help me figure out rental car in FLL?

[llmoyer123]

we arrive back in FLL at 7 a.m. in january (a sunday). i need to make a rental car reservation and would like some input into when you think i should tell the rental company we will be picking up the car.

 

i'm going with alamo and i understand they provide a shuttle at the pier.

 

i'll appreciate any and all suggestions from others who have done this or others who can guess at when we will be off the ship and ready to shuttle to the airport for car pickup.

[CruiseFever]

I've done exactly what you are doing and always tell them 11:00.

 

I also tell them that I'm coming in off a cruise ship (duh). They'll tell me to call them when we clear customs and that they will be there within 15 minutes. So far this has worked out to be right with them and with Budget.

 

They know that time is approximate on getting off a cruise ship, unlike an airline flight which is more predictable.

[llmoyer123]

thanks for the quick reply. let me pick your brain a little further.....

 

it'll take four hours (eeeek!) to get off the ship and call them?

 

you like budget over alamo? (have any good car rental codes to share?)

 

are there any car rental companies that DON'T shuttle you to the airport? any that are better than the others (or worse)?

 

thanks!

 

linda

[CruiseFever]

thanks for the quick reply. let me pick your brain a little further.....

 

it'll take four hours (eeeek!) to get off the ship and call them?

 

you like budget over alamo? (have any good car rental codes to share?)

 

are there any car rental companies that DON'T shuttle you to the airport? any that are better than the others (or worse)?

 

thanks!

 

linda

In my experience NO, it does not take hours to get off the ship. We've sailed in and out of Port Everglades several times and alway felt comfortable, for example, telling friends that they'd be ok with a 10:30am flight out if they requested to get off the ship early. Disembarkation, on a normal day, starts about 8:30am with many early off passengers reporting being at the airport (10 minutes away) by 9:30 easy.

 

BUT (and its a big "BUT"- no pun intended) on our last sailing we were late getting on the ship because the Coast Guard, Customs and Immigration ALL called a full inspection of the ship as it was repositioning from European deployment. That doesn't happen often but it can make the timing of everything all wacky. It happened to us once before though in Miami coming off the Victory and had about the same effect. For that reason it's a good idea to play it safe with airline reservations but with car rental reservations I don't think it much matters. It's not like the car will take off without us if we don't make it there at our requested time. When requested time is actually a factor is in afternoon or early evening pickups. They need 2 hours turnaround time from the time a car is dropped off until it is reissued if all cars are in use...which does happen in Fort Lauderdale but really has nothing to do with what concerns you.

 

I like Budget mainly because of the pre-cruise ease of rental. Getting off the plane, claiming luggage and standing in a really long line is no fun. With Budgets "FastBreak" program we bypass the line altogether and walk from baggage claim out to the garage right there by the terminal to pick up our waiting car. Post cruise they run a 15 passenger van back and forth from the 17th St location which puts us far away from the rental megaplex closer to the airport which I like.

 

Codes? I wish, I am just not any good at finding those.

 

As far as other companies that shuttle back and forth go I've read on here from time to time that most do although I'd sure confirm that before reserving a car with anybody. I'd hate to pay for a cab to take me to my rental car.