Hotel Night before Cruise?

[Wanna be Ariel]

We will coming in the day or night depending on flights and cost before our Feb 2018 cruise. My question is: Would we be better staying at the Hyatt in MCO and taking the Disney Cruise bus in the AM. Or should we rent a car and stay somewhere close to the port? Also what time does the cruise bus usually start leaving MCO in the morning?

 

[jcarwash]

I like to rent a car and stay near port, specifically at the Country Inn and Suites. I have stayed there four times and have a reservation for cruise #5.

It's been much less expensive for me to do two one-way car rentals than to pay for the Disney ground transportation, plus having a car lets me have a little flexibility before the cruise, for example, I can visit Publix to pick up anything we need or to get beer or wine to carry on.

 

[Wanna be Ariel]

I like to rent a car and stay near port, specifically at the Country Inn and Suites. I have stayed there four times and have a reservation for cruise #5.

It's been much less expensive for me to do two one-way car rentals than to pay for the Disney ground transportation, plus having a car lets me have a little flexibility before the cruise, for example, I can visit Publix to pick up anything we need or to get beer or wine to carry on.

Okay good to know. Any car rental better than the other? We usually always rent from Alamo at MCO, but would love to hear others?

 

[mevelandry]

There is also a third option : staying at a WDW hotel (with free shuttle from airport) and use the DCL shuttle (you have to pay for it, though... 35$/pp each way) This is what we like to do. It's fun and very well organized.

 

[jcarwash]

Okay good to know. Any car rental better than the other? We usually always rent from Alamo at MCO, but would love to hear others?

I love using Hertz as their office in Cape Canaveral is right next to Country Inn and Suites, and I've consistently had good experiences with the staff there, and their shuttle service has been efficient and quick.

I had one bad experience with the Avis office at Cape Canaveral, mainly with their poor shuttle, so I wouldn't plan on using them again.

I think the Alamo/Enterprise/National Cape Canaveral office moved to a new location right at Port Canaveral itself, so that's interesting. I may take a look at their rates for my next cruise.

 

[Wanna be Ariel]

There is also a third option : staying at a WDW hotel (with free shuttle from airport) and use the DCL shuttle (you have to pay for it, though... 35$/pp each way) This is what we like to do. It's fun and very well organized.

Oh wow $35 per person? We are planning on staying 2 night after the cruise. Hum might be better before?

 

[lanejudy]

DCL transfers cost $35 per person each direction (pre-cruise and post-cruise) regardless of whether taking them from MCO or WDW.

If you are arriving in the late afternoon or evening, I recommend just staying at the MCO Hyatt or another airport area hotel (many have free shuttle service from/to the airport and some have free breakfast). Then using DCL transfers to port.

If you are arriving early in the day, you might want to go towards the port or WDW for some additional options of activities that day/evening.

Depending on how many people are in your party, a car rental is likely less expensive than DCL transfers, even with 2 one-way rentals.

As to whether to do WDW before or after the cruise, it may depend on your schedule. We prefer pre-cruise WDW as the parks are so busy then the cruise is more relaxing. But we have done the reverse when the cruise we wanted fit into the beginning of our available vacation time.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

If you are planning on staying some extra time before or after, the rental car becomes even more attractive as you would then also have the car during your stay. Price it out two ways: One as a rental for the entire trip, the second as two rentals, one before and one after. Yes it means picking up the car twice, but it may be a lot cheaper.

Also, depending on what time your flight gets in the day before, you might prefer to stay at a hotel near the airport instead of one near the port. Initially when we thought we'd get to Orlando around noon, we were going to stay near the port, but when it turned out that the flight we picked wouldn't get to Orlando until about 7PM, we switched our reservation to a hotel near the airport. There are a lot of good options close to the airport, and that way, by the time we got our luggage and left the airport (and were hungry for dinner) we didn't still have an hours' drive to the hotel. Getting a rental car at MCO airport is easy since most of the companies have space in the parking lot right across the street.

ETA: We used Budget because they had the size car we wanted at the best price at that time. They were fine, but I would choose another company if the price was better.

 

[bumbershoot]

This is what we like to do. It's fun and very well organized.

The experience on the bus is the same from WDW or the airport. Not sure what part of riding a coach bus is "fun", but then I'm rather immune to pixie dust. Also I grew up on a Greyhound b/c my dad was a driver, so riding a bus is layered with very odd memories, no matter if the wrap on the bus is DCL themed.

From the airport it starts boarding at 9am. From WDW resorts your meetup time to get ready to get on the bus might start as early as 11:30, which means you're getting to the port later ahn if you leave from MCO nice and early. That makes a difference to us. At WDW you get a notice letting you know what time to meet, and you get it the night before. We didn't actually get that notice. So...well organized is NOT the phrase I would use for the experience. We then met at the time where we signed in then sat around for over half an hour until they finally rallied us to go towards the bus. Again, not very well organized IMO.

DCL transfers cost $35 per person each direction (pre-cruise and post-cruise) regardless of whether taking them from MCO or WDW.

Yep.

OP I would WAY rather take the DCL bus back to the resort if it's a choice of before or after. I just want to be at the terminal early, not sitting on a bus knowing that others have been onboard for an hour already (our first DCL cruise my cousins texted that they were onboard before our bus's engine had started). That's not as important for other people. Decide what you want.

But really, it's so expensive that checking out car rentals is a good idea. We like the Alamo/National/Enterprise setup they have now.


