Booked for 01/18 - STill Questions

[EHiggins]

We are all booked for the January 18 cruise but have some final details to work out.

Our flight arrives at MCO at 11:00pm Saturday night, being that late we are thinking of staying at the hyatt at the airport, with kids and at that time of night the convience will be needed. The rates i am finding are 164 and 169 for that one night, is that good, bad, normal? I checked, orbitz, hyatt, expedia.

What are my options to getting to the airport? I see renting a car is about $200 plus another 40 to park. What does a town car go for and how is their schedule? Who are the good ones? 2 adults and 2 children (3&6) will be traveling.

btw our return flight leaves at 2:25 on Thursday

Last question: I was told the early dinner is full, we have the 8:00 (or is it 7:00 i can't remeber). I would rather have the early one (obviously so would everyone else). Can this be changed? Is it really a big deal? Am i worrying about nothing?

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

The rate you quote is a bit high, but it is for a Saturday night and it's not that far in advance. If you're a AAA member, it goes down to $152, click on "view other rates" on the Hyatt website. Still, if you're arriving at 11:00pm, it may be worth it. There are better deals off-site, but then you'd have to take a shuttle, and there's a good chance it will be well after midnight by the time you get to your room, depending on how often the shuttles run.

There are several options for getting to the port. You don't have to park a rental car and pay for the car to sit in the lot (in addition to the parking fee) while you're on the cruise. Most companies will rent one-way to Port Canaveral without a dropoff charge. Some offer shuttle service to the ship, or will give you money towards a cab. Dave's website has some good car rental information here:

http://www.dcltribute.com/carhire/

At the end of the cruise, you can take a shuttle from the port back to the rental car office and pick up a car for your return trip to the airport.

The DCL transfers are $46/pp round-trip, kind of pricey, but like the Hyatt, very convenient, as there's no car to return or pick up at the end of the cruise.

There are several towncar/limo options. Most run about $150-$200, round trip for a towncar. Here are some links:

FL Tours

Happy Limo

Finally, regarding dinner seating. The second or "late" seating is at 8:30pm. I find this a bit later than I'd like. If there weren't any openings at the main seating (6:00pm) when you booked, there are a few things you can do. First, call (or have your travel agent call) and ask to be placed on the wait list for early seating. Often, this will be enough. To be a bit more proactive, I call the cruise line every few days to check and see if anything's opened up. Apparently, the wait list is only checked once a day, so if something opens and then someone subsequently calls asking for an opening, they will get it. Again, I think your travel agent will have to do that if you've booked through one. Finally, if all else fails, the dining manager is available on the first day to handle any requests for dining changes. When you check in at the port, they can tell you when and where. There are no guarantees, but they can almost always accomodate you. I've used the "call every few days" method to change dining seating and our stateroom on one cruise. If you call every day during the week just prior to 60 days before your cruise, you'll probably find an opening, as this is when most cancellations occur (final payment is due 60 days prior.

Good luck!