Car rental return question pre-cruise (cruising from port canaveral)

[clh2]

Hello, just looking for some intel: We will have 2 rental cars, and will be spending a couple of days in the Disney parks prior to our cruise. The plan is to leave our Disney-area hotel the morning of the cruise, and drive to Port Canaveral, get our checked luggage checked, and then get the rental cars returned, and have those 2 adults take shuttle back to the terminal, and meet back with the rest of the group.

What is a realistic time frame to do this? Ie how long does it take to drive to return the rental and take shuttle back.

And, is this process any better or worse with specific car rental companies?

I would love to know your experiences!

 

[sjuncfan]

"it depends". We used Hertz in December. Dropping off the car was super quick but I had a question for them and had to wait in line which took a while. The shuttles were sort of few and far between. We weren't in a rush so I didn't really pay attention to the timing but it was probably like 20 minutes til we got on a shuttle. Then it's quick to the port - like 5 minutes.

We considered doing what you are describing but decided to just take our stuff on the rental car shuttle. Honestly felt like more of a hassle to deal with the port drop-off in addition to the rental car shuttle.

We did the same thing with Avis a few years ago and the timing was similar.

 

[clh2]

In some regards taking everything to the car rental place would be easier…BUT, my daughter will not let her kiddos ride without car seats, I would love to just be doing the Disney buses for this trip, but there would still be the car seat situation.

While it has made this trip planning interesting, originally they were going to drive, not fly. I fully support her decisions as a mom..just trying to get it all figured out in the most cost efficient way.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We have dropped off rental cars at their PC agencies with National, Alamo, and Budget. We usually drop off passengers and luggage at the port, then the driver uses the shuttle back to the port. Returns with National and Alamo were quick, since they had an attendant roving the return line with a tablet to check in cars and print receipts. After parking the car in the indicated location, I went directly to the shuttle and was off to the port within 15 minutes each time. At Budget, I had to wait in a long line at the counter to check in the car. The agent staffing the counter was working both check-in and check-out lines, roughly alternating between them. A second person was checking the fuel levels, condition, etc. of returned cars. The process was very slow, and then there was a long wait for the shuttle back to the port as well.

When we used the Budget shuttle to pick up another rental at the end of that cruise, we had a 30-minute wait for a shuttle from the port and we then faced that long, slow line to check-out the car. We then waited some more until someone dropped off a car meeting our reservation requirements (a full size sedan, so nothing that unusual), since I didn’t want to drive the large SUV we were offered as a “free” upgrade. We left the ship at 9 am and didn’t leave the Budget location until close to 11:30. I will avoid Budget for any cruise port drop-off or pick-up rentals in the future.

 

[RedHead0186]

I'd allot about half an hour to do this. It's a quick drive from the rental car place to/from port (like 5 minutes). Where you might take some time is 1)returning the vehicle (if an agent isn't immediately available to check in your rental) and 2)waiting for the shuttle. I always use National and have good luck with that. One time I had to wait a bit for a shuttle, it was probably only like, 10-15 minutes but it felt like foreverrrrrrr of course because I'm waiting to get back to port to my family so we can get on a cruise ship (and also because I was in the waiting room with a large group sailing on Carnival that had some questionable shirts and their conversation wasn't quite my cup of tea, lol).

 

[jcarwash]

I've been using National for my last 5 cruises out of Port Canaveral. The Alamo/Enterprise/National office is within the port boundaries itself, so it's the shortest ride. My experience with them and the shuttles has been very good. My family and I have stayed together when using the National shuttle. So far we've tended to have shuttle drivers that group all the Disney people together so we're not stopping at other cruise terminals.

I used to rent from Hertz, but I haven't used them since 2016. That office was closed for a while and another (not brand name) rental business was operating out of it, but now it's back to being Hertz. It's pretty close to the port and back when I did drop off my family and luggage, and then return the car, it was with Hertz and I had decent experiences with them.

Once once back in 2011 did I use the Avis office, for a post-cruise rental. It was not good. Their shuttle pickup took forever. The office is also further away from the port, heading south.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We used Budget for years when the kids were little. We never had a miserable experience, it was all fine, but you need a bit of patience-office is small, lines are sometimes really long. My husband had status with National-we switched to them. Spacious office, right near the terminal. Plenty of space to wait and reasonable restrooms. We never seem to wait at National either dropping off or picking up. Not sure if it is just luck or they are really good at it. We have been using them for several years now. We never do the port shuffle- dropping off and then one person shuttling back. With National, it is not worth your time to do so.

 

[SnowWhite2]

My DH always drops off luggage and passengers at the port and returns the car, no matter which cruise line or port. It is always easy for him to jump on a shuttle, usually as a passenger up front, as a single rider with no luggage.

 

[CastawayCayLover]

I used to drop off the family and luggage and then return the car to Avis. Half hour is about right for timing. I found it easier to get on the shuttle as a solo rider with no luggage, they fill up quickly.