Logistics of one way rental car

[blk1964]

Hi all

 

We are not doing the DCL cruise bus since we are coming in the day before the cruise and staying in Port Canaveral that night. Whats the best way to do the one way rental car thing? Which car companies have good reliable shuttles from the car drop off in Cape Canav to the Port? What are the pros and cons of one person going to do the drop off of the car, while the other person waits at the port? As it stands we plan to stay at the Days Inn Cocoa Beach, but Im open to any other hotel recommendations. Days Inn seems to do pretty well on the TripAdvisor review site. I really dont want to spend too much, I just want a bed to sleep in.:)

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

We have used Avis, Thrifty/Dollar and Budget and have not had a problem wih any of them. Hertz and Enterprise also do one way rentals with shuttles to/from the port.

 

I prefer to all drop off the car and hop on the shuttle as my kids think riding the shuttle is part of the fun. However, we have done it both ways. If your kids are small, it may be easier to all stay together. It's really up to you. If you are planning to get to the port early to get a low boarding number, you may want to get dropped off at the port with the kids and send DH to drop off the car. You can go in and check in without him - just make sure you have his passport with you. Make sure he keeps his drivers license with him, as he will need it to get into the terminal when he returns.

 

Though we usually stay in Orlando the night before, we have also stayed at the Residence Inn as well as the Country Inn & Suites in Cape Cananveral - both were clean, reasonably priced and offered free breakfast.

[blk1964]

Thanks for the information. Im finding that thru AAA I can get a one way rental car for about 47 bucks total. They use Hertz. With Avis and budget, Ive seen good things about their shuttles etc, but I cant get as good a rate with them as I can with hertz thru AAA.

[loveysbydesign]

We used budget and had no problems! Check out mousesavers.com for rental car codes to get great rates!

[blk1964]

Thank you loveysbydesign, for that hint. I checked mousesavers and got a code for budget that saved me 40 bucks and put Budget in the same price range as Hertz with my Triple A. :):D

[cruisingwith4kids]

That link is very helpful (mousesavers). How is everyone finding these great rates? We need a minivan (6 pax plus bags) and I'm finding prices of $225 for one way rental from Orlando to Port Canaveral! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

That link is very helpful (mousesavers). How is everyone finding these great rates? We need a minivan (6 pax plus bags) and I'm finding prices of $225 for one way rental from Orlando to Port Canaveral! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

What dates are you looking for?

[loveysbydesign]

That link is very helpful (mousesavers). How is everyone finding these great rates? We need a minivan (6 pax plus bags) and I'm finding prices of $225 for one way rental from Orlando to Port Canaveral! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You may be able to get 2 smaller cars for less then the minivan! Also try playing with the pick up and return times...generally if it right on the hour the rate will be cheaper for some reason.

If you'd like to give me your dates and time i'll see if I can get a cheaper rate and let you know what code/times I used!

[Stoneham92]

We too went in a day early too and did the one way car rental. Spent the day at CAPE CANAVERAL, it was AWESOME!

 

We stayed at Radisson Resort at the Port, Port Canaveral. There used to be a rental car near by, maybe call the hotel and ask what the closest rental car might be.

Scheduled shuttle service to Port Canaveral, local area and Kennedy Space Center (complimentary) which I am sure would include cruise ship, because it did when we stayed there.

 

Also, McDonald's for quick breakfast is within walking distance.

 

Next day we were one of the first to board the ship! Great to explore before the ship sets sail. ENJOY! Have a magical cruise