Night before, stay at Disney or Port Canaveral?

[JimGA]

First time cruiser, and I was wondering what others have done.

We sail on the Dream in May,and I am torn between staying at a Disney resort the night before the cruise and then driving to Port Canaveral the morning of to board the ship or staying at a hotel in Port Canaveral and watching the ships sail away out of port the day before our cruie.

What have others done? Has anyone done both?

We are driving from GA, so transportation is no issue and the pirice of the hotel will be about the same, (Disney Moderate resort). I know our kids would love to splash in a Disney pool but we have never seen a cruise ship before and I heard that it is neat to see these ships leave the port, the Fantasy leaves port the day beofre ours.

 

[poohj80]

I would recommend staying at Country Inn & Suites in Port Canaveral then leave your car parked there and ride their shuttle and save the cost of parking at the port. Done in 3 times now and it's so easy!

 

[jlemieu1]

I think it depends on if you can catch the parks or not. If you can do the parks then stay at Disney but expect to get to the boats later. In my case I didn't get to port till 1:30 pm and bag got to my room @ 6:00 pm.

If you stay at the port for can get on the ship alot sooner(11:00 am`ish).

 

[OKW Lover]

There may be an advantage to staying at the port that you haven't considered. Many of the hotels at the port offer a room rate that includes parking while you are gone plus transportation to/from the ship. We've done that on several cruises.

 

[kcashner]

Going to WDW when driving down is actually a bit out of the way...and your WDW resort won't include breakfast the next morning or parking while cruising (which many of the port area hotels will).

When we fly in, if we have time to enjoy some part of Disney, we will do that. When we drive, I go directly to the port. After our long drive, I'm not interested in adding an extra amount of time to see the mouse.

The CI&S and Residence Inn are both great places to stay. CI&S does charge for the shuttle ($5 per person). If you want, you can take your family to the terminal and drop them and the luggage. They can check in for the family while the driver returns to the hotel and rides the shuttle back to the terminal. DO make shuttle reservations!

Or, for a family of 4, shuttle both ways is $40. For $60 you can park at the terminal and not have to mess with shuttles at all (3 night cruise = 4 days X $15 per day)

 

[TXinmyheart]

I have driven down when we lived in GA and I highly recommend the Residence Inn on Cocoa Beach. Wonderful hotel with breakfast. I would pay to park at the port for a three day cruise. It is just so nice getting in your car and heading back north after your cruise instead of waiting in the heat (yes even in May) for a crowded shuttle bus. I have done it both ways and for us, getting in our car immediately and heading up 95 is sooooooooo much better.

 

[darkwing818]

We always stay at WDW a couple of days before & after. We drive from Tennessee we get there around 3 or 4 o'clock & either hit EPCOT or go to Downtown Disney. We leave from WDW around 8:45 & get to the port & park by 10:15 at the latest. We just love getting a little Disney magic before we cruise.

 

[westjones]

We have done both and for us it all depends on if we want to visit the parks. If we go to the parks, then staying at Disney is best.

But if you aren't going to the parks, then it is SO nice to stay at the port and wake up without any worries about car problems or traffic problems getting to the port. You are just there and you can sleep in that morning, get a late breakfast, and then head over to the port and feel very rested and less stressed.

I would never choose to stay at Disney unless we are visiting the parks the day before.

 

[poohj80]

We have never paid extra for the Shuttle at CI&S, it has always been included with our room.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We have never paid extra for the Shuttle at CI&S, it has always been included with our room.

They charged us $5 each the end of October. Maybe they like you better than us.

 

[poohj80]

They charged us $5 each the end of October. Maybe they like you better than us.

We paid for parking but did not pay extra for the shuttle.

 

[disney minnie]

We always stay at Disney before a cruise whether we are going to the parks or not.

 

[fisherjenn]

Putting in my two cents. In the past, we've stayed in a studio at Saratoga and just wake up super early the day we leave and drive to the port.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We are all Disney all the time (24/7). I know there are cheaper ways to go but we love Disney. We get to Florida at least one night before DCL departs, take the ME to the resort, DCL transport to the port and port to air port. When we save for our Disney vacations we make sure we have saved enough to include everything. We have stayed at moderates and deluxe so far but plan on staying in one of the value resorts in 2014 when we HOPE to go over Christmas.

 

[poohj80]

We are all Disney all the time (24/7). I know there are cheaper ways to go but we love Disney. We get to Florida at least one night before DCL departs, take the ME to the resort, DCL transport to the port and port to air port. When we save for our Disney vacations we make sure we have saved enough to include everything. We have stayed at moderates and deluxe so far but plan on staying in one of the value resorts in 2014 when we HOPE to go over Christmas.

If we were flying, we'd do the same thing, but the OP is driving so parking is an issue as well.

 

[JimGA]

We have done both and for us it all depends on if we want to visit the parks. If we go to the parks, then staying at Disney is best.

But if you aren't going to the parks, then it is SO nice to stay at the port and wake up without any worries about car problems or traffic problems getting to the port. You are just there and you can sleep in that morning, get a late breakfast, and then head over to the port and feel very rested and less stressed.

I would never choose to stay at Disney unless we are visiting the parks the day before.

Lots of great advice, we would not be able to get to Disney until around 2 pm so going to the parks is not really worth it. I like the idea of not adding the extra stress on the morning of the cruise. Sounds like it is best to drive to the Port and forget Disney and just hang out at the beach and watch the ships go by. I already booked Country Inn and Suites, so got our room reserved.

 

[EPCOTatNight]

I've been wondering about the same thing. My port arrival time is 11:30, so I'm not concerned about driving one hour to the port. We'll probably leave at 9, so that's more than enough time. I wouldn't go to the park, but maybe just chill at the resort and go to Downown Disney. I'm not sure if we will stay on property, but it would be a nice way to get into the Disney mood.

 

[poohj80]

Lots of great advice, we would not be able to get to Disney until around 2 pm so going to the parks is not really worth it. I like the idea of not adding the extra stress on the morning of the cruise. Sounds like it is best to drive to the Port and forget Disney and just hang out at the beach and watch the ships go by. I already booked Country Inn and Suites, so got our room reserved.

Good deal!

Jetty park is a great place to watch the ships go out but they will charge you an entrance fee per car. You can go to the beach and park for free and then walk closer to the Jetty for a good view as well.

 

[SunLuvr321]

There are also quite a few restaurants at the Port that have decks and outdoor seating. We love to take visitors there for dinner and watch the cruise ships sail out.

The restaurants we have been to include Rusty's Seafood and Oyster Bar, Fishlips, Grills Seafood Deck and Tiki Bar and Baja Tavern. They all have indoor and out door seating. Rusty's has a great deck.

 

[QuiltTeddy]

We always stay on site at DW as it gets you "ready" for the cruise.