Renting a Car at MCO (Orlando) and turning in at Pt. Canaveral and getting to ship

[cantwait2cruise]

I have to be in Orlando for business several days pre-cruise. I will need to rent a car at MCO on Thursday. Cruise leaves Monday morning and would turn in the car that morning. Has anyone rented a car and returned it in the Pt. Canaveral area. Will the rental car place take you to the port once you have turned the car in?

 

Any recommendations for companies?

 

Thanks!

[42trvl]

We just did in April when sailing on the Mariner. We rented from Hertz at MCO, used the car for a few days, then drove to Port Canaveral the morning of the cruise. Dropped off our luggage, then drove just a few minutes to the Hertz location down the road - it was very easy. They then shuttled us back to the terminal.

 

I know that a few of the other major car rental companies do the same thing.

[sewcruising]

We just sailed on Mariner 8/7-8/14. We flew into Orlando a day early, rented a car from Budget, drove the car to the Budget office in Cape Canveral and they shuttled us over to the pier. It was a very short distance between the Budget office and the pier. We did the same thing for our return trip to MCO. When the driver dropped us off at the pier on 8/7 he made sure we knew where to catch the shuttle once we disembarked on 8/14. We didn't have much wait time for a shuttle on our return trip to Budget, but were also one of the earlier groups called off the ship. I imagine the later your disembark time, the longer your wait time for a shuttle back to whatever car rental place you're using, so just make sure you plan accordingly. Hope this helps...

[cantwait2cruise]

Thanks for the info. Did you book online or call to make reservations? Do you have to tell them ahead of time that you will need a shuttle to the port?

[PelicanBill]

We rented cars one way MCO-Port Canaveral and back again for our cruise last January.

 

One trick: The big online booking engines that let you compare prices cannot do one way rentals involving an airport. Just can't. I called. You must go to Hertz or Budget or whoever's actual online booking site, compare prices yourself, then book at those sites. There are no drop off fees for one way rentals that begin and end in Florida. It was way cheaper to do this for us than getting a limo and we had flexibility since we allowed a day and half up front and 8 hours at the back between flights and the cruise.

[42trvl]

As long as you are returning the car during normal hours when their shuttle operates (you can check these hours when making your reservation), then you should not have to make separate arrangements for the shuttle. I did as PelicanBill, comparing rates on the individual websites, then after booking may still call directly to check/add any discounts and confirm certain details, such as shuttle services.

[MrWizard]

I have to be in Orlando for business several days pre-cruise. I will need to rent a car at MCO on Thursday. Cruise leaves Monday morning and would turn in the car that morning. Has anyone rented a car and returned it in the Pt. Canaveral area. Will the rental car place take you to the port once you have turned the car in?

 

Any recommendations for companies?

 

Thanks!

National permits renting at MCO and drop off at Cocoa Beach, providing that you book it this way. You can call a yellow cab from the Cocoa Beach National location and they will take you to the port. It is under $20.

[flyerwife]

Avis also has a location close to Pt Canaveral and provides a free shuttle to/from their location to the ships.

[pfleer]

We just rented a convertible Mustang from MCO to Canaveral for just $62. Use Walmart coupon code W810011. We checked rates for several companies and Budget was the cheapest. Rentals starting in the high 20's.

 

Peggy

[danajjj]

We just rented a convertible Mustang from MCO to Canaveral for just $62. Use Walmart coupon code W810011. We checked rates for several companies and Budget was the cheapest. Rentals starting in the high 20's.

 

Peggy

 

Was your price $62 a day? We want to rent a convertible too and hang out in Orlando a day or so. We arrive Fri. evening, but our cruise isn't until Sunday.

[pfleer]

Yep, $62 a day using that code. It was around $68/day without. Considering that a shuttle for two people from Orlando was $60, we figured that was more than worth it.

[Coralc]

If you check:

 

http://www.dcltribute.com/carhire/

 

It evaluates the relative merits of the various car rental agencies that will allow you to rent at MCO and drop off at Port Canaveral.

 

http://www.mousesavers.com lists rental car discount codes for the various companies.

 

We are paying $63 total for a full size rental car for 3 days with pickup at MCO and dropoff in Cocoa Beach. We are renting from National, which does NOT have a shuttle, cab fare from the rental office to the pier is $14. :)

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

We used Enterprise for our Sovereign cruise a couple of weeks ago, and were very happy with their port shuttle and overall service. Just another option -- you never know who will be offering the bargains on your specific dates. :)

[Inshape]

Be careful. Only Avis is in Port Canaveral, the others are in Cocoa Beach and do not operate on Sunday...at least that is what I found out. We booked through Avis, since they are open on Sunday and they are close to the port and they have a shuttle. The shuttles start running at 8 am. They beat all the other prices too!

[Coralc]

Perhaps you should check out the links that I posted above. Other agencies are indeed open on Sundays, and they do run shuttles. Please check your information.

[pfleer]

Budget's address is Cape Canaveral, is open Sunday and has a shuttle to the airport.

[GrouchyOleMom]

Be careful. Only Avis is in Port Canaveral, the others are in Cocoa Beach and do not operate on Sunday...at least that is what I found out.

 

That is simply not true. There are NO car rental companies in the port. Avis is in the city of Cape Canaveral (across from Thrifty & 1/4 mile from Hertz). I worked many Sundays at Hertz. Budget and Thrifty are also open and all of them provide shuttle service. Enterprise is closed on Sundays. National does not provide shuttle service.

[Inshape]

So sorry, I will recheck. This was told to me 6 months ago when I booked. I did not think it would change. I now will look into the other car rentals. Thanks. And I did mean CApe Canaveral...not port. I knew none were in the port itself. So sorry for the misinfo.

[42trvl]

Definitely Hertz is in Cape Canaveral, open on Sundays and offers a free shuttle. We just used them a few months ago for the Mariner (sails in and out on Sundays). And we saw several of the other companies mentioned here also on the same road as Hertz.

[Inshape]

I redid my work , and found that Thrifty beat out Budget who also beat out Avis who beat out Hertz on pricing for a rental to go from Cape Canaveral to Orlando Airport. Hence that is the order from lowest to highest...