Hotel stay Night before Cruise

[bsmooth]

I know this topic has been covered numerous times before but I have never seen another poster ask that has 7 in their party.

We all are first time cruisers, our traveler party is 4 adults and 3 children and we are looking for a place to stay the night before our cruise. Ideally we would like to stay at the Hyatt at MCO but I keep getting an error saying our party is too big for those rooms (and yes I requested 2 rooms) I just priced the rooms and I really don't wanna pay $238 for the night!

Also factoring into this will be the transfer fees, at $70 a person that is very steep. I was willing to bite the bullet if we could get a good deal at the Hyatt since the transfer from hotel to cruise would be so easy and we wouldn't have to worry about our luggage until it would be delivered to our stateroom.

Anybody have any good ideas for us??

Appreciate all ideas and thoughts.

 

[GoofyDisneyDaddy]

I think we need more information about what you want and when you get in. The MCO/Disney transfer option it tops for convenience, especially if you are getting in the NIGHT before, but if you are arriving earlier in the day, there are definitely cheaper and perhaps better options.

For seven people, disney transportation is going to be far more expensive than using private transportation or renting a van. As to the hotel, have you tried to get it on lastminutetravel (do a search about this) or booking the two rooms seperately instead of both at the same time? You can stay at another hotel near that airport that offers free shuttles to the airport. Or, if you are arriving earlier in the day, you could stay on WDW or out in Port Canaveral. Tons of options.

 

[pharmama]

I know this topic has been covered numerous times before but I have never seen another poster ask that has 7 in their party.

We all are first time cruisers, our traveler party is 4 adults and 3 children and we are looking for a place to stay the night before our cruise. Ideally we would like to stay at the Hyatt at MCO but I keep getting an error saying our party is too big for those rooms (and yes I requested 2 rooms) I just priced the rooms and I really don't wanna pay $238 for the night!

Also factoring into this will be the transfer fees, at $70 a person that is very steep. I was willing to bite the bullet if we could get a good deal at the Hyatt since the transfer from hotel to cruise would be so easy and we wouldn't have to worry about our luggage until it would be delivered to our stateroom.

Anybody have any good ideas for us??

Appreciate all ideas and thoughts.

Just did this with a party exactly like yours (for reference, my kids are 1,3 and 7 so we had 2 car seats in the mix too). We rented a Surburban or equivalent (turned out to be a Ford Expedition EL), drove to PC and stayed at the Residence Inn in a 2bd suite with their Park and Cruise package which allowed us to leave the car at the RI for the duration of the cruise. Included shuttle to and from port (more details below).

We had 3 more days of vacation planned post cruise that we knew we needed a rental car for. I found a good weekly rate on the car that made this worthwhile-it was quite expensive to rent this class of vehicle in PC and return in to MCO so the weekly rental was worth it. The weekly wasn't cheaper, but leaving the car in PC also meant that I could leave my 2 car seats sitting in the rental in PC and not have to deal with them on the ship so the price difference was worth it to us. I don't know if you have 'the car seat factor' or not.

The room at the RI was $262 for the night but accommodated everyone. And I love that you get a decent breakfast at Residence Inn as well. I hate having to deal with that in the mornings on vacation. The Country Inn and Suites (next door the RI) has similar packages and is cheaper but they didn't seem to have one room (even the bigger suites) that would have accommodated all of us and 2 rooms there was no longer cheaper than the RI. The room rate included 4 transfers to port but the other 3 were only $6 each (round trip). They had contracted with a local shuttle company that had a bus that took us to port at 11:15am. On return, the same company (which appears to run many of the hotel shuttles in PC but their name escapes me at the moment) put us in a smaller van but it was just our party so the driver took us right to our car.

All in all this worked out very well for us. I would definitely do this arrangement again.

Side note-I AM SO GLAD that I did not rent a minivan as there is NO WAY we would have fit all 7 people and our luggage in a minivan.

