DU "transfers" & going a day early

[beaner720]

We booked through DU and included transfers in our quote. Had many suggestions to go down the day before and stay in a hotel to avoid any travel problems. Does anyone know how this affects our DU transfers? Would we be on our own with our luggage that first leg if we stay in a hotel Friday night? I have an e-mail in to our agent, but she's on vacation. Just curious in the meantime! Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[makaylee]

We booked through DU and included transfers in our quote. Had many suggestions to go down the day before and stay in a hotel to avoid any travel problems. Does anyone know how this affects our DU transfers? Would we be on our own with our luggage that first leg if we stay in a hotel Friday night? I have an e-mail in to our agent, but she's on vacation. Just curious in the meantime! Thanks for any help you can give.

The Disney Transfers are from the Orlando airport and most if not all hotels have a shuttle that runs there. So you could stay at almost any hotel the night before and take their to the airport the next morning and get on the Disney bus. It's pretty simple and you shouldn't have any problems. Have fun! Oh just noticed the luggage part, Yes unless you stay at the Hyatt in the airport I guess you would be on your own with your luggage untill you get on the DCL bus. Unless you really have a lot of bags it shouldn't be that hard to get them on and off the shuttle though. Good Luck.

 

[jordgubben]

We are basically doing what you are considering for our upcoming trip.

We are going to arrive late Friday night and stay at the Crowne Plaza Orlando Airport (booked through Priceline) which has a free shuttle. We are goign to take the free shuttle from the airport to the hotel and back to the airport in the morning to catch the DCL shuttle to port. Our travel agent explained that people do this all the time.

I've read other people mention that they actually met poeple on their cruise while traveling on the hotel shuttle back to the airpot to catch the DCL shuttle.

The one suggestion about luggage that I've read on these boards is that if you are arriving the night before you should not put the DCL luggage tags on your bags. Maybe someone else will be able to chime in and say if that is correct or not.

 

[jhorstma]

Just got back from the 3/19 Eastern - trip report to follow soon. But absolutely fly down the night before - we had 3 folks join the ship in St. Martin, probably because flight delays caused them to miss departure (and we left port an hour late). Yellow DCL tags go on when you're ready to bid the bags adieu, as they get scooped up at the airport by eager DCL folks and you don't see them until you get on-board.

Staying at the Hyatt (overpriced and in need of a little refurbishing, but still nice and mighty mighty convenient) allowed us to be the first ones on the first bus to port - we were first up to registration and while we waited in a line to board the ship, we were at the front of the line (and therefore first up for Palo ressies, first up for peel & eat shrimp, first up for the Mickey pool slide, etc). And DCL folks snagged our bags from directly in front of our Hyatt room, so we didn't have to drag them onto any shuttles.

 

[daisy112878]

We had transfers in our price from DU but we cancelled them. We decided to fly down friday morning and rent a car from Budget. We are getting a car for the night for $36. There's a budget near the port that you can drop off your car and they will take you to the port. Also they don't charge a one way fee. We're staying at the Marriott Courtyard Cocoa Beach for the night before.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We did this with our land/sea trip last August. We stayed at the Poly, NOT off site so if you're off site I don't know how it will work for you, but for others doing what we had done.

For us we had to pick up our own luggage and go directly to the Miers (sp?) shuttle desk. Told them we arrived a day early and gave them our shuttle vouchers (one for each person) and told them what resort we were staying in. They told us what bus to get on and when it was fairly full it took the guest to their respective resorts. Very easy and efficeint. We wanted that extra full day at a park, that is why we flew in a day early.

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

On our 2nd cruise we flew in a day early and rented a car and drove to PC. We stayed at the Radisson, but that was back when Avis had a drop off there. For our cruise in Nov we are going to fly in 2-3 days ahead (haven't decided yet) and are going to stay on site at Disney. We're going to use Magical Express to get us to the hotel. I found out that the DCL buses pick up cruise guests at certain hotels-they are the hotels listed in the DCL brochure as the choices for the land and sea packages. Even if you're not taking a land and sea or if you're on a 7 night cruise the buses will pick you up at those hotels. I was told there is a cruise line desk and you just let them know that you're going to catch the DCL bus there. We're going to stay at the POFQ since the bus will pick us up there and take us to the port. We'll use DCL back to the airport after the cruise. We have the REAS pkg booked, so I don't have to worry about the ressie scramble. I know we'd probably save a few $$ if we had a towncar service or if we stayed off site, but it's DH vacation too and I didn't want him to worry about driving.

 

[poconoboatniks]

We've used DCL transfers, Happy's Limo & rental car. Each has it's own benefits. I guess it depends on home many are traveling in your party. The rental car was the cheapest. It was very easy to drop off the car at the port. On the way back to the airport, we have used DCL transfers. If you are flying on one of the airlines that has checkin counters at the port, traveling to the airport is painless. If you're traveling on another airline, the trip to airport is still pretty easy. You just have to get your luggage on and off the bus.

The limo wasn't much cheaper than DCL, but it was very nice to be driven to the port in a nice car. The driver stopped at a shopping center so that we could pick up a few things.

DCL transfers were great for the first trip. The video and narrated ride was nice. The video helped us get the paperwork in order for check in.

Enjoy your trip!

Poconoboatniks

 

[roscodog]

We've stayed off-site prior to our cruise and at a Disney Resort. If you are off-site, you have a find a way back to the MCO airport where you meet the Disney rep and bus. The hotel we stayed at had free shuttle to the airport so it was convenient. If you are at a resort,it is much easier and probably more expensive. I've heard great things about the Hyatt at the airport and it will be so much more convenient.

 

[TammiMcMan]

The Hyatt is the most convenient for staying the night before. If you are arriving early, do not put your DCL luggage tags on. You'll be responsible for picking them up at baggage claim and bringing them to whichever hotel you're staying at. If it is the Hyatt, you never have to leave the airport. Rates are usually around $180 per night. When you check-in, let them know that you are with DCL and they'll give you a packet of information. Before you go to bed that night, put your luggage tags on and leave your bags outside your room. A representative will pick them up and you'll next see them sitting outside your stateroom door on the ship. In the morning, just take your overnight bag down to the hotel lobby and meet the DCL representative.

We've also flown in a day early and stayed at the Hawthorne Suites Airport. They're rate was about $99 and they had a complimentary shuttle to and from the airport, plus a complimentary hot buffet breakfast in the morning.

There are so many options when you decide to fly in the night before. Many guests do a one-way car rental and head right for the port. There are many hotels in that area and you could spend some time on the beach. We travelled with a family of 5, so it actually worked out less expensive for us to rent a car and skip the transfer. That way, we could also stop at Walmart and stock up on some water and beach toys that we didn't want to haul down in our luggage. A limo or towncar is also a nice splurge to start your vacation.