Rental companies rated for cruisers · Hertz
Hertz keeps a city desk close to a lot of cruise terminals, from 0.4 miles away in Montréal to the same street as the terminal in Seward. It runs no pier shuttle we could confirm at any of our 23 ports — and at Port Canaveral its own office says there isn't one. You get yourself to the counter, so that desk's hours, not a shuttle timetable, decide whether Hertz works for your sailing.
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6.2 out of 10, sixth of ten by our method. Plenty of desks near the ships — held back by Sunday closures, a spouse fee unless you hold top Gold Plus Rewards status and Florida tolls billed by the day.
Who it suits
Price it at your port
Pick the port and we'll show what Hertz 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 Hertz'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
Hertz has a desk near the terminal at 12 of the 23 ports on our board, airport counters only at 8, and an unconfirmed picture at 3. The nearest thing to a port office is Port Canaveral, where the 8963 Astronaut Blvd desk (open 8 to 3 daily when we checked in September) takes the car but says in writing there's no shuttle from the port.
The near-port desks are mostly city counters. Tampa's is at 700 S Florida Ave, 0.6 miles from Terminal 3; New Orleans has 901 Convention Center Blvd, 0.5 miles from Julia St. Several keep Saturday hours of 9 to noon and close Sunday — fine for embarkation, tight for a morning off the ship.
The three unconfirmed ports are the tempting ones. PortMiami and the Port of Los Angeles both say Hertz offers rides to the terminal, and only Hertz UK lists a Port Everglades office at 1850 Eller Dr. Hertz's own US pages back none of the three — so call the desk before you count on a ride.
Tap a port for the details, the source and that port's rental guide.
The fine print that bites on a cruise trip
The extra money on a Hertz cruise rental sits mostly in tolls, the second driver and a prepaid booking you might cancel. Where a card says a fee isn't published, that means Hertz didn't print it on the pages we checked on October 21, 2026, not that the fee is zero — so ask for it in writing.
Hertz's own page gives no dollar figure. Florida's SunPass rental-car page lists PlatePass at $14.99 a day, or a $9.99 admin fee for each calendar day you use a toll if you decline it; that page is undated and says rates can change.
Source: sunpass.com/en/tolls/rentalVehicles.shtml · checked Oct 21, 2026
Hertz states a flat $19-a-day young-renter fee as of October 21, 2026. The minimum age is 20 at most US locations, 18 in Michigan and New York, and 19 in Alabama and Nebraska.
Source: hertz.com/us/en/products-and-services/value-added-services · checked Oct 21, 2026
Hertz charges per day, per person and doesn't print the amount. Its Gold Plus Rewards FAQ says a spouse or domestic partner drives free only at Five Star and President's Circle status.
Source: hertz.com/us/en/products-and-services/value-added-services · checked Oct 21, 2026
Pay Later bookings cancel free before pickup. Pay Now is free within 24 hours of booking, then $100 if you cancel more than 24 hours before pickup and $200 inside 24 hours.
Source: hertz.com/rentacar/reservation/reviewmodifycancel/template · checked Oct 21, 2026
Hertz sets one-way charges by distance, length of rental, car type and drop location, with no flat fee published. Our Québec City research found Hertz Canada wants the car back where you rented it, so don't plan a one-way from Canada into the US.
Source: hertz.com/us/en/one-way-car-rental · checked Oct 21, 2026
Hertz allows Canada if you tell the counter and carry passports, and says its cars can't be driven into Mexico. A Seattle round trip to Vancouver works; an Ensenada day from San Diego doesn't.
Source: hertz.com/rentacar/reservation/reviewmodifycancel/template · checked Oct 21, 2026
At LAX, a debit rental needs proof of a return flight, two IDs and a credit check, plus a hold of up to $500 on top of the charges. If you're driving home after the cruise, not flying, bring a credit card.
Source: hertz.com/rentacar/reservation/reviewmodifycancel/template · checked Oct 21, 2026
Before you compare base rates
Comparison sites show the base rate. These are the add-ons Hertz 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 hertz.com + sunpass.com, 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
Port access carries Hertz to a 6.8 — lots of desks near the ships, none with a confirmed ride to the gangway. Satisfaction adds a 7.0, from J.D. Power and ACSI scores that sit just above average.
