Any comments about Budget from Airport to Port?

[Jo-Anne]

I hear a lot about using Avis from MCO to the port and using their shuttle at the Radisson, but does anyone use Budget? Looks like their rental agency is not too far from the Avis in Cape Canaveral, and it also looks like they have a shuttle to and from port. I plan on driving from MCO and staying overnight in Cape Canaveral and then driving family to Port in morning to drop them off with the luggage and then driving back to Budget and catching their shuttle back to port and doing reverse upon return. Their car and van one day rates right now for Nov are cheaper than Avis. Does anyone have any experience using Budget and their shuttle?

 

[mmouse37]

We just used Budget on Saturday when we disembarked the Magic and I will never use them again. We have always used Avis in the past with no problem, but thought we would give Budget a try this time...well never again. Here's why.

When we got off the ship we were able to check our bags with Delta right at the port even though we had a 7:30 pm flight. The dowside to that was the check in line was over a 45 minute wait. By the time we got to the parking lot where you meet the shuttles it was about 10:00 am. I had called the local Budget office to tell them we would be picking up the car a bit later than planned to the delay at the Delta line and to hold the car. I was told no problem and that the shuttle would be there momentarily. Well, the shuttle never showed up. We waiting a good 30 minutes. Finally a cab came to drop off some arriving guests and my husband and friend jumped in that to the Budget office. There were about 10 other people all waiting for the Budget shuttle which never came.

Another 30 minutes went by before my husband returned with the rental van. He said the office was a nightmare and that the one person behind the counter did not know what she was doing. Apparently she was filling in for someone and didn't know how to process the cars and paperwork. He said people were throwing hissy fits in the office and to top it off the computer system went down as well.

The car seat and booster seat we requested were not available when he got there and the lady was so rattled she told him to go in the back and look for one in the store room. My hubby found one but it was filthy. He cleaned it off best he could.

Even though Budget was a bit cheaper than Avis, I will stay with a good thing. Budget just did not have the help they needed for the Saturday morning rush. Oh, and when my hubby got back to the port to pick us all up we noticed a huge scratch in the side of the van...I called the office immediately to let them know that it there already and not something we did, but they must have taken the phone off the hook. I tried for over an hour and could not get through. Still do not know why the shuttle never made it back to port either. My husband said they were very unprofessional. I plan on writing a letter to corporate HQ about the whole deal.

We did not leave the DCL parking lot until after 11:00 am!!! We had one day passes for WDW and only got 3 hours in the park because of the delay.

MJ

 

[Mjasp]

MJ...So sorry to hear it ruined your day at WDW. I always wondered about Budget also, now i'll stop wondering.

Thanks for the info

Joanna

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Good morning MJ.

The dowside to that

Considering the way the market has been, I guess "dowside" and "downside" are synonymous.



Also, at MCO, I believe the Budget car rental office/lot is not on airport grounds. (Someone please advise if this is incorrect as I cannot recall now whether it was Budget or Alamo - where some of our forefathers purposely tried to stall unwelcome "travellers"). This makes any car return more time-consuming. Add poor customer service and you have an unnecessary post-cruise headache...

 

[mmouse37]

BD.....you are just too funny...but I needed that since I am suffering from post cruise depression.

Budget at MCO was definately on property, same level as Avis and L&M. Had no problem returning the van, actually it was quite deserted and we were quite shocked when there was only one other car being returned when we were there.

Usually when we return to Avis there are at least a dozen cars being returned at the same time.

MJ

 

[Jo-Anne]

MJ - sorry about the bad experience when getting off ship...I know at the end of a vacation, all you want to do is be on your way! Do you mind if I ask how Budget was at the beginning of the trip? Easy to p/u at MCO? How did you get to the port? Was their shuttle to the port better than after the trip? If we do go with Budget (Van price much cheaper..could probably net me about 8 Bahama Mama's vs Avis price!), I think we might try the cab alternative back to the agency when we get off. Thanks, Jo

 

[mmouse37]

Hi Jo-Anne....

