Pre/Post Cruise Itinerary - Give Me Your Thoughts

[carrielouhoo]

We're sailing on the Fantasy in April, so we're starting to think about flights and pre/post cruise activities and wanted to hear your thoughts on the following:

- Friday (pre-cruise) - afternoon/early evening flight to MCO, hire car service to transport us to Cape/Port Canaveral, enjoy dinner/beach/pool/relaxing
- Saturday (pre-cruise) - utilize Uber/hotel shuttle to get to port
- Saturday (post-cruise) - rent car for the day and drive to Gatorland, return car at airport prior to evening flight home

We are a family of 5 (with three small-ish children), so my preliminary inclination is that two one-day car rentals wouldn't be super feasible for us, based both on price (since we'd have to have a van or SUV) and logistics (leaving one parent to manage the kids and lots of luggage). We're not super price conscious, so not necessarily looking for the cheapest alternative. I'd really love to hire a car service for the trip to Gatorland/return trip to the airport, but not sure what we'd do with luggage (including "extra" carryons that we wouldn't want to tote around with us all day).

1.) Does this plan sound reasonable?
2.) How do you get the best deals on car rentals? Right now, the "best deal" I can find for a van or large SUV is around $150.
3.) What are your thoughts on Gatorland? Is it worth the "hassle" of car rental and the logistics to get there? It seems to have pretty favorable ratings on Trip Advisor.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We needed a van before and after our 7 day cruise. We got a 12 day rental (and just parked it for our cruise) for $293. That price was as high as $1100 about 4 months before our trip. About 2 weeks before we were leaving, the prices kept dropping and I kept rebooking and cancelling. Interesting, though, we were doing a pick-up on a Wed evening. The Thursday morning price for the same time never dropping, but stayed around $550. So sometimes adjusting the times you rent makes a difference.

Anyway, I'm mentioning it as a possible solution if the price is right for you. Book your $150 deal, but keep checking prices for other options, too. Of course, that only works if you don't pre-pay. BTW - we used Costco to book Alamo and I also used the Alamo site with the Costco coupon code. They had different prices.

I've never been to Gatorland. There's also Kennedy Space center, which is near by Port Canaveral if you're looking at other options to consider.

 

[carrielouhoo]

We needed a van before and after our 7 day cruise. We got a 12 day rental (and just parked it for our cruise) for $293. That price was as high as $1100 about 4 months before our trip. About 2 weeks before we were leaving, the prices kept dropping and I kept rebooking and cancelling. Interesting, though, we were doing a pick-up on a Wed evening. The Thursday morning price for the same time never dropping, but stayed around $550. So sometimes adjusting the times you rent makes a difference.

Anyway, I'm mentioning it as a possible solution if the price is right for you. Book your $150 deal, but keep checking prices for other options, too. Of course, that only works if you don't pre-pay. BTW - we used Costco to book Alamo and I also used the Alamo site with the Costco coupon code. They had different prices.

I've never been to Gatorland. There's also Kennedy Space center, which is near by Port Canaveral if you're looking at other options to consider.

This is great advice! Thank you!

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

We took my sons to Gatorland a few years back when they were like 5 and 7. They LOVED it. Of course, the like animals in general, so that helped. I still have a picture of them holding a giant snake between them (much bigger than they were) and sitting on top a a smaller gator, with his mouth taped shut (the gator, not my sons!) And I enjoyed all of the natural areas and the raised bridges to view them "in the wild." There was enough to keep us busy for the day, but not so much that we felt like we had to make it a "full" day. Should be great for the day you leave.

We rented from Budget on our most recent cruise, and didn't have to pre-pay, so it gives you flexibility if you find something better closer to the time.

 

[carrielouhoo]

We took my sons to Gatorland a few years back when they were like 5 and 7. They LOVED it. Of course, the like animals in general, so that helped. I still have a picture of them holding a giant snake between them (much bigger than they were) and sitting on top a a smaller gator, with his mouth taped shut (the gator, not my sons!) And I enjoyed all of the natural areas and the raised bridges to view them "in the wild." There was enough to keep us busy for the day, but not so much that we felt like we had to make it a "full" day. Should be great for the day you leave.

We rented from Budget on our most recent cruise, and didn't have to pre-pay, so it gives you flexibility if you find something better closer to the time.

Thank you! Our boys will be 8 and 6, with a 3.5 year old daughter. Seems like they'd be the perfect age to enjoy it for a few hours before flying home.