Rental Car From Port Canaveral

[ZehnJahren]

We are going to take the DCL transfer from a Disney hotel to our cruise in May, but afterwards we are staying in Orlando for a full week. I'd like to get a rental car in port canaveral and keep it for the full week then return it at the Orlando Airport, but haven't ever done that before.

My question is: has anyone ever rented a car and then not had one available at Port Canaveral? (Like, oversold?) Are we going to have to Uber from the ship to pick up a rental car? Any suggestions here?

 

[SnowWhite2]

You absolutely need to reserve a car if you are going to pick it up at PC. They are franchised locations, not large airport facilities. Once I was unable to get the van I reserved but was given a small SUV. A few times I needed to wait for a car to be returned before I could get one. You might be able to price out a round trip rental with parking it at the port instead of the DCL transport to the port. The car would be waiting for you after your trip.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are going to take the DCL transfer from a Disney hotel to our cruise in May, but afterwards we are staying in Orlando for a full week. I'd like to get a rental car in port canaveral and keep it for the full week then return it at the Orlando Airport, but haven't ever done that before.

My question is: has anyone ever rented a car and then not had one available at Port Canaveral? (Like, oversold?) Are we going to have to Uber from the ship to pick up a rental car? Any suggestions here?

We've only rented once from Port Canaveral, but there seemed to be plenty of cars.

There's a shuttle from the port to the rental car facilities.

 

[Flossbolna]

There is a shuttle for the rental agencies, but it is often very crowded and you might have a long way. Depending the size of your group it might be worth it to compare prices with taking DCL shuttle to MCO and then just rent from there. One way rentals often have an extra charge built into the price.

 

[ZehnJahren]

There is a shuttle for the rental agencies, but it is often very crowded and you might have a long way. Depending the size of your group it might be worth it to compare prices with taking DCL shuttle to MCO and then just rent from there. One way rentals often have an extra charge built into the price.

I thought about going back to MCO, but then we're spending almost the cost of two days car rental just to get back to the airport! Is rather sink that cost into the car.

We were just going to Uber everywhere, but the mix of people we have this trip is different. I think a rental car is the way to go.

 

[Calantha]

I have rented with Budget and Avis to PC and then back to MCO with Enterprise/National twice. I will not rent with Budget again, not because of service, but because of the lines both at MCO and at the Disney Crusie terminal. But yes, there are shuttles to take you to the agencies. Very easy! And, I would reserve, because the agencies seem very small.

 

[Flossbolna]

I would consider to have the person getting the rental car doing express walk off, get on the shuttle before the lines get long and then pick up the group later once they have debarked. Those lines at the shuttles are horrible and Uber will have surge pricing charging 40$ or more for the ride.

 

[holula]

I have rented with Budget and Avis to PC and then back to MCO with Enterprise/National twice. I will not rent with Budget again, not because of service, but because of the lines both at MCO and at the Disney Crusie terminal. But yes, there are shuttles to take you to the agencies. Very easy! And, I would reserve, because the agencies seem very small.

Agree with the lines at Budget at PC, they were horrendous!

 

[jcarwash]

I now rent with National at Port Canaveral. In previous years I used to use Hertz but that location is now gone.

The Enterprise/National/Alamo facility (all the same company) at Port Canaveral is very well run in my experience. Their shuttle drivers have been terrific and I've had no issues with lines or wait times, either at their office or at the Disney terminal.

 

[Husker Mike]

I thought about going back to MCO, but then we're spending almost the cost of two days car rental just to get back to the airport! Is rather sink that cost into the car.

If... you have a group of 3-6 people and it's a 3-4 night cruise, you might think long and hard about simply renting the car at the airport and paying to park it at the port during the cruise. Pre-COVID, it was frequently cheaper anyway and you take all of the hassle out of the post-cruise experience.

 

[happythoughts & pixiedust]

We just rented MCO to PC and PC to MCO last week for our cruise on the fantasy. We used National and waited about 40 minutes to get a shuttle from the rental facility to the ship. On the way back we debarked late (around 9:30) and there was virtually no wait for a shuttle from ship to rental facility and no line at National. We had our car quickly. If you plan to arrive at the PC rental facility during busy times (11-1 on day of cruise) or early in the morning when you get off cruise plan to wait awhile for shuttles. Definitely book a rental ahead of time and use National - they are the best option

 

[iZon]

Hi. Was the 40 minute wait because of lineups? Or just waiting for your port time?

 

[happythoughts & pixiedust]

Hi. Was the 40 minute wait because of lineups? Or just waiting for your port time?

The wait was due to a line. Had to wait for several shuttles and the shuttles were taking a long time because there was traffic backed up getting into the terminal drop off area. We ended up arriving about 15 minutes after the end of our port arrival time window, but there were no issues being late.