DCL air program and ground transportation in Miami

[econwiz]

Hi all,

We booked a March 2018 sailing on Magic out of the port of Miami. This will be our 5th DCL cruise, but first time from Miami.

We booked flights to MIA, ground transportation, and a pre-cruise stay at Conrad Miami through DCL's air program. Does anyone have prior experience with these arrangements in Miami? If so, could you let us know about your experience?

Meeting Ground Transportation in MIA:
Where do we meet the ground transportation service? Is there a dedicated DCL desk or meeting area at the airport? How frequently do busses tend to run from MIA to the DCL reserved hotels? Is it a full-sized bus or shuttle van that is typically used?


Baggage Handling:
We have read other posts confirming that the ground transportation is not a DCL themed bus as in port Canaveral. But, how is baggage handling performed? Does ground transportation collect the luggage from baggage claim (as long as DCL luggage tags are attached in advance)? How about the baggage handling from the hotel to the port, is it collected directly from the room?

Hotel to Port Transfers:
Approximately what time should we expect to picked up at the hotel and, subsequently, arrive at the port? Is the experience relatively organized as in Canaveral or is it more chaotic?

Any other tips or lessons learned?

Thank you!

 

[AirForceAngler]

I'm interested in this too as we're sailing out of Miami Dec 2018.

 

[egesicki]

We did DCL transfers from the Marriott Stanton to port so perhaps it will be similar. We had a family member pick us up at the airport so i dont have anything to offer on that segment. When we checked into the hotel we were told DCL had a transportation desk. I found the woman there was making themed door decorations with everyone's initials, our first little magical touch. In the morning luggage should be tagged with the DCL mailed tags and waiting in our room by 9 and it would be magically transported and end up in our cabin. We only had to carry our day bags. Was not a Disney bus, just a regular motor coach. We met by the transportation desk at 10 where she gave us Mickey stickers to ID us and took a group photo. I think there were cookies and juice too. I think we were all on the bus by 10:30 and at the port by 11.

 

[econwiz]

That's extremely helpful, thank you! Were you provided any information in advance of your trip providing any of the details or did you learn about the logistics after you checked-in and spoke to the representative at the transportation desk?

 

[egesicki]

That's extremely helpful, thank you! Were you provided any information in advance of your trip providing any of the details or did you learn about the logistics after you checked-in and spoke to the representative at the transportation desk?

All the specific times came when we got to the hotel.

 

[susiee]

Hi, Did you book the Stanton thru Disney? How much is the shuttle from there to the port? thanks!

 

[egesicki]

Hi, Did you book the Stanton thru Disney? How much is the shuttle from there to the port? thanks!

I did not book through Disney. I knew from reading somewhere that as long as I was at the hotel I could get DCL transfers and it was indeed the case. I got a kids eat free rate of 399. Transfers were $30 per person each way, which is higher than a cab or many private tranfers, but it was just me with my kids so the porters magically taking the bags, and OAC after the cruise, were conveniences I was willing to pay for.

 

[econwiz]

After experiencing the DCL air program and ground transportation first hand for port of Miami sailings, I thought I’d follow-up on this thread.

Background:
We booked our flights, hotel, and ground transportation through DCL. We arrived through MIA airport the day before embarkation and stayed at The Conrad hotel (by Hilton) in downtown Miami.

Arrival in MIA:
The only prior information provided about ground transportation was a couple of sentences in our DCL booklet that said the ground transportation would meet us in baggage claim (nothing more specific than that). When we arrived, we proceeded towards baggage claim and took the escalator down to the ground floor. I expected to see someone waiting for us at the bottom of the escalator, but nothing. We then proceeded to make our way to the appropriate carousel area, where we finally saw a guy holding a DCL sign with our name on it. There was a DCL agent with him. As it turned out, DCL had arranged for a personal car service to take us from the airport to the hotel.

Arrival at the DCL hotel:
When we checked-in at The Conrad hotel, there was a table setup nearby with a DCL agent who provided us with instructions for our bags and transportation to the port the next morning. The instructions indicated that we were to have our bags ready with the DCL tags affixed by 9am and that a porter would take them in the morning. All guests going to the port were asked to assemble in the lobby before 11am.

Transportation to the port:
Two nondescript buses arrived to take all of us to the port. During the transit to the port, a Disney trivia and cartoon shorts video was played. But, it was not a specific DCL video, just for clarity. The port was actually only a few miles away, but traffic was bad enough that the ride was about 30 minutes.

Arrival at the port:
The Port of Miami was actually quite efficient and had some light Disney touches of banners, signs, and background music. We waited only very briefly before our boarding number was called. There was an escalator ride to up to the hallway that led to the ship.

I hope that helps clear up any questions about using the DCL air program and ground transportation in Miami.

 

[40ariel]

What was the cost of the ground transportation? Is there a fee to go from the airport to the hotel and then another fee to go from the hotel to the port?

Thank you! Your post was very helpful for me!