 

[mmouse37]

We had 7 in our party in June for our Fantasy cruise. I had rented a 12 pax van which held all our luggage and people with no problem. We drove to the port the day before and stayed at Marriott Residence Inn in their 2 bedroom suite. It was $199 for the night (did not take the parking package). Hubby dropped 5 of us and the luggage off at the port and he and friend returned the van and then took the rental shuttle back to the port. This was with Avis. We haved done this same scenario several times in the past.

We love the MRI. They have awesome suites (not fancy but nice and so functional) with a full kitchen, 2 completely separate bedrooms with their own bathrooms and that really nice hot buffet breakfast in the morning which is complimentary.

I purchased Marriot gift cards beforehand when I had some extra cash so it was great to just use those at the hotel.

We were headed to WDW after our cruise for a few days so we rented cars for the return but could not get the van...had to take 2 cars and it was hard to fit all the luggage.

If we were not going to WDW and flying straight home I would take advantage of DCL's Onboard Airline Check-in Program and have DCl take care of our luggage from the ship (actually you wont' handle it again until your home airport). it cost $35 pp and includes the transfer to the airport. A great convenience.

MJ

 

[diane648]

Since you've stayed there, I have a couple of questions:

We're taking private transfers from the airport to the hotel. Do you know if we can just sign up for the shuttle to the port when we get there? I had the Park 'n Cruise package booked, but since we're not leaving a car & it only includes two free shuttle transfers, it doesn't make sense.

We have a party of (6) - 4 adults & 2 kids. Are there restaurants within walking distance, or cabs available? We were thinking of having the limo stop on the way at a grocery & just picking up something for dinner to cook in the room.

Thanks!

 

[chapmanfam]

We all are first time cruisers, our traveler party is 4 adults and 3 children and we are looking for a place to stay the night before our cruise. Ideally we would like to stay at the Hyatt at MCO but I keep getting an error saying our party is too big for those rooms (and yes I requested 2 rooms) I just priced the rooms and I really don't wanna pay $238 for the night!

Hyatt is unique in that when you book your rooms, they don't want to know the TOTAL number of adults and kids in your party to be spread across the two rooms; they want to know how many kids and adults will be in each room.

We ran into this with our party of five--one room for grandma, one room for DH, myself, and our two girls.

I was booking for "3 adults and 2 kids in 2 rooms) and it ran it through to the point where I was confirming for "3 adults and 2 kids in each room". I realized what was going on, went back and changed it to "2 adults and 2 kids in each room" and the price went DOWN.

Try again, and book it for 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 rooms. I bet you'll see it fix.

All else fails: call the direct Hyatt number listed on the reservation website. Do NOT call the 1800 number. Ask to talk to someone in reservations right there in the hotel; you can then request adjoining rooms, etc. We've done it that way before and, with the sole exception of the Hyatt in Rancho Cordova, CA, they have always accommodated us.

And if you're not a Gold Passport member, become one. It's free, and we have stayed often enough the last two years to become platinum members. That allows us free wifi and they treat you VERY well.

We're staying at the Hyatt Secaucus, NJ before our 8/17 Magic cruise out of NYC; it's a quick trip through the Lincoln Tunnel and will drop us right by 42nd Street/pier 88, although we will have to go up to 55th to access the cruise parking terminal.

We've stayed at Hyatt Secaucus before. Much cheaper, $150/night, and free breakfast. Starbucks in the lobby 24/7.

Have fun!

 

[mmouse37]

Since you've stayed there, I have a couple of questions:

We're taking private transfers from the airport to the hotel. Do you know if we can just sign up for the shuttle to the port when we get there? I had the Park 'n Cruise package booked, but since we're not leaving a car & it only includes two free shuttle transfers, it doesn't make sense.

We have a party of (6) - 4 adults & 2 kids. Are there restaurants within walking distance, or cabs available? We were thinking of having the limo stop on the way at a grocery & just picking up something for dinner to cook in the room.

