Which Hotel? should I rent a car or shuttle?

[roque]

I am cruising on Sunday and the cruise leaves from Port Canaveral, I am arriving at Orlando International airport on Saturday and I am traveling with two small children. I am looking for a hotel in Orlando near the exit to Port Canaveral any recommendations?

Also I was thinking of renting a car in the airport and leaving it on Port Canaveral, any suggestion or comments?

[GTO-Girl]

Keep in mind Orlando is 45 min to 1 hr away so it seems Most people like the idea of renting a car one-way at the airport, driving to Cape Canaveral and turning their car in the next morning before heading to the port. There are several car rentals around and I believe they will drop you off.......Then do the reverse to go back to Orlando at the end of the cruise.

 

In Cape Canaveral the closest motels to the port and the ones that seem to be the more popular are the Country Inn and Suites, Residence Inn and the Radisson at the Port.

 

Look under the Florida departures thread on here and find the "The New I Work in Canaveral" thread. There is a lot of info already on there about car rentals, etc. Shirley who frequents that thread is a local lady who can give you all the info you need......she's great!!!!

[PattyG12]

Obviously this is just my opinion. We rented a car at MCO. It gave us the freedom to have a nice dinner (Grills ... if you need a recommendation), explore Coco Beach and go get a case of water. We rented from Budget, which was cheaper than getting a shuttle. When we were ready to go to the ship, we went to budget and they took us right to the dock immediately. It was definitely the only way to go. We stayed at the Radisson resort at the port. There was a very nice pool area and there were lots of kids enjoying themselves. They also offered a shuttle but it seemed to me that it was a bit of a "cluster" that morning. When the ship docked, we went to the budget shuttle that was waiting. We rented another one way car and spent the day at Universal Studios before going to the airport to head home. Have a great trip!! I'm jealous (from the snowy mid atlantic)

[cruisetraveler2]

We also stayed at the Radisson which is very close to the port. If you rent a car you can leave it at the hotel and take their shuttle. You must pre-book your time slot for the shuttle. They were running a bit behind schedule the day of our cruise so we took a taxi instead. I think it was maybe $4.00 pp. We did use the shuttle after the cruise to get back to the hotel and it worked well. Have a great time!!

[roque]

Thanks to everyone, it seems that renting a car one way is the way to go. Actually I need to stay in Orlando since I am buying the Hotel with a reward and no options in Cape Canaveral are available.

[roque]

Thanks for your replies, I just came back and we stayed at the Florida Mall and Conference center which is inside the Florida Mall and it was very convenient for us.

 

We rented a car from Orlando Airport and left it at Cape canaveral and then at the end of the cruise, we rented a car in cape canaveral and returned it in Orlando Airport. It was very convenient. We used Budget and the car costed us around $70

[Mydnite]

We fly into MCO rent a car and get to the port the night before. On the morning of the cruise we take the car back to the rental place, and get the free rental car shuttle to the port. We used budget, it was very easy, and the shuttles stared running early as they were already collecting people leaving.

 

On the way back we did it in reverse :) It will give you more freedom in the evening with two children in tow.