Do you prefer staying at MCO or going to the port?

[Princesca]

We will be traveling to MCO the day before our cruise, and will be traveling with a 2.5 year old and a lot of luggage. What would be the easiest approach for us while still getting us to the port fairly early? I'd like to start taking advantage of the ship amenities as soon as we can.

Disney handling all our luggage seems mighty tempting, which leans me to the Hyatt at MCO, but the idea of being right at port when we wake up in the morning also seems like it would be low stress and nice.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Step one, don't cruise with "a lot of luggage."

 

[lanejudy]

Unlike some ports, there isn't a hotel "at" the port. Yes, there are a few within 5-10 minute drive. Just wanted to make sure you realized you wouldn't wake up right at the port in the morning.

That said...arrival to the port largely depends on the PAT you obtain when you do online check-in. DCL has been very strict about not allowing early arrivals. Whether that will loosen in coming months remains to be seen. Folks taking DCL Transfers to the port are generally not required to have a PAT (or it isn't checked). So that might bode well for staying at the Hyatt or a WDW resort if your goal is to arrive as early as possible.

 

[Calantha]

I have done both.

In June 2019 with DS (at the time 4), we came in the afternoon before and stayed right by the Port. Easy morning with a shuttle to the Port from the hotel (it left at 3 different times).

In January 2022 with DS (now 7), we had planned to fly in late the night before, so I got a hotel just off the airport. Well, due to a snow storm, we flew in earlier, but I didn't change the hotel. Anyway, the hotel was fine, but the ride out to the Port in the morning was pretty terrible (although I blame my choice in shuttle service).

When we go in September and next January, I will definitely make arrangements to stay near the Port.

 

[Princesca]

Step one, don't cruise with "a lot of luggage."

Somehow, when you have a toddler, trip essentials expand to fit the maximum number of suitcases the airline allows. But I am thinking about doing a load of laundry on the cruise ship so that we only need to pack a week's worth of clothes for our two-week trip.

 

[ChicosWife]

We have always stayed in Orlando, near MCO, because we use Go Port for our transportation to the port, which leaves from the airport.

 

[brentm77]

We will be traveling to MCO the day before our cruise, and will be traveling with a 2.5 year old and a lot of luggage. What would be the easiest approach for us while still getting us to the port fairly early? I'd like to start taking advantage of the ship amenities as soon as we can.

Disney handling all our luggage seems mighty tempting, which leans me to the Hyatt at MCO, but the idea of being right at port when we wake up in the morning also seems like it would be low stress and nice.

We have done both. Coming from the West coast, we tend to arrive later in the evening. We don't use Disney transport. We rent a car (and pay to park it all week at the port for convenience alone).

Staying at MCO
Pros: MCO Hyatt is fun. You get off the plane, go straight to your hotel. Have a nice dinner. Spend a relaxing evening getting excited for the next day.
Cons: The longish drive to the port the next morning can mean getting up earlier, the risk of some major traffic problem on the way to the port (seems very unlikely it would be enough to prevent you from sailing though). I think we paid more to stay at MCO than we did near the port.

Staying at port:
Pros: Love waking up the next morning, getting some breakfast, taking our time, etc. We also like the Ron Jon's at Cocoa Beach, which we usually have time to visit the night before. No concerns about getting to the port on time, since you are just down the road. Easier to pick up some snacks or a case of water to take on the ship the next day. The excitement at the hotels, with many guests dressed in Disney Cruise gear and smiling ear-to-ear. It was just more relaxing overall on the day of the cruise.
Cons: Doing the longish drive the day after a long day of travel.

All-in-all, we liked staying at the port more and are opting for that on our next Canaveral cruise. But both were great and you can't really go wrong.

 

[jujubiee4]

MCO but we fly cross country and always deal with nasty traffic just getting to the airport
it is an all day affair. Once we land we just want to relax as soon as possible before leaving
the next day.

