Best way to handle Dropoff of rental car for cruise

[khenders78]

Hi, I have a family of 3 that includes 4 year old. We are renting a rental car the day before cruise leaving from port canaveral and have a good deal from budget using a coupon code from here.

My questions are:

1. is it better for husband to drop me and baby off with luggage at the port first while he returns car or just go as family from the rental car facility on their shuttle bus?

2. We have port arrival time with disney at 1045, does it take shuttle from rental car a while to drop off? What time should we arrive at rental car return to be there around that time?

 

[xlxo]

When I rent a car...

• Look for car rental agencies closest to the terminal. Ideally drop off inside the terminal.
• Compare rates for terminal agencies versus ones that are not. Sometimes there are savings, other times there are not.
• If you are staying in the departure city for a few days, look into savings if you pick up the vehicle at the terminal instead of at the airport. Some charge DOUBLE for airport car pickup and cruise terminal drop off. Some offer discount if you pick up the vehicle AFTER 24hrs of landing. Take advantage of hotel shuttles when you first land and use public transit to retrieve vehicle at terminal to save money.
• Pay attention to the fleet. Some locations only offer economy cars and you might need two with the family with a week long cruise luggage. MiniVan's and SUV's are the first to be booked for their load/capacity. In some cases, 6 months in advance booking is suggested for the larger vehicles.
• For Alaskan cruises.... look at National & Alamo for in terminal car return drop off. Avis requires a shuttle. Hertz is a 8 minute walk (up hill with your luggage).

Which terminal are you thinking of?

 

[khenders78]

We are leaving from port canaveral and booked with budget. I had great coupon code that saved a lot that I got from post here.

 

[gigi1313]

Budget is the closest to Port Canaveral... there are no rental car agencies "in the terminal" but rather in the town and you made a good choice.

How much luggage will you have? That is a determining factor for us as to whether we do the drop/return or the return/ride method... we have done both and both have been successful, it depends on your preference... would you prefer to have your preschooler ride the shuttle van together as a family, or would you prefer to entertain him/her at the terminal... there are not a lot of seats, however, there are often character appearances for photo ops, a big model of the ship to ooh and ahh over, pressed penny machines, plus, you could get your child registered and pick up the Kids' Club bracelet... oh, and our favorite, standing on the "balcony" of the terminal and admiring how amazing the ship is!

Keep in mind, if you do the drop off/then return thing, your dh will need his id to get into the terminal and will have to check in (they typically tell you to bring him to the front of the line and back to the cast member that checked you/child in w/out waiting) and get his photo taken...

 

[gigi1313]

When I rent a car...

• Look for car rental agencies closest to the terminal. Ideally drop off inside the terminal.
• Compare rates for terminal agencies versus ones that are not. Sometimes there are savings, other times there are not.
• If you are staying in the departure city for a few days, look into savings if you pick up the vehicle at the terminal instead of at the airport. Some charge DOUBLE for airport car pickup and cruise terminal drop off. Some offer discount if you pick up the vehicle AFTER 24hrs of landing. Take advantage of hotel shuttles when you first land and use public transit to retrieve vehicle at terminal to save money.
• Pay attention to the fleet. Some locations only offer economy cars and you might need two with the family with a week long cruise luggage. MiniVan's and SUV's are the first to be booked for their load/capacity. In some cases, 6 months in advance booking is suggested for the larger vehicles.
• For Alaskan cruises.... look at National & Alamo for in terminal car return drop off. Avis requires a shuttle. Hertz is a 8 minute walk (up hill with your luggage).

Which terminal are you thinking of?

Did you read the OPs question(s) at all?
While your information is great advice and offers great suggestions, it doesn't address the OPs query at all that I can see!

 

[smitty11k]

We need rental car from Sanford airport to port and then from port back to Sanford after cruise. We will be on Oct 27th Dream. Any discounts codes for then or where should I look for them? TIA

 

[khenders78]

Budget is the closest to Port Canaveral... there are no rental car agencies "in the terminal" but rather in the town and you made a good choice.

How much luggage will you have? That is a determining factor for us as to whether we do the drop/return or the return/ride method... we have done both and both have been successful, it depends on your preference... would you prefer to have your preschooler ride the shuttle van together as a family, or would you prefer to entertain him/her at the terminal... there are not a lot of seats, however, there are often character appearances for photo ops, a big model of the ship to ooh and ahh over, pressed penny machines, plus, you could get your child registered and pick up the Kids' Club bracelet... oh, and our favorite, standing on the "balcony" of the terminal and admiring how amazing the ship is!

Keep in mind, if you do the drop off/then return thing, your dh will need his id to get into the terminal and will have to check in (they typically tell you to bring him to the front of the line and back to the cast member that checked you/child in w/out waiting) and get his photo taken...

Not much luggage, two big ones and 3 small one, I guess it would be easier to have more help with the luggage and go as a family.

 

[khenders78]

We need rental car from Sanford airport to port and then from port back to Sanford after cruise. We will be on Oct 27th Dream. Any discounts codes for then or where should I look for them? TIA

U240720 with budget is a good code. Try retailmenot.com too for codes.

