Rental Car Drop Off at Port Canaveral

[NavyBlue4Eight]

I have a questions about dropping off / picking up a rental car at Port Canaveral.

We (3 adults, 1 child) are flying into Orlando the day before our cruise next month, and are getting a car / hotel for the night. It was suggested that on the morning of our cruise, one of us drop everyone else (and luggage) off at the terminal, and then go return the car and catch a shuttle back to port (because the shuttle is easier to catch if it's just one person and no luggage).

Does the sound like a good plan? Which rental car brands are located closest to the port? How much time should we allow for drop off and shuttle ride back to the terminal? Will the reverse work better after the cruise (one person go get the car and pick the rest of us up)? Our flight home leaves after 5:00pm, so we're in no rush on that end of the trip. We're just trying to find the best way to do this.

Thanks in advance for all your help. This is our first Disney cruise, so I'm nervous something will go horribly wrong.

 

[KingRichard]

Budget seems like top choice. I have used them.

Yes on drop off, take family to ship and then drop off car alone.

Before noon it could take a hour. Some take Taxi to ship.

After cruise, all jump on shuttle.

 

[NavyBlue4Eight]

Thank you for the speedy reply / advice.
I'm going to be a nervous wreck until we're all on board the boat eating lunch / swimming.

 

[Prose]

Where are you staying? Hertz is in the parking lot of the Country Inn and Suites - we just dropped the car off there in the morning, walked back across the parking lot and called a cab.

 

[mmouse37]

Hertz, Budget, Thrifty/Dollar, Avis, Alamo/Enterprise/National and Payless.

All have shuttles and you can find some good discount codes at www.mousesavers.com

MJ

 

[Capt_BJ]

here's where they are in Canaveral ... and WHO's in Canaveral / Cocoa Beach ....

the farthest, Enterprise / Alamo / National (shared location) is about 3 miles



traffic is NOT an issue (barring an accident) but shuttle loading is a different question ... and some days ONE ship is turning over and some days FOUR ships are turning over, and that makes a BIG difference. I've driven past the rental places and seen a line of cars (4 or 5) trying to get into the parking lot . . . rare but it happens.

 

[KingRichard]

Yes and even better when they run out of cars and you must wait. lol

Before 10am nobody has dropped a car, but everyone is off the ship.

I have gotten some nice upgrades.

 

[mmouse37]

Thanks Captain, I always seem to leave off one or another!! Love your graphic. I now have it saved on my computer!!

MJ

 

[jbaby13]

Has anyone dropped the car off in the evening and taken the hotel's shuttle in the morning? We are thinking this might be a way to avoid some of the traffic at the rentals. Are the hotels shuttles crazy busy?

 

[JCinMN]

Even though the distance isn't too far, it does take more time than expected to drop off or pick up a car. When leaving the terminal, you drive quite past the ship to get out of the terminal area and back around to town. There can also be long lines waiting for the shuttle to get back. It took me about 40 minutes for a car drop off and I was able to squeeze on a bus just departing that was full of families and luggage of those who brought the hole family for the drop off process. My daughter was getting worried waiting for me. It's a great way to go, it just can take longer than you might expect.

 

[NavyBlue4Eight]

Thank you everyone for your help and advice! Sounds like we're on the right track. I didn't realize it could take an hour to drop off the car and catch a shuttle / cab back to port. We'll plan accordingly.

 

[El&Asmom]

We made the huge mistake of dropping off our car with our entire family and waiting to catch the Avis shuttle to the boat. It was a nightmare. Sat with 3 crabby hot kids and all our stuff waiting for the shuttle for about an hour. When we finally got on the shuttle the very nice driver told us that dh should just get off the boat, go to the spot where the shuttle picks up and get the car on his own without the rest of us after the cruise. It only took dh about 20 min to get the car and swing back around to get us.
When we got on the shuttle on the way to the port, 2 guys had just dropped off their cars and hopped right on the shuttle because it was just them with no bags or family. It was easy to fit them on the shuttle without all the "extra baggage".

 

[chicagolaw]

Navy, I am curious how it all went. I am currently researching this exact situation. I have the rental car booked for both ways of the trip and after reading everyone else's responses will plan for ample time. But just curious how smoothly it all went. I'm booked with Budget for arriving at the Port and then Dollar going back.

TIA
Liz

 

[lisamarie12]

Has anyone dropped the car off in the evening and taken the hotel's shuttle in the morning? We are thinking this might be a way to avoid some of the traffic at the rentals. Are the hotels shuttles crazy busy?

I know this is an old(er) thread, but I have a similar question. I am not keen on the idea of DH dropping me, DD and our luggage off at the port and taking off by himself. I will be a nervous wreck until he gets back and handling my 4 year DD and carry-on bags by myself at a port I have never been makes me nervous (no judging please). But the thought of all three of us (with luggage and a car seat) riding the rental car shuttle to the port and getting there earlier than I want to (because we will have to drop off early to avoid paying for a second day) and possibly having to wait at the car rental place, also makes me tear my hair out.

