Budget car rental question

[Hockeychic]

does anyone know which location to pick for Budget Car Rental at Port Canaveral?

There looks like 2 options come up and they have different prices and I want to make sure I pick the right one.

Thank you

Kim

 

[starvenger]

I took a look via Costco and I see "Cape Canaveral" and "Port Canaveral Shuttle Service" which is the same location - and the closest Budget to the Port, fwiw.

If these are the two you're seeing different prices for, I'd go ahead and book the cheaper one.

 

[esta1701]

You need to chose Cape Canaveral to drop off a rental car and Port Canaveral Shuttle Service when picking one up. There is a $10 fee to ride the shuttle bus from the port and they will step you up to the higher rate if they know you came off the bus.

 

[starvenger]

Hmm now that you mention it I think they did say that they had to add a shuttle charge when I checked in, so price ended up the same either way. Good catch.

 

[WendyDarling]

We had terrible service from them and the lady raised her voice at me saying I picked the wrong one and she was tired of everyone picking the wrong one. DH was a Fastbreak customer and they said they don't do anything for Fastbreak there. We were some of the first off the ship and waited over 45 minutes for a shuttle, then about 45 more minutes to get a car. Quite a mess.

 

[Billinaz]

8401 Astronaut Blvd, Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States-(ZC5)

I have had better luck at prices and service at the Avis though. I got a code from the thread about them on Flyertalk. $45 for a full size car, all taxes, etc included.

 

[starvenger]

We had terrible service from them and the lady raised her voice at me saying I picked the wrong one and she was tired of everyone picking the wrong one. DH was a Fastbreak customer and they said they don't do anything for Fastbreak there. We were some of the first off the ship and waited over 45 minutes for a shuttle, then about 45 more minutes to get a car. Quite a mess.

It goes to show you how customer service can make a huge difference.

I don't think we waited more than 15 minutes for a shuttle, and not only did they have the Fastbreak line, but they put us top of the queue. As noted, we did get dinged for the shuttle surcharge, but the agent was up front about the lack of available cars (we had too much luggage for the sub-compacts as my wife managed to shop an extra suitcase worth of clothing in Orlando) and said that they would try to keep us updated.

Still took 30-45 minutes or so for a car, but we were out of there a lot faster than others. Including my brother, who had to wait in the regular line. But because we didn't get a bad agent at the desk, we weren't all that fussed about the waiting time.

I have had better luck at prices and service at the Avis though. I got a code from the thread about them on Flyertalk. $45 for a full size car, all taxes, etc included.

I think at the time Avis did have a better price, but it was a matter of a couple of dollars on Costco Travel. And since I have FastBreak I was willing to eat the difference and go with Budget. Probably not a common choice, but that's what I went with at the time.

 

[LAX]

You need to chose Cape Canaveral to drop off a rental car and Port Canaveral Shuttle Service when picking one up. There is a $10 fee to ride the shuttle bus from the port and they will step you up to the higher rate if they know you came off the bus.

Is a cab ride more than $10? I wonder if it's better to take a cab, especially if there is a line for the shuttle.

LAX

 

[Hockeychic]

Thank you all. Boy they make it a bit confusing. I can actually get a ride to the car rental as we are travelling with family so I can do the astraunaut Blvd one


Thanks for the info all

 

[Hockeychic]

So just talked to hubby he just wants to take a cab, so we pick the one without the shuttle service correct? I think it is on Astonault Blvd?

 

[mmouse37]

We always book rental cars through Costco for the best deal (if you have a Costco membership). But, this is the first I am hearing about a $10 surcharge for the shuttle service. So, to ride the shuttle to the rental agency they are charging you $10? They didn't do this last time I took Budget at Port Canaveral.

MJ

 

[esta1701]

Yes, you can take the cab and avoid the fee by picking the less expensive one. Make sure to tell them you did not ride the shuttle and I would keep the cab receipt. The last time I was there my sister took us to the rental car agency and we had to show them we did not take the shuttle.

