Rental companies rated for cruisers · Enterprise
Enterprise often has a desk a short cab ride from your ship — we found an office near the terminal at 15 of the 23 cruise ports we've researched, level with Avis. The trouble is the calendar, not the map — many of those city branches close on Sundays, and plenty of cruises end on a weekend. It scores 7.3, second of ten by our cruiser method.
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A dense neighborhood network, toll-day-only TollPass pricing and the top J.D. Power 2026 score carry Enterprise to 7.3. Weekend branch hours are what hold it back.
Who it suits
Price it at your port
Pick the port and we'll show what Enterprise offers there, the two strongest alternatives by our score, and a link that opens Discover Cars at the right airport.
Pick a port to see Enterprise's access there.
On Discover Cars
Every company at the airport, side by side, with the fees broken out before you pay.
Compare rental pricesPartner link: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It doesn't change the scores. Our review.
Also strong at this port
Port by port
Port Canaveral is the one place Enterprise runs a cruise shuttle. The 710 Mullet Rd office, shared with National and Alamo, carries cruise passengers to and from the terminals free until a last run at 3 PM — though it showed as closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays on Sept 27, 2026 (our Port Canaveral guide has the detail).
Elsewhere you get a nearby branch, not a shuttle: 751 Monticello Ave in Norfolk is 0.9 mi from the terminal, 1601 3rd Ave in Seattle is 0.9 mi from Pier 66, and 350 Beach St in San Francisco is 1.0 mi from Pier 27. In Galveston, Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Enterprise branches say they won't do port pick-ups or returns.
Three ports stay unsettled — the Port of LA says the San Pedro branch drives cruisers to the terminal while Enterprise's own page says it doesn't, and the San Diego and South Boston branches use call-us wording we couldn't pin down. Ring the branch the week before you sail.
Tap a port for the details, the source and that port's rental guide.
The fine print that bites on a cruise trip
These are Enterprise's US policies as its own pages stated them on Oct 21, 2026.
Most are set nationally. One-way and young-renter charges move by location, so treat those as a starting point, not a quote.
Enterprise says airport branches take after-hours returns, many around the clock, while neighborhood branches generally want the car back in business hours. A drop-box car stays your responsibility until it's checked in the next business day.
Source: enterprise.com/en/car-rental-faqs/us-reservations/location · checked Oct 21, 2026
Airports take debit only with a ticketed return itinerary and a license address matching your home; the payment page speaks to disembarking passengers directly. Neighborhood branches may want extra proof, and deposit figures vary, so ask the branch.
Source: enterprise.com/en/car-rental-faqs/us-deposits-and-payments · checked Oct 21, 2026
TollPass costs $4.95 on each day you use a toll, plus tolls at the highest undiscounted cash rate, capped at $34.65 a rental. The FY26 document doesn't mention Florida's SunPass, whose own site says customers can add a rental plate.
Source: enterprise.com/content/dam/e-links/TollPass-fy26.pdf · checked Oct 21, 2026
Each extra driver costs $15 a day, or $5 in New York. A spouse or domestic partner who meets the age and license rules drives free, and on a debit rental they're the only one you can add.
Source: enterprise.com/en/car-rental-faqs/us-general/additional-dr · checked Oct 21, 2026
One-ways must be booked ahead, and a drop or mileage charge may apply, shown at booking and paid at pickup. Enterprise says even a same-city return can carry one.
Source: enterprise.com/en/car-rental-faqs/us-general/one-way-car-r · checked Oct 21, 2026
Most US-rented cars may go into Canada, excluding exotics, large vans and specialty vehicles. None may be driven into Mexico.
Source: enterprise.com/en/car-rental-faqs/us-general/driving-renta · checked Oct 21, 2026
No fee if you didn't prepay — prepaid US bookings lose $50 when cancelled more than 24 hours out and $100 inside 24 hours or for a no-show.
Source: enterprise.com/en/car-rental-faqs/us-reservations/change-c · checked Oct 21, 2026
Before you compare base rates
Comparison sites show the base rate. These are the add-ons Enterprise publishes, so you can see the real total before you tap through — anything it doesn't publish shows at checkout, and we say so rather than guess.
Figures from enterprise.com rental FAQs, read October 21, 2026; tolls themselves, taxes and airport fees come on top. See the sources.
