Picking up rental car after cruise

[Brynnie]

Is this torture?? Currently, I am supposed to be taking DCL transfers to/from the ship. I found a wonderful discount code on mousesavers, and I am now planning to drive to the port as we want to get there for our 11am port arrival time. I was wondering:

1. After we disembark, I was thinking of doing another one way rental back to MCO (our flight isn't til 5pm, I was thinking it would be nice to have the car and not be stuck at the airport all day). Is it awful trying to pick up a car with all the other passengers who will also be getting off the boat the same time as us?? We are renting through Budget. *Please* any advice/stories on experiences would be GREATLY appreciated!!

2. Are there still cash tolls on the drive from WDW to PC? I am doing research on this and I keep finding different answers!

Thanks so much for your help!!!!

 

[Brynnie]

ooops.....didn't mean to post this in the TR section, sorry!

 

[peacefrogdog]

We did just that. We rented a car from Budget to drive to the port, and did the same when disembarking. One word of caution with Budget is that on the day we embarked, when dropping off the minivan (that we rented at MCO) at around 10:30 AM we noticed there were people who just got off the cruise and looking to rent were having problems getting a minivan. They had reservations but Budget just didn't seem to have any available and could only offer one of those large 12-passenger vans. When Budget saw I was dropping off a minivan, they took it right away for a quick vacuum so that these waiting clients could get a minivan.

So to be safe when we disembarked, we were sure to leave the boat early and got to Budget by 8 AM. We had no problem getting the van that we booked, but I noticed they only seemed to have 4-5 minivans in the lot. So if we had left the ship later, I'm sure all of those would have been taken.

When catching the shuttle from the ship to Budget I spoke to a fellow passenger who commented she had a problem renting a minivan in the past and was offered the large van. The Budget employee commented that they only have vehicle's available based on what "Budget" provides to them. I took this to mean that even if someone makes a reservation for a minivan, it does't guarantee it will be available.

So long story short, if you're aiming to book a minivan at Budget, get off the ship early to ensure you're able to get one. Otherwise you may be stuck being offered a large van, or have to wait for someone to return a minivan before you can get one.

 

[Brynnie]

It is just DH and I, so luckily we don't need a minivan! We only need a compact/economy car.....this is good to know tho because we travel with family a lot...we will know to get off the ship early in the future if we need a larger vehicle!

I was just more worried about the crowds than not getting the car we need. My dilemma is whether we should get one way rental car or just take the shuttle back to MCO. I am overplanning now and I am obsessed with our transportation at the moment!

 

[Mauibound]

Twice previously we have rented cars to drive back to Orlando from Port Canaveral without any problem. I am pretty sure both previous times we used Hertz and were the early sitting so we got off the boat early anyway -- but usually by the time we got our luggage and all, we were just part of the crowd. But renting the car was always fast and easy -- and my wife will tell you that rental car lines are my biggest of pet peeves.

We are going on the 4/1 Dream cruise and renting from Budget this time (and this time late dinner seating so we will be off the ship later) and I can let you know how it goes after our cruise if still timely (and I remember ).

 

[Disneyof3]

Picking up the shuttle to the rental car place is so easy and simple. When you go through customs, you head to your left. You walk through the doors and to your right is a bunch of shuttles to the car rental places. We had budget and they had 2 vans to take us over. We headed to the budget place and yes they had 21 reservations for us and no vehicles. So the women called MCO in the am and told them she needs 21 vehicles. They sent her all 21 12 passenger vans. I didn't mind because my DH used to drive them at work. It only cost us 80.00 to fill from empty. We drove to Clearwater and around Clearwater for 4 days. Now the family behind us didn't want it and there was one van that came in(likely peacefrogdogs) and they took it. I personally wouldn't of taken it if it was just me and the 3 kids. Nice upgrade though from the impala I requested.

 

[collectoraholic]

We normally rent a car (Avis) and I must say, with each time here recently, it has become more and more of a hassle when disembarking the ship. We just got off the Magic on March 17th & we had to wait over an hour to get on the shuttle bus to the Avis location. It was ridiculous! If it weren't for my husband being in their 'club', we would have had to wait in line @ the location for which we're sure would have been at least another hour to be given a car. & They were very low on cars as well. We were given a Chrysler 300 & still had to travel w/ 1 piece of luggage in the backseat betw/ our girls.

