SeaHawkeye
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2011
Just off the Dream from a 5-day cruise (January 3-8). Used Avis to rent one ways to the port and back to MCO.
Returning the first car to the Port Canaveral location was a breeze. I dropped the family off at the port to begin the registration process and get rid of luggage and this worked extremely well. I only had a backpack with me so was able to squeeze on the Avis shuttle bus while other families struggled with their luggage and children. My wife and children were almost 100% through the check in process at the port and when I arrived, we stepped on the ship.
On the return day, Avis was a mess. The line for the shuttle bus at the port was long...very long! As Avis only appeared to have one shuttle bus, the line was not moving, either. There were 4 ships at Port Canaveral, including the Freedom of the Seas, so traffic was extremely heavy. All the other rental car shuttle lines were much smaller than Avis for some reason (more efficient shuttles, more shuttles?).
Anyway, we chose to get a taxi (van, shared with other rental car passengers) to get into Port Canaveral. It simply worked so much better and was well worth the $20 it cost my family.
I don't know if this was a rare instance for the Avis location at Port Canaveral or not but it was extremely frustrating on the last day of a vacation. I would be hard-pressed to rent Avis on a future Disney cruise out of Port Canaveral knowing that the return rental could be a hassle.
One tip: if you rent Avis, Preferred membership does provide efficiency. There was a long line at the Port Canaveral location when we got there using the taxi. However, the staff asked if there were any Preferred members in line and got my rental agreement and keys to me ahead of a long line of unhappy renters.
Returning the first car to the Port Canaveral location was a breeze. I dropped the family off at the port to begin the registration process and get rid of luggage and this worked extremely well. I only had a backpack with me so was able to squeeze on the Avis shuttle bus while other families struggled with their luggage and children. My wife and children were almost 100% through the check in process at the port and when I arrived, we stepped on the ship.
On the return day, Avis was a mess. The line for the shuttle bus at the port was long...very long! As Avis only appeared to have one shuttle bus, the line was not moving, either. There were 4 ships at Port Canaveral, including the Freedom of the Seas, so traffic was extremely heavy. All the other rental car shuttle lines were much smaller than Avis for some reason (more efficient shuttles, more shuttles?).
Anyway, we chose to get a taxi (van, shared with other rental car passengers) to get into Port Canaveral. It simply worked so much better and was well worth the $20 it cost my family.
I don't know if this was a rare instance for the Avis location at Port Canaveral or not but it was extremely frustrating on the last day of a vacation. I would be hard-pressed to rent Avis on a future Disney cruise out of Port Canaveral knowing that the return rental could be a hassle.
One tip: if you rent Avis, Preferred membership does provide efficiency. There was a long line at the Port Canaveral location when we got there using the taxi. However, the staff asked if there were any Preferred members in line and got my rental agreement and keys to me ahead of a long line of unhappy renters.
And has been for years, especially post-cruise. Do yourself a favor and stay far, far away!!
