debarking in POM, renting a car to FLL questions

[gladahc]

We are flying SW our of FLL. Cruise is out of POM. After some looking on here, it appears that for *almost* the same money (when you factor in tips) we can rent a car in Miami, return it to FLL, AND have a way to do something during the day. Our flight doesn't leave until 4:20pm, and all things considered, I'd rather NOT have to spend the day sitting around the airport or pay for a shuttle, pay for luggage storage, and then pay for a cab to go out for lunch or shopping. Dollar and Alamo have about the same rates.

 

--Which of those 2 have a free shuttle from POM to where you pick up the car?

 

--If we self-debark will we be able to miss the massive crowds of OTHER people getting rental cars I'm reading about?

 

--Is doing this something that is going to be a much larger PITB than I am anticipating? (the getting TO the rental place, getting the car, returning the car, and getting to our gate, etc). This will also be Labor Day weekend.....should we plan on TSA lines being significantly longer at FLL?

 

--How horrible is traffic getting from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale? Are we talking I-75 in Atlanta-level of craziness?

 

--Any other experienced advice about this?

[JohninDC]

Alamo, along with National and Thrifty offer a free shuttle from POM to their MIA airport location. If you get a deal from another provider the MIA airport is a $27 cab ride from POM; the airport locations should be big enough so that they will not be overwhelmed with cruise customers -- which is commonly reported at the downtown Hertz location.

[thinfool]

We are flying SW our of FLL. Cruise is out of POM. After some looking on here, it appears that for *almost* the same money (when you factor in tips) we can rent a car in Miami, return it to FLL, AND have a way to do something during the day. Our flight doesn't leave until 4:20pm, and all things considered, I'd rather NOT have to spend the day sitting around the airport or pay for a shuttle, pay for luggage storage, and then pay for a cab to go out for lunch or shopping. Dollar and Alamo have about the same rates.

 

--Which of those 2 have a free shuttle from POM to where you pick up the car?

Alamo does. and I think that Budget will pick you up and shuttle you to their downtown location

 

--If we self-debark will we be able to miss the massive crowds of OTHER people getting rental cars I'm reading about?

The Alamo facility is always busy, but it is large and any line moves right along.

 

--Is doing this something that is going to be a much larger PITB than I am anticipating? (the getting TO the rental place, getting the car, returning the car, and getting to our gate, etc). This will also be Labor Day weekend.....should we plan on TSA lines being significantly longer at FLL?

You have to decide your level of angst here. It is a holiday weekend. Allow an hour or a little longer to get your car, possibly as much as 3 hours to check in at FLL.

 

--How horrible is traffic getting from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale? Are we talking I-75 in Atlanta-level of craziness?

Atlanta will seem tame.

 

--Any other experienced advice about this?

 

Unless you have PreCheck, airport arrival times are sometimes recommended to be 3 hours prior to flight time. This could especially be true on a holiday.

 

If you really want to sightsee in southern Florida, delay your departure for one day so that you will have time to see something.

 

It has been awhile since I flew out of FLL on the same day after a cruise....but I remember seeing the SW line spilling out of the terminal doors and all up and down the sidewalk for folks trying to check in. Obviously it went away, but we were really glad we had different flights.

Edited July 11, 2016 by thinfool

[gladahc]

Alamo does. and I think that Budget will pick you up and shuttle you to their downtown location The Alamo facility is always busy, but it is large and any line moves right along. You have to decide your level of angst here. It is a holiday weekend. Allow an hour or a little longer to get your car, possibly as much as 3 hours to check in at FLL. Atlanta will seem tame.

 

Unless you have PreCheck, airport arrival times are sometimes recommended to be 3 hours prior to flight time. This could especially be true on a holiday.

 

If you really want to sightsee in southern Florida, delay your departure for one day so that you will have time to see something.

 

It has been awhile since I flew out of FLL on the same day after a cruise....but I remember seeing the SW line spilling out of the terminal doors and all up and down the sidewalk for folks trying to check in. Obviously it went away, but we were really glad we had different flights.

 

Thanks for a thorough answer. I really can't imagine Atlanta traffic seeming tame :eek: but i will take your word for it. It's not so much that we want to go sightseeing as we don't want to sit at the airport from possibly 9am-4pm with nothing to do, and renting a car seems like the most cost-efficient way to get back to FLL and be able to go out to lunch.

 

And I'm sure the SW lines will be long.....they were $60+/pp cheaper than everyone else for the same flight.