Returning a rental car to port

[jcarwash]

I'm curious about this too. I am booking our rental now. I am going to go ahead and say we'll return it at 10, but I'm still confused as to whether or not that's too early. I like the plan of DH dropping off DD and myself with the luggage, but I don't want to stand outside waiting on him.

10am is too early. The port terminal doesn't officially open until 11am, so I even if you are allowed to drop people off at the terminal, I would imagine you are going to be waiting outside somewhere. I'm sure there are other posts on the board about what happens when you arrive too early. I think I've read some posts about early arrivals being directed to wait in a parking lot holding area.

On my sailing 2/16 we drove over to the terminal at 10:50am and they did allow us to drive into the drop off area. On my rental car reservation I specified an 11am dropoff time. I was back at the terminal by 11:25.

 

[4newtocruise]

Here's my recent experience, and it's with Hertz who I think has a really great operation in Cape Canaveral, having used them twice now.

As posted above, use the rental car to drive your party to the port. We left our hotel (Country Inn and Suites) around 10:45-10:50 for an 11-11:30 PAT. The word is you may not even be allowed into the drop-off area much earlier than that.

Drop off your party and luggage. Your party can enter the terminal with all the passports and do the final check-in process without you. The porters handle your bags.

The driver goes back to the rental car office and drops off the car, and takes the shuttle back to port. With one person with either no bags or perhaps one carry on bag (like I had) taking the shuttle is much easier. The driver needs a photo ID (license is fine) to enter the terminal.

With Hertz I was back at port by 11:25, and actually walked into the terminal and onto the ship, as boarding had already started.

Using Hertz for a one-way rental back to the airport was also great - their shuttle was prompt. On a previous cruise my experience with Avis was ridiculous -- the shuttle took forever and a large crowd of people and bags built up.

This is exactly what I did and it really worked out great!!

 

[4newtocruise]

The cost adds up on Hertz when you pick up at one location and drop off at another. We just booked 3 separate reservations to cut down on cost. Since we are arriving in MCO and staying at AKL we did our first ressie MCO to MCO. Then going back to MCO and did one day MCO to PC. Our last ressie at the end of our cruise was PC to MCO. The total amount was $350 as opposed to that cost on just one leg with different drop off.

 

[IrishCowboy]

Avis has been absolutely terrible the past few times we have used them (Jul 2012 and Oct 2012).

For some reason, they just can't get a handle on crowd control.

There were 3 ships in Port and only 2 shuttles. Had to wait about 45 minutes each time for a Shuttle after returning car, not the way I want to start my vacation.

 

[jcarwash]

Avis has been absolutely terrible the past few times we have used them (Jul 2012 and Oct 2012).

For some reason, they just can't get a handle on crowd control.

There were 3 ships in Port and only 2 shuttles. Had to wait about 45 minutes each time for a Shuttle after returning car, not the way I want to start my vacation.

I also had a bad experience with Avis in March 2011. Leaving the cruise, a large crowd built up for the shuttle such that not everyone could board the bus that finally arrived.

 

[NC State]

I'm still not sure what we will do. I like returning the car when we arrive at the hotel and then we don't have to worry about it on the morning we leave port...

 

[scrapbookmomma74]

Do this for sure!!!
We have rented a car 5 different times, and now that we've figured out to do this, our morning goes so much smoother. My DH will drop me and the kiddos off with all of the luggage and his passport. By the time he gets back from dropping the car, we've done all of the line waiting and checking in, and can do character photos or hang out until our boarding time. It is SO much easier than trying to deal with all of the luggage at the rental car place.
AND, if you are renting from the port as well, do this in reverse...have everyone else wait while the driver debarks and gets in the rental car shuttle line. Often they can't take any more luggage, but 1 person alone could get on the shuttle. The family can debark and wait on the benches outside the terminal until the driver has the car and calls to pick them up. You would get picked up at the same spot you were dropped off a few days earlier.

