Rental Car Help?

[dwalt3897]

My family is sailing for the first time on June 5, 2011 on the Freedom leaving out of Port Canaveral. We get back on the 12th. The question I have is I need a rental car when we get back on the 12th for seven days. We have two adults and three children (17, 12 and 8) and lots of luggage. I have been checking regularly and it seems that rental cars are extremely high at the moment especially for a minivan (between $500 and $600 for the week) for this time period. I have checked several websites for some money saving coupons but am not having much luck. Is there a better time to start looking? Will these prices come down maybe after easter or closer to our trip? Any help would be appreciated. We will be renting a car from Port Canaveral and dropping it off in Ft. Lauderdale.

[JohninDC]

Generally rental car prices tend to fall as your date gets closer because managers are looking at unsold inventory. You're trying to rent a van at the begining of the family summer vacation season from a low volume location.

 

I'd keep checking prices, book something you can live with that is refundable, and then shop some more. It may pay for you to shuttle to MCO where there is more competition among rental agencies - you can shuttle from PC to MCO for about $20 in about an hour, pick up the car/van and then return to PC to pick up your family. Good luck! :)

[c-cruise]

$500-$600 isn't that bad of a price for a mini-van for 7 days. Had a couple mini-van rentals on our cruise last month and before discounts paid $117/day to rent from MCO and $45/day to rent from FLL.

 

The nice thing about rental car reservations is you can cancel them if you find a better deal. I always just book one so at least I have something and then keep checking back for a better price. Usually goes down the closer you get to the date.