One way rentals do cost considerably more than round-trip rentals (even though renting a car in FL is very cheap overall). Rental car companies near POM do offer shuttles from their office to the port. http://www.miamidade.gov/portmiami/parking-transportation.asp#rentals

Because you're doing just the one night in the hotel, I'd probably check the rental car prices, and then check the estimated cost of a car service or Uber from FLL to the hotel, and from the hotel to POM.

This is a great idea. I think I will research that option too.

 

[johnatthebar]

This is a great idea. I think I will research that option too.

The more I think about it, if it were me, I'd do this just because of the time I'd lose finding the right rental car desk, renting the car, finding the return site, returning the car, and then taking the shuttle back. I might just be impatient though

 

[Terrena]

Yes, it does sound cumbersome! I'm not so patient myself.

 

[Terrena]

I know nothing about Miami. Does anyone know of any decent hotels near the port? Thanks so much. Staying at the Airport hotels sounds so nice, but also might be a bit too expensive.

 

[luv2sleep]

I know nothing about Miami. Does anyone know of any decent hotels near the port? Thanks so much. Staying at the Airport hotels sounds so nice, but also might be a bit too expensive.

I'm interested too.

 

[egesicki]

I know nothing about Miami. Does anyone know of any decent hotels near the port? Thanks so much. Staying at the Airport hotels sounds so nice, but also might be a bit too expensive.

Last year we found the downtown and beach hotels to be more expensive than the airport hotels, and we chose Comfort Suites Miami airport north. great package with shuttles, wine, free breakfast and wifi. Next year though, I am trying to get flights that come in a little earlier, and stay at the beach so the kids can play and it will feel like vacation is started earlier in my mind. Considering the Newport Beachside, which seems reasonable, kid friendly, and looks to be equidistant to FLL and MIA.

 

[mmouse37]

Here is the Official Port of Miami Thread which has tons of info on hotels, transportation options, etc. The first post has tons of info and then start reading from the back of the thread forward to see the latest info.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2897908

And another thread on the subject from yesterday:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3349275

And another on MIA transportation with pictures

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3337359

MJ

 

[mmouse37]

You can get a one way rental from any number of companies that have POM and FLL locations. One way rentals do cost considerably more than round-trip rentals (even though renting a car in FL is very cheap overall). Rental car companies near POM do offer shuttles from their office to the port. http://www.miamidade.gov/portmiami/parking-transportation.asp#rentals

Because you're doing just the one night in the hotel, I'd probably check the rental car prices, and then check the estimated cost of a car service or Uber from FLL to the hotel, and from the hotel to POM.

We have only encountered a few times when we had to pay a drop off fee for a rental in Florida (mostly with Thrifty). We have rented tons of times in Florida and most do not charge a drop off fee and one way rentals do not necessarily cost more than round trip way rentals. We regularly can get a one way rental for less than the daily rate of a round trip rental. Just have to shop around. I find great deals at www.mousesavers.com which has a lot of rental car discount codes. It can be time consuming plugging in all discount codes into all car rental sites but it can be worthwhile.

For our Miami cruise we rented from Alamo in MCO and dropped it off at MIA and took the free Alamo shuttle to the port. It was very easy and convenient. There was no one way drop off fee with the rental car. You must show your rental agreement to the shuttle driver as it is only for people who rent from Alamo/National. We did the same on the return. Picked up the shuttle from POM and went back to MIA to pick up our rental for our drive to West Palm Beach. Again, no extra fee to drop the car in West Palm Beach.

MJ

 

[johnatthebar]

We have rented tons of times in Florida and most do not charge a drop off fee and one way rentals do not necessarily cost more than round trip way rentals. We regularly can get a one way rental for less than the daily rate of a round trip rental.

What rental car company is this most frequently with? It's not that I don't believe you, I'm genuinely interested as I live in South Florida but rent cars here almost every month and sometimes a one way would be more convenient for me.

 

[Terrena]

I tried alamo's web site and they charge almost 200 dollars for one day's rental from FLL to Miami. Local charge was about 50 dollars. So, that must be a 150 drop off fee???? I really don't want to pay that and I can't find a company that is only charging a local fee for the car. The one's I have checked all charge to drop off.

We decided to just take one of the shuttles for 15 dollars a person. It was cheaper and since the hotel is across from a lot of activity, we probably would be ok without a car.

I so much appreciate all of the advice here! Thank you for taking the time to post.

 

[MichelleVW]

I know nothing about Miami. Does anyone know of any decent hotels near the port? Thanks so much. Staying at the Airport hotels sounds so nice, but also might be a bit too expensive.

We cruised Oct 31 out of Miami and stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. It was really convenient to the port and also across the street from a ton of shops and restaurants.

 

[Terrena]

We cruised Oct 31 out of Miami and stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. It was really convenient to the port and also across the street from a ton of shops and restaurants.

Thanks Michelle. How did you get from the hotel to the port? I am still wondering if a shuttle or a taxi is better.

 

[darwinsrule]

Thanks Michelle. How did you get from the hotel to the port? I am still wondering if a shuttle or a taxi is better.

Starting at around 10 it is taxi nivana outside the hotel. Stayed there in August. Booked it again for March.

 

[MichelleVW]

Thanks Michelle. How did you get from the hotel to the port? I am still wondering if a shuttle or a taxi is better.

We took a taxi but there were only two of us and not too much luggage. It was super easy though. Walked outside, told hotel guy we needed a taxi and he got us one within 2 minutes.