We're renting a car to drive from Clearwater, Fla to Liberty OTS. Any ideas which company is closest to the Miami pier, and may also have a shuttle from the rental shop to the ship. At worst, I know we can drop the rental off at the airport and then take RCCL's shuttle to the ship (at least I think we can), but was just wondering if I had come up with another option.
Since the airlines are becoming so expensive, we have at O'Hare in Chicago USA3000 which flys to Clearwater cheap- and a rental shouldn't cost over $75 for one day/one way. Ideas or thoughts?

Avis, Enterprise, and Hertz all have offices near the port and they are so close together it doesn't matter which one you choose. They are all near Bayside, just a couple minutes from the port.

Look here.

Cruise Connection runs a shuttle from Clearwater to Miami pier if you're interested in avoiding the rental and transfer hassle.

Here's the link...

www.connect2cruise.com/rates.php

Cheers, Neil

That would be a no-brainer in this instance, at least for me.

Thanks for the link. If I can find a Marriott brand hotel to let me leave my car at Daytona, I may just change my cruise to Miami. http://cruise-chat.com/groupee_commo...icon_smile.gif

Dwayne

Thanks for the help Dave and others-we're renting because when we get back, we're spending the night in Clearwater to enjoy the beach for the Sunday after the cruise. There'll be four of us, so renting split those ways makes the car the best option price wise.

I used to use them all the time. The last time I used them the driver had to deviate from his route and pick up A group at a Condo in West Palm Beach. The driver got lost and to make a long story short we almost missed the ship arriving in Miami a little before 4 PM. Then on the return trip the bus had to wait about 2 hours for another ship passengers because it had Noro on it and had to have a health inspection before it was cleared. I now drive & Park or rent a car.

Every time I get what I believe to be a "brilliant" idea to save USC, someone throws a wrench into the mix.
Apparently USA3000 will no longer be flying to St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport (PIE) as of August, 2008.
Darn fuel prices!!(I cleaned that one up)

I used to use them all the time. The last time I used them the driver had to deviate from his route and pick up A group at a Condo in West Palm Beach. The driver got lost and to make a long story short we almost missed the ship arriving in Miami a little before 4 PM. Then on the return trip the bus had to wait about 2 hours for another ship passengers because it had Noro on it and had to have a health inspection before it was cleared. I now drive & Park or rent a car. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Another example of how no matter how well you plan or who you use there can be kinks that develop. They are one of the primary transfer companies that many of the cruiselines use. Leave it to human error or Murphy's Law. Between delayed flights, transfer issues, traffic jams and all the rest you never know where you'll hit a snag. A good reason to come in a day early whenever possible and spend a relaxing evening in a hotel so you'll be fresh and not frazzled when it comes time to board.

Airlines are cancelling schedules right now and trying to cut cost and increase flights that depart full. Be careful in the next few months of flight schedules. Check to be sure your flight is going to arrive when it said, when you booked it. Many are retiring older less fuel effecient planes. Flight times and availability are going to be interesting in the near future as these changes are implimented.

Cheers, Neil