Benefits of DCL transport vs. rental car or ride share

[Raya]

What are the benefits of taking DCL transport from a Disney hotel to the port?

So far I can find:
* no need to wait for your port arrival time
* you may get on board sooner (due to the above)
* no hauling your luggage from the room to the transport or from transport in line at the port

Is there anything else?

 

[Princesca]

If you stick within DCL they will hold the boat for you. If you take an uber and break down somewhere and miss your PAT... who knows.

 

[Raya]

If you stick within DCL they will hold the boat for you. If you take an uber and break down somewhere and miss your PAT... who knows.

Well, that's pretty much the most important reason right there. Thank you!

 

[Princesca]

I'm new to cruising, but that's my understanding, and with excursions too. If you take a DCL excursion and are late getting back, they hold the boat for you. Outside DCL, you are SOL.

 

[lanejudy]

I think you've captured the PROS of using DCL Transfers from WDW.

• No PAT needed.
• Likely low boarding group.
• Luggage collected at your resort room, seen again onboard.
• Early arrival at the port if you want to check for upgrades.

The CONS might be:

• Cost: if more than 3 or 4 in your party.
• Timing: while some folks like the earlier pick-up at the resort, it likely involves some waiting time at the terminal before boarding the ship. Others have mentioned they'd prefer to have time for a good breakfast, character breakfast, etc. without rushing to meet the bus.
• Crowds: related to above, arriving early means waiting in the terminal maybe for an hour or so before you can board. The crowds build during that time as so many arrive before noon.
• No stops: some forms of private transportation will allow for a stop to pick up *whatever* (often beer or wine, diapers and babyfood, etc.) on the way to the port.

Missing PAT is not a big deal. Arriving after the PAT would just have you boarding as soon as your boarding group is called, or possibly immediately after check-in if it has already been called. "Open Boarding" is typically called around 12:30pm or so and anybody can board from that point because the crowds in the terminal have dispersed.

The "DCL will hold the ship for you if late" is stretching things a bit when discussing transfers from the WDW resorts to the port. Yes, DCL will likely hold departure if a DCL bus hasn't arrived, but that would have to be some kind of MAJOR delay of ~6+ hours in this case. AND to note: DCL does not necessarily hold the ship if you are booked for DCL Transfers from the airport and your flight is delayed. Only if you booked your flights through DCL will they hold or arrange for you to meet up with the ship; and I'm not even sure that is fully guaranteed depending on the itinerary. Pre- and post-cruise transfers are different than excursions booked with DCL.

 

[tvguy]

. AND to note: DCL does not necessarily hold the ship if you are booked for DCL Transfers from the airport and your flight is delayed. Only if you booked your flights through DCL will they hold or arrange for you to meet up with the ship; and I'm not even sure that is fully guaranteed depending on the itinerary. Pre- and post-cruise transfers are different than excursions booked with DCL.

They held the Magic for an hour on our cruise due to flight delays. I wish I had shot video but about every 10 minutes watching from our balcony a DCL bus would pull up, some with only 3 people on it, running to the ship. The last bus actually came into the terminal area so fast, it chirped it's tires turning. Rumor was all 30 or so people in that last hour had booked air fare through Disney, transfers through Disney, and trip insurance through Disney. It was cheaper for Disney to wait than to try and juggle getting people to the ship. They would have missed the first day since it was an Eastern and a sea day.
It was very odd, they did the countdown at the sailaway party, blew the horn, and nothing happened for an hour!

 

[Tenkawa]

We are doing DCL to port, as with 5 of us and luggage from a DW resort, it is easier to do DCL, and on par with pricing for a sufficient size vehicle.

 

[bakerworld]

For every Floridian cruise we've used DCL. I have no idea what port parking charges are at Canaveral but if they're anything like the Manhattan Port then the DCL transport is the better deal.

 

[Husker Mike]

I think you've captured the PROS of using DCL Transfers from WDW.

• No PAT needed.
• Likely low boarding group.
• Luggage collected at your resort room, seen again onboard.
• Early arrival at the port if you want to check for upgrades.

