Dcl transfer vs car service?

[Jax1023]

I had originally planned to book Tiffany towncar for a transfer from the Hyatt to the port for our cruise next month. This way we could go at time we determined, won’t have to line up for buses, etc. also for the grocery stop to get wine/beer and sunscreen for the cruise.

But check in was a tech disaster and at 2am I gave up so I could get 3 hours of sleep before work. I was able to quickly check in at 5am and got a 12:15 port arrival time with boarding group 13.

Would it be worth it to switch to transfers from the Hyatt to get BG 2? This is our first Disney cruise, this has never seemed to be a thing on the other lines I have sailed.

With BG 13 will it just be crowded chaos? Will we still have time for lunch?

I had been hoping to get an early PAT, but hadn’t been planning on it taking over 2 hours. I’ve been feeling very frustrated and unsure what to do since then.

What would you pick? Cost is essentially identical.

 

[Mommb]

You will certainly have time for lunch with Boarding Group 13. Once boarding starts, it is maybe 5 minutes between groups. We were group 13 on the Fantasy last month, and finished lunch right around when staterooms opened at 2.

Unless you need to rush to do something (such as change or make dining reservations) as soon as you get onboard, I would stick with your original plan. Schedule your pick-up to allow for a grocery stop and port arrival at 12:15.

 

[Jax1023]

You will certainly have time for lunch with Boarding Group 13. Once boarding starts, it is maybe 5 minutes between groups. We were group 13 on the Fantasy last month, and finished lunch right around when staterooms opened at 2.

Unless you need to rush to do something (such as change or make dining reservations) as soon as you get onboard, I would stick with your original plan. Schedule your pick-up to allow for a grocery stop and port arrival at 12:15.

I had been hoping to get on the waiting list for Palo brunch, but I realize that’s kind of unlikely either way.

The transfer does seem less stressful to me. Everyother cruise I’ve been on, you just show up!

 

[auntlynne]

 

[soniam]

I messed up checkin by a day and got 2:30 in July. We had a town car and ended up getting there about 1pm. They called all boarding groups within us being there less than 15 minutes. It will be a good time to arrive.

 

[DSLRuser]

We come in 1 day early and stay at DVC. So we rent a car.

$33 a day x 5 = $165
1/2 tank of gas = $30
Tolls = $25
Terminal parking = $80

Total to rent a car = $300 and that would comfortably fit a family of 4

Plus having our own car saves us at least an hour MCO to DVC, 3 hours DVC to Terminal, and at least an hour Terminal to MCO. Any many times we can work in a trip to Disney Springs after the cruise.

5 hours extra "me" time is priceless when dealing with a long weekend cruise trip.

So in short, skip ride share and skip DCL busses. Spend a little extra and enjoy your time.

 

[DSLRuser]

I will add, we had group 24 1:30pm boarding on the wish in January. The called our group at 12:55pm. We ate lunch in arendale and had plenty of time to explore and get our bags before muster drill. Getting such an early embarkation time is just not that big of a deal.

 

[RedHead0186]

We come in 1 day early and stay at DVC. So we rent a car.

$33 a day x 5 = $165
1/2 tank of gas = $30
Tolls = $25
Terminal parking = $80

Total to rent a car = $300 and that would comfortably fit a family of 4

Plus having our own car saves us at least an hour MCO to DVC, 3 hours DVC to Terminal, and at least an hour Terminal to MCO. Any many times we can work in a trip to Disney Springs after the cruise.

5 hours extra "me" time is priceless when dealing with a long weekend cruise trip.

So in short, skip ride share and skip DCL busses. Spend a little extra and enjoy your time.

I'm curious where you're able to get a rental car for $33 a day? I haven't seen prices like that since pre-COVID. (Not saying you're wrong just wondering if I'm looking in the wrong places, lol).

 

[Jax1023]

We come in 1 day early and stay at DVC. So we rent a car.

$33 a day x 5 = $165
1/2 tank of gas = $30
Tolls = $25
Terminal parking = $80

Total to rent a car = $300 and that would comfortably fit a family of 4

Plus having our own car saves us at least an hour MCO to DVC, 3 hours DVC to Terminal, and at least an hour Terminal to MCO. Any many times we can work in a trip to Disney Springs after the cruise.

5 hours extra "me" time is priceless when dealing with a long weekend cruise trip.

So in short, skip ride share and skip DCL busses. Spend a little extra and enjoy your time.

This cannot have been recently.

The cheapest week long car rental for a Hyundai accent. $450 for a week.

Even just two same day one way car rentals are $150.

Pre pandemic, I could rent a car for $150 for a week, but those days are gone.

 

[DSLRuser]

This cannot have been recently.

The cheapest week long car rental for a Hyundai accent. $450 for a week.

Even just two same day one way car rentals are $150.

Pre pandemic, I could rent a car for $150 for a week, but those days are gone.

January 23.

I have status with National, and our corp rate is $33 a day for midsize.


TIME & DISTANCE (5 Day(s) @ $ 33.00)$ 165.00

Now admittedly, they throw taxes on top of that. But that's the base rate.

 

[Jax1023]

January 23.

I have status with National, and our corp rate is $33 a day for midsize.


TIME & DISTANCE (5 Day(s) @ $ 33.00)$ 165.00

Now admittedly, they throw taxes on top of that. But that's the base rate.

Well a corporate rate is not publicly available, and I couldn’t access it.

So car rental is by far the most expensive choice for me.

 

[gilsan]

I had been hoping to get on the waiting list for Palo brunch, but I realize that’s kind of unlikely either way.

The transfer does seem less stressful to me. Everyother cruise I’ve been on, you just show up!

Taking transfers is definitely less stressful. We took them last August and we were of the first groups in the terminal.

 

[JWG]

We historically have done private transfers through Happy Limo, a sponsor here. This last time DCL transfers were cheaper so we did that. Stayed at an airport hotel with free shuttle and transferred back to the airport to catch the DCL bus.

We were on the first bus to the coast. Upside was they weren‘t enforcing PATs for DCL transport.

 

[Cheburashka]

If you want to go out to get groceries, then I would rent a car or use a car service. If you don't want to go out to get groceries (remember the potential for using a grocery delivery service to your hotel), then I would use DCL transfers. DCL transfers are very low-stress.