Miami Advice Needed (car rental, car parking)

[GreenSmoothieCruiser]

Hello,

 

We are taking a seven day cruise out of Miami on 11/24. We will be driving from Atlanta. Here is our main issue: our van (2004 Odyssey) is not capable of such a road trip. We'd like to rent a car (actually, a van). We will also need three carseats.

 

Our plan was to rent a van for two days (we'll be leaving that Friday and staying the night at a hotel on Friday, and at a family member's house on Saturday) and then return the rental on Sunday morning before the cruise. However, my local enterprise office told me there are high fees for dropping off a car at a different location from where it was picked up. She said we could possibly save money by parking the car at Miami during the cruise. The fee she quoted me for a nine day rental was around $600.

 

What would you do? What's the best choice financially? Rent a car here, return it in Miami then at the end of the cruise rent a car in Miami and return it in Atlanta? Or rent a car here, park it at Miami (how much does that cost?) and then drive it back to Atlanta? If we do rent a car and return it to Miami, what will we do with our carseats?

 

Thank you for your help!

[debnjoe1438]

I would get and compare prices and go from there. As for car seats....no clue.:(

[JohninDC]

Check prices from other rental agencies -- National, Alamo and Thrifty offer free POM shuttles from their MIA airport location. If you drop the car downtown Hertz has free shuttles while others (Avis, etc.) are only a $12 cab ride from POM.

 

If you keep the van for the full time you will need to park -- parking at POM costs $20/day and is covered, convenient, secure. You can park at several off-site locations for less but they will not be as convenient and secure.

 

Good luck! :)

[Algebralovr]

Try Thrifty. I got a much lower quote from them, and one way was fine.

[GreenSmoothieCruiser]

Thank you for all the advice. I will call Thrifty. But there is still the issue of car seats...

[BlueHerons]

Hello,

 

We are taking a seven day cruise out of Miami on 11/24. We will be driving from Atlanta. Here is our main issue: our van (2004 Odyssey) is not capable of such a road trip. We'd like to rent a car (actually, a van). We will also need three carseats.

 

Our plan was to rent a van for two days (we'll be leaving that Friday and staying the night at a hotel on Friday, and at a family member's house on Saturday) and then return the rental on Sunday morning before the cruise. However, my local enterprise office told me there are high fees for dropping off a car at a different location from where it was picked up. She said we could possibly save money by parking the car at Miami during the cruise. The fee she quoted me for a nine day rental was around $600.

 

What would you do? What's the best choice financially? Rent a car here, return it in Miami then at the end of the cruise rent a car in Miami and return it in Atlanta? Or rent a car here, park it at Miami (how much does that cost?) and then drive it back to Atlanta? If we do rent a car and return it to Miami, what will we do with our carseats?

 

Thank you for your help!

 

We rented a van to drive to Miami in 2005 and Enterprise would not let us park the van in Miami over the cruise. Since the car companies have GPS we had to get a family member not cruising with us to drive the van out of Miami and park it in Fort Lauderdale. I would check into that.

 

Have you looked at taking the train? It may be cheaper. It will be a longer trip as you may have to head north first but I'd still look into Amtrak.

[Pellaz]

Have you looked at taking the train? It may be cheaper. It will be a longer trip as you may have to head north first but I'd still look into Amtrak.

 

WAY north from Atlanta...all the way to Washington DC. :(

I love trains and I love Amtrak, but even a quick look at their route map shows that the most glaring omission is a route from Florida through Atlanta and up to, say, Chicago.

 

OP, it's probably too late for this now since all the low-cost seats are probably gone, but a large group of my co-workers from Atlanta worked out that the cheapest way for their group was to take MegaBus from Atlanta to Orlando at $8/pp each way, then rent a van or two in Orlando to get from there to the pier in Miami. By now, though, all the really cheap fares on MegaBus for your upcoming dates are probably gone.

 

If MegaBus ever offers direct service from Atlanta to Miami or FLL, cruising from here will be a lot cheaper and easier. :)

[JohninDC]

Thank you for all the advice. I will call Thrifty. But there is still the issue of car seats...

