Avis still convenient???

[Scott H]

I just booked the 5/16 4 day cruise. On previous cruises we used an Avis rental car to get to the Port and dropped off at the Raddison. Questions are these:

Is Avis still at the Raddison, if not where are they?


Is Avis still convenient car rental option?


We will also need the car fro two days after the cruise.

Thanks again,

 

[Verandah Man]

Avis is no longer at the Radisson, it is about a mile or so down on A1A from the Radisson, near Shirley's The Perfect Gift shop. In fact when we returned after our cruise, and got our car, we stopped in and visited Shirley. What a sweet person she is!!!

They have a little building, and it can get quite busy and crowded in there at times. I didn't have any problems with Avis in August. I was in and out of the office in about 15 minutes both times.

 

[Scott H]

Thanks Much,

Sounds like it is still the way to go for us.

 

[cruisin' aunt]

I just returned from the 10/5 Wonder Cruise. Stayed at the Radisson on the 4th. Rented from Avis at the airport and dropped off at the Avis office on A1A. No problems. Again on 10/9 we picked up the Avis shuttle, got our car in 5 minutes or less. Dropped this car off at the airport yesterday. Total time dealing with Avis between the 2 rentals was about 15 minutes. Would rent with them in a minute!

 

[sbatty]

We originally planed to stay at the Radisson because they had a shuttle to the port and the Avis car rental. We plan to return the rental car Friday night and take the shuttle to the port in the morning. Now the big question - how do I get from Avis to the Radisson?

 

[dianthus]

We just returned from the 11/8 Magic Western. We rented from Avis at MCO Friday early evening. We stayed at the Hampton Inn ( really nice ) as it was down the street from Avis' new location- same side of A1A. We dropped the car off & boarded the shuttle within 10 minutes. Big shuttle bus now, pleasant driver. They dropped us off at the tent in the parking lot, as it was before 10:30AM ( about 10:15 ) DCL took our luggage at the tent & we walked across the street into the terminal.

On the way back, the porter brought us back to the tent & got in the AVIS line. We were at AVIS within 10 minutes & had our car & out of the lot in about 15 minutes. That was with 5 other people from the shuttle in front of us. They were friendly and very efficient. We got great $$ savings codes from Mousesavers. We will continue to use them again in the future. Their rates were better than Budget & were very quick.

BTW- As there was no incentive to use the Radisson, as AVIS moved ( and the Radisson was a bit worn when we stayed for our last cruise about 18 mo. ago), we used a free night certificate we earned from Hilton Honors & stayed at the Hampton Inn, down A1A a bit further- about a block from Ron Jons. There is a Winn Dixie/Walgreens across the street for supplies. The hotel is immaculate, free continental breakfast, which was really nice, complimentary internet access in the lobby & a nice pool. Not as large as the Radisson's pool but sparkling clean. We had a King room w/ a sofa bed with an ocean view. The staff was friendly and nice. Nothing fancy, but just a nice, well kept, clean hotel. There was a Marriott Courtyard & another hotel clustered in with the Hampton Inn & they looked very nice too. I would stay at the Hampton Inn again for our next cruise.

 

[sbatty]

dianthus,

Thanks for the information. Was the hotel close enough to Avis that you could walk or did you have to call a taxi?

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

sbatty, Avis is not within walking distance of the Hampton Inn. Instead of returning your car on Friday night, why not return it on your way to the port on Saturday morning? Then you don't need to worry about how to get from Avis back to your hotel.

 

[sbatty]

Dave,

That is what we will probably end up doing. I was just trying to figure out if I could save a few $s by dropping the van off Friday night. We are renting the car early Friday morning and will get charged a couple of extra hours if we return it on the way to the port.

 

[dianthus]

sbatty~

We dropped the car off on the way to Port Saturday morning, as Dave suggested. I think AVIS closes around 8PM during the week & we didn't arrive there until about 8:30PM on Friday. I also think there is not a price break for 2 hours vs. 16 hrs, so it didn't make sense to us. We got a Sedan De Ville for $49 one way from MCO with the codes I used & being a wizard member- cheaper than a mini van & we needed a larger car due to the luggage. At those prices, it doesn't pay to bring the car back early on Friday night & use a taxi. We packed a bag with our overnight & next day clothes so we did not have to schlep the luggage into the hotel- just one bag. We just left the luggage in the trunk. It was very easy in the morning.

Avis is not within walking distance to the Hampton. Budget is walking distance ( not next door though) from the Radisson if you really want to dump the car on Friday night. The Hampton does not have a shuttle to Port from what I saw, but you may want to check with them.

Hope this helps!

~ Linda