Pros & Cons of car rental from Port back to Airport

[MarkLem]

Any comments on renting a car from the Port back to Orlando airport rather than taking a limo?

I know the car rental shuttles drop you off at the Port for emarking, but do they also pick you up at the Port and take you to the local rental office as well?

 

[markey]

the pros for us are:

1. cost - on 4 cruises the cost averaged $30-40.

2. have a car for the day because I always get late flights - this year flight was 8:40 p.m.

If I had to think of any cons I would say that you do have to take care of your own luggage and spend a few minutes doing paper work, but we have never had to wait longer then 15 minutes for a van. We have used both Budget and Avis, whichever is cheaper.

 

[Rippington'sFan]

Yes, they will pick you up and drive you back to the office. The pro's are that it might be cheaper. The con is the hassle of pick up/drop off, waiting in lines etc... but if you are in no rush to get to the airport then I think it's a good idea. Just make sure you get a big enough car to hold all your luggage. I made the mistake of renting a car at Avis (at the Radisson) and I couldn't fit all the damn luggage in it and had to rent a bigger car. LMAO One of the reasons I rented a car for the ride back was because we were staying an extra night but even if I didn't stay an extra night I think I would have done it to save a few bucks. Actually I mentioned dropping off as being a con but in reality it was the easiest dropoff I ever made. I drove right into the parking garage at MCO and there were signs for AVIS returns. You just follow the signs to the dropoff area,park there,leave the keys in it,grab your luggage and leave the car with the AVIS attendant and off you go.
Good luck!

 

[mom_rules]

So what would you do-book a one way rental - 1 from MCO to Port and then another from Port to MCO? How do you get from the rental car agency to the Cruise terminal and back again?

 

[NYGiantsRule!]

Avis, Hertz and Budget all have one way rentals from either MCO or even Tampa. It is much less expensive to rent a car than to take Disney transportation or a limo. The car rental companies all have vans that take you back to the terminal. We stopped at the terminal, dropped off the luggage and rest of family. My DH then returned the car, it's less than a mile from the terminal to the car rental sites.

 

[mobetsy]

Our plan is to rent a van that will carry our family of 4 and our friends (3) at the port. It will carry 7 of us, plus my family's luggage; friends are flying Delta (?) and can check their luggage at the port for the flight later that day. We'll tool around having fun that day, and then return the van at the airport in time for our flights (around 5:00 for both families). It is MUCH cheaper and gives us lots of flexibility. For o/w rentals, most seem to charge mileage, though I think we might've found one discount sort of thing that waived that.

Anyone know if Budget has as convenient a drop-off set-up at MCO as Avis?

 

[WIcruizer]

Just confirming what has already been posted. We followed this strategy based on advice from this board. We were nervous that it would all work smoothly, but it did end up working more smoothly than I even imagined.

Plus....there's something really enjoyable about making that drive yourself. We got to Orlando the night before, just in case of any airline snafus. So having a car was great...just driving around WDW checking out the sites. Then the drive over to the port...the anticipation...rolling down the windows as you get closer to the ocean...what a blast.

 

[mom_rules]

Budget at MCO was awesome (join their free Fastbreak service)-by the time the skycap had our luggage unloaded - we already had our receipt and were on our way. Right in the parking garage-very clearly marked - no muss, no fuss.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

I have details about the car rental option at my web site...

www.dcltribute.com/carhire