Cape Canaveral - Rental Car Drop

[fdpevey]

I have been reading reviews of the rental car companies' service receiving cars and shuttling passengers embarking cruise ships at Port Canaveral ... and all I can say is "Yikes". I realize the majority of people who have adequate experiences don't post on Yelp, but I don't want to start my cruise with a bad experience.

 

So, I am thinking about dropping my car after hours the night before when we arrive in Cape Canaveral, taking a cab or Uber back to our hotel, and taking the hotel shuttle directly to the Port. There will be two of us with 2 suitcases and 2 overnight cases.

 

Has anyone done it this way, instead of dropping the morning of and taking the rental shuttle to the port? Any disadvantages?

 

What is your best advice for a smooth and pleasant embarkation when you need to return a rental car? Is there a company you have used that manages things well?

 

Thanks for any helpful perspectives.

[JohninDC]

We have always returned the car and used the rental shuttles, usually Avis for a corporate rate I get.  When we cruise with the kids and lots of bags I usually drop the group off at the port, return the car, and ride the shuttle solo - seems easier to me.

 

Your plan will work but seems like extra hassle to avoid a problem that is minor or non-existent.  If you wait until all of the passengers from the previous week are gone you should not have an issue. 

Edited January 19, 2019 by JohninDC

[pinklady621]

Was just trying to figure this out for my cruise in August.  From the little bit of research that I have done it would seem that renting a car from the airport to our hotel in Cocoa Beach would be cheaper than taking a taxi.  Are there rental car drop offs at the cruise port?  I went on their website and couldn't find any mention of them.  

Thanks for any info you can provide.

[SteerageJoe]

1 hour ago, pinklady621 said:

Was just trying to figure this out for my cruise in August.  From the little bit of research that I have done it would seem that renting a car from the airport to our hotel in Cocoa Beach would be cheaper than taking a taxi.  Are there rental car drop offs at the cruise port?  I went on their website and couldn't find any mention of them.  

Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

The rental car locations are on this map below. These locations are also shown in the video below together with actual drive distances from the Port

 

You can alse read this - Rental Car Tips for Cruisers - Port Canaveral

 

 

 

Edited January 19, 2019 by SteerageJoe

[pinklady621]

Thanks!!! This helps

[fdpevey]

Great resources - thank you

[Capt_BJ]

a significant factor in how the whole 'rental car experience' works out in Canaveral can have a LOT to do with the number of ships turning over on your day in question.

 

Some days only one ship is flipping and often even that one is a smaller one ...

 

on the other end of the scale you can have a day with FIVE biggies flipping and maybe even another making a port call

{five will be maximum for a while as T-3 is rebuilt/remodeled}

 

wanna guess what it is like at the rental companies in the later case?

 

schedule thru Sept here (always subject to change): https://www.portcanaveral.com/PortCanaveral/media/Cruise-Assets/FY2019/Copy-of-Master-Cruise-Schedule19.pdf

[fdpevey]

Good point - we have 4 ships turning over on our embarkation day. More to think about. Thanks for the resource!