Late afternoon flight following cruise port canaveral

[lovebears]

Looking for suggestions for 4:00 pm flight out of MCO following cruise in January.  Is it worth our time to rent a car and drop at MCO?  We are booked with Cotrans MCO hotel to Port Canaveral day of cruise.  Thanks so much 

[JohninDC]

You have time for a short day at Kennedy Space Center, 1/2 day at the beach, exploring Disney Springs, outlet mall, etc. For a 4:00 flight you need to be at the airport by about 2:30.

[lovebears]

Thanks for the response. Which car rental is the easiest to get to when getting off the ship? Also are there toll roads on the route to MCO? Thanks so much

[indy71]

I’ve used Avis. Not the closest, but I would definitely use them again. Yes, it is a toll road to Orlando. Make sure you don’t bypass the toll booths. It almost looks like you’re exiting the toll road to pass through the toll booths, but you’re not. (Those with electronic passes go through as through traffic.) Also, they have a lane for exact change, which gets you through a bit faster. 

 

I have rented a car and gone to Disney once after a cruise and taken a ship’s excursion to Kennedy Space Center with airport drop off once after a cruise. Both were fun options. Hope you have a great time!

[lovebears]

9 hours ago, indy71 said:

I’ve used Avis. Not the closest, but I would definitely use them again. Yes, it is a toll road to Orlando. Make sure you don’t bypass the toll booths. It almost looks like you’re exiting the toll road to pass through the toll booths, but you’re not. (Those with electronic passes go through as through traffic.) Also, they have a lane for exact change, which gets you through a bit faster. 

 

I have rented a car and gone to Disney once after a cruise and taken a ship’s excursion to Kennedy Space Center with airport drop off once after a cruise. Both were fun options. Hope you have a great time!

Thanks so much for toll road information, I had no idea you could actually pay cash on those roads.  We will look for what looks to be an exit and pay.

Are there any beachy type areas or restrurants up on our way towards MCO.  Thinking we should head up towards that way if there was somewhere to enjoy on the way.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Most of the rental cars will have the electronic toll transponders or bill off the license plate.  They will send you a supplemental bill for the tolls a couple of weeks later.  Double check on the service fees and if you decide not to use it make sure it's deactivated.  The ones we use in CA, TX, and FL with Hertz all charge a one time fee around $20.  So the first time you trip a toll booth that's the $20 and that covers you for the term of the rental.  It's just the tolls thereafter.  Much easier than messing with money and stopping at the booth if you plan on using the toll road a lot.  

 

https://www.sunpass.com/en/tolls/rentalVehicles.shtml

 

Edited August 14, 2019 by ATSEAMYLIFE

[indy71]

I didn’t find it cumbersome to stop for the tolls. I think there were 2 or 3 stops. By having exact change, I was the only car in the lane each time. Maybe other people didn’t know about that option that day. I used the toll calculator just now to find that the cost is $5 total if paying cash, so it is much cheaper than the transponder with the convenience fee. It’s probably a personal preference: convenience vs cost. I don’t like getting charges from a car rental company after I get home. Maybe that’s just me. 

 

As as far as “beachy” places, you are heading inland as you go towards MCO, so I think you would need to go to the beach near the port or head to Cocoa Beach. Don’t know about restaurants. Maybe someone else can chime in with that.