RCI Shuttles from Port Canaveral to Orlando Airport

[James MTL]

I am flying in day before and will rent a car. On return, I have a flight out of Orlando at 12:30pm. I am going to sign up for the RCI Shuttle. What time is the first shuttle leaving the port and how often do they go.

 

Thanks...James

[asilde]

What do most people do for transfers to and from the port when flying in to Orlando? I have rented a van (had 6 with us), but I don't want to do that again since our returning flight leaves about 12:30 and it only the 2 of us. Any suggestions on other transfer company other that RCI's.... I did not like the RCI transfer procedure in the past or the price

[PattyG12]

We rented a car for the drive back. There are 4 of us. It was much theaper than using the RCI Shuttle and we can do it at our own pace.

[asilde]

If my flight was later I would rent a car.

[marci22]

Check out the thread "I work in Port Canaveral". http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=436720&highlight=work+port+canaveral&page=252

 

Do a search within the thread for shuttles, rentals, etc, if you don't find what you want on that link.

[LouisvilleDon]

We use Cocoa Beach Shuttle. web site http://www.cbshuttle.com/

Have a Great cruise.

Don

[MAHA]

We just sailed on the August 2-9 sailing of FOS. When we returned to Port Canaveral, we were off the ship by 8 am and had all of our luggage before 8:30. We had Red 2 luggage tags and were in the middle of the debarkation colors. We had filled out the paperwork for debarkation, leeting them know we had 4:45 flights out of Orlando. We took the rental car shutle to Budget. We were at the Budget rental car in Cape Canaveral before 9 am and on the road by 9:15 am. It is about a 45 minute drive to Orlando International Airport. I think with a 12:45 flight, you would have planty of time to rent a car and get to the airport on time. This was the quickest and most organized debarkation we have experienced. Our only other cruise have been out of smaller ports where they don;t have the volume of passengers that Port Canaveral has and that may explain how organized it was. We have only sailed out of Baltimore and Cape Liberty (Bayonne) before this cruise. A rental car on Sunday for a medium size car was about $88.00. It would hold 2-3 people and their luggage. Hope this helps!

Mary Anne

[yogimax]

I'm not sure if the hassle of renting a car, picking it up, dropping it off, etc., is worth the effort.

[asilde]

I'm not sure if the hassle of renting a car, picking it up, dropping it off, etc., is worth the effort.

 

 

Thats what I was thinking about the car rental...Too much work to get to the airport

 

 

I requested info from Cocoa Beach Shuttle...Thanks...maybe that will work as I'm not really worried about the timing.

[GarrenS]

What do most people do for transfers to and from the port when flying in to Orlando? I have rented a van (had 6 with us), but I don't want to do that again since our returning flight leaves about 12:30 and it only the 2 of us. Any suggestions on other transfer company other that RCI's.... I did not like the RCI transfer procedure in the past or the price

 

Hi-

we've gone out of PC a couple of times - I'd still recommend doing the car rental even with a 12:30 departure - that's about when we usually go out because we are going to the west coast. As people said, you are off by 8 or 8:30 usually, and the shuttle to the car place and rental pickup is pretty quick. I would recommend using Budget though, because their return is on airport property - no shuttle to get to the terminal needed (or at least it was the last time we did this) which saves you a ton of time. The shuttle services are either slow (RCI, have to wait for the bus to fill up) or expensive (private is usually close to $50 per person)

 

Just my 2 cents worth!

Garren

[James MTL]

Thanks for all the reply's but, as one poster said, the hassle is too much to risk. With 2 kids and baggage and getting to rental, waiting in line, getting car, hoping everything fits, etc. - Not worth the savings or stress. So, to get back to my original question - has anybody used the RCI shuttle and if so, when does first one elave and how often in between.

 

Thx...James

[asilde]

Budget rental is more expensive than the cocoa beach shuttle, the car was about $70.00 and the shuttle $33 for one $56 for two according to the website.... (Do you know if this pricing is that accurate? I have not recevied my requested info back from them yet)

 

Any one else here ever try the Cocoa Beach Shuttle?....seems like a good option.

[maxs mom]

I never recommend using the RCI shuttles. Cocoa Beach Shuttle is the way to go. They are right there. You just get in their shuttlebus and go.

