First Cruise - no idea about transport

[Tahariel]

Hi All!

We have booked our first cruise for next September - so excited We're doing the 3 night Dream cruise. However, with it being our first cruise I am entirely lost how to organise transport etc. We are two adults, travelling without kids.

- Basically, we'll fly into MCO the day before, so we'll need to stay somewhere. Do people recommend staying near the airport or near the port?

- How do we then get to the port easiest and cheapest?

- After our cruise we're heading to universal for a few days, before finishing our holiday at WDW. So again, I'm left with, how do we easiest and cheapest get from the port to Universal?

Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Near airport or port is really a personal decision, and I'd base it partly on time of arrival. It'll be about an hour to get out to the Cocoa Beach area hotels, but if you're in by noon, having the day and evening at Cocoa Beach is nicer than having it near the airport.

Transport at that point depends on where you're at. From an airport hotel, a shuttle service or coming back to MCO for DCL transfer is generally easiest. Shuttle will be cheaper for 4+ people, almost always. From a Cocoa Beach hotel, some of them have shuttles, otherwise you can Uber or arrange a shuttle.

After the cruise, easiest/cheapest way from port to Universal will be a rental car. You can hop the rental car bus at port, and it's about 10 minutes to get to the car rental warehouse.

 

[KashasMom]

I recommend staying near the port. We usually stay at Residence Inn by Marriott Cape Canaveral Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral. All of the hotels near the port have a shuttle to the ship. As far as getting to Universal - if you need a rental car you can get one near the port. If you don't need a rental car, you can pre-book a pickup with a private car service. We usually have a car so can't recommend one.

 

[starvenger]

Basically, we'll fly into MCO the day before, so we'll need to stay somewhere. Do people recommend staying near the airport or near the port?

That's sort of personal preference, plus dependent on when you fly in. If you get in in the evening, I'd say stay near the airport. If you get in earlier, going to the port makes sense, especially if you want to board the ship early.

How do we then get to the port easiest and cheapest?

Easiest and cheapest is a one way rental. Most convenient is the DCL transfer.

After our cruise we're heading to universal for a few days, before finishing our holiday at WDW. So again, I'm left with, how do we easiest and cheapest get from the port to Universal?

Cheapest would again be a one-way rental. Easiest would be car service. I don't consider the rental to be easiest going back because a) you have to take a shuttle to the rental car agency, and b) often you have to wait for a car. But it will be cheaper than a car service.

Alternatively, you can take the DCL bus back to MCO and get a rental car from there. This probably won't save you money or time but it would be convenient.

 

[kiford]

The easiest thing to do on the way in is to stay at the MCO Hyatt right in the airport, especially if you're arriving later in the day. Then take the DCL transport ($35/person/trip) from the airport. You have to book that through DCL. If you're coming in earlier in the day, there's not much to do or see in the MCO Hyatt beyond the pool. Then you could consider either staying at WDW for one night, take the Disney shuttle to the resort and then the DCL transport from the resort to the port the next day. As others have said, you could also stay near the port. For me, I just find it more convenient and easier to do WDW or MCO Hyatt.

We always head back to the airport or WDW after a cruise, so I can't speak to specific options on the way back but you could arrange to rent a car in Port Canaveral. I'm not sure if there are any that pickup at the port or if you'd have to take a taxi. You could book a limo service - I'm assuming some would be able to take you right to Universal. You could take the DCL transport back to MCO and take transportation from there. I'm assuming there might be a service from there that can take you to Universal.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Alternatively, you can take the DCL bus back to MCO and get a rental car from there. This probably won't save you money or time but it would be convenient.

To be honest, I don't even think this would be convenient, and it absolutely wouldn't save money or time. The DCL transfer is $35 per person, then you have to schlep to the car rental counter with your bags, then you have to wait. If you're renting a car, just doing the transfer to the Port Canaveral car rental and the 15 minute wait there will be much faster.

Going back to MCO doesn't position you all that much better for getting to Universal versus going direct from PC.

 

[starvenger]

Fair point. I was thinking about convenience in getting back to the Orlando area. Didn’t really think it through beyond that.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

PC to Universal is about an hour.
PC to MCO is about 45 minutes.
MCO to Universal is about 25 minutes.
PC to the PC car rentals is 10 minutes.

Obviously, when dealing with the buses from PC, whether to the car rent or to MCO, you have some variable wait time. Car rental at PC seemed pretty efficient to me, and the walk from bus to counter is def shorter than from the bus drop to most counters at MCO, where you'll then have to go to where you actually get the car.

So for overall travel time, it may be roughly a wash. But the $35pp for the Disney transfer pretty much blows up the cost-effectiveness. It saves you figuring out the toll roads as much, but, eh.

When we got our car at PC, it took 10 minutes. We actually had the car before I had my second child out of the bathroom at the car rental. (We sent an adult to deal the car, had our luggage in the waiting room area, and I sent elder on his own, then went with younger, so we always had someone with the bags.)

 

[DisneyWishes14]

As others have said, it's all personal preference. We've stayed at both the port and at WDW pre-cruise and have also utilized both DCL transfers and private transfers. Although it adds transportation time and expense, we prefer staying at a WDW resort prior to the cruise and using private transportation. When we stayed in PC, we found there is very, very little to do and we were really bored. Before our last cruise, we stayed at YC the night before and spent the night walking around the Boardwalk - it was a lot of fun! Even staying at a DS resort and walking around DS would be fun. We use private transportation because we like to control when we leave and I don't want to drive!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If you choose the Cocoa Beach side, you'll need a shuttle to get to the hotel. It won't be free. Go Port Canaveral does packages that include the transport: https://www.goportcanaveral.com

On the airport side, either find something with a free shuttle than go back to MCO for DCL transfer ($35pp), or find a hotel hooked into a private service. Our last trip, we used Cortrans, which was prompt, decent pricing, and clean.