The CONS might be:

• Cost: if more than 3 or 4 in your party.
• Timing: while some folks like the earlier pick-up at the resort, it likely involves some waiting time at the terminal before boarding the ship. Others have mentioned they'd prefer to have time for a good breakfast, character breakfast, etc. without rushing to meet the bus.
• Crowds: related to above, arriving early means waiting in the terminal maybe for an hour or so before you can board. The crowds build during that time as so many arrive before noon.
• No stops: some forms of private transportation will allow for a stop to pick up *whatever* (often beer or wine, diapers and babyfood, etc.) on the way to the port.

Missing PAT is not a big deal. Arriving after the PAT would just have you boarding as soon as your boarding group is called, or possibly immediately after check-in if it has already been called. "Open Boarding" is typically called around 12:30pm or so and anybody can board from that point because the crowds in the terminal have dispersed.

The "DCL will hold the ship for you if late" is stretching things a bit when discussing transfers from the WDW resorts to the port. Yes, DCL will likely hold departure if a DCL bus hasn't arrived, but that would have to be some kind of MAJOR delay of ~6+ hours in this case. AND to note: DCL does not necessarily hold the ship if you are booked for DCL Transfers from the airport and your flight is delayed. Only if you booked your flights through DCL will they hold or arrange for you to meet up with the ship; and I'm not even sure that is fully guaranteed depending on the itinerary. Pre- and post-cruise transfers are different than excursions booked with DCL.

Considering it's a one-hour drive from Orlando to Port Canaveral, you'd almost have to have some sort of emergency (medical or collision) to miss the boat. (If you are flying in day-of-cruise, you've introduced a whole new set of obstacles to your cruise than the bus missing the boat.) Pre-COVID, it was cheaper to rent a vehicle for a week and pay to park it at the port for a four day cruise than to use DCL transfers for a family of 4. Now rental car rates are up 100%-150%, so that price difference doesn't exist. Still, I've found that you can get private transfers for a group of four or more significantly less than DCL.

Another point is car safety seats, and this can swing either way depending on your perspective. Kids aren't legally required to use safety seats on a bus, so that's a potential cost/hassle avoidance if you are comfortable with that. If you decide that's not best for your kids, then you've got to schlep your car seats onto the boat and off. Private rentals can provide seats, as can rental car companies. Airlines will also check your car seats at no charge, so you can use them in your rental car the whole trip. (And if you pay to park the rental at the port, you can just leave it there and not worry about it until you return the rental to the airport.)

But to me the biggest disadvantage of DCL transfers is the schedule. Departure day is completely taken over by DCL, as you'll be heading to the port first thing in the morning. If you want to do something else that morning (swim, nice breakfast, maybe even rope drop either a Disney or Universal park), you'll be leaving for the port ong before you can do anything else. And then if you are planning anything else after the cruise, you are waiting for the bus to get you to the destination. Now, if your vacation is 100% cruise, this isn't a big deal...but if you are doing ANYTHING else before or afterwards, you might not want to let DCL set your schedule. We're thinking of visiting the Kennedy Space Center after the cruise, because we'll be able to store our bags in the rental car.

 

[RedHead0186]

I like doing rental cars because then you have the most control. You get to leave when you want to, you're not at the mercy of DCL's schedule (which also can be very early), and then you're waiting around for rideshare (though that's less of an issue than it was a couple years ago).

We do one-way rentals, which price-wise have been the same, if not cheaper than paying for the car for the week (plus then you don't have to pay for parking). It adds a liiiiitle bit of time at the port because you have to shuttle over, but we've always had good experience with that. Plus then you can stop wherever you need to along the way to PC.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'm new to cruising, but that's my understanding, and with excursions too. If you take a DCL excursion and are late getting back, they hold the boat for you. Outside DCL, you are SOL.

Generally, yes, this is true. However there may be issues with holding the ship in port for late arrivals. If the port needs the dock for another ship, or tides can be a couple of those reasons. If the ship has to leave, and you're on a DCL excursion, they will get you to the ship on their dime.

When we did our EBTA, the traffic was so bad that there were a couple of DCL excursions couldn't make it back in time (due to the tides the ship HAD to leave when it did). They put all those people on an overnight ferry to the next port to join the ship.