Drop off everyone and the luggage at the terminal. Have one person take the car back. You can get on a shuttle at the car rental by yourself a lot easier with no luggage. When I dropped off the car at Budget originally the driver said no more can get on but that was because of luggage issues their was one seat left I had no luggage so I was able to squeeze on.My wife had my passport so she was able to check me in and when I got back I only had to have my pic taken and we walked right on the boat. I kept my license with me so I could get into the terminal. We didn't arrive till about 1:30 and the shuttle was full but no line waiting for the next one.The Budget office is small so I could imagine how crowded it would be between 10 and 12. I've read on other threads with waits for as long as an hour. On another thread someone wrote their were taxis riding around and they grabbed one and only had to pay 10 bucks to get back to the terminal.

 

[KaylaM]

Hello,

My daughter and I are going on a Disney Cruise over Christmas this year. My daughter is in a wheelchair, lots of luggage, etc. We are flying into Orlando the day before our ship leaves, then we will be staying in Orlando for a few nights after the cruise. I have been trying to figure out the best way to get to Port Carnaveral from Orlando for cruise and then after cruise on getting back to Orlando. Is there a hotel in Port Carnaveral that has a shuttle to ship so we wouldn't have to deal with a rental car the day of our departure?
Thank you all for your help and advice. It is greatly appreciated.


Michele

 

[GAKoch]

We have 2 staterooms with me as the adult in one and DH as the adult in the other (with our teenagers in tow). Can I check us in to both staterooms since they are linked? While DH takes the car back?

 

[NC State]

I see a few more questions so I'll give this a bump.

 

[mrssmiddy]

Where is this rental car location? We've always taken the bus from the airport, but I'm considering getting a car this time to drive down from Orlando, and spend the night closer to the port. I can't seem to find where I would be returning a car to though. Thanks!!

 

[Zeppelin]

Where is this rental car location? We've always taken the bus from the airport, but I'm considering getting a car this time to drive down from Orlando, and spend the night closer to the port. I can't seem to find where I would be returning a car to though. Thanks!!

plenty of locations on the strip 10 minutes south of the port...

 

[mrssmiddy]

plenty of locations on the strip 10 minutes south of the port...

Thank you!

 

[Sandya]

I rent my car from Dollar Rent A Car. They are way cheaper that the other places and the lines are very short. I didn't have to way for a shuttle since it was ready for us when we return the car and at the end of the cruise we waited about 20 min for the shuttle to take us back to their office.
they are also on the same street that all the other once are!!

 

[lanejudy]

Hello,

My daughter and I are going on a Disney Cruise over Christmas this year. My daughter is in a wheelchair, lots of luggage, etc. We are flying into Orlando the day before our ship leaves, then we will be staying in Orlando for a few nights after the cruise. I have been trying to figure out the best way to get to Port Carnaveral from Orlando for cruise and then after cruise on getting back to Orlando. Is there a hotel in Port Carnaveral that has a shuttle to ship so we wouldn't have to deal with a rental car the day of our departure?
Thank you all for your help and advice. It is greatly appreciated.


Michele

You have an extra twist to the challenge. For convenience (and if it's just the 2 of you) I'd do DCL transfers and make sure they know you'll need a bus with a lift. If you are arriving the day before, you can stay at the MCO Hyatt who will deal with your bags for you - you just go to the DCL desk at MCO when you're ready in the morning and the DCL bus will take you to the port - your bags will arrive at your stateroom later that afternoon. Several hotels in Cocoa Beach have shuttles to the port and presumably back again after the cruise. Look for ones with a "cruise package." However, usually the shuttle is a regular passenger van; depending on your DD's ability to transfer that could be a challenge - I would think a taxi might be an easier transfer for her and likely get you to the hotel quicker. If you are staying at WDW post-cruise, you could take DCL directly there and request a bus with a lift.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[declansdad]

We just did this.