 

[sjuncfan]

We have gone on 5 cruises. Let me see if I can remember what we did each time...
1. Had a few days pre-cruise in FL and drove to the port in the morning (dropped our rental car at Hertz and took the rental car shuttle).
2. Stayed at the Hyatt, took SpacePort Transport in the morning
3. Were meant to stay at the Hyatt but our flight the day before was cancelled and we didn't want to risk flying in the morning of so we drove from VA. Spent the night in Georgia and drove the rest of the way in the morning. Parked in the garage.
4. Flew in the morning of... this was a short somewhat spur of the moment cruise so if our flight had gotten messed up, we would have cashed in on trip insurance
5. Stayed at the Hyatt, took SpacePort Transport in the morning

One of these days I wouldn't mind getting to Port Canaveral/Cocoa Beach a little earlier and checking out Fishlips and everything else everyone always talks about... but we're usually trying to get in a work or school day so leaving later in the afternoon and we'd rather not do the longish drive right after the flight. The Hyatt is super convenient and works for us. Our transportation has always been at like 9 am so we're at the port by like 10:30 and on the boat by noon. This was obviously pre-COVID. SpacePort Transport will make a stop at Publix to get beer and wine as well, which is very helpful.

I would not recommend what we did on cruise #3 LOL. If nothing else, we should have done a one-way rental and flown home after the cruise... but in the panic of the moment the one-way rental seemed expensive and it seemed like working through the logistics of picking it up was going to delay us getting on the road so we took our own car.

Next week we are cruising from Miami and staying at the Embassy Suites. Should be a fun new experience.

 

[lizzyb]

We have always stayed by the port. This time we are staying near WDW as we will be at the parts before hand.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

We always stay at MCO. Really like the convenience of collecting our luggage and going straight to our room. Even better that DCL collects it the next morning. We really enjoy the DCL bus as well.

 

[katmigordon]

Obvious question - who was the shuttle service?

In January 2022 with DS (now 7), we had planned to fly in late the night before, so I got a hotel just off the airport. Well, due to a snow storm, we flew in earlier, but I didn't change the hotel. Anyway, the hotel was fine, but the ride out to the Port in the morning was pretty terrible (although I blame my choice in shuttle service).

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We have done both. We are from the east coast, so we catch an early flight down, rent a car and enjoy cocoa beach the day before. We have also done a flight later in the day and just crashed at MCO and taken the bus the next morning. Plus the pool and watching the planes come and go can be fun for kids. With a ton of luggage, a little one and not knowing how long your flight may be, my vote would be to stay at airport and take the Disney bus the next day.

 

[Cheburashka]

Disney handling all our luggage seems mighty tempting, which leans me to the Hyatt at MCO, but the idea of being right at port when we wake up in the morning also seems like it would be low stress and nice.

For convenience and peace of mind, nothing beats staying at the MCO Hyatt & taking the DCL transfer bus to the port. If you stay at a hotel in Port Canaveral, you have to provide your own transportation to the port.

Step one, don't cruise with "a lot of luggage."

Meh. I like cruising with ample luggage because it means I have everything I need and want onboard.

 

[Uncleromulus]

We always stay at the Hyatt the night before (7 cruises) and then take the bus to the Port cruise morning. Nothing could be easier.

 

[Dug720]

Obvious question - who was the shuttle service?

IDK who they used, but my parents were using Go Port Canaveral booked as part of a package with the hotel where they were staying once and the shuttle never showed up. They finally took an Uber and were about the last people on the ship (yes, the hotel tried calling the shuttle but to no avail - and they paid for my parents' Uber).

I'd NEVER trust that shuttle company at all.

 

[DLgal]

We stay at MCO Hyatt and use Disney transfers. I like as little stress as possible once I arrive. The luggage handling alone is worth any extra expense.

 

[Calantha]

Obvious question - who was the shuttle service?

Port Canaveral Quick Shuttle.

They were OK on the way back. Very timely and there was only one other family in the shuttle with us.

However on the way out, the shuttle was full and we had to sit in the back row. Some people were wearing masks and people weren’t …and this was back in January. Air conditioning was on, but didn’t seem to be circulating very well, so I was afraid of getting car sick. Overall, it was just not a good ride.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

For us, it completely depends on what time we arrive. If it's afternoon or early evening, we'll drive out to PC, have dinner on the water, and stay near the port. Late night? We stay by MCO so we can get to bed ASAP.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We drive to port and park in the garage. That's the easiest. You have all your stuff in the car and your car waiting for you when you get out.

But if you're not driving, it seems going to the port the night before, when you're tired and maybe youre flight was late and your toddler just wants to sleep would be onerous. I'd pick the Hyatt for a night arrival. So easy. We've even done the Hyatt when we were driving to port, because renting at the airport was cheap at the time.

Don't just think about your morning arrival, think about the night before and what you will have to unpack for that night's stay and how you will actually get to the port. If you stay in Cocoa Beach, you're reliant on a shuttle or taxi/uber (do they have uber there?)