We did not use Budget at the beginning of our trip. We used a van service from Yourride.net

We had Serge as a driver and he was ontime and very friendly. We had rented the van with the trailer attached for all our luggage. The only issue I had was when I made the ressie I specifically stated that we needed a grocery stop for BABY FOOD. Since we only booked one-way service the grocery stop was $15 extra. Our friends did not want to lug all the jars onboard the plane so we thought if we stopped in route to the ship it would be easier. I even told Serge that we needed a place that sold baby food. He asked if I wanted to stop near the airport or the port...I said whatever was easier for him but it needed to be a supermarket.

Well, he brought us to the RaceTrac gas station store by the Radisson. I told him before he pulled in that I did not think that would be good for baby food. He said, sure, they sell baby food. My friend and I went in and there was 3 jars of very old looking baby food on the shelf.

We came out of the store and told him we needed a supermarket like a Publix or a Winn Dixie. He said fine but did not know where one was. I told him there was one down the road a bit. On our way there he saw another gas station store and pulled in there. Again I said it won't work but he ran into the store and asked if they sold baby food. He came out and said they did. Again we went in and found some old jars of baby food.

He was trying to please us, but we really needed a supermarket. I told him where to go and I don't think he believed me that there was a Winn-Dixie down there. I said across from Ron Jon and sure enough there it was. Was in and out in a flash with what we needed.

I felt bad because it took so long to find a place because his dispatcher kept calling him to get back to airport for his next pick-up which I think was another DIS family....if it was...sorry for the delay!!! The van itself was very comfortable and the luggage trailer held all our luggage with no problem.

Also, have you tried getting Avis codes from www.mousesavers.com? We always found a code that we could use that really brought down the price for a van from Avis.

MJ

 

[MFan]

Originally posted by Jo-Anne
If we do go with Budget (Van price much cheaper..could probably net me about 8 Bahama Mama's vs Avis price!)

Do you mind me asking what are your quotes because I get a much cheaper rate with Avis? I just went to the two websites and plugged in a 11/22 pick-up for a minivan at MCO and a same day drop-off at Cape Canaveral. The price I got for Budget was $102.68, but for Avis it was only $56.27, both includes all taxes and fees.

 

[Jo-Anne]

I have been using the codes on mousesavers. The last time I checked, I used a Budget BCD code of: W810011 and got a van for $55.99 + taxes = $68.18. This was for Nov 14 - 15 (total of 24 hours). If I remember correctly, the van rate for Avis totalled around $90. Did you have a specific code for Avis that got you that great rate?

 

[MFan]

I just checked Avis with your dates and got the same quote of $45.90 base rate or $56.27 including taxes & fees. The code I used is from Costco: A108338

I am a Costco member, but I've never been asked to show my Costco card. And, if they did, I wouldn't be able to produce it since I keep it in my car back at home. This should get you a couple more of those Bahama Mamas...

One note, you should check the return trip for both companies as well. The Avis rate on our return trip was higher.

Mark

 

[EMT-319]

Let me sum up Budget this way...

Pros: Cheap rate (got a small Ford SUV for $ 132 for a week)

Long, long, long wait at the pick up counter at MCO. Waited over an hour and there were only 6 people in front of me. It looked like they had run out of cars. They had one SUV left - My reservation!!!! There were about 20 poor souls in line behind me.

I am glad we flew in the night before.
(We stayed at the Fairfield inn just 1/4 mile north of MCO- nice clean place - decent Continental breakfast)

Impossible to contact Budget rental desk at MCO once you leave the airport. I had a question about my paperwork after I drove off with the vehicle and was unable to obtain the telephone number to the rental desk at MCO. All I got was an answering machine (only checked Monday-Friday) for their MCO office. I called Budget's 800 number and they were unable to help me - all they had was the same answering machine number!

I have no experience with Budget at the Port as I had the rental for a week. (It only cost me about $ 60 more - including parking at the Port - then renting a vehicle before and another after the cruise). Also, once we disembarked, we were "on our way" to the Magic Kingdom without having to get a shuttle to Budget, completing paperwork, etc........

The rental was clean and ran ok. Return was quick.

If it wasn't for the cheap rate I would have used National. I will think twice before using Budget again.

Cons: long wait to pickup your vehicle, customer service impossible to contact once you leave the airport.

 

[Jo-Anne]

MF - thanks for the Costco code...I am a member as well, so this works out great. It reduced my car rental by $16 on the outbound and $1.00 on return! Every bit counts. I'll let my friend know about the code for the van. Thanks again!