To rent a car or to not rent a car...that is the question.

[Mickeefan]

We are sailing on the Vision of the Seas out of Port Everglades on 1/4/13. We are flying in on the 3rd. The hotel we're booked in, has a shuttle from the airport & to the port (for a fee), and will also provide shuttle to grocery/liquor store and/or restaurant.

 

In light of all that, would you rent a car? We would pick up the car about 3pm, be able to hit a grocery and/or liquor store, use it to go to dinner and then return it to the airport in the morning, getting a taxi to the port. It would cost us $30-40, but give us some freedom while not making us rely on the hotel shuttle service.

 

All opinions are welcome. TIA

[swigso]

Hi,

For $30 or $40 I would rent the car, have the use of it

to get around and then go to the port drop off my cases then

take the rental back and get the free shuttle to the port.

No Luggage to mess around with you are 5 mins from FLL

works out no more than a taxi really.

[Putterdude]

That's a great question. With the free shuttle to your hotel and a $15 cab fare from FLL to the port I really wonder if you need a car. We don't rent a car as a rule, we can go along way in Fort Lauderdale for $10 and cabs are readily available.

[Twickenham]

We are sailing on the Vision of the Seas out of Port Everglades on 1/4/13. We are flying in on the 3rd. The hotel we're booked in, has a shuttle from the airport & to the port (for a fee), and will also provide shuttle to grocery/liquor store and/or restaurant.

 

In light of all that, would you rent a car? We would pick up the car about 3pm, be able to hit a grocery and/or liquor store, use it to go to dinner and then return it to the airport in the morning, getting a taxi to the port. It would cost us $30-40, but give us some freedom while not making us rely on the hotel shuttle service.

 

All opinions are welcome. TIA

 

I would rent the car, however I would also:

A) Look at my chosen hotel and see if I can get something comparable that doesn't have shuttle service for less (the main advantage of the rental car is that you're not dependent on staying at a hotel with shuttle service, thus can stay somewhere further out that's cheaper);

B) Rent from an agency with an office near the port - Thrifty, for example, has an office right at the entrance to the port, with a free shuttle to your ship.

[teacherman]

We view our departure city as a port on the cruise, and usually fly in a day or two early, rent a car, and do something "different". We are flying this Saturday,

staying at Extended Stay on 17th (free airport shuttle), renting a car at the Budget across from the hotel (cheaper than the airport), using the car to dinner and jai-alai on Saturday night, the Dolphins game on Sunday, return the car on Monday, and free shuttle to Vision of the Seas. Our vacation starts when we leave the house, and we try to make the most of it. (But that is just us.)

[Mickeefan]

I would rent the car, however I would also:

 

A) Look at my chosen hotel and see if I can get something comparable that doesn't have shuttle service for less (the main advantage of the rental car is that you're not dependent on staying at a hotel with shuttle service, thus can stay somewhere further out that's cheaper);

 

B) Rent from an agency with an office near the port - Thrifty, for example, has an office right at the entrance to the port, with a free shuttle to your ship.

 

Thanks! You can't get much cheaper than our hotel. We're using Mariott points and it's free! ;)

 

I'll look into the Thrifty rental. Thanks, again!

 

We view our departure city as a port on the cruise, and usually fly in a day or two early, rent a car, and do something "different". We are flying this Saturday,

staying at Extended Stay on 17th (free airport shuttle), renting a car at the Budget across from the hotel (cheaper than the airport), using the car to dinner and jai-alai on Saturday night, the Dolphins game on Sunday, return the car on Monday, and free shuttle to Vision of the Seas. Our vacation starts when we leave the house, and we try to make the most of it. (But that is just us.)

 

Thanks! I'll look into maybe finding a different rental location.

[Twickenham]

Thanks! You can't get much cheaper than our hotel. We're using Mariott points and it's free! ;)

 

I'll look into the Thrifty rental. Thanks, again!

 

If you're a MR member, check out Hertz as well, as you can earn MR points with them :).

[happy42cruise]

We are renting a car for 1 day in Jan also and the range in prices is amazing. You might look into picking up at the airport & drop off at an agency by the port - some of them offer that option for free, then their shuttle to the ship, and look for discount codes from everything you can. The auto club, the big box stores, if you work for a large company etc. I have found 1 day rates from as low as $20 (with all the taxes) to rates in the hundreds - for 1 day? The local offices close earlier than the airport location so if you want to drop the car off late you may have to go back to the airport. Good luck with whatever you decide, we like the option of going wherever we want when we want.

[Mickeefan]

We are renting a car for 1 day in Jan also and the range in prices is amazing. You might look into picking up at the airport & drop off at an agency by the port - some of them offer that option for free, then their shuttle to the ship, and look for discount codes from everything you can. The auto club, the big box stores, if you work for a large company etc. I have found 1 day rates from as low as $20 (with all the taxes) to rates in the hundreds - for 1 day? The local offices close earlier than the airport location so if you want to drop the car off late you may have to go back to the airport. Good luck with whatever you decide, we like the option of going wherever we want when we want.

 

I, too, have found a wide range of prices. I'm using a discount from my employer. Do you know which companies offer shuttle to the ship? If we return to the airport, we'll just catch a taxi.

[Twickenham]

I, too, have found a wide range of prices. I'm using a discount from my employer. Do you know which companies offer shuttle to the ship? If we return to the airport, we'll just catch a taxi.

 

I have personally used the shuttle offered by the combined Thrifty/Dollar office at the entrance to the port. I believe that Hertz, and possibly Avis and Budget, also have free shuttles from their nearby offices, however I would call to confirm. I believe National/Alamo have a shuttle to FLL as well, but then again I would confirm before renting.