 

[marciemouse]

We have 3 kids and did this last month. My husband dropped me and the 3 kids at the terminal. There was a porter right there, as in I didn't even touch the bags. My husband pulled them out of the car, and the porter loaded them right up onto the cart. That only left me our one carry-on, which was easy to handle.

My husband returned the car to Budget and caught the shuttle back. I had his passport, so I had already checked us in. He used his driver's license as ID for coming back into the terminal.

It worked out really well for us!

 

[khenders78]

We have 3 kids and did this last month. My husband dropped me and the 3 kids at the terminal. There was a porter right there, as in I didn't even touch the bags. My husband pulled them out of the car, and the porter loaded them right up onto the cart. That only left me our one carry-on, which was easy to handle.

My husband returned the car to Budget and caught the shuttle back. I had his passport, so I had already checked us in. He used his driver's license as ID for coming back into the terminal.

It worked out really well for us!

Thanks!

 

[gigi1313]

Not much luggage, two big ones and 3 small one, I guess it would be easier to have more help with the luggage and go as a family.

Oh,i think you misunderstood me... more luggage = more reason to drop you/child/luggage at port because of the porters (as described by a PP)

 

[CastawayCayLover]

We have 3 kids and did this last month. My husband dropped me and the 3 kids at the terminal. There was a porter right there, as in I didn't even touch the bags. My husband pulled them out of the car, and the porter loaded them right up onto the cart. That only left me our one carry-on, which was easy to handle.

My husband returned the car to Budget and caught the shuttle back. I had his passport, so I had already checked us in. He used his driver's license as ID for coming back into the terminal.

It worked out really well for us!

This method has worked well for us also but be careful with the rental company's shuttle times. The last time I did this I wound up having to call a cab because Avis's shuttle wasn't leaving early enough (they said Port rules wouldn't allow them to bring in passengers before a certain time, forget exactly when), I literally got to the terminal, through security and to my family just as they were boarding the ship at 11:20.

 

[surfer_ed]

This method has worked well for us also but be careful with the rental company's shuttle times. The last time I did this I wound up having to call a cab because Avis's shuttle wasn't leaving early enough (they said Port rules wouldn't allow them to bring in passengers before a certain time, forget exactly when), I literally got to the terminal, through security and to my family just as they were boarding the ship at 11:20.

How much was the cab? Last time I went the shuttle at Dollar was wrapped around the building so I should have taken a cab. Thankfully I dropped off the family first

 

[mmouse37]

Another great place for rental car codes is www.mousesavers.com

As another posted mentioned there are no rental car companies IN the immediate port area. Payless is not on A1A like the others but closer to the channel between Jetty Park and Grills.

Hertz is actually the closest rental car agency to the port (on A1A) with Budget, Avis, Thrifty/Dollar/Enterprise and National down the road a bit (but not far).

A1A is also called Astronaut Blvd.

We have had various good and bad experiences with all the rental car companies in the area (except Payless, have not tried them yet). Rental car shuttles can be delayed and crowded at times. We have a group with us (more than 3 or 4) we usually drop people and luggage off at the terminal and the husbands usually drop of the rental and hop the shuttle back. If it is just hubby and I we take the shuttle together.

MJ

 

[CastawayCayLover]

How much was the cab? Last time I went the shuttle at Dollar was wrapped around the building so I should have taken a cab. Thankfully I dropped off the family first

I think I paid $15. A lot of the taxi service in the area is Pay What You Want (which I really don't like since I probably tend to pay more than if there is a meter running).

Also, the port charges a trip fee for commercial vehicles, if your taxi is a car, it's $2.50, if it's a minivan, it's $5. Stupid, but that's what their rules are.

 

[Zeppelin]

Hi, I have a family of 3 that includes 4 year old. We are renting a rental car the day before cruise leaving from port canaveral and have a good deal from budget using a coupon code from here.

My questions are:

1. is it better for husband to drop me and baby off with luggage at the port first while he returns car or just go as family from the rental car facility on their shuttle bus?

2. We have port arrival time with disney at 1045, does it take shuttle from rental car a while to drop off? What time should we arrive at rental car return to be there around that time?

i've had nothing but horror stories with the Budget office in Cocoa Beach (and i'm a ten year fastbreak member)...will not use them again...may be its different in the fall months but August is horrendous...we rented from Avis, pre-paid the car and it was much easier...

i find the most convenient for early morning embarkation is dropping off the car and taking a taxi ($20 fare) to the ship...

 

[Zeppelin]

How much was the cab? Last time I went the shuttle at Dollar was wrapped around the building so I should have taken a cab. Thankfully I dropped off the family first

$20 for three of us from Avis to the port in August....

 

[lundve]

I'll never forget getting a 7 boarding number with my two boys who had been dropped at the port by my DH a few years ago. I will also never forget him not getting back from the shuttle until it was number 20 or so. This time he is taking a cab - we initially had a person driving us but when I got a $49 one way rental for a mini van (using hubby's corporate discount) I could not justify spending more than 3 times as much for a private transfer for the 7 of us.