re taxis to "dollar rental car" Fort Lauderdale and how long to disembark?

[Twee]

:) Hi there

This is my first post and definitely not my last but be gentle as I'm from the UK!!! We are cruising Star Princess 1 week 22nd Oct - 30th 05. We have booked car hire and a hotel in Orlando for 2nd week independently. We will travel up to Orlando from FLD on 30th (my daughter's 10th birthday). We have booked "rent a dollar car" from 1425 Perimeter Rd Dania and it says FLD airport!! WE HAVE BOOKED mICKEY'S NOT SO SCARY hALLOWEEN PARTY FOR THE EVENING AND WANT TO EAT IN ORLANDO AROUND 5PM. NOW FOR THE QUESTIONS:

 

• How long does it take to disembark and where do we pick up our luggage from ? dockside (sorry I'm panicking).Do we leave it outside our cabins the night before or what?
  
• 
  
• Are taxis in abundance and is it far to this address? Don't want to be ripped off trailing half way round FLD if it's only a short journey.
  
• 
  
• How long and is the drive easy to Orlando & do they give you a map or should we get our own? Hubby refuses to get in car navigation (a man thing)
  

Any help greatly appreciated so I can put my mind at rest. i'm so excited1

 

Tracy

[Pam in CA]

It can take anywhere from an hour to two hours for disembarkation to start once the ship is in port.

 

You'll be putting out your luggage the night before and picking it up at the pier. You'll receive colored luggage tags the day before and that color will be the order of your disembarkation. When you receive the tags, there'll also be Customs forms to fill out as well as an estimated disembarkation schedule by color.

 

When you get up in the morning, either bring your carry-on stuff or leave it in the closet of your cabin, have a good breakfast and then either wait in a lounge or go back to your cabin to pick up your carry-on stuff and go to a lounge.

 

Once your luggage tag color is called, you'll disembark to the pier and go through Immigration where your passport (or other docs) will be inspected. Once through that, you'll go to where the luggage is sorted and lined up by tag color. Once you've located your luggage, you'll take it, hand in your Customs declaration and walk out of the terminal.

 

Depending on the number of ships in port at the same time, you'll be able to get a cab. A bit of forewarning is that it can be a bit of a zoo with everyone with their luggage trying to get a cab. If you have a porter help you, he'll grab the cab and help you out.

 

I don't know how much it would be to Dollar Rental or how long a drive it would be to Orlando, but you shouldn't have a problem making the party for the evening. My guess is that you'd be in Orlando by early to mid-afternoon.

[cherylandtk]

Twee,

The address you gave is on the road immediately east of the airport, which IS where the rental car agencies are. A taxi from the port to this point should be about $10. Tell the driver you want to go to the airport rental cars, specifically Dollar.

 

From the airport to Orlando (city, not WDW) is about 220 miles, and will take about 3-4 hours. The rental agency will give you a basic map, but a better idea would be for you to go online to mapquest.com, or a similar site, enter the addresses and get detailed printed directions and a map specific to your route. You can enter the exact addresses. I very much recommend doing this, as the hubby will be too involved with figuring out how to drive on the "wrong" side of the road to be looking for streets and exit signs.

[Twee]

Thank you all for your help sorry if I've posted the question twice but I thought it hadn't worked!! I'm feeling more confident now.....I think....just scared witless re the driving

can't wait til the cruise Tracy

[Pam in CA]

Tracy... you're asking the right questions now so you'll be fine.

 

I want to second the suggestion to use a map website to trace your route and get directions. Both http://www.mapquest.com and http://maps.google.com/ are excellent. Google uses satellite images in addition to the road map so that you can zoom in on your destination and look for landmarks. I've found that helps eliminate the anxiety of identifying where I'm going when I get there. :)

[SueCruz]

I rented from Dollar and they had a shuttle that picked me up at the cruise ship terminal and took me to their location at no cost.

[CruiseFever]

• How long does it take to disembark and where do we pick up our luggage from ? dockside (sorry I'm panicking).Do we leave it outside our cabins the night before or what?
  
• Are taxis in abundance and is it far to this address? Don't want to be ripped off trailing half way round FLD if it's only a short journey.
  
• How long and is the drive easy to Orlando & do they give you a map or should we get our own? Hubby refuses to get in car navigation (a man thing)
  

There is a Budget Car Rental location on 17th St (very close to the port) that will come get you at the port and take you to your rental car. You'll just need to change your reservation from the airport pickup to the 17th st location.

 

It's at 1515 SE 17th St Causeway and the phone number is 954-761-7231. The last time we did that they had us call when we'd cleared customs and we had just a short wait for the complementary van to come pick us up.

[cfk2439]

Tracy, since I live in South Florida, thought I'd give you some helpful advice. When you drive from FTL to Orlando, request directions using the Florida turnpike. It will be much easier to drive the turnpike and it will lead you directly to Walt Disney World and the surroounding hotels. Good luck!

 

Carol

[CruiseFever]

Tracy, since I live in South Florida, thought I'd give you some helpful advice. When you drive from FTL to Orlando, request directions using the Florida turnpike. It will be much easier to drive the turnpike and it will lead you directly to Walt Disney World and the surroounding hotels. Good luck!

 

Carol

 

 

Yes indeed

 

Turnpike= good

I-95= bad

 

:)

[cfk2439]

I-95 definitely bad - the most dangerous road in Florida. They drive like cowboys on I-95, weaving in and out of traffic at 70 mph and more. Not the road I would want to drive while trying to get used to navigating on the opposite side!

 

Carol