Might have made a big mistake, need advice

[Pat]

Flying into Orlando(one 10/27) for a cruise out of PC(on 10/29).  I finally decided, since we are flying into Orlando later in the evening, to stay at an airport hotel, pickup a rental car the next morning and drive to PC hotel for the night of 10/29 and return car to a port shuttle location on the morning of the 29th.  Hotels are all booked and I'm just getting around to reserving the rental car.  ALL agencies are saying no cars available.  I never even imagined that there would be that many reservations that we couldn't get a car.  What shall I do?  PLEASE HELP>  I don't know where to turn.  If I called the agencies would I get a different answer?  THanks for any and all assistance!!  I shouldn't have waited so long....................

 

[Charles4515]

3 minutes ago, Pat said:

Flying into Orlando(one 10/27) for a cruise out of PC(on 10/29).  I finally decided, since we are flying into Orlando later in the evening, to stay at an airport hotel, pickup a rental car the next morning and drive to PC hotel for the night of 10/29 and return car to a port shuttle location on the morning of the 29th.  Hotels are all booked and I'm just getting around to reserving the rental car.  ALL agencies are saying no cars available.  I never even imagined that there would be that many reservations that we couldn't get a car.  What shall I do?  PLEASE HELP>  I don't know where to turn.  If I called the agencies would I get a different answer?  THanks for any and all assistance!!  I shouldn't have waited so long....................

 

Take an Uber or Lyft. 

[j603]

Have you looked into shuttles that can get you from mco to pc? Uber and/or taxis can be snagged for the other parts between hotel and teminals.

[Pat]

Yes and I'm sure I can probably do a shuttle or an Uber,  but we were really looking forward to having a car to drive around since we have a whole day in PC.  I guess I really screwed up..............last time I looked at Budget Rentals (which was Wednesday)  there were plenty of offers........now nothing.

 

[rkacruiser]

4 minutes ago, Pat said:

last time I looked at Budget Rentals (which was Wednesday)  there were plenty of offers........now nothing

 

Have you checked with other rental car companies?  

[EatonDoolittle]

I just did a quick search on Kayak and it appears there are cars available for pick up in MCO and return to MLB (Melbourne airport). I did not check drop off at Port Canaveral or Cocoa. 

 

Not cheap, but if you must have a car, they are available. Uber or shuttle from MLB to the port, about a half hour. 

 

[cruisegirl1976]

We are doing the same thing but just getting a shuttle to cocoa beach,, plenty to do without needed a car.. there is a trolley that goes around cocoa beach, you may want to find a hotel near one of the shuttle stops. 

[Pat]

1 minute ago, cruisegirl1976 said:

We are doing the same thing but just getting a shuttle to cocoa beach,, plenty to do without needed a car.. there is a trolley that goes around cocoa beach, you may want to find a hotel near one of the shuttle stops. 

The hotels are already booked, so no option for changing the locations.  I just had a thought,  it seems like the lack of cars is at MCO,  so maybe if I Uber to another location Friday morning I can reserve a car there.  I'll go have a look see......

[CruiserBruce]

The lack of cars is probably due to Hurricane Ian. Lots of people suddenly need cars, plus FEMA and other responders flying in need cars. I have seen this sort of car problem in other major emergency situations, but usually the car agencies can move more cars into the area for specific clients, like the federal government. However, the car agencies don't have the excess in their fleets like they used to prior to Covid.

 

I agree with the suggestion to use Uber/Lyft.

[Ashland]

You can try the transportation company we used this past April "Cruise Control"

 

As far as a rental car if you're a member have you tried Costco.

[Charles4515]

3 hours ago, Pat said:

Yes and I'm sure I can probably do a shuttle or an Uber,  but we were really looking forward to having a car to drive around since we have a whole day in PC.  I guess I really screwed up..............last time I looked at Budget Rentals (which was Wednesday)  there were plenty of offers........now nothing.

 

Keep trying.

 

Another rental option is Turo. I now someone who uses that. People rent their personal cars on an app like Airbnb. I never tried it and probaly never would but you might check it out.

[volk904]

Easy solution.  Since your original plan would have been to return to the airport to get a rental car just return to the airport and take a shuttle to Port C.  Once in port C you can walk or take Ubers where you need to go. We have used Coco Beach Shuttle in the past.  They are pretty good but there is others. 

[BoozinCroozin]

Rental cars have been in short supply for a while. Even more so now since a lot were destroyed with Ian. There are plenty of shuttle services and that would be your best option if you can't get a rental. As for hotels, there is absolutely no shortage. You don't have to stay in PC. You can stay in Orlando and head over in the morning. It would be cheaper most likely anyway with better amenities.

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

I've noticed this NO CARS AVAILABLE message for many cities, not just Orlando. The problem is not that there aren't any cars, it's that many car companies don't want to do one way rentals which is what MCO-PCN is. If you inputted MCO-MCO, there would be cars showing.

Suggestions:

*Try Priceline and Expedia too where all rental companies are compared at the same time. Many car rental companies do NOT have a Cape Canaveral office so that limits it.

* Try National, which at one time liked to advertise one way rentals.

* Do consider dropping at Melbourne Airport (MLB) and then taxi/uber to your hotel from there. All the major rental companies are there so it opens the possibility. Or keep the car at your hotel, drive to MLB  the day of your cruise and then cruise line shuttle or taxi/uber to the ship afterwards.

 

 

[Pat]

Thought I would let you all know how we ended up.  I kept checking the budget rental site for PC and FINALLY got an available notice,  so I booked right away.  It is not cheap to do a one way rental.  Around $100 for the day.  We stayed at an airport hotel (Wingate) which was great for an overnight stay,  very clean, very quiet and restaurants within walking distance.  We took an early morning Wingate shuttle back to the  airport (it appeared that lots of people do that,  either to catch another flight or to access shuttles, and picked up our reserved car,  drove to Cocoa Beach, toured around, went to the beaches and basically just sightseeing.  We checked into our Cocoa Beach hotel (checkin time was 4 and check out was 11 which doesn't give you much time to enjoy the hotel amenities if you are only there for a one night stay.  The Hotel/resort was noisy and crowded,  trying to check in was particulary bad,  it was after 4:30 before we were able to check in and get a room.  The room was very dated and just plain shabby for over $200/night.  There was a child (not a baby) screaming in the next room until after 11 p.m. (and I mean screaming at his parents, very nasty.)  We got up the next morning and returned our rental car and rode the Budget shuttle to the pier,  very easy but very crowded.  When we returned from our cruise we had another car reserved and waited for the Budget shuttle back to the agency for 2 1/2 hours (YES you read this right) and that was with 3 calls asking where it was,  turned out the driver didn't show until late.  The agents at Budget in PC are not friendly.  Anyway,  we drove back to Orlando,  did some touring there and caught our evening flight out (the overcrowding and disorganization at MCO is another story,  next time I will try to fly into the smaller airport in PC.  Anyway that's how it all turned out!!!!!!!!!