Transportation Choices: to/from Orlando Airport (MCO), Cape Canaveral, Port Canaveral

February 2018

We flew into the Orlando airport for a cruise from Port Canaveral. We needed transportation three different times: from the airport to Cape Canaveral, from our hotel in Cape Canaveral to the port, and from the port back to the airport. Following are the options we found, and our experiences.

Transportation for three from Orlando Airport (MCO) to Cape Canaveral

• If you are heading directly to the cruise port, the Carnival shared transfer service is $35.99 per person one-way. 
• There is also a link for a private car service on the Carnival page, which looked to be around $66 before tip. This seems like the best choice, if you do not want to use Uber.
• The online cab fare estimator said this trip would cost over $100 in a cab.
• We chose Uber, and the fare was less than $50 before tip. We were happy with the end result of this trip; however, we had some difficulty at the start. The first Uber driver who showed up refused to take us. We are three small to average size adults, and we had three pieces of luggage; one large bag, and two medium to large size bags. He said he did not have room, which was untrue. The second driver who showed up was Murat, and he was great. He had a smaller vehicle than the first driver, and we all easily fit in his car with our luggage in the trunk. I think the first driver did not want to take us that far, and then have to drive all the way back, most likely without a fare (it is about 45 miles one-way). I wanted to report the first driver; however, his name disappeared from the app as soon as he left. I had received a text from him before he arrived, and his number is (407) 439-2406. I will make sure I never do business with that number again, and I will advise others to avoid it. After we waited 10 minutes for him, we had to request the trip again via the app, and then wait for another driver. The Uber app says you have to be ready when requesting the ride; however, at MCO I observed three other passengers also waiting over 10 minutes for Uber drivers.

Map of the area

Transportation from Cape Canaveral hotel to Port Canaveral (Carnival cruise port)

• When I asked hotel staff about a local cab company, they gave me the telephone number for a transportation service, which provides shuttle/shared van service for $16 per person.
• I ended that call, and then looked up area taxi companies online on my own. After I called a few, I scheduled a pickup with a Always Available taxi for 11:00 AM the next day at the rate of $13 total (for all three of us), before tip.
• The next morning, I received a call at 10 minutes to 11:00 from the company telling me the driver was behind schedule about 15 minutes. He asked if we wanted to wait. We had just arrived outside the hotel to wait when he called. At the very same time, an Uber diver who had driven up, answered a call from his rider who was cancelling on him. So, we ended up taking Uber to the port. We had not gotten this driver via the app, so his trip was not logged, and we just paid him in cash. He said the $13 fare (pre-tip) that the cab driver had given was acceptable. This driver had an Uber sign for his dash and identification. At the port, he was able to drive right up to drop us off in the correct area within a matter of minutes.

Post-cruise transportation from Port Canaveral

We planned to visit Kennedy Space Center after the cruise, so we rented a car from Hertz. I used points to make the reservation beforehand, which cost me fours times the points usually needed. A free weekend day starts at 550 points, and I had to use 2,200 points for this rental. We reserved the car for 8:30 AM at the Cape Canaveral location, with a 24-hour return at a location near our airport hotel in Orlando. The Hertz location in Cape Canaveral is located adjacent to the Residence Inn where we stayed before the cruise. The location where we returned the car is inside the Orlando Airport Marriott Lakeside.

I visited Hertz next to the Residence Inn before our cruise to ask how the shuttle pickup works at the port, and all they told me is that it goes to the port whenever the cruise ships come in. They did not look up my reservation or provide their telephone number, even though I asked to confirm things. I was merely told the shuttle would be there. After our cruise, the Hertz shuttle was just leaving the port as we walked to the pickup area after disembarking the ship, and the driver did not see us. I called Hertz, and found out they return every half hour. We thought about taking a cab; however, there was a wait for a cab, so we got on the Hertz shuttle when it returned.

The Hertz location in Cape Canaveral was chaotic. I got in line behind a guest waiting at the Gold counter when I arrived. No one assisted customers in this area until after I said something. After a staff member waited on the second customer who had just entered without acknowledging customers in the Gold line, I walked up to the counter and told him he was assisting customers who just walked in the door, when Gold customers had already been waiting. After this, another employee walked over to ask if we are Gold members, and then she started assisting us. Even if we had not been Gold members, they still chose to wait on customers walking in the door, rather than customers who had been waiting. A customer behind me in line thanked me for speaking up. The fact that we had Gold reservations did not really matter, because they did not have our key packets prepared, like most locations. By the time I got to the counter, it was almost 9:30 AM for my 8:30 AM reservation, and I had to wait while she found me a vehicle, and then get my paperwork ready. She had done the same thing for the customer before me. There were at least four customers in the Gold line behind me by the time I got my vehicle. When they are this busy with cruise passengers renting vehicles, it should be even more important to prepare reserved vehicles beforehand for things to flow smoothly! This was the worst service I have ever experienced at Hertz.

Returning the vehicle at the Orlando Marriott was a tad tricky, since there is not a Hertz sign designating where to park the vehicle. I called the location after I followed the Hertz signage onto the Marriott property, to ask where to park. The attendant asked where I was, and then he came out to get the car. He said he would park it, and then meet me inside at the counter. Other than not knowing where to park, the return experience was excellent.

Having a rental car after the cruise to return to the airport area is a good way to go. Hertz is usually my favorite rental car company; however, I suggest checking with other rental car companies beforehand to make sure how their process works. It may be a lot more efficient than Hertz! I observed a shuttle for Enterprise while we were at the cruise port.

Let me know if you have any questions. I will have more cruise and area information posts up soon.