IMO....if you are coming in when there's not much light left of the day, just stay at the Hyatt. If you'll have light and possible beach time etc in Canaveral, head to the coast.

 

[LSUfan4444]

There is also a third option : staying at a WDW hotel (with free shuttle from airport) and use the DCL shuttle (you have to pay for it, though... 35$/pp each way) This is what we like to do. It's fun and very well organized.

We like to stay on Disney property as well but rent our own car from either the Disney car Care Center (opens at 6 am) or the Swan resort (opens at 8 am and is a little more expensive than car care center) and drop the car off at the port. Like previously mentioned we rent a car for one day to get to the port then again to get from the port.

For a full size car (family of three) including a booster seat the cost is less than $200 for both rentals.

 

[phinz]

I love using Hertz as their office in Cape Canaveral is right next to Country Inn and Suites, and I've consistently had good experiences with the staff there, and their shuttle service has been efficient and quick.

Quick note: Make sure to use the cash lines for tolls when driving a Hertz car, and not the SunPass lanes because PlatePass will charge you not only for every toll, but also a daily admin fee of $4.95, up to $24.75 depending on how long you have the car. Hertz will do *nothing* to help you on it. The verbiage for the "service" is buried on page three of the long-winded rental agreement. We were incorrectly charged for tolls and admin (we have a SunPass and used it the entire trip) to the tune of $26.25 on our last trip.

I'll never, ever use Hertz for anything again. We got our money back through a combination of PlatePass refunding the admin fee but telling us that the toll wasn't duplicated and AMEX telling PlatePass they were full of it and refunding the rest of the money. The biggest problem is I spent more than $26 of my own time chasing it all down, but it was the principle of the thing.

 

[mevelandry]

The experience on the bus is the same from WDW or the airport. Not sure what part of riding a coach bus is "fun", but then I'm rather immune to pixie dust. Also I grew up on a Greyhound b/c my dad was a driver, so riding a bus is layered with very odd memories, no matter if the wrap on the bus is DCL themed.

From the airport it starts boarding at 9am. From WDW resorts your meetup time to get ready to get on the bus might start as early as 11:30, which means you're getting to the port later ahn if you leave from MCO nice and early. That makes a difference to us. At WDW you get a notice letting you know what time to meet, and you get it the night before. We didn't actually get that notice. So...well organized is NOT the phrase I would use for the experience. We then met at the time where we signed in then sat around for over half an hour until they finally rallied us to go towards the bus. Again, not very well organized IMO.



Yep.

OP I would WAY rather take the DCL bus back to the resort if it's a choice of before or after. I just want to be at the terminal early, not sitting on a bus knowing that others have been onboard for an hour already (our first DCL cruise my cousins texted that they were onboard before our bus's engine had started). That's not as important for other people. Decide what you want.

But really, it's so expensive that checking out car rentals is a good idea. We like the Alamo/National/Enterprise setup they have now.


IMO....if you are coming in when there's not much light left of the day, just stay at the Hyatt. If you'll have light and possible beach time etc in Canaveral, head to the coast.

Fun... are the videos you watch while you're on your way. But maybe I'm just easily entertained.

 

[Shanti]

We will coming in the day or night depending on flights and cost before our Feb 2018 cruise. My question is: Would we be better staying at the Hyatt in MCO and taking the Disney Cruise bus in the AM. Or should we rent a car and stay somewhere close to the port? Also what time does the cruise bus usually start leaving MCO in the morning?

We like the MCO Hyatt / DCL bus combo. If you book the Hyatt via DCL & use their transfers, you don't need to worry about a PAT. Just hop on the earliest bus you like, and at the port you'll get a boarding number based on your actual arrival time, not on an assigned PAT.

Plus, your hotel stay is pre-paid, if you booked & paid for it as part of your cruise package, so no annoying hotel bill to pay the night before. I like to pay for as much as possible in advance: hotel, transportation, base gratuities, etc. It makes the trip itself more carefree.

The Hyatt's bellboys will take your bags to the transfer bus for you (there is a form you fill out for this service during check-in). It worked seamlessly for us. The Hyatt is a nice hotel on its own merits, as well. Very comfortable, attractive and clean.

 

[surran12]

But really, it's so expensive that checking out car rentals is a good idea. We like the Alamo/National/Enterprise setup they have now.


IMO....if you are coming in when there's not much light left of the day, just stay at the Hyatt. If you'll have light and possible beach time etc in Canaveral, head to the coast.

I'm curious about the new Alamo location... How close is it to the entrance to the port. I'm planning on dropping everyone off and the. Going back to drop off the Van m. Any chance it's safely Walkable back to the terminal? Thanks for any info.

 

[phinz]

I'm curious about the new Alamo location... How close is it to the entrance to the port. I'm planning on dropping everyone off and the. Going back to drop off the Van m. Any chance it's safely Walkable back to the terminal? Thanks for any info.

Nothing is safely walkable to the terminal. There are no sidewalks leading back to the terminal.

Do a StreetView from here.

 

[lanejudy]

I'm curious about the new Alamo location... How close is it to the entrance to the port. I'm planning on dropping everyone off and the. Going back to drop off the Van m. Any chance it's safely Walkable back to the terminal? Thanks for any info.

I believe all of the car rental agencies with a location at Port Canaveral are within 5 miles of the port, though none are walkable. So there's very little difference which to use unless you have personal preference.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[surran12]

Thanks for the replys Phinz and Lanejudy