MCO to port canaveral two days prior to departure??

[rosencra38]

Looking for opinions.  I have booked Mariner for 6-19-2020.  I will be flying into MCO on 6-17 with my kids and planning on making a day trip to kennedy space center on the 18^th.  I have looked at some of the shuttle options that others have mentioned in other threads but it seems like they only provide services on the day of or day before a cruise, that I can see anyway.  Is renting a car from MCO my best bet over all?  I planned on renting a car once we got to port Canaveral either way for the two days prior to departure.

[Clarea]

Yes, I'd do a one-way rental car to the port.  There are several rental agencies near the port that have free shuttles to the cruise terminals.

[Capt_BJ]

Cocoa Beach shuttle will do the trip any day

 

but if you plan to go to KSC, renting a car is best option IMO

[jmb4534]

I agree that you should Rent a car at MCO. When we did it the cost was Very reasonable. The drive to Cape Canaveral was easy. The morning of the cruise we went to the rental office, turned in the car and the car rental company shuttled us to the port.

On our return, they met us at the ship, shuttled us to the office where we picked up a car. We drove back to MCO and dropped off the car. I think the company was Budget, not sure though.

[Sea Dog]

Are you staying in Orlando? If so rental car is probably best. You might consider staying in Port Canaveral. We are staying at Radisson at the Port which will pick us up at MCO (for a fee) and we will take a short cab or uber over to KSC for the day. Then the following morning the hotel has a shuttle that will take us to the terminal.

[njkruzer]

It's a distance from port area to KSC so a rental car might be better.  Last year we stayed at a Marriott courtyard in Cocoa beach.  We drove to KSC, walked to restaurants and sat in a grassy park watching ships depart the night before our cruise.

[Pratique]

I'd recommend using National/Alamo at Port Canaveral. Their location is closest to the Royal Caribbean terminal and is within walking distance if for some reason the shuttle is AWOL. I have read horror stories about the Hertz location but I have not tried using them myself. In any case, drop the luggage at the terminal before returning the car to make the shuttle ride easier.

[Clarea]

We've had very good luck with Avis in Cocoa Beach.

[travelplus]

I would just get a Car Service to relax during the trip and they may be able to pick up a ride going in the other direction. Perhaps they could stop off at Port Canaveral. 

By the time you rent a car with gas one way drop off its better to take  a Limo or Car Service. Even Uber X is an option

[Pratique]

5 minutes ago, travelplus said:

I would just get a Car Service to relax during the trip and they may be able to pick up a ride going in the other direction. Perhaps they could stop off at Port Canaveral. 

By the time you rent a car with gas one way drop off its better to take  a Limo or Car Service. Even Uber X is an option

Uber X might be hard to get in that part of the state. Sometimes you'll get someone in a Nissan Altima and Uber just says they'll discount the rate for you. They don't care that you have luggage. In my experience.

[uksimonusa]

1 hour ago, Pratique said:

Uber X might be hard to get in that part of the state. Sometimes you'll get someone in a Nissan Altima and Uber just says they'll discount the rate for you. They don't care that you have luggage. In my experience.

 

Uber x and Uber XL are in abundance in this part of the state.

[travelplus]

2 hours ago, uksimonusa said:

 

Uber x and Uber XL are in abundance in this part of the state.

Exactly with Disney not too far!  What you may want to do is spend a few nights on International Drive at Disney or off site and then get an Uber to the port. Renting a one way car rental is cumbersome and can come with extra charges to drop it off.

 

I was quoted $200 to do a one way in Arizona so I can only imagine the cost. So we returned the car  and then took  a car service from Sedona to  the Phoenix Airport for $70 with tip!  Totally worth it. 

 

Also you would have to find gas around the port to fill up the car and then find the car rental return and then a shuttle to the port.  Even if it costed more than the car rental I would much rather take Uber to the hotel in Disney and Uber to the port!

 

You can leave Disney around 9:00 AM and be at the port by 10:30 AM and hopefully checkin will open by then and be onboard at 11:00 AM.

 

Honestly this is how I would do it!

[travelplus]

2 hours ago, uksimonusa said:

 

Uber x and Uber XL are in abundance in this part of the state.

No please don't go with someone who says they have a Nissan Altima and will discount the rate. If they get into an accident you may or may not be covered. With Uber or a Car Service you would be covered under their insurance.

 

I do not trust anyone who is not part of Uber or  Lyft or a car service to just transport me off the clock.

 

 

[Capt_BJ]

one way one day car rentals can be had for around $40 (not every day and you need to SHOP)

 

UBER MCO to the port is $70 plus

Edited August 28, 2019 by Capt_BJ

[uksimonusa]

5 minutes ago, travelplus said:

Exactly with Disney not too far!  What you may want to do is spend a few nights on International Drive at Disney or off site and then get an Uber to the port. Renting a one way car rental is cumbersome and can come with extra charges to drop it off.

 

I was quoted $200 to do a one way in Arizona so I can only imagine the cost. So we returned the car  and then took  a car service from Sedona to  the Phoenix Airport for $70 with tip!  Totally worth it. 

 

Also you would have to find gas around the port to fill up the car and then find the car rental return and then a shuttle to the port.  Even if it costed more than the car rental I would much rather take Uber to the hotel in Disney and Uber to the port!

 

You can leave Disney around 9:00 AM and be at the port by 10:30 AM and hopefully checkin will open by then and be onboard at 11:00 AM.

 

Honestly this is how I would do it!

One way car rental from MCO to PC is very cheap, there are no extra one way charges, an Uber from Disney to the port will run you around $125.

 

[rosencra38]

 thanks all for the suggestions.  I'm going to go ahead and reserve a rental car from MCO to drop off at the port.  Does anyone know the hours that the shuttles from the car rental companies might run to the port?  Just wondering if I drop the car off at 9am if they'd make me wait a while before taking my family to the port.

[Clarea]

9 minutes ago, rosencra38 said:

 thanks all for the suggestions.  I'm going to go ahead and reserve a rental car from MCO to drop off at the port.  Does anyone know the hours that the shuttles from the car rental companies might run to the port?  Just wondering if I drop the car off at 9am if they'd make me wait a while before taking my family to the port.

 

Look at the website for the rental car company/location you are using for their operating hours.

 

Our experience with Avis in Cocoa Beach has been that they are open at 8 or 9am and close and 5 or 6pm.