Renting Car in Ft. Lauderdale after the Cruise

[BCEagle78]

I wonder if anybody out there has tried to do this:

 

We are arriving in Ft. Lauderdale at the end of our trans-Atlantic cruise which embarks from Venice on Oct 23. We live in Orlando so we had to figure out how to get home from Ft. Lauderdale.

 

We are a party of 6 and will be in tow with all the luggage that one might expect to have for a 17-day cruise. I have reserved a 12-passenger van from Avis for a one-way rental which will get us back to Orlando. I know that we will have plenty of space for the six of us and our luggage. I also know that Ft. Lauderdale uses an off-airport car rental center.

 

So what's the question/problem? What is the best way to get the six of us to the airport car rental facility? Do we:

 

1) Take 3 separate taxi's to the car rental center from the pier? With luggage, I expect that 2 to a cab is the likely configuration and I know that there are plenty of cabs that would be happy to transport us (but will cost 3 fares).

 

2) Should I go myself in a single taxi, get the rental van, drive back to the pier and pick up the rest of my party? Will I have trouble getting back to the pier after having left it originally (can I get through security)? (will cost 1 taxi fare but I might not get back to the pier).

 

3) Can I expect there to be car-rental shuttles that would pick us up and take us to the car rental center? (I called Avis and they said they only run Avis busses at certain times of the year but the agent couldn't tell me if my arrival date was one of those dates...

 

Any thoughts from the Ft. Lauderdale savvy travelers who might suggest the best option?

[Boytjie]

I also know that Ft. Lauderdale uses an off-airport car rental center.

 

Actually, the new rental car facility is right next to the airport terminal - a walkway connects them.

 

There is a shuttle between the airport and cruise port for some of the major car rental companies: Hertz, Avis etc. We rented from Budget but they were not part of it, I am not sure who else is or isn't. I would suggest that you do an early disembarkation to catch a shuttle, pick up the van at the airport and come back to get the others. There has to be a way for people to enter the port to pick up arriving passengers. Just take your passport with you - that seems to be what they ask for when entering the port.

 

Have you tried calling the local branch of the car rental company? The 800 number folk don't really know the local situations.

[BCEagle78]

Have you tried calling the local branch of the car rental company? The 800 number folk don't really know the local situations.

 

Thanks for the response, Boytjie...

 

I contacted the local Avis location via e-mail. Here is what they said:

 

"Unfortunately, the shuttle is only available at certain times of the

year. Your reservation is booked for November and the shuttle is only

available during the beginning of year.

 

Avis customers may use the Broward County shuttle between the port and

airport from February-April.

 

Customer must pay for own transportation May-January."

 

So that seems to rule out getting a shuttle from Avis or Broward County when we arrive on November 9...

[BrianTom]

One or two people get an early (earlier then the rest of the group) disembarkation. All others stay comfortable on the ship. The two take a cab to the airport and pick up the van and return to the port. It is very easy to get between the two. A five minute drive. When you get the keys to the van use your cell phone to call them and tell them to disembark and you swing by and pick them up. Make sure who ever goes to the airport to pick up their own luggage because you wont be able to walk back in to the customs area once you leave it.

 

 

Good luck

[BCEagle78]

One or two people get an early (earlier then the rest of the group) disembarkation. All others stay comfortable on the ship. The two take a cab to the airport and pick up the van and return to the port. It is very easy to get between the two. A five minute drive. When you get the keys to the van use your cell phone to call them and tell them to disembark and you swing by and pick them up. Make sure who ever goes to the airport to pick up their own luggage because you wont be able to walk back in to the customs area once you leave it.

 

 

Good luck

 

So I can get through the security gate to return to the pier without any problem? I know from experience related to other cruises, when we have driven to the port, they want to see cruise embarkation papers as well as passports. Since my cruise will have ended, will they let me in?