 

[Hockeychic]

Awesome. Thank you!

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Hmmm... we never paid a shuttle charge and we have only rented from Budget. This was last summer. I have heard of the charge, checked my documents, not there.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

We've done Budget twice, the Astronaut Blvd one, and never had a shuttle fee. (No "One way rental" fee either, though I have read here that some people have had this.)

It is a bit hit or miss on the time it takes to get on the shuttle, though. They have like 5 buses running in non-stop circles to the ships, but depending on what things are like it can take a few minutes, or a long time.

One time there was a huge line there and we thought we were in for it, but it turned out that one of the Big RCCL ships was running late and so they weren't letting anyone into the port area for that ship, so the Rental car companies got the word and were holding all their passengers for that ship at the Agency. Since we were travelling on a different cruise line, we were able to hop right on a shuttle, and off to the port.

 

[Billinaz]

It goes to show you how customer service can make a huge difference.

I don't think we waited more than 15 minutes for a shuttle, and not only did they have the Fastbreak line, but they put us top of the queue. As noted, we did get dinged for the shuttle surcharge, but the agent was up front about the lack of available cars (we had too much luggage for the sub-compacts as my wife managed to shop an extra suitcase worth of clothing in Orlando) and said that they would try to keep us updated.

Still took 30-45 minutes or so for a car, but we were out of there a lot faster than others. Including my brother, who had to wait in the regular line. But because we didn't get a bad agent at the desk, we weren't all that fussed about the waiting time.


I think at the time Avis did have a better price, but it was a matter of a couple of dollars on Costco Travel. And since I have FastBreak I was willing to eat the difference and go with Budget. Probably not a common choice, but that's what I went with at the time.

I used Budget all the time, and got used to Pats gruffness at the Cape Canaveral location. They dont have Fastbreak service there. The Avis (same company) is right down the street, and the prices have been way lower. Not a couple of dollars. The Avis location in Cape Canaveral also has a bigger shuttle (neither of them charge a shuttle fee).

I havent had any of the Budget codes getting to $45 total for a rental out of MCO for a full size car.

 

[Billinaz]

We always book rental cars through Costco for the best deal (if you have a Costco membership). But, this is the first I am hearing about a $10 surcharge for the shuttle service. So, to ride the shuttle to the rental agency they are charging you $10? They didn't do this last time I took Budget at Port Canaveral.

MJ

Costco isnt the best deal.......

 

[starvenger]

I used Budget all the time, and got used to Pats gruffness at the Cape Canaveral location. They dont have Fastbreak service there. The Avis (same company) is right down the street, and the prices have been way lower. Not a couple of dollars. The Avis location in Cape Canaveral also has a bigger shuttle (neither of them charge a shuttle fee).

Possible I'm misremembering the Fastbreak then. I did the cruise about 2.5 years and several car rentals ago so that might be the case.

 

[mmouse37]

Costco ist the best deal.......

Is or isn't? For us, for our rentals, 95% of the time Costco gives me the best rate. I always check several discount codes from various places like Flyertalk or mousesavers, etc. I also like that the Costco rate includes a second driver for free and includes all the taxes in the quote.

Of course they could be a time when another rate yields a better rate but not very often

MJ

 

[Billinaz]

Is or isn't? For us, for our rentals, 95% of the time Costco gives me the best rate. I always check several discount codes from various places like Flyertalk or mousesavers, etc. I also like that the Costco rate includes a second driver for free and includes all the taxes in the quote.

Of course they could be a time when another rate yields a better rate but not very often

MJ

Ha, I looked at that several times and missed it.

Isnt. I used to use Budget all the time, but lately the codes I got from flyertalk were much better on the Avis side than the Budget side. Funny since they are both owned by the same corporation.

This has been the same thing for the last 5 years.

I usually get a one way from MCO to the port. I have a rental for May 4 that comes to $45 (all taxes and fees included) for a full size car. I havent been able to get Budget to come even close. Using Costco, Budget is $92.10.