Rental Car One Way????

[gooselover]

Have any of you ever done this? Don't you find it more expensive? The reason for my question is that I have found it easier to book our own airfare into Orlando. We could then rent a car, drive to Cape Canaveral and get a hotel for the night and drop off the car somewhere in CC.

 

Then shuttle to the port...cruise, come back, re-rent a car, drive back to Orlando.

 

What has been your experience in rental cars one-way????

[WiseGirl]

We did this on one of our first cruises out of Port Canaveral a few years ago (with Avis) and it worked very well. We have an upcoming Mariner cruise in Feb and are planning to do it again because we will be flying in a day ahead and staying overnight in Orlando and staying overnight again before we fly out. The rental car option ends up being waaaay cheaper than a limo service. I just priced both Avis and Budget today and decided to go with Avis. There are lots of posts on the subject if you do a search, but I've collected the following info - hope it helps and sorry I didn't give credit to the OPs - the rental car places are very close to the Port and they will shuttle you after you drop off the car:

 

The rental offices are between the hotel and the port - in Cocoa Beach. Avis, Budget, Hertz & Thrifty all have rental locations at the airport and in Cocoa Beach (all the rental location are within two miles of each other). I rented from Avis. Avis has a free shuttle between the rental office and the port. I was very happy with the service from Avis.

 

The Budget Rental Facility in Cape Canaveral is CC5.

 

The address is 8401 ASTRONAUT BLVD. CAPE CANAVERAL, FL 32920

 

There is an AVIS in CapeCanaveral as well ( P3F ) the address is

 

6650 N Atlantic Ave, Cape Canaveral, FL

[Gator0178]

I agree with previous post. Avis is the way to go. Good service and fair price.

[amybear912]

there are also several reliable shuttle options too...

 

We usually fly into Orlando, take a shuttle to PC... we stay at the Radisson and take their free shuttle over to the pier in the morning...

 

The shuttle company then picks us up at pier when we return and we're back to the airport...

 

costs us about what renting a car would without the hassle...

[wolfcathorse]

Florida doesn't have 1-way penalty fees, except in the cities of Miami and Jacksonville (I think). We rented Budget 1 way at Orlando for $38.66 for 1 day. We picked it up the evening before the cruise, had it to drive around Orlando that night, then the next day drove ourselves to Port Canaveral.

[WiseGirl]

amybear912 - you might want to post your shuttle options and prices ... the ones I checked from CC were more expensive than renting a car. I forgot to add to my original post - we like our independence and are willing to put up with the "hassle" of renting cars. For our upcoming trip we want the freedom to have our own wheels - pick the car up in MCO for the day before the cruise - stay in Orlando and have some fun - drop it at the port to get on the ship - all on our own timeframe. And the same in reverse when we get back to Port Canaveral. It's all about what you want in a vacation - we don't like depending on others for transportation (and I did research the option of using a shuttle service). Like most other things about a vacation it's about your personal likes and dislikes.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Amybear,

I'd also be interested in this cheap shuttle. We have 3 persons and last cruise in August cost me $44 and some change for a Chevy Impala. Drove to the beach and down to Sonnys BBQ pit for dinner and returned it the next day.

 

Bill

[flamedFXSTC]

We rented from Thrifty. I think it was around $35 for a one way rental to Cape Canaveral. We checked into our hotel, drove down about a mile to the Thrifty location and dropped the car off. Thrifty then shuttled us back to the hotel. In the morning, we took another shuttle from the hotel to the pier. When we got back from the cruise, Thrifty picked us up at the pier and took us back to thier office. We rented a car car, drove back to Orlando, and spent the day exploring the Disney area.

 

Another option I learned from a couple we met is to take your rental car back to Thrifty on the morning of the cruise. Thrifty will take you to the pier. This avoids the long lines for the hotel shuttle...

[wraithe]

The only caution about renting a car at MCO to P'Can, or vice versa, make sure that your rental car company is open on Sunday in P'Can. If you're just plugging in stuff on the computer, you'll find that you can drop off cars at some of the offices in Port Canaveral, but they aren't open. I used Budget's CC5 office, and they are fantastic people to work with. In the interest of full disclosure, doesn't that sound politically correct, there was a recent post from someone who had to wait a long time for the shuttle, and then wait at the Budget office, but that's the only complaint I've ever heard and I read all of these threads. I personally, and this in IMHO, can't imagine why anyone would spend more money for a shuttle, and not have a vehicle if they're staying overnight. I can grudgingly understand if they're going straight from the airport to the ship or back, but not if you're going to stay overnight. Again, JMHO, YMMV.