[BrianTom]

So I can get through the security gate to return to the pier without any problem? I know from experience related to other cruises, when we have driven to the port, they want to see cruise embarkation papers as well as passports. Since my cruise will have ended, will they let me in?

 

Yep. I am usually picked up after the cruise by a friend and family member and they just show their I.D., tell them they are picking passengers up and drive on through. Very easy. Just bring your passport or drivers license.

[Boytjie]

Thanks for the response, Boytjie...

 

I contacted the local Avis location via e-mail. Here is what they said:

 

"Unfortunately, the shuttle is only available at certain times of the

year. Your reservation is booked for November and the shuttle is only

available during the beginning of year.

 

Avis customers may use the Broward County shuttle between the port and

airport from February-April.

 

Customer must pay for own transportation May-January."

 

So that seems to rule out getting a shuttle from Avis or Broward County when we arrive on November 9...

 

That just sounds bizarre... November is at the start of the winter cruise season to the Caribbean!

 

But even if it was true, I would suggest you disembark early and take a cab to the airport - it is only about 10 minutes and a $15 taxi ride away. That's still better than paying $45 and dragging everybody and their luggage on cabs to the airport. The rest can linger longer on the ship while you get the van - and they'll owe you one. ;)

[matondo]

We are doing the same thing since we are flying in and out of Orlando. On the front end of the cruise I am curious if DH sould drop us off is there a place for us to hang until he returns from the airport or could he check in after us if he has his printout from the internet?

[jtl513]

... if DH sould drop us off is there a place for us to hang until he returns from the airport or could he check in after us if he has his printout from the internet?

Yes, you can check in separately. Just make sure he has his boarding pass and passport.

[BCEagle78]

Here is the rest of the story... how things turned out for us...

 

Before leaving on the cruise, I was concerned about the logisitics of getting a rental vehicle and my party of six on our way. Even though my call to Avis indicated that there would not be a shuttle bus to the car rental center, that was incorrect. I thought that I would need to take a taxi by myself, pick up the van and return to the pier to pick up the rest of my group. Here is how things turned out:

 

Since this was a trans-Atlantic cruise, our car were back in Orlando where we departed by air. To get home from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando, we chose to share a one-way 12-passenger van rental, splitting the cost among 3 couples.

 

After disembarking from the ship, we picked up our luggage and then left the building to find that there were personnel helping direct people to where they wanted to go. We asked if there was a bus which would take us to the car rental center for Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Sure enough, there was a bus no more than 100 feet away which was serving as a shuttle to the rental car facility at the nearby Ft. Lauderdale airport.

 

The bus had plenty of room and our entire group of six were able to get on the same bus and within 15 minutes, we were driving our rental van out of the Avis section of the car rental center.

 

This turned out to be much less complicated that having me go alone, pick-up the van and trying to find my way back to the pier to pick up the others.

 

We drove home to Orlando from there after spending much less $$ than we would have had we flown home and much more convenient than taking a bus which would have gotten us close to home but not to our door, which the rental did for us.

[Modern_Viking]

After disembarking from the ship, we picked up our luggage and then left the building to find that there were personnel helping direct people to where they wanted to go. We asked if there was a bus which would take us to the car rental center for Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Sure enough, there was a bus no more than 100 feet away which was serving as a shuttle to the rental car facility at the nearby Ft. Lauderdale airport.

 

The bus had plenty of room and our entire group of six were able to get on the same bus and within 15 minutes, we were driving our rental van out of the Avis section of the car rental center.

 

This turned out to be much less complicated that having me go alone, pick-up the van and trying to find my way back to the pier to pick up the others.

 

We drove home to Orlando from there after spending much less $$ than we would have had we flown home and much more convenient than taking a bus which would have gotten us close to home but not to our door, which the rental did for us.

 

As the saying goes, "I love it when a plan comes together."

 

This is good news since I made use of the free Broward count shuttle bus last year and planning to due the same over Christmas this year.