First Disney Cruise!

[cindianne320]

Hello! We are about to book our first Disney Cruise on the Dream in 2013! I have a few questions-

First- how do you recommend getting to the cruise? We will be in WDW for a few days before. Is it best to rent a car, and then Park and Cruise? Anyone know how much that costs vs. the $70/person transfer. We will have a 4 year old and 1 year old- are they $70, too?

Second- What room locations would be ideal for my DH, 2 kids, sister and mom in an adjoining room?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I have not cruised yet, but the general concensus is that renting a car is the best option. We are also going to WDW for a few days before our cruise. We plan to rent a car at WDW, then drop it off at the rental agency at the port. That way we only pay for a one day rental and not park and cruise.

Alamo and National have rental sites at the WDW car care center. Avis, Dollar, Enterprise and Budget have sites at the Downtown Disney hotels. But only Budget, Enterprise, Thrifty/Dollar, and Avis have sites at the Port so you'll want to stick with those.

Someone else can who has done it can chime and in correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Your Stateroom location is subjective to many many people.
What do you want out of the room?
Just a place to sleep and get ready (inside room, with virtual porthole), a place to enjoy the view (proper ocean view or a verandah Stateroom with fresh air), do you or anyone in your family get sea sick easily (lower deck Stateroom and Midships), location close to the elevator's or stairs, or close to the kid's club's, or beverage stations.

All of the Stateroom's are great, but in their own way!


Ex Techie

 

[cindianne320]

I have not cruised yet, but the general concensus is that renting a car is the best option. We are also going to WDW for a few days before our cruise. We plan to rent a car at WDW, then drop it off at the rental agency at the port. That way we only pay for a one day rental and not park and cruise.

Alamo and National have rental sites at the WDW car care center. Avis, Dollar, Enterprise and Budget have sites at the Downtown Disney hotels. But only Budget, Enterprise, Thrifty/Dollar, and Avis have sites at the Port so you'll want to stick with those.

Someone else can who has done it can chime and in correct me if I'm wrong.

Thank you! So probably stick with the Downtown Disney rentals? Also, how do you get from the Port back to the airport if you don't have the car any more?

 

[Namsupak]

Just like Ex Techie said there are so many factors that go into a stateroom choice. We prefer close to the nursery. For transportation we actually prefer a private transport service if we have 4 people or more in the group, plus we then can actually put our daughter in a car seat. For less than 4 people we like the convenience of DCL transfers.

 

[remlap]

Another option, if you're not planning on going in the parks the day of the cruise is to drive from WDW to the Cape Canaveral and stay in one the hotels that offers parking the night before the cruise. The room will be cheaper than Disney and parking free. Then you don't have to pay for Disney transport back to airport.

 

[cindianne320]

Our plan is to do a park the day before the cruise, and then Thursday, the day the cruise leaves, drive up early in the morning to enjoy Kennedy Space Center and Cocoa Beach.

I just don't know where we are going to leave the car, as we NEED to get back to the airport ASAP on Sunday...

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Thank you! So probably stick with the Downtown Disney rentals? Also, how do you get from the Port back to the airport if you don't have the car any more?

You essentially "re-rent" it for the return trip to MCO. There's no reason to pay for a rental car that's just going to sit in the parking garage.

 

[cindianne320]

Thanks! That makes sense now. So we rent it at one of the DD places, drive up, return it, then have it ready for the trip to MCO. Got it!

 

[kcashner]

I agree totally that there is NO reason to be paying to rent a car that is sitting in a parking garage or park and cruise facility. Also--there is no Alamo location near the cruise terminal. The companies near the terminal are Hertz, Budget, Avis, Thrifty/Dollar, and Enterprise. At Disney, Hertz is in the Hilton, Budget in the Doubletree, sombody (I think Avis) is in the Swan/Dolphin, etc.

You can get discount codes at rentalcodes.com or mousesavers.com and save as much as half of the normal rental cost. All of the companies offer a free shuttle from their Cocoa Beach or Cape Canaveral locations to the cruise terminal.

To get back to the airport, you rent another car (reserve in advance), or you can use DCL transfers, a towncar service, or anything you choose. Again, the car rental is cheapest, DCL transfers are the most convenient.