I wouldn't bother with either a Disney hotel or with Cocoa Beach if you're getting in late in the day. Depending on timing, find something along McCoy Road or the Hyatt if you're coming in late. You won't appreciate the travel time on arrival (or enjoy any amenities aside from bed).

 

[lilsonicfan]

if you don't need the car while at Universal, my suggestion would be:
a) hotel near the airport (not Hyatt, b/c of price)
b) contact a private shuttle company to find out cost of taking you from airport hotel to port, then port to Universal. and back to airport if you need.

I used Laura's Shuttle. They picked us up from port, after the cruise, and drove us to Universal, then a few days later picked us up from Universal and took us back to MCO. The cost was $160 for all five of us, which I thought was reasonable as it did not involve car rentals.

 

[TestingH2O]

How many people are in your party? When we have 4 or fewer, we stay at an airport hotel and take the DCL shuttle. More than 4 and we take a private shuttle bus. We don't stay at the mco Hyatt because it's expensive and use another airport hotel with a free shuttle (homewood suites.)

Coming back, private transport or a car rental are probably your best optons.

 

[Billinaz]

With a full size rental from Avis at about $45 to the port, and the Avis shuttle to/from the port its the way to go.

We had 5 people, and $175 for the DCL bus was way too much.

We stay near the port (Homewood Suites, the closest to the port) and return the car to Avis in the morning after eating the (free) breakfast.

On the return you can get the Avis and return it near Universal, or keep it a day then return it to MCO.

 

[Calantha]

Hoping on this thread - we’re going to have 8 or 9 people for our cruise next summer so I know the DCL shuttle is not the best option. Does anyone have a particular van/shuttle company they have had experience with?

 

[jdb in AZ]

Hoping on this thread - we’re going to have 8 or 9 people for our cruise next summer so I know the DCL shuttle is not the best option. Does anyone have a particular van/shuttle company they have had experience with?

We used Happy Limo for a group about that size. They sent a stretch Humvee with a small luggage trailer towed behind. We got a discount coupon online from Mouse Savers.

 

[cteddiesgirl]

I would def check into goportcanaveral.com. We got a good deal on a hotel room (with pickup to hotel from MCO) and transportation to and from the port.

 

[Tahariel]

Near airport or port is really a personal decision, and I'd base it partly on time of arrival. It'll be about an hour to get out to the Cocoa Beach area hotels, but if you're in by noon, having the day and evening at Cocoa Beach is nicer than having it near the airport.

That's a valid point. Given we are flying over from the UK we are probably looking at a late arrival. So all we'll want to do is plant our heads on some pillows.

To be honest, I don't even think this would be convenient, and it absolutely wouldn't save money or time.

I have to agree. This is why I was querying it. Because already spending the $35pp to get either to Disney or MCO and then paying extra to get to Universal, in my opinion, just doubles the hassle & must add cost.

With a full size rental from Avis at about $45 to the port, and the Avis shuttle to/from the port its the way to go.
We stay near the port (Homewood Suites, the closest to the port) and return the car to Avis in the morning after eating the (free) breakfast.
On the return you can get the Avis and return it near Universal, or keep it a day then return it to MCO.

That's such a good price. I didn't check Avis out, I only knew about Alamo.


Thank you everyone, there were some really great suggestions. Once we've got our flights booked, we'll finalise where we are staying and take from there. And now I know which rental options and shuttle options are out there as well, so thank you!

 

[Billinaz]

That's such a good price. I didn't check Avis out, I only knew about Alamo.

You just need to be enrolled in their frequent renter program (fastbreak)....you can do that online.

You find great codes at websites like Costco, mousesavers, and flyertalk.

Just get 2 one way rentals, you dont need to rent the car for the entire week, thats a huge waste of money.

 

[Auntof2]

We literally just got home from doing this! Except we came straight home instead of planning extra time for the parks. We flew in Thursday night and stayed at the Hyatt that is inside/connected to the Orlando airport. In our case it was free - I had a free night from the Hyatt credit card to burn, otherwise I would have used points.

To get to the port on Friday (and back to the airport today) we used a car service. I didn't want to be stuck waiting for a Disney bus (I am the queen of JUST missing buses/trains), and I also get carsick/queasy on buses. I didn't want to deal with renting a car and either paying to park it for three days or dealing with dropping off and then renting another car. So this was probably the most expensive way of getting there, round trip it was $288 including tip. In my opinion it was worth every penny, and the ride itself was only about 35 minutes each way, vs the hour or more I had read about.

 

[Steam8oatW9]

we usually stay at Radisson Resort at the port. https://www.radisson.com/cape-canaveral-hotel-fl-32920/flcocoa?s_cid=os.amer-us-rad-FLCOCOA-gmb
They have a shuttle that will take you to the port that day. i think it costs like $15.00. we used a private car company to get us from the airport to the hotel and then from the port to the airport. But if you stay at the airport you can use the disney express shuttle also. -but i think xfers are $75.00 a person w/disney. so do your research!