We fly in (from CA, hence a long travel day) to Orlando on a Sunday night for a cruise that embarks on Monday. I’m trying to decide if we should get a room near the airport and then use the shuttle from the airport on Monday morning or if we should pay to take a cab (car service/limo) to a hotel close to the cruise terminal and then get to the ship from there. I do want to board the cruise as early as possible, so my guess is that doing my own thing (not using the included shuttle service) and getting a hotel close to the terminal will keep us a few steps ahead of the crowd. Is the benefit/convenience worth the added cost? Is it much of an added cost? Please share your thoughts.
Also, after the cruise we have a 9 night stay at WDW and will not have a car. Is a shuttle available? If we do use a shuttle, then I’ll use a grocery service to deliver some provisions to our room. If we take a cab (or car service/limo), we can make a grocery stop along the way. Again, trying to weigh the cost and convenience factors to make the best choice.
I just did a cruise in January. I rented a car at MCO and drove to Port Canaveral the night I got in. I rented a Ford Explorer from Hertz for $50. I stayed at Country Inn and Suites for $200. The Hertz rental place was just a few blocks from the hotel. Hertz had a shuttle but I didn’t want to wait so I called a cab. It was around $12 without the tip. It worked out really well for me. After the cruise, I used Disney’s bus to MCO for $35. That worked out well too.
Last April there were 6 of us going from WDW to Port Canaveral and we hired a Limo for around $200 (I think). Disney’s bus would have been $210. And with the limo, we got to pick the exact time we wanted pickup. Same thing on return from port to MCO. We used www.fltours.com and were very happy with them.
We are going on the Fantasy in 12 days. We are flying in the night before and staying at the Hyatt which is in the airport terminal so very convenient. We are using Tiffany town car to pick us up from the Hyatt to take us to the port. It is $120 one plus tip and includes a free grocery atop so we can pick up some drinks. For the way back we are heading to wDW and will rent a car from cape canaveral back to disney then to the airport. The one way rental is costing us about $80 for one day.
We just got back from the Dream. We stayed at the Hyatt in the airport the night before the cruise & used Disney transport. It was so convenient!!! You can leave your luggage in your room & they pick it up & transport it to the ship for you. It was so nice to just walk downstairs & catch the bus. We went to WDW after the cruise & used DCL transport for that as well. It’s $70 per person round trip.
How early did the bus get you to the ship? I plan to be in one of the early boarding groups and am concerned about how long we’ll have to wait at the airport for the bus to fill.
So it sounds like DCL transport from airport to cruise and then to WDW is considered round trip, right? How did you get back to the airport after WDW?
We were the 1st ones in the terminal! My last few cruises prior to this one I had done Happy Limo. Even if you arrive before the 1st bus they make you wait. I’m doing Hyatt & DCL bus from now on. It was great!
It is considered round trip even if you go to WDW after. Leaving the terminal to go back to WDW we did wait about 15-20 minutes before we left & the bus stopped at a few resorts.
We took magical express back to the airport for our flight home.
Thanks for all this info, you answered all of my questions except one: How did you know what time to choose for arrival at the terminal when you were taking the DCL bus from MCO? We plan on staying a night in Orlando and doing the same thing you talked about but I’m just not sure what time to choose (hoping to board as early as possible). Thank you!
I would pick the earliest time you can when you check in online. You won’t be able to know what time you’ll get there, but the MCO to Port Canaveral busses are the earliest busses. It’s fine if you get there later than the time you choose at check-in, but if you choose a later time and get there early they may have you wait depending on how many other people are there.