Renting a car at orlando airport

[natmom]

Is it complicated renting a car to drive to the port? We are arriving at mco at 9:30pm, our plan is to spend the night at the Hyatt at the airport. In the morning we want to pick up some alcohol to take on board and I am wondering if it is better to get a cab to pick up beer/wine and then just take the disney transportation to the cruise or if it is better to rent a car and drive to the port? Any thoughts/ previous experiences would be appreciate.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

We are in the same boat. This year, one of our party rented a car for one day for $10 to have for that night and then we dropped it off at the airport and we had other cars to drive to port. Next year, we are flying and so we have to figure out how to get around for Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon to port and then cruise and then Fri/Sat/Sun to airport after! I don't know if we can do better renting a car the entire time and then parting it for $5 a day or if we should get separate car rent or what all we are going to do. It was just too tempting not to drive 14 hrs each way when airfare dropped to 242...

 

[natmom]

Ya, we got airfare for $250 each. A little more expensive than driving for 21 hours each way, but so much more relaxing!! Now I'm down to figuring out the logistics when we arrive. Last year DH and I really enjoyed having a few drinks on our balcony so grabbing some wine and beer is a must. I'm only afraid that renting a car will be a big complication as opposed to disney transportation. It might be a lot cheaper though.

 

[DisneyOHFan]

We frequently rent a car and drive to the port. Easy as can be. My DH drops us off at the port with our luggage and he returns the car to Budget. He then takes the shuttle back to the cruise and meets us in the terminal. We like it because we move on our schedule and can stop and pick up wine, etc. on the way.

 

[Zeppelin]

my opinion is, it depends on what day your cruise is leaving and where you are renting the car from....the past two years we've rented from Budget (i'm a Budget Fastpass renter) and I've got to tell you i will do all i can in the future not to deal with the Budget rental office in Cocoa Beach again....

our cruises departed on Saturday morning(s) which is really hectic and they were constantly unprepared...i can only assume a weekday departure is less hectic...

i've always rented a car (if we arrive the night before) or taken a car service (if we arrive the morning of departure)...we've never taken Disney transport...

 

[rays2001]

Car rental versus Disney transportation can depend upon the number of people along with the added flexibility offset by the time to obtain the rentals.

We have a cruise planned for March 2014, 4 persons in total. We like to arrive on Friday which gives us the opportunity to pick up something for our servers/stateroom hosts and wine/liquor to bring on the cruise. After the cruise, we typically stay another day or two.

Disneycruise transportation is $70 roundtrip per person, with 4 persons, $280 in total both ways.

I just reserved a full size vehicle (1-day rental) for about $90-$100.
When we get off the cruise, the 2-day rental will range from $175-$200.
Essentially the same cost of transportation for either option.

The additional time and effort to pickup & drop off the rentals at both the airport and in Cape Canaveral is worth the flexibility to get around in FL.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Our cruise is a Mon-Fri. I bet that will be less hectic, you think? Embark and return car on Mon, debark and pick up car Fri? But they appear to really be 'socking it to us' for the MCO-PC drop off... at least so far. I don't intend to buy it this far in advance unless I can get another steal *like the airfare.

i should also add, we have a minimum of 4 flying in, but we might have as many as 7 flying it! The other 4 will be driving in and have a vehicle already...

 

[natmom]

my opinion is, it depends on what day your cruise is leaving and where you are renting the car from....the past two years we've rented from Budget (i'm a Budget Fastpass renter) and I've got to tell you i will do all i can in the future not to deal with the Budget rental office in Cocoa Beach again....

our cruises departed on Saturday morning(s) which is really hectic and they were constantly unprepared...i can only assume a weekday departure is less hectic...

i've always rented a car (if we arrive the night before) or taken a car service (if we arrive the morning of departure)...we've never taken Disney transport...

