Need advice on renting a car-PLEASE

[gerberdaisy1234]

Hi, I am SOOO excited. We will be going on our second cruise October 2008. Our first cruise (9-10/05) was magical despite the rough start. We waited for hours in our car to get into port because there was a problem with some luggage on the cruise before us. They shut down the port. By the time they let is in we spent another eternity waiting inside by the time we got on the ship it was time for the fire drill. Our children were done. We missed our first dinner (Triton's). After that -all magic. My DD turn 7 on our last night of the cruise. It was the most relaxing vacation I have EVER had.

I have spent many hours reading this forum and it has answered a lot of my questions but I still need some advice.

SInce we missed so much of our first day on our first cruise we want to be some of the first on the ship. We are staying a few days at DIsney before and after the cruise. I have read about the timing of the DCL shuttles. I was considering renting a car (last time we took the auto train this time we are flying). SHould I rent a car from avis at resort and park at port or rent at resort return at terminal and then rent at terminal return at resort? It sounds like the rental places are not close to terminal. How long does it take to get from rental back to port? WOuld it be better to go with a shuttle service? If we rent or use service what time should we leave DIsney?

Looking forward to another magical cruise DD will turn 10 on the cruise and DS will be 6( was 3 last cruise)!

Thank you for any and all advice. I hope I am posting this correctly and in the correct spot I am totally new at this.

 

[CraftyMouse]

SHould I rent a car from avis at resort and park at port or rent at resort return at terminal and then rent at terminal return at resort? It sounds like the rental places are not close to terminal. How long does it take to get from rental back to port? WOuld it be better to go with a shuttle service? If we rent or use service what time should we leave DIsney?

If you pay to park you will also be paying to rent for those 7 days, only to have the car sit unused. My advice would be to rent the car either at the airport (to use during your WDW stay too) or at WDW (just to drive to the port). Then return that car in Cape Canaveral. Reserve another rental for the day you return from the cruise to get you back to the airport.

Budget, Avis and Thrifty all of shuttles. I would drop off everyone but one adult (usually DH) and the luggage at the terminal and have them begin the check-in process while only one person (again, usually DH) returns the car. Then I would hop on the shuttle to go back to the terminal where I would meet up with my family. Just remember, if you do this, that the person checking in will need the passport of the person returning the car, while that person will need to have a photo ID to get back into the terminal.

 

[outahere]

First......... Welcome aboard the DIS!!

We've done 5 DCL cruises (so far) and here is what we've done:

1) Used DCL buses - twice
2) Rented a car and dropped it off at the port - twice
3) Rented a car and parked at the port - once

All of the car rental agencies are within a 10 minute drive from the port, so that's not really a big factor. Renting and dropping off at the port is probably the least expensive way to go. The one time we parked at the port, we were staying at WDW for a few days after the cruise and the weekly rental rate was cheaper than renting cars on both ends of the cruise. The port does charge $12 per day to park, so you need to take that into consideration. Since you're staying in Orlando after the cruise, this option might make sense. I will say that parking at the port was the most convenient. Since the car was right there (across the street) we were at WDW about 90 minutes after leaving the ship. We're doing a 4 night next April and will be doing this again, because we got a great weekly rate at Budget using a Wal-Mart code I found on mousesavers.com

Taking the DCL bus can get pretty expensive if you have more than 3 people. Plus they will not get you to the port much before early afternoon, since you're traveling from WDW.

All of that probably didn't help you all that much, but I wanted to share what we've done in the past.

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

Thank you for your advice. That is the kind of information that I need to help make our decision. With all the trouble we had before boarding last time I am trying to find the option where we are the least likely to start off stressed. Thank you
So excited !!!!!