Now compare the base rateHow the score adds up
Fees score highest at 8.5, thanks to toll-day-only TollPass pricing and free pay-later cancellation. Satisfaction adds 8.1. The port criterion, 7.5, rewards coverage, not service — fifteen nearby offices and a single shuttle.
Timing is the drag at 5.5. A branch a mile from the pier doesn't help if it's shut when you dock — Norfolk's downtown desk, for one, keeps Saturday hours of 9 to noon and closes on Sunday.
Weighted Seabound cruiser score 7.3 / 10 · rank 2 of 10 · How we score
What renters say
J.D. Power's 2026 North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study, released Oct 7, 2026, put Enterprise first of 13 brands at 739, against a study average of 707. The American Customer Satisfaction Index's 2026 travel study, released Apr 21, 2026, scored it 76 — level with the industry figure, not above it.
J.D. Power surveys airport renters only, so first place describes the airport desks — the Sunday hours at the city branches are a separate question, and the one we'd check first. (J.D. Power figures via TravelPulse and Auto Rental News coverage.)
Side by side
Avis tops our cruiser score at 7.9 with three Florida pier shuttles and steadier city-desk hours. National prints the same toll and grace-period rules as Enterprise but lives mostly at airports — weigh it if you're collecting the car on the way in.
| Enterprise | Avis | National | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seabound cruiser score | 7.3 | 7.9 | 6.8 |
| Pier shuttles (of 23 ports) | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Near-port offices | 15 | 15 | 4 |
| J.D. Power 2026 | 739 | 696 | 726 |
| Toll program | TollPass $4.95/toll day, $34.65 cap | e-Toll $6.95/toll day, $34.95 cap | TollPass $4.95/toll day, $34.65 cap |
| Extra driver | $15/day; spouse/partner free | $13/day most states; spouse free | $15/day; Emerald Club family free |
| Under-25 drivers | 21+ (18 MI/NY); about $25/day | 21+ (18 NY/MI); fee varies (MCO $27/day) | 21+; about $25/day for 21–24 |
| One-way rentals | Book ahead; drop charge varies | Most locations: no drop fee | Airport to airport: typically no fee |
| Canada / Mexico | Canada most cars · Mexico no | Canada yes · Mexico corporate only | Canada most cars · Mexico no |
| Loyalty / counter skip | Enterprise Plus (points) | Avis Preferred (free) | Emerald Club (Emerald Aisle) |
| Cancelling | Pay later free; prepaid $50–$100 | Pay Now: $50–$150 fee | Fee terms not published |
Our take
Enterprise earns its 7.3 mostly on proximity — at most ports there's a branch within a cab ride of the hotel you stayed in the night before.
That proximity runs on weekday hours. The branches we list near Tampa, Jacksonville, Baltimore and San Diego close on Sundays, and Galveston's island branch shuts at 1 PM at weekends.
Open the branch page for your exact disembarkation day before you book, and switch the reservation to the airport if the city desk's hours don't cover your arrival.
Discover Cars shows Enterprise next to the other companies at your airport for your dates, with the fees broken out before you pay.
Free cancellation up to 48 hours before pickup on Discover Cars · prices from many companies side by side · the deposit stays with the rental company. Partner link: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Our Discover Cars review.
The other nine
Questions
Only at Port Canaveral, from the 710 Mullet Rd office it shares with National and Alamo. It's free for cruise passengers, the last run is 3 PM, and the office showed as closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays in September 2026. None of the other 22 ports we track has a confirmed Enterprise pier shuttle.
At airport locations, yes, if you have a ticketed return itinerary and your license address matches your home address. Neighborhood branches set their own debit rules, so call the one you've booked.
Most US-rented Enterprise cars may go into Canada. The one-way must be booked ahead, and its drop or mileage charge appears at booking — Enterprise publishes no Seattle-to-Vancouver figure. Its downtown Vancouver page also lists a 19.15% premium location charge on one-ways ending at YVR (checked Oct 2, 2026).
Often not. Our port pages show Sunday closures at the Tampa, Jacksonville Northside, Baltimore Fells Point, Norfolk Downtown and San Diego Little Italy branches, while New Orleans' 1939 Canal St opens 8 to 5. Check the branch page for your date.
$4.95 for each day you use a toll, plus the tolls, up to $34.65 a rental, according to Enterprise's FY26 TollPass document checked Oct 21, 2026. Driving through a toll lane opts you in. In Florida, SunPass says its own customers can add a rental's plate to their account instead.
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