Needless to say, next time, if we're flying in and out of Orlando instead of either Tampa or Jacksonville (only did this city the last time due to booking last minute), we'll most likely do Magical Express to WDW or the transfers to the airport, even though it will cost more than a rental car for the 4 of us. Paying more $ is worth less hassle after the last several times & what we endured when getting our car after the cruise.

HTHs!

 

[jfugina]

DH and I did two one-way rentals (MCO to port) last month. It was definitely the least expensive option, but it's a good thing we weren't in a hurry. We did Budget. It's a very small office, and both times we were at the PC office, there was only one person working the counter (she was also the only person answering the phone)

For the drop-off, we dropped off around 10am, and they don't have a separate line for pick-up and drop-off, so we stood there with the key, in line behind all the folks that just disembarked and were trying to get a car.

On the day we got off the ship, it took nearly 45 minutes for the Budget shuttle to come, which was not pleasant since it was in the 30s, and not one person in line had a winter coat. Then, the line to pick up a car was about an hour to get through. We were second seating, and we didn't feel like standing in line in the atrium (of the ship), so we waited until the line died down. Maybe the line at Budget isn't so bad earlier in the morning. But in total, from getting out of customs to being in a car was over two hours.

We probably won't do it again. If it's just DH and I and we're flying in, we'll probably try a car service next time.

 

[SeaHawkeye]

We rented two one-ways with Avis for our January 2012 cruise on the Dream out of Port Canaveral (one to the port and one after our disembarkation).

I will agree with others who have suggested the process to get a rental car after disembarking is a mess! We got off the ship at about 9:30 and found a massive line waiting for the Avis shuttle bus at the Port. We didn't have a flight until 2:30PM out of MCO but sitting and waiting for a shuttle bus was a drag. Post cruise, the shuttle bus was filled with all the bags and family members so the small shuttle bus would get filled quickly leaving a long line of renters waiting for the next available shuttle.

We finally joined several other families and shared a taxi van to the various car rental facilities in Port Canaveral.

Having the club/preferred membership through the car rental agencies did have some perks: once I arrived at Avis, there was another long line. The staff did ask if there were preferred customers in line and I was able to snag my rental paperwork and keys well ahead of other folks, which saved some aggravation on my part.

I will definitely rent a car from MCO to get to Port Canaveral in the future. However, I will definitely look at other options for getting back to MCO after disembarking.

 

[Brynnie]

Thank you all so much for your replies! These boards have been a wonderful resource for planning a first time cruise! I would be lost without all this help....it can be overwhelming! Our flight is so late that I think we are going to try the car option and see how it goes!! In the future....we will stay at the airport the night b4 and do the transfers the next day...that seems like the easiest option! Thanks again for all the replies...I will be sure to post our experiences, I know what to expect so they should be good!!

-Angie

 

[LeslieG]

We also experienced an approximate hour wait for the shuttle back to Budget after our Dream cruise. I don't think they can adequately handle the capacity of passengers on the Dream, as we never had this problem when we disembarked the Wonder.

 

[peachygreen]

We did 2 one way rentals for our cruise with Budget last year. No problems getting from MCO to PC. We didn't do the shuttle though because my parents met us there.

On the way back though the car they gave us as a quote "fullsize" car was not a full size car and they made us pay an upgrade to get the same size car for the way home that we had on the way down. We didn't have to wait long on the shuttle but it did seem to take a little while to get the car - probably becuase we had to fill out the paperwork twice.

I wish I could remember what the car was they tried to give us the first time. It definately did not fit our luggage and we had less on the way back then the way there. (especially since we accidently left a bag at the port and didn't realize it until we got to the airport)

 

[kcashner]

OK, a couple of details. You don't have an 11:00 arrival time, right? You have an 11:00-11:30 window? At least that's what I've always seen. The reason this matters is that Budget (or any other commercial vehicle) is not allowed into the port area until 11. Even if you drop off the car at 10:30, you won't be walking into the terminal at 11. You will hopefully be on the first shuttle, but by the time they get in, unload the luggage, and you get to the terminal it will be 11:10 or so. Just so you know...now trying to be a pain.

