When to book a rental car for Spring break cruise

[lklgoodman]

We have done a lot of cruises in Jan and early March. But now my dd is in junior high so she can't miss school so we are now taking a cruise during her Spring break at the end of March. This will also be our first time to rent a car to get from MCO to Port Canaveral. I just booked our plane tickets yesterday. Should I book a rental car now or do you think I could wait until Jan? Not sure how late is too late to get one, flights were already slim pickings. If you have recently booked a rental car for both before and after your cruise, did you have any problems with your reservation? My dh recently booked with Enterprise for a work trip and when he showed up to get the car they didn't have a car for him, even though he had a reservation. Any rental place you do or don't recommend? Thanks for any tips.

 

[anneeb]

I booked my spring break car through Costco. So far their price has consistently been lower than through the rental companies site. I've rebooked once because the price went down. I will spot check prices 1-2 times per week and keep adjusting if they go down. If not then, I've at least locked in the lowest price.

 

[brentm77]

Book now. Rates usually go up as you get closer. If they go down, all major brands let you rebook for the same date and cancel the older reservation. If you do rebook, just make sure you keep the new reservation confirmation handy when traveling, since I have had companies try to charge me the originally-booked rate.

 

[lklgoodman]

I booked my spring break car through Costco. So far their price has consistently been lower than through the rental companies site. I've rebooked once because the price went down. I will spot check prices 1-2 times per week and keep adjusting if they go down. If not then, I've at least locked in the lowest price.

Unfortunately we aren't Cosco members, we live in a small town and don't have one in our town.

 

[Macprincess]

As a Florida resident I feel compelled to inform you that even in the best of times car rentals at the height of spring break, which is pretty much all of March and the two weeks flanking Easter, is always difficult and expensive. Add in this years lack of inventory and staffing issues due to Covid and its bound to be more expensive. Also, lines at the car rental places, especially at the airports, have been long lately. If you're going to book a car rental I highly suggest you book now.

Honestly, if you only need the car to get you to and from the port I would look into car service. Most will do a quick stop at a market or liquor store if you would like. By the time you either paid for parking at the port or dealt with the hassle of returning the car at the port and picking up a new upon returning from the cruise it really isn't that much more expensive. It also save tons of time.

 

[lklgoodman]

As a Florida resident I feel compelled to inform you that even in the best of times car rentals at the height of spring break, which is pretty much all of March and the two weeks flanking Easter, is always difficult and expensive. Add in this years lack of inventory and staffing issues due to Covid and its bound to be more expensive. Also, lines at the car rental places, especially at the airports, have been long lately. If you're going to book a car rental I highly suggest you book now.

Honestly, if you only need the car to get you to and from the port I would look into car service. Most will do a quick stop at a market or liquor store if you would like. By the time you either paid for parking at the port or dealt with the hassle of returning the car at the port and picking up a new upon returning from the cruise it really isn't that much more expensive. It also save tons of time.

Thank you for that info. I'm looking into all my options right now and want to have everything booked pretty soon. I'm going look at different car services. I may just book at the Hyatt or a Disney Resort and do Disney transfers. I know I need to decide soon since Spring Break is a popular time. Our flights were 4 times the cost of previous Jan flights. Thanks again.

 

[Colo17]

I get my rentals through Avis, since the company I retired from has a contract with them. I always book as early as possible because they can "sell out" of rentals. I seem to recall that joining Avis Preferred is free, and once this is done your car will often be in an assigned slot when you arrive at the airport (yup, have had missing cars, wrong cars and "see Preferred desk" in the last year). If things work, you go from the luggage returns to your car and never even see a car rental agent. If things are not working right you keep refreshing the app while waiting in line at the Preferred desk.

Been a while, but Budget and Hertz also worked pretty much the same way for me in the past.

 

[Momlovestigger]

I booked my spring break car through Costco. So far their price has consistently been lower than through the rental companies site. I've rebooked once because the price went down. I will spot check prices 1-2 times per week and keep adjusting if they go down. If not then, I've at least locked in the lowest price.

I do the same I have rebooked car rentals several times for the same time of rental Just watch for lowest price sometimes it's no refundable.Costco is a great for Car rentals