Thank you! This is very valuable information. We leave on the fantasy on Saturday. I wanted to avoid headaches at all costs! People have been mentioning happy limo and that they will stop at a store, maybe that is best for me. We arrive the night before our cruise and leave the same day our cruise returns so the rental car would only be to hit a store and straight to port after that.

 

[Zeppelin]

Our cruise is a Mon-Fri. I bet that will be less hectic, you think? Embark and return car on Mon, debark and pick up car Fri? But they appear to really be 'socking it to us' for the MCO-PC drop off... at least so far. I don't intend to buy it this far in advance unless I can get another steal *like the airfare.

i should also add, we have a minimum of 4 flying in, but we might have as many as 7 flying it! The other 4 will be driving in and have a vehicle already...

1) Saturday's always seemed much more hectic as a number of cruise lines are arriving & departing the same day...

2) i would not rent a car far in advance unless you're getting a really good rate....i went through two and three reservations last year but got my best rate a week before our cruise...

 

[jlk51496]

I think we are planning on doing 2 - one day rentals on the front and back end of our cruise too! We are flying into MCO on Friday and staying near the port over night!

We are a family of five - so $350 in transportation just seems ridiculous to me!

I just have to figure out who to rent from Friday night and where to return it at the port sat morning and then doing it again 7 days later - renting when we disembark and returning it at MCO later that day!

 

[Zeppelin]

Thank you! This is very valuable information. We leave on the fantasy on Saturday. I wanted to avoid headaches at all costs! People have been mentioning happy limo and that they will stop at a store, maybe that is best for me. We arrive the night before our cruise and leave the same day our cruise returns so the rental car would only be to hit a store and straight to port after that.

you're other option to consider is renting a car at MCO, spend the night in a hotel in Cocoa Beach which offers shuttle service to the port....drive to you hotel on a Friday night, due your shopping (big Publix right there, settle in to your hotel then return your car Friday night or early, early Saturday morning (before 9AM) and take the hotels shuttle service to the port...

 

[Billinaz]

We have rented a car from Budget for the last dozen cruises, and stayed at a hotel in Cocoa Beach (Country Inn and Suites since it opened).

No problems at all and it was less expensive than Disney Transport (about $70) for a minivan each way.

We take the Budget Shuttle to the port and back to the Budget for the return rental to MCO.

Super easy drive, and its great to have something to drive to get last minute items, etc.

Make sure you join Fastbreak (Budgets frequent renter program) then you bypass the rental counter at MCO that can have a really long line and go right to the garage.

There are discount codes on flyertalk and mousesavers that really help as well.

 

[Billinaz]

Our cruise is a Mon-Fri. I bet that will be less hectic, you think? Embark and return car on Mon, debark and pick up car Fri? But they appear to really be 'socking it to us' for the MCO-PC drop off... at least so far. I don't intend to buy it this far in advance unless I can get another steal *like the airfare.

i should also add, we have a minimum of 4 flying in, but we might have as many as 7 flying it! The other 4 will be driving in and have a vehicle already...

No extra fee for Budget or Avis to drop the car off at PC........ Its been consistently about $70 each way for a minivan for us. As low as $45.....

 

[tweis]

No extra fee for Budget or Avis to drop the car off at PC........ Its been consistently about $70 each way for a minivan for us. As low as $45.....

Wow those are good rates! I think we are going to fly in on Saturday before our cruise on Monday and spend time at the parks and then take a late flight into ATL on Friday to avoid rush hour traffic. We are planning a one way rental from Saturday until Monday morning and then getting another rental for the day on Friday. The rates right now seem really expensive. Is it better to reserve closer to our sail date or now?

 

[Tarabra]

Yes, we usually rent a car too. It is a little higher since we drop off at a different place than we rented it, but still cheaper than the Dis Transport. ANd we always stop to get beer. That alone saves us about $100. As others mentioned, the lines for Budget are usually pretty long. You would think they would be a little more prepared on Sat. mornings. Even though the Dis Transport is more expensive, you do have the added convenience. My husband reminds me of that every time we are renting a car!!!