 

[DCLMP]

Considering it's a one-hour drive from Orlando to Port Canaveral, you'd almost have to have some sort of emergency (medical or collision) to miss the boat. (If you are flying in day-of-cruise, you've introduced a whole new set of obstacles to your cruise than the bus missing the boat.) Pre-COVID, it was cheaper to rent a vehicle for a week and pay to park it at the port for a four day cruise than to use DCL transfers for a family of 4. Now rental car rates are up 100%-150%, so that price difference doesn't exist. Still, I've found that you can get private transfers for a group of four or more significantly less than DCL.

Another point is car safety seats, and this can swing either way depending on your perspective. Kids aren't legally required to use safety seats on a bus, so that's a potential cost/hassle avoidance if you are comfortable with that. If you decide that's not best for your kids, then you've got to schlep your car seats onto the boat and off. Private rentals can provide seats, as can rental car companies. Airlines will also check your car seats at no charge, so you can use them in your rental car the whole trip. (And if you pay to park the rental at the port, you can just leave it there and not worry about it until you return the rental to the airport.)

But to me the biggest disadvantage of DCL transfers is the schedule. Departure day is completely taken over by DCL, as you'll be heading to the port first thing in the morning. If you want to do something else that morning (swim, nice breakfast, maybe even rope drop either a Disney or Universal park), you'll be leaving for the port ong before you can do anything else. And then if you are planning anything else after the cruise, you are waiting for the bus to get you to the destination. Now, if your vacation is 100% cruise, this isn't a big deal...but if you are doing ANYTHING else before or afterwards, you might not want to let DCL set your schedule. We're thinking of visiting the Kennedy Space Center after the cruise, because we'll be able to store our bags in the rental car.

I’m with you I prefer rental car if I can a good rate. That’s become very difficult the last two years. 443. 00 for my 10 day rental next week. It used to be about half that.

 

[DCLMP]

I'm new to cruising, but that's my understanding, and with excursions too. If you take a DCL excursion and are late getting back, they hold the boat for you. Outside DCL, you are SOL.

Just don’t be late.

 

[allears]

I'm gleaning from this that resort pick ups are earlier "now"? We haven't sailed since 2017, at the time resort pick ups were later, noon or so, which is why if we stay at a resort, we'll get a car service to pick us up in time so we arrive when the port opens, when my platinum perk meant no port arrival time.
Anyone know the time frames for resort pick up?

 

[RedHead0186]

I’m with you I prefer rental car if I can a good rate. That’s become very difficult the last two years. 443. 00 for my 10 day rental next week. It used to be about half that.

Have you looked into two one-way rentals? Sometimes that is cheaper. Slightly more logistics to deal with, but if that's worth it to you to save money . . . (we've done that had had great luck).

 

[lanejudy]

I'm gleaning from this that resort pick ups are earlier "now"? We haven't sailed since 2017, at the time resort pick ups were later, noon or so, which is why if we stay at a resort, we'll get a car service to pick us up in time so we arrive when the port opens, when my platinum perk meant no port arrival time.
Anyone know the time frames for resort pick up?

Yes, since the restart DCL transfers have picked up at WDW resorts in the morning -- maybe 8-10am. A resort bus is often the first to the port now, before the terminal opens (those arriving by DCL transfer are allowed to enter).

 

[aboveH20]

FYI I recently learned about a con. If you have to cancel your cruise you will not get back the DCL transfer charge because it’s a third party vendor. Might want to see how near the cruise you can still book the transfer so as not to lose money if you have to cancel.

 

[DCLMP]

Have you looked into two one-way rentals? Sometimes that is cheaper. Slightly more logistics to deal with, but if that's worth it to you to save money . . . (we've done that had had great luck).

It would have been the same price minus parking. We’re going to WDW after 1 night at dolphin and 4 night DVC. Logistically I need a car. I considered DCL transportation and then ubering from dolphin to SSR and then back to airport, but saving a couple hundred dollars didn’t seem worth the hassle.

 

[Carohs]

We like to arrive the day before the cruise. Renting a car gives us the flexibility of choosing our hotel and activities. It's nice to be able to drive to Target for all the things I forget, or not be limited to restaurants within a certain distance. We've even been known to do a late night drive thru milkshake run, just saying. I expect from the time we get the car to the time we arrive at the port it's less than 24 hours, so just a 1 day rental (we too opt for two one-ways).

 

[axfather]

My advice....fine to do the DCL transport (one-way) to the port. I would uber after the cruise...otherwise, you may wait over an hour for your bus to depart.