Flying the day before and staying somewhere close?

[Biddler]

First time cruising on DCL. I was just wondering if many people fly in the day before and stay someplace close that night or fly in that morning. If they do fly in the day before, where do you stay. I was just looking at the pamplet they send you and it says give yourself 4 hours for embarking and disembarking. Is that true?

 

[AnnMorin]

Our first two cruises we flew in the morning of and it was terrible! We had to get up at 4am to make our flight, I was so tired the first day on the ship was a waste. Cruise number three we smarted up and flew in the day before. We stayed near the airport and rented a car, the next morning we drove to the port it worked great! This year we are doing the same thing but staying near universal-I am taking DH and DS to Dan Marino's restaurant for my bday dinner since they are huge dolphin fans.
It does not take long to embark or debark but it is good to allow yourself the extra time.

 

[tkd lisa]

We always fly in the day before and usually stay near the Orlando airport. The hotel rates are much better there. 1st trip, I used hotels.com and got a rate of $69 for an Amerisuite w/ breakfast. Second trip we used priceline and got Mariott Renaissance for $32.

As to the 4 hours for boarding, that seems pretty extreme. Basically, you wait in a line (sometimes it's non-existent, sometimes it's a 20-30 minute wait) to turn in your documents, show your ID and get your Key To The World Card. Then you may have to wait to board if they haven't started the boarding process. They usually begin boarding between 12:30 and 1:00. Our experience has been about a 20 minute wait for document check followed by about 30 minutes to board (we got in that line about 12:30 or so) on our first cruise. The second cruise, we walked up to the document check (about 11:30), then waited for them to start boarding. We were on board by 1:00 or so (about 15 minutes after they started boarding).

 

[inkkognito]

We like to stay near MCO rather than Port Canaveral. We can usually get a hotel at the higest star level via Priceline for $25 to $28 (it's almost always the Marriott). Our flight usually gets in late, so we get a good night's sleep and then have Happy Limo pick us up in the morning.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Hi Biddler.

I was just wondering if many people fly in the day before and stay someplace close that night or fly in that morning. If they do fly in the day before, where do you stay.

On our first cruise, we flew in the morning of. A poor decision. As Ann said, you're just too exhausted to fully enjoy the experience.

On our second cruise, I made reservations for a room at The Radisson in Port Canaveral. Our plane was to leave the morning of the day before. What happens? The blackout. No planes. No trains. No communication. Gilligan's Island without any comic relief. It proved to be an adventure getting to the ship, but we did make it. Thank goodness we at least were ready to travel the day before cause travel we did - lol.

We are booked for next year. Now I'm leaving TWO days in advance (traveling down via amtrak), just so I can board the Magic for once without bordering on exhaustion... hopefully...

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

It doesn't take much of an airline delay to cause stress to set in when traveling on the morning of. The price of a hotel is a small price indeed when you compare it to the peace of mind it will give you.

I have a list of port-area lodging options at my web site...

www.dcltribute.com/lodging