Rental Car Question

[colleenbean]

Going to be on The Enchantment of the Seas Feb3rd - 8th, and I was wondering if there any rental car agencies at Port Everglades, FL or will we need to take a taxi to the nearest one? Thanks! :p

[tiyana4]

I was at Port Everglades in August 2006 and I'm not aware of any rental car facilities at the port. There are plenty of taxis waiting to whisk you away to the airport (2-3 miles away) and can have you there within 15 minutes. There are also Airport Transfers (vans & buses) available but take much longer.

 

We chose to take a cab and it was only $13 total for 3 people to the airport. The bus shuttles provided by the cruiselines run about $11-18pp depending on cruiseline. We much preferred the taxi ride. If you have an earlier morning flight, you will definitely want to take a taxi - we were off the ship at 8:45 and at the airport at 9:15.

 

The aiport has a number of rental car agencies for your convenience. Have fun on your cruise.

[B-52]

We are going to rent a car when we get off the plane, and return it late night day before the cruise, cab back to hotel from rental agency (airport) then cab/shuttle to Ship next morning.

[robtulipe]

Most of the major car rental agencies are in between the airport and port. Both times I rented a car here (before the cruise) I took the rental shuttle from the airport to their lot ( Hertz or Avis) and at the end of the rental period they shuttled us to the port to catch the cruise, I recall seeing other agencies' and parking shuttles picking up at the port also. Asks when you reserve.

[dbarry]

Last August, we rented a car from budget here in daytona beach and drove to Ft. Lauderdale the day before the cruise. We dropped the car off at a budget close to the port. We stayed at the Ft. Lauderdale Grande Hotel and the rental drop off was within walking distance of the hotel. The hotel is very close to the port. So close that when we woke up on Saturday morning and went outside, we could see the Enchantment of the Seas docked and waiting for us!

 

We have also rented locally, and dropped off the car at the airport and shuttled back to the hotel, that time it was the Embassy Suites and then shuttled to the the port the next morning. Embassy Suites provided both shuttles from the airport and to the port. That trip was very time consuming and aggravating, it seemed like forever until the shuttle came and picked us up at the airport.

 

We have yet to use a taxi, but this June I will be driving my own car to fort lauderdale and will be leaving it at the port. Perfectly safe there, my DH and I did that a few years back with his truck.

 

Have a great time and let us know how your cruise was! This June will be my third time on the Enchantment. I love the ship and the crew!

 

Darlene

[ColumbiaMDCanadian]

We've done this a couple of times. *All* the major car rental companies have shuttles that serve the port.

 

I gather that since last fall, some serve the port directly from the airport while others have satellite depots you must shuttle to to pick up the car and then, when you're done, shuttle to the port.

 

This January we took a cab from FLL to the port ($15+tip) when we arrived on the day of the cruise, and then, at the end of the cruise met the Thrifty rental car van outside for a quick trip to the car rental place, literally just outside the port 'enclosure'. Last March, we arrived the day before, picked up a car at the airport, dropped it off before the cruise and got a free shuttle to the ship. We had a couple of days at the end of the cruise, so we reversed the process - free shuttle to the airport, pick up the car, and off we went.

 

Shuttles seem to pass by every 20 minutes or so - but I gather that they can bunch up at the security check point entering the port - especially if there are a lot of ships in port.