[asilde]

I never recommend using the RCI shuttles. Cocoa Beach Shuttle is the way to go. They are right there. You just get in their shuttlebus and go.

 

 

Do you have to make a reservation??? or just get on the bus how about at the airport?

 

So sorry James!!!! I didn't mean to Hijack your thread but your question was so close to the information that I needed...just booked yesterday and I'm trying to get the details in order

[Sky616]

Do you have to make a reservation??? or just get on the bus how about at the airport?

 

So sorry James!!!! I didn't mean to Hijack your thread but your question was so close to the information that I needed...just booked yesterday and I'm trying to get the details in order

You need to make a reservation. We are booked in October to go from the ship to the airport. For three of us it is $62. Mention cruise critic when making the reservation and you get 10% off.

[Powriv]

We did Avis back to Orlando Airport and it was smooth as butter. Took about and hour to drive to Airport, then drop car off at airport where they have portable machines to check you out, then hop on elevator to departure level and your home free. Takes no time at all

 

Cost for Avis to Airport was $45

[marci22]

I'm not sure if the hassle of renting a car, picking it up, dropping it off, etc., is worth the effort.

 

I agree. You would have to do the express debarkation to be sure to be ahead of the crowd not only on FOS, but ahead of the people on the other ships in port (Disney and Carnival). It took us nearly 2 hours to retrieve our rental car because the shuttles were overcrowded and there were not enough cars at the rental facility.

[critterchick]

Budget rental is more expensive than the cocoa beach shuttle, the car was about $70.00 and the shuttle $33 for one $56 for two according to the website.... (Do you know if this pricing is that accurate? I have not recevied my requested info back from them yet)

 

Any one else here ever try the Cocoa Beach Shuttle?....seems like a good option.

 

I paid $50 to rent from Budget in June - I used them going to the port because I wanted to stop and pick up a few things on the way. I used Cocoa Beach Shuttle on the way back. They were $33 (forgot about the CC 10%) plus a tip. It worked fine for me.:)

[marci22]

We did Avis back to Orlando Airport and it was smooth as butter. Took about and hour to drive to Airport, then drop car off at airport where they have portable machines to check you out, then hop on elevator to departure level and your home free. Takes no time at all

 

Cost for Avis to Airport was $45

 

I used Avis, and my experience was that it took 2 hours from debarkation to getting back on the road to the airport. This did not include travel time TO the airport!

 

I would use Cocoa Beach Shuttle. They have mixed reviews but so do all the other places. A lot of people recommend Art's Shuttle, and we had to wait an hour for them to show up.

[maxs mom]

Art's Shuttle went out of business I think. Cocoa Beach Shuttle is your best bet. They are very good. And yes.....by all means.....make a reservation. I called them and mentioned Cruise Critic and got the 10% discount. They sent me a confirmation by e-mail.

[yogimax]

To answer the question - RCCL's shuttles will run continuously. As soon as one fills up it will leave and another will start the loading process.

[James MTL]

Interesting threads from everybody and don't worry about hijacking my original question. One common denominator in all the replies is "He says and she says". Again, I gotta make that flight back and with 2 other ships in port also getting off, I have heard too many stories of people getting confirmations from shuttles or cars or taxi's and they are late or don't show.

 

I just feel a tad better having RCI bill me for their shuttle and let them get me there. If anything goes bad, I think I'll have more luck complaining to them than some small company I'll never use again.

 

James

[marci22]

James I take your point, but what you should get out of all of this is that there are no guarantees, even with Royal. You have to minimize your own risks, being that you have a 12:30pm flight about an hour from the port.

 

So: you do the early debarkation, no waiting for your color to be called, your luggage is with you, you get off, you're done. All you have to do is pick up your car or wait for your shuttle. Even if you're running late, you have built time into your schedule.

 

Booking Royal is no guarantee of an optimal experience, although it very well may work out for you that way.

 

Good luck~

[dixie54]

We booked travelynx for our shuttle from Port Canaveral in October. Any used them? wonder if they give a 10% discount??

[whirlybird3]

Hi James,

 

Just something you may want to consider... Book a late flight & sign up for a tour of NASA. After the tour is over, RCI will shuttle you and your family back to the Orlando Airport. (Shuttle is included on this excursion)

 

Just check on the details on the information of the excursion of what time to book your flight. (I think it has to be after 1700)