Budget operates 2 shuttles on cruise days. They take customers to drop off (and on the reverse side), they pick up customers as fast as they can. I've never spent more than a few minutes dropping off. Waiting for the shuttle on the flip side and getting the car can take a little time, but with a late flight it is well worth the hassle!

You don't tell us how many people are in your group. If you have only 2 or 3, it might be worth your while to take DCL transportation so you can check in at MCO and KNOW you'll have a great boarding number. On the way home with a late flight--yeah, I'd rent a vehicle.

 

[Brynnie]

There are only 2 of us, DH and I. We are aware that we may not get to the terminal right at 11....we just want to be there as close to 11 as possible. It is ok with us if we wait in some lines and don't get boarding #1...we just hope to be on board as soon as possible. Thanks again for the responses!!!

I'm going to be so exicted when I see that ship!!!

 

[trimix]

It looks like nobody answered question number two. Yes, there are cash tolls along the route. I don't remember how much it was, but it was well under $10 and exact change is not required.

Rental car companies will probably tell you that you can just drive through the toll booth and it will be handled automatically, but they aren't telling you about the extra fees that you will incur, so save a few ones for the tolls.

 

[Billinaz]

OK, a couple of details. You don't have an 11:00 arrival time, right? You have an 11:00-11:30 window? At least that's what I've always seen. The reason this matters is that Budget (or any other commercial vehicle) is not allowed into the port area until 11. Even if you drop off the car at 10:30, you won't be walking into the terminal at 11. You will hopefully be on the first shuttle, but by the time they get in, unload the luggage, and you get to the terminal it will be 11:10 or so. Just so you know...now trying to be a pain.

.

Ive never had a problem getting on the Budget shuttle to the port at 10-1030 and getting dropped off at the gate in front of the DCL terminal. I watched as those who got off the ship ended their vacation while mine was just starting!

 

[WicketsMom]

We are going to be doing a one-way rental for our Dream cruise in October as well. We definitely want the rental on the way over, but could possibly take the DCL shuttle from the port to the airport.

I'm planning on dropping everyone (my son, friend, and her son) at the port with our luggage, then dropping the rental car so we don't have to haul luggage and extra people on the shuttle. Is that possible? How much is a one-way transfer through DCL?

 

[SeaHawkeye]

I'm not sure what the transfer costs are for Disney but will look into that option myself for our next cruise (January 2013).

I did exactly what you're proposing in terms of drop off at the port, however, for embarkation.

I dropped the family (wife and 2 children) at the port with all the luggage. I had them go through the check-in process while I returned the rental car to Avis. They were able to use my passport and get all the way checked in for me, including getting my KTTW card. The only thing I had to do when I arrived back at the port was to get my picture taken so it was associated with my KTTW card.

Dropping them off first was definitely the way to do it! I only had my backpack with me and didn't have to worry about stuffing a whole family (or our luggage) onto a small rental car shuttle bus with others. There were many families at Avis who had to go through this exact thing and it's not what you want to do as you're anxious to get your cruise vacation started. At the same time, my family was getting completely checked in at the port (including the kids clubs)...they had to wait in line, but at least it was for the cruise experience and not for the rental car!

 

[Brynnie]

WicketsMom...the DCL transfers one-way are $35 pp.

Trimix, thank you for answering the toll question. I DO NOT want to use the pricey transponder from the rental car co. I was reading conflicting reports that all the tolls had gone electronic, but I found out that those toll booths are not in my path. I'll have my roll of quarters ready!

 

[Brynnie]

Also, for anyone with the same dilemma as me, I called and spoke with a woman from the Budget rental counter in PC. I explained to her the stories I had heard regarding the shortage of vehicles and my hesitation to rent a car after my cruise. She kindly explained to me that Budget was going through the process of switching out cars with higher milage to new cars with low mileage, thus causing the shortage. She stated that a new inventory of cars were in the lot and the problem has been addressed. She also told me that the line to pick up my car should not exceed 30 mins. I cannot say that this will help everyone out there who needs a minivan, but luckily we do not....so I hope they have a car for us. DH will prob flip out if there is no car lol!!

If anyone has a different experience from Budget that is RECENT, pls let me know! :