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Car rental question after disembarking Getaway

tbiesinger

By tbiesinger,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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tbiesinger

tbiesinger

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We will disembark the Getaway on 12/4 in Miami. We need to get a rental car and be on the road fairly quickly in order to make our flights in Orlando that afternoon. I am wondering if it would be best to rent from the agencies at the Port of Miami or to go over to Miami International and rent from there. Which will be the fastest option? Prices are the same from both locations.

 

Thanks in advance!

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Sauer-kraut

Sauer-kraut

Posted
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We will disembark the Getaway on 12/4 in Miami. We need to get a rental car and be on the road fairly quickly in order to make our flights in Orlando that afternoon. I am wondering if it would be best to rent from the agencies at the Port of Miami or to go over to Miami International and rent from there. Which will be the fastest option? Prices are the same from both locations.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

All the agencies are at the airport even though they state they have port facilities. The shuttle bus will take you to the airport to get the car. This happened to us, I searched for a rental agency that said it was POM. As I was routed to the airport I started to get antsy --- I was expecting to drop off at the port as we were getting really close to all aboard time! So dropping the car and then waiting for the shuttle bus to go we got to the terminal with 10 minutes to spare. Make sure you are leaving yourselves enough time to get to Orlando.

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Nola26

Nola26

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Last summer we had a good experience with Avis. Hopped shuttle from the port taken to a city location, went inside office for paperwork/transaction and walked outside to the lot for the car. We used the car for the weekend in FL before flying out. It was an easy process and I'd use them again if I wanted a rental post cruise.

 

One upside of a MIA pick up would be the potential to skip the counter if you're preferred with a company that allows that. But I'm not sure if you spend more travel time getting there to offset that difference.

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Daghis

Daghis

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All the agencies are at the airport even though they state they have port facilities.

This isn't entirely true. Avis and Budget, for example, have downtown locations with shuttle service to/from the port.

 

That said, if you're under a time constraint, I wouldn't recommend renting from a satellite location due to a problem with inventory. Often, they'll deplete their inventory trying to satisfy people getting off the ship before they start getting cars in from people going to the ship. In my last experience at the Avis location in downtown Miami, we had to wait about an hour for a car to become available.

 

The airport locations will likely be able to accommodate you more readily.

Edited by Daghis
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NayRN

NayRN

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I've used Alamo a couple times from MIA. I know that they have self-serve kiosks if you have a reservation so little to no time waiting for assistance. I will also be disembarking the Getaway on 12/4 and heading to Alamo for a car as I have a 4:00 flight from FLL.

 

See you on board! :cool:

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Cruise a holic

Cruise a holic

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If you do not fly in the day before, which apparently you are not- perhaps best to consider a shuttle that is non-stop. If you rent a car, not only do you have to get it which takes time, but return it. Your flight might be delayed and it could really be a hassel. IMO not worth saving the money to stress and possibly miss the ship.

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Lido_Deck

Lido_Deck

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If you do not fly in the day before, which apparently you are not- perhaps best to consider a shuttle that is non-stop. If you rent a car, not only do you have to get it which takes time, but return it. Your flight might be delayed and it could really be a hassel. IMO not worth saving the money to stress and possibly miss the ship.

 

There are no shuttles from Port Miami to Orlando.

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FreestyleNovice

FreestyleNovice

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How far away is the airport? Should we wait for the shuttle to take us there or get a taxi, if we decide to rent from Miami international?

 

Take a cab to Sixt Miami downtown, 5 minutes from POM on SE 1st Str. (near the Intercontinental).

 

Sixt never let us down, excellent service and cars, free cancellation so great on pricedrops.

 

Orlando airport is served via a 5 minute shuttle, with live tracking of the shuttles; https://www.sixt.com/car-rental/usa/orlando/orlando-int-airport

 

https://www.retailmenot.com/view/sixt.com I've used the top one, 15% off premium vehicles, with succes last week. Be sure to book with payment on arrival to have the free cancellation option!

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Lido_Deck

Lido_Deck

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Take a cab to Sixt Miami downtown, 5 minutes from POM on SE 1st Str. (near the Intercontinental).

 

Sixt never let us down, excellent service and cars, free cancellation so great on pricedrops.

 

Orlando airport is served via a 5 minute shuttle, with live tracking of the shuttles; https://www.sixt.com/car-rental/usa/orlando/orlando-int-airport

 

https://www.retailmenot.com/view/sixt.com I've used the top one, 15% off premium vehicles, with succes last week. Be sure to book with payment on arrival to have the free cancellation option!

 

Sixt is not a good or dependable car rental agency in the US. I rented from them once for a weekend rental at their main location in Ft Lauderdale and my experience was they were inept and incompetent. They couldn't provide the class of car I pre-paid for and were going to upgrade me to a BMW (which I don't care for) at no extra charge, but they wanted to authorize another $999 to my credit card for security deposit, which I refused. The local employees didn't have a clue how to resolve the problem, but fortunately the Regional Manager showed up and we agreed to $500 as a compromise.

 

Sixt is struggling to compete with American rental car agencies because they are operating like they would in Europe and not America. They just don't get that people in America don't share their belief German automobiles are superior and more desired than other cars.

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