Rental Car Help!!

[trampslady]

Well, I thought I was so ready and prepared but I started doing some last minute (actually our cruise isn't until May 10!) confirmation calls, etc. and found that Budget may not be the best car rental company to use for this trip. We plan to fly into Orlando late Wednesday night, pick up a car (for the first time ever!) and drive to WDW. We are staying there three nights and plan to drive to Cape Canaveral on Saturday morning and drop off the car there. Our plan was to also pick up another car on the date of our return from the cruise and drop it off at Orlando airport the same evening.

I called the Cocoa Beach Budget office direct to confirm that they were indeed the closest location to the terminal and to verify that they have shuttle service. The Manager seemed very unsure whether shuttle service would be provided. She said "we could always take a cab to and from their office and the terminal" .......NOT!!!! I asked if there was a problem because she wanted to know what dates and she then said, "well, we should have shuttle service then."

I'm not happy with the uncertainty of her response! Can you guys help me with a sure bet on rental car service that DOES provide a shuttle to and from their office to the terminal? Also, any great ways to ensure a good rate would be helpful too!!

thanks!

 

[Ottawacruiser]

We travelled on the March 8 Magic and did exactly what you are planning to do.

We rented from Avis at the airport and dropped the car off at the Avis rental location at the Radisson Hotel - it is about 1.5 miles from the port. Avis has a couple of shuttles which can take you to the port - they leave about every 10 minutes.

A tip is to drop your family off first at the port in the rental car and then go and drop the car off. Because of security, the rental shuttle is not allowed to pull up close the port - only to the parking lot across the street. Driving up in the rental car allowed us to show our tickets to the guard and then pull up right next to the terminal to drop off our luggage.

In the time it took to return the car and take the shuttle back to the port, my wife was able to get us all checked in. Don't forget to bring your ticket along with you when you drop off the car or you may have trouble getting into the terminal!

We arranged for a rental at Avis for when we returned as well. It was no problem taking the Radisson shuttle from the port to the hotel/rental location. The driver was really nice and even loaded all of our luggage and family in to the shuttle (there were 5 of us and I was planning to go and pick up the car and come back to pick up the rest of the family) - nice touch.

I hope this helps.

Ottawacruiser

 

[Jobro2]

If you decide to go with Avis, a discount code is K163324..plug it in where it asks for teh Avis Worldwide Discount...I booked all of my car rentals with them, using this code and drop the car off at the Avis at the Raddison, where we stay the night before. You can either catch the shuttle from the Raddison to the port, or Avis can shuttle you from there also...

 

[DawnL]

We just used AVIS for our 3/30 cruise and everything worked out perfect. Picked-up rental at the Airport and drove to the Raddison. Avis took us and our luggage over to the port. When we got off the ship, we walked across the parking lot to the pick-up area and the Avis van was waiting right there. We were back at the Raddison and had our return rental car all within 30 minutes of getting off the ship. It worked out great. I did also see a Budget van at the port , so I am sure they do passenger pick-up also. The Budget Office is about 3-4 blocks further down the road from the Avis Office.

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Hi trampslady.

We plan to fly into Orlando late Wednesday night, pick up a car (for the first time ever!) and drive to WDW.

Congratulations on your pending first drive!

 

[kajohn]

We used Budget in February, and had no difficulty at all. We picked up the Car at MCO, and then drove it to the port, my husband dropped us off and then returned the car and took the shuttle back. No problems.

When we returned, my husband went out to the white tent (where all the shuttles are), a budget shuttle came by, and went in and rented the car and then came back and picked us up with the luggage.

Budget was much cheaper than avis, and we had no problems at all. Any time the ships are in port they are running the shuttles.