Day before cruise - fly in and stay at hotel?

[alwayslisad]

has anyone flown in the day before and stayed overnight? I was told that we could go back to the airport on Saturday and board the first shuttle - that way we are on board bright and early.......

pro's and con's????????



Lisa

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yup, that's what the majority of people flying in do. Some also stay near Port Canaveral, too; many hotels in the PC area offer a shuttle to the port. Personally, we like to rent a car and stay at WDW the night before our cruise, then drop off the car in Cape Canaveral and take the car rental agency's shuttle over. For shorter cruises it may make sense to rent the car longer and pay to leave it in the cruise lot. Lots of options.

 

[depomas]

I can not see may cons in this, except paying for a hotel.

ThePros:
Peace of mind to know you make the cruise
Relaxing the day before, and not getting up in the middle of the night to make a flight and be exhausted your first day onboard.
Enjoying every minute of your first day onboard (you paid for this day)

So having said that, there is no way we would not stay overnight prior. We stay at cheapie hotels for the night....

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

Being from Massachusetts, we have learned from experience that there are too may things that can mess up planned travel. We ALWAYS plan to get there a day early. Port Canaveral and the local area is loaded with things to do, so you would not be bored. Hang out at Cocoa Beach for the day and rest up for the cruise It's worth the hotel cost to have the peace of mind that you will not be late, and also won't have to be up extremely early to travel to Florida.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

We are in a Chicago burb and always sail around Thanksgiving....last 4 years. We fly in 1 or 2 days in advance depending on the Eastern or Western sailing and ALWAYS stay at WDW. We use their transfers and wouldn't have it any other way!!

 

[figment795]

Since DH and I live on the west coast flying a day early is our only option. Tried a red eye flight once and end up taking a long nap after we arrived in our room.

 

[AspiringCindy]

We plan on flying into WDW a day early before our DCL cruise in November, and plan to use our Disney Visa rewards to pay for our overnight stay! We have managed to reserve a mid size car from budget for $25...so we don't even need transfers to the port! With our family of 5, this is a great savings!

 

[RobinMarie]

If anything goes wrong with your flight or luggage you have time to fix them before you cruise, or miss the cruise. I would recommend staying the night before!

 

[mmouse37]

We plan on flying into WDW a day early before our DCL cruise in November, and plan to use our Disney Visa rewards to pay for our overnight stay! We have managed to reserve a mid size car from budget for $25...so we don't even need transfers to the port! With our family of 5, this is a great savings!

That is a great price but are you sure you will all fit in the mid-size car...we also have a family of five...kids are really adult size at 16, 20 & 21 but even a few years ago we found that a mini-van or even better an SUV was needed to hold us and our luggage....and I limit everyone to only one suitcase each (and not a huge one)!!

MJ

 

[AspiringCindy]

That is a great price but are you sure you will all fit in the mid-size car...we also have a family of five...kids are really adult size at 16, 20 & 21 but even a few years ago we found that a mini-van or even better an SUV was needed to hold us and our luggage....and I limit everyone to only one suitcase each (and not a huge one)!!

MJ

I HOPE SO! My kids are only 12, 11 & 3...but it is the luggage that has got me worried! We will have 2 very large suitcases, and 1 22" carryon!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I HOPE SO! My kids are only 12, 11 & 3...but it is the luggage that has got me worried! We will have 2 very large suitcases, and 1 22" carryon!

A full size ought to do it!

 

[tvguy]

Find out what model of car the rental car agency considers a full size car to be.
Last year I rented from Budget, Hertz, and Thrifty, and reserved a full size car. At Budget I got a Buick Regal one time, and got upgraded to a Buick Park Avenue....at Hertz I got a Crown Victoria, and at Thrifty a Dodge Neon.
Only the Park Avenue and Crown Vic are what "I" consider to be full sized cars.......

 

[BeenHad]

I decided to go a day early and Disney put us up at the Hyatt in the Orlando airport. I did this because we were leaving PA during the winter and I did not want to take a chance. It was a nominal charge in comparison the the cost of the cruise and worth it.

 

[alwayslisad]

We ended up getting the day before package - My sister & DH are both hearing impaired and were concerned with the travel. This way, we will all be able to relax, meet the day before, let the cousins all hang and get re-joined (after not seeing each others in 3 yrs) and all get to Port C together. I think this is the best way to go and did not realize this was an option till I started coming here!

We are all booked in and just need to save save save.

 

[Yankee914]

We always arrive the day before. So much less stress than worrying about whether you will make the boat. Being there early on the day of departure also guarantees you will get an opportunity to make all of your ressies without worrying that you will be shut out.