I thought about having DH drop off the car in the evening or morning and then come back to the hotel. Then the 3 of us could ride the hotel shuttle. But I am not sure how he gets back to the hotel. Do they have transport to the hotel or is it cab only?

Surely others have done this before. What do you do.

 

[jcarwash]

I know this is an old(er) thread, but I have a similar question. I am not keen on the idea of DH dropping me, DD and our luggage off at the port and taking off by himself. I will be a nervous wreck until he gets back and handling my 4 year DD and carry-on bags by myself at a port I have never been makes me nervous (no judging please). But the thought of all three of us (with luggage and a car seat) riding the rental car shuttle to the port and getting there earlier than I want to (because we will have to drop off early to avoid paying for a second day) and possibly having to wait at the car rental place, also makes me tear my hair out.

I thought about having DH drop off the car in the evening or morning and then come back to the hotel. Then the 3 of us could ride the hotel shuttle. But I am not sure how he gets back to the hotel. Do they have transport to the hotel or is it cab only?

Surely others have done this before. What do you do.

We do the port drop-off and then I return the car. The porters are typically very helpful handling your checked bags and explaining what to do inside the terminal.

To me, the Disney terminal is relatively small and the process is actually very easy. You can even take all the passports and get your check-in done (boarding number, Keys to the World card, etc.) before your driver returns. (Your driver needs their driver's license to enter the port.)

On the other hand, having been on the car returner end, the whole family dropping off the car in the morning and then taking the car rental shuttle seems pretty do-able too. We like dropping all the luggage at port better, but I've observed other families staying together and it's not too bad really -- but your mileage may vary.

As for your idea dropping the car the night before, I know that Hertz, for example, will give people a ride to their hotel, and I'd expect the other agencies would do that too. (In the case of Hertz, if you're staying at Country Inn or Residence Inn, you're literally right next door, so you could just walk.)

 

[CTdaizy]

This past summer, we stayed at Vero Beach, then drove up to the port the morning of the cruise. on the drive to the port, we discussed what to do- drop at cruise or all go to car rental.. we ended up all going to the car rental, with all of our stuff! It was such a hassle, we had to wait over an hour to get on the shuttle, and it was August, so it was super hot! we learned our lesson! All those dad's with nothing in their hands got to go ahead of us over and over.. we made it to the port, but it was stressful.. and my kids are older (ds was 13, dd was 11)!!

Now when we got back to port, we took the shuttle to the rental office, there were only about 4 people ahead of us in line and we got a great upgrade on the car for free because they needed to get the cars back to the Orlando airport location. It was super easy!

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[lisamarie12]

We do the port drop-off and then I return the car. The porters are typically very helpful handling your checked bags and explaining what to do inside the terminal.

To me, the Disney terminal is relatively small and the process is actually very easy. You can even take all the passports and get your check-in done (boarding number, Keys to the World card, etc.) before your driver returns. (Your driver needs their driver's license to enter the port.)

On the other hand, having been on the car returner end, the whole family dropping off the car in the morning and then taking the car rental shuttle seems pretty do-able too. We like dropping all the luggage at port better, but I've observed other families staying together and it's not too bad really -- but your mileage may vary.

As for your idea dropping the car the night before, I know that Hertz, for example, will give people a ride to their hotel, and I'd expect the other agencies would do that too. (In the case of Hertz, if you're staying at Country Inn or Residence Inn, you're literally right next door, so you could just walk.)

My other concern with having DH drop us off at the port is that the rental car will need to be returned pretty early (like 9:30), which is well before we need to get dropped off. So we will be there very early. The only way to avoid that is either pick up the car later (which means sitting around the airport) or pay for a two day rental, even though it will be more like 26 hours. The rental price is not too bad, but I hate to pay for a second day for a few hours.

 

[jcarwash]

My other concern with having DH drop us off at the port is that the rental car will need to be returned pretty early (like 9:30), which is well before we need to get dropped off. So we will be there very early. The only way to avoid that is either pick up the car later (which means sitting around the airport) or pay for a two day rental, even though it will be more like 26 hours. The rental price is not too bad, but I hate to pay for a second day for a few hours.

Agreed - you want to keep it to a one day/24 hour rental.

 

[Partyof4LA]

We are planning to drop the car off the night before and get a shuttle or taxi back to the hotel. Then will use the hotel shuttle to the port in AM. Hopefully it all works out.

 

[CM5]

We have done it both ways. Our first two cruises we dropped off our rental at Budget and all 5 of us took the shuttle back to the port. We've always had a bit of a wait, but never so bad that we missed our PAT. It is always a congested, busy spot though. This year we rented from Dollar and my husband dropped us off at the terminal and returned the van. We were a group of 5 families. My brother left at the same time to return his car to Avis. We were all checked in before either returned. However my brother was back MUCH sooner than my husband. He was gone at least an hour, the office was not busy and that was the problem as they waited to fill the shuttle. On return we've used Budget each time, the shuttles run frequently but we've had short and long waits. This year I went to get the van and then returned to the terminal to pick them up at the same placed we'd dropped them off. This worked very well.