Fees pull hardest, at 4.5. Florida's $14.99 daily PlatePass rate and a $100–$200 Pay Now cancellation both cost more than Avis's $6.95 toll day and $50–$150 fee. Timing and family land at 5.5 each for the Sunday closures and the spouse charge. Open each bar below for the reason behind it.
Weighted Seabound cruiser score 6.2 / 10 · rank 6 of 10 · How we score
What renters say
J.D. Power's 2026 rental study, released October 7 and reported by TravelPulse and Auto Rental News, scored Hertz 711 out of 1,000 — four points over the 707 average and sixth of the 13 brands ranked. The ACSI's April 2026 travel study gave Hertz 77, one point above the industry's 76.
J.D. Power polls airport renters, and the ACSI rates the brands overall. Hertz sits a few points above average in each, which is a comfortable middle, not a reason to pick it — the no-shuttle note at Port Canaveral above weighs more on a cruise morning.
Side by side
Avis tops our cruiser score and Enterprise ranks second, and each has 15 near-port offices to Hertz's 12. The gaps that cost real money on a cruise trip are in the toll and cancelling rows, not the headline score — read those first.
| Hertz | Avis | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seabound cruiser score | 6.2 | 7.9 | 7.3 |
| Pier shuttles (of 23 ports) | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Near-port offices | 12 | 15 | 15 |
| J.D. Power 2026 | 711 | 696 | 739 |
| Toll program | PlatePass; FL $14.99/day (SunPass site) | e-Toll $6.95/toll day, $34.95 cap | TollPass $4.95/toll day, $34.65 cap |
| Extra driver | Daily fee; spouse free top Gold tiers | $13/day most states; spouse free | $15/day; spouse/partner free |
| Under-25 drivers | 20+ most states; $19/day under 25 | 21+ (18 NY/MI); fee varies (MCO $27/day) | 21+ (18 MI/NY); about $25/day |
| One-way rentals | Priced case by case; no fee published | Most locations: no drop fee | Book ahead; drop charge varies |
| Canada / Mexico | Canada yes · Mexico no | Canada yes · Mexico corporate only | Canada most cars · Mexico no |
| Loyalty / counter skip | Gold Plus Rewards (free) | Avis Preferred (free) | Enterprise Plus (points) |
| Cancelling | Pay Now: $100–$200 fee | Pay Now: $50–$150 fee | Pay later free; prepaid $50–$100 |
Our take
Hertz is the company to price first when your ship leaves from Canada. In Vancouver, Québec City and Montréal its desk was the closest brand counter we found to the terminal.
Everywhere else it's a walk-or-taxi company with no shuttle to lean on — that makes the desk's weekend hours the whole plan, and a Saturday 9-to-noon window in Tampa or New Orleans leaves little slack if the ship clears late.
Before you book, open the location page for your exact pickup day and confirm the desk is open, then choose Pay Later so a schedule change costs you nothing.
Discover Cars shows Hertz 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
Not one we could confirm at any of the 23 ports we checked. At Port Canaveral, Hertz's 8963 Astronaut Blvd office says there's no shuttle from the port. PortMiami and the Port of Los Angeles say Hertz offers rides, but Hertz's own pages don't mention it, so call the desk.
413 Seymour St, about 0.9 miles from Canada Place, was the closest rental brand desk we found there in October 2026. It has no shuttle or cruise wording on its page. It closes early on Sunday, at 1:30 or 2 depending on which hours listing you trust.
Yes, if you tell the counter and everyone carries a passport. Bring it back to the US yourself, though: our Québec City research found Hertz Canada wants cars returned where they were rented, so one-ways across the border aren't the plan to make.
Hertz's own page doesn't say. Florida's SunPass rental-car page lists PlatePass at $14.99 a day with unlimited tolls, or a $9.99 admin fee per calendar day you use a toll if you decline it. Confirm the rate at the counter.
Not by default. Hertz charges per day, per person for extra drivers and doesn't publish the amount. Its Gold Plus Rewards FAQ says a spouse or domestic partner drives free only at Five Star and President's Circle status.
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