We had a car from National on the way in and dropped it off around 10:15 and were on the shuttle and at the post within 30 minutes. There was a line a checkin but it took maybe 10 minutes to get through it and we were near the beginning of the queue. We tried to drop off the car earlier but the folks at National/Enterprise/Alamo said they could take us but we would probably have to wait at the port.


On the way back we were off the ship by 8 am, waited about 5 minutes for the shuttle. When we got back to the rental lot I had DW and DS get the luggage while I went in to get the paperwork completed for the car. We were on the road in about 5 minutes.

 

[skylynx]

Last month we did our usual Budget rental from Orlando airport, staying at WDW the night before the cruise, and then returning the car to Budget at the port the morning of the cruise. DH dropped me and luggage at the terminal around 10:45 and then went to return the car. No new passengers were allowed to enter the terminal area until 11, so they were sending people to wait in the parking garage where the bridge to the terminal was (there was one DCL person there to check IDs before allowing people to cross the bridge). The problem with this was that such a line built up that by the time they started letting people go across the bridge to the terminal at 11 that it would have actually been much faster to just wait until 11 and then go in the ground-level way where there was no line.

The problem with Budget was that the shuttle driver at the Budget place told my DH they wouldn't be taking anyone to the terminal until at least 12 or 12:30 (the shuttles left Budget empty to go collect disembarking passengers only). We are platinum Castaway Club members and get that wonderful #1 boarding card, so if my DH had waited for the Budget shuttle to start bringing embarking passengers, we would have missed the opportunity to enjoy that early boarding. He ended up finding another guy to take a taxi with. By that time the line at Budget to go to the terminal was so huge, even without the luggage he might have waited at least another hour to get to the terminal had he not opted for the taxi. We are not doing that again.

On the return, the only solution that seems to work is to get off the ship as soon as you are cleared by customs and get on one of the first two Budget shuttles returning to the car rental place. We were second on line, in a car, and on our way to WDW by 8:45 am. When we take the teens (which adds in a time factor equivalent to dragging along several bags of bowling balls) we have waited a long time at Budget for someone else to return a car because they didn't have any to give us. Since we always try and suck the marrow out of the day we get off a cruise by getting to WDW and enjoying as long of a day as possibile, that waiting really cut into our park time.

We've done the park and stay deal at port area hotels the night before for shorter cruises, but it hasn't made sense financially to keep a rental for 7 day or longer cruises, so we'll have to figure a new strategy or just plan on the taxi route if we use Budget again.

 

[jcarwash]

The problem with Budget was that the shuttle driver at the Budget place told my DH they wouldn't be taking anyone to the terminal until at least 12 or 12:30 (the shuttles left Budget empty to go collect disembarking passengers only).

12 or 12:30?! Yikes!

Hertz dropped me at the terminal at 11:25am after my 11am dropoff with them, and I was technically "late" -- my boarding group #3 was already called. So I was able to join my party and go right onto the ship. (The shuttle would have dropped me earlier if their first port stop wasn't the neighboring Carnival ship.)

What the heck does Budget think is going on?

 

[DisneyCrazMom]

We are using Budget in May, I am seriously considering just calling a taxi to pick up my hubby from Budget once he drops us at the Port Terminal. And doing the same to get to Budget after the cruise...has anyone done this and does it work out to just use a taxi. Totally willing to spend the extra cash.

 

[Brynnie]

We are using Budget in May, I am seriously considering just calling a taxi to pick up my hubby from Budget once he drops us at the Port Terminal. And doing the same to get to Budget after the cruise...has anyone done this and does it work out to just use a taxi. Totally willing to spend the extra cash.

This is what we do. I drop hubby off at the port to check us in and I bring the car to budget. It has taken forever for me to get back to the port in the past, so I go to the gas station next door and they call me a taxi. They said this happens a lot and they are used to doing it. The taxi always arrives within 5 minutes, they are used to this as well. It cost me around 18 dollars and I'm the back to the port much quicker. Well worth it to me.