 

Bring your own car seats - a rental van is a rental van, it will not matter if you rent from Thrifty, Hertz, Avis, ....

[bearette]

As far as car seats: I have twins so I recommend you take your own car seats. The car seats given by car rental companies can be disgusting and expensive. (Think minimum $10 per seat per day.) You are better off with your own reliable car seat. We just checked ours onto the ship and left them in a corner for the entire cruise. They take up space but otherwise wasn't to inconvenient. If you end up keeping the rental car then like you said just leave them in the van.

 

Try mousesavers.com under car rentals. It is a site geared at people going to Disney but offers a lot of coupons and codes for rental cars and vans in Florida.

[elmoe663]

Hello,

 

We are taking a seven day cruise out of Miami on 11/24. We will be driving from Atlanta. Here is our main issue: our van (2004 Odyssey) is not capable of such a road trip. We'd like to rent a car (actually, a van). We will also need three carseats.

 

Our plan was to rent a van for two days (we'll be leaving that Friday and staying the night at a hotel on Friday, and at a family member's house on Saturday) and then return the rental on Sunday morning before the cruise. However, my local enterprise office told me there are high fees for dropping off a car at a different location from where it was picked up. She said we could possibly save money by parking the car at Miami during the cruise. The fee she quoted me for a nine day rental was around $600.

 

What would you do? What's the best choice financially? Rent a car here, return it in Miami then at the end of the cruise rent a car in Miami and return it in Atlanta? Or rent a car here, park it at Miami (how much does that cost?) and then drive it back to Atlanta? If we do rent a car and return it to Miami, what will we do with our carseats?

 

Thank you for your help!

 

Reservation Status

 

 

 

 

 

 

TIME & PLACE

Change

 

Pick-up

ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

College Park, GA

Fri Nov. 22, 2013 at noon

Return

Same as Pick-up

Tue Dec. 03, 2013 at noon

 

 

 

 

CAR & RATE

Change

 

Car Class:

Minivan Dodge Caravan (or similar)

Rental Time:

1 Week at $341.16 per week. Unlimited mileage. 4 Extra Days at $47.99 per day.

 

Total Base Rate

$533.12

 

 

 

 

 

Car Options

 

 

You are here

 

 

 

 

Book the Car

 

Not completed yet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Totals

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apt Conc Recov Fee

$61.17

 

Facility Charge

$55.00

 

Energy Recovery Fee

$4.50

 

City Excise Tax

$20.00

 

State Tax

$46.67

 

Vehicle License Fee

$12.98

 

Total Est. Mandatory Charges

$200.32

 

 

Est. Grand Total

$733.44

[surrocruiser]

What about trying to find a hotel for the one night pre-cruise that will let you park for free? I realize you had said you were staying with family but this may be a cheaper option than paying to park, keeping up with 3 car seats and paying the one way drop fees both ways. Good luck!

[GreenSmoothieCruiser]

What about trying to find a hotel for the one night pre-cruise that will let you park for free? I realize you had said you were staying with family but this may be a cheaper option than paying to park, keeping up with 3 car seats and paying the one way drop fees both ways. Good luck!

 

Thanks! Are there hotels that will let you leave a car there for several days? Do you have a favorite family-friendly, affordable hotel in Miami?

[JohninDC]

www.parksleepfly.com and www.stay123.com are good sources for hotels offering cruise packages that include parking.

 

As downtown Miami hotels charge their guest $25-30+ per day to park, most of the hotels offering these deals are out near the MIA airport. Two budget options often suggested are the La Quinta East and Comfort Suites North -- both usually include a "free" shuttle to POM; you'll need to taxi back to your car after the cruise for about $25+tip.

 

Better hotels in a nicer part of town include several hotels (Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, etc.) in the BLue Lagoon area nea MIA.

 

As long as you are staing out near MIA why not dine at the world famous Cuban restaurant Versailles? :confused: http://www.versaillesrestaurant.com/

 

Good luck! :)

 

Good luck!