ground transportation ?

[dreamsail]

First time cruiser...when I booked our cruise back in March '11, our TA told us to get ground transportation and insurance, so I did (the default with DCL, which I now know better!)

So, the ground transportation is already messing us up because we are flying in the day before...I was hoping to stay at cocoa beach, but the ground transportation will only take us the day of the cruise. So now we've had to book a hotel in Orlando that offers shuttle service to the airport the next day.

So here is my question...does anyone know the schedule of gt back to Orlando (MCO) when we disembark? Our flight doesn't leave until 5PM and I was hoping to visit Kennedy, but will the gt mess us up once again?

 

[3Mickeys]

It looks like DCL transfers is not the way to go for you guys. The return after you get off the ship happens right away... get off the ship, fill a bus, off to the airport. There is no way you can go do something else and then return to the terminal to take the DCL bus to the airport.

We flew in the night before our cruise last year and technically we were at an airport hotel and could have returned to the airport to get the DCL bus. Instead, with five in our party we ran the numbers and it was cheaper for us to book a round trip car service to and from the port. It was much more convenient.

I would suggest you drop DCL transfers and book your trip the way you want.

 

[mmouse37]

First time cruiser...when I booked our cruise back in March '11, our TA told us to get ground transportation and insurance, so I did (the default with DCL, which I now know better!)

So, the ground transportation is already messing us up because we are flying in the day before...I was hoping to stay at cocoa beach, but the ground transportation will only take us the day of the cruise. So now we've had to book a hotel in Orlando that offers shuttle service to the airport the next day.

So here is my question...does anyone know the schedule of gt back to Orlando (MCO) when we disembark? Our flight doesn't leave until 5PM and I was hoping to visit Kennedy, but will the gt mess us up once again?

Why don't you just drop the transfers off the reservation?
It seems that DCL transfers is not right for this reservation. Your best best after the cruise is to rent a car for the day. We have done this several times and works great. We do to downtown Disney or outlet shopping and then go back to airport about 1.5 hours before our cruise. You will be off the ship by about 9:30 (the latest) so you have a full day to do things.

MJ

 

[kcashner]

First of all, you can drop DCL transfers up to 3 days before embarkation--I'd suggest that you do this. That will allow you to do whatever you want as far as your pre-night stay. You can get a hotel in the MCO area or the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral area, and you can either do a one way car rental or consider the Cocoa Beach Shuttle.

You will need to be off the ship by 9. You can rent a car and enjoy your day--at Kennedy Space Center, Downtown Disney, or other location of your choice. One way car rentals are quick and easy. Look for discount codes at rentalcodes.com and mousesavers.com. Budget, Thrifty/Dollar, Avis, Hertz, and Enterprise have locations near the port.

 

[dreamsail]

Thanks for the info...I guess I thought that since I was already booked for ground transportation that I couldn't drop it.

I'll call today!