Thanks!

Wow...I see you are from Nashville....my DD just arrived in Nashville today!!!

Yes, I believe you can sign up for the shuttle when you get to the hotel. There is a McDonalds across the street and a family restaurant nearby. The kitchens are big enough to cook in if you want. We love it there.

MJ

 

[racingfandj]

I know this topic has been covered numerous times before but I have never seen another poster ask that has 7 in their party.

We all are first time cruisers, our traveler party is 4 adults and 3 children and we are looking for a place to stay the night before our cruise. Ideally we would like to stay at the Hyatt at MCO but I keep getting an error saying our party is too big for those rooms (and yes I requested 2 rooms) I just priced the rooms and I really don't wanna pay $238 for the night!

Also factoring into this will be the transfer fees, at $70 a person that is very steep. I was willing to bite the bullet if we could get a good deal at the Hyatt since the transfer from hotel to cruise would be so easy and we wouldn't have to worry about our luggage until it would be delivered to our stateroom.

Anybody have any good ideas for us??

Appreciate all ideas and thoughts.

Since you have several adults in your party, I would price 2 economy rental cars. This summer, we had 5 of us and 10 days worth of luggage. A van for less than 12 hours (1-way rental) was going to be $70+. I priced 2 economy cars and got them for $20 each. Coming from Sanford, we stayed the night in Titusville. It was an easy drive in the morning of the cruise. My mom and I each driving a car dropped DH and 2 girls off at the port with all of the luggage. She and I returned the cars and rode the shuttle back. Beware, they did have to wait 45-60 minutes on us. Now that we know port screening better, they probably could have went on in, but they waited outside at the drop-off area until we returned. Can someone clarify if it is possible to enter separately?

FWIW - We fly into Sanford (northeast Orlando). It's about the same distance to the port as MCO. Although, I am interested in other responses here as I just booked travel for our January cruise and MCO was cheaper this time, so going there.

 

[Missy's Grandma]

We are also a party of 7 going down in March. Because we are arriving in MCO early enough the day before sailing we were considering staying at the Ron Jon resort for the day. Anyone stayed there? Opinions?

 

[diane648]

Wow...I see you are from Nashville....my DD just arrived in Nashville today!!!

Yes, I believe you can sign up for the shuttle when you get to the hotel. There is a McDonalds across the street and a family restaurant nearby. The kitchens are big enough to cook in if you want. We love it there.

MJ

MJ - Thanks for your response! Hope your DD has a great time in Nashville; the weather is perfect right now!

Do you think we'll be able to cross the street to get to McDonald's? That road looked pretty busy as I remember it. I'd love to try Rusty's or Fishlips out, but without a car - I don't know if it'll be possible.

Thanks again, and thanks for all your help in moderating the boards!

 

[swmal]

I am split on what to do. We have free rooms at embassy suites at mco and have a private transfer for 250 for eight peeps. I also have reservations at Hyatt just in case. We arrive at 6 pm the night before so won't have much time to play. Is doing the DCL transfer worth it for an earlier boarding time...or am I missing something?

 

[Tinknalli]

Another option is the Wingate by Wyndam MCO. They can be had through Hotwire for as little as $50/night. The hotel was clean with a pool and hot tub. Free breakfast and a fridge and microwave in the room. Free airport shuttle. It's within walking distance of several restaurant and in a complex with many hotels. We paid $52 the night before our cruise for the 4 of us. Took their free shuttle. The kids had fun swimming. We walked to Denny's and had dinner and then relaxed in the room and watched TV. Got up and had breakfast and took the free transfer back to MCO to get the DCL transfers. All worked out fine. They also offer transfers directly from the hotel to the port for the same price as DCL. We chose to use DCL transfers so we coudl check in at MCO.

 

[bsmooth]

Thank you all for the replies...gave me plenty of options to think about. Really do appreciate it!