I need suggestions for prenight stay before Western sailing.......

[LAMPSKIES]

Our last three DCL cruises we booked two nights at WDW prior to our sailing. The last two were Thanksgiving and the day after thus, only making DD's miss the following week of school. We are doing the Western Dec. 4th and would like to fly down Friday......We don't want to risk Chicago weather stopping our flight and missing the ship.
So 1) Where do you stay.....and 2) We've always used DCL's transportation, will DCL transport you to a non WDW hotel the night before?

 

[kcashner]

You can get an airport area hotel thru Priceline for $28-35 per night in the 3* range. These hotels have free shuttles to and from the airport. There is a list of included hotels at www.biddingfortravel.com. SOme of them even have free breakfast. You do NOT want to go down to a 2.5* level as there is a LaQuinta at that level that is a real dump. Also, most of the lower level hotels do not have free shuttles, and you would more than use up your price difference if you had to take a cab.

DCL transfers will not take you to a non-disney hotel...but the free shuttles from the hotels will. The hotels in the 3* category include the Sheraton, Hyatt, Renaissance, etc. You can't beat the price for the security of arriving the night before.

 

[Jeanny]

Hey Ron~
we stayed at the Hyatt right at the airport... got off the plane, grabbed our luggage and went right upstairs to the hotel. In the morning, we put our luggage right outside our door and saw it in our stateroom around 3:00 p.m.

We checked in with DCL reps at 9:30 and were on our way around 10, at the port by 11 and on the ship at 11:50. We also arranged for a day room the Saturday we returned, so we could relax, take showers, and not have to sit on those "comfortable" airport seats for 6 hours.

I booked online, but missed the $83 price, you can try hotwire, but I was too chicken to try it this time.

 

[Little Twin Stars]

We got Hyatt both the night before and after cruise for the same rate: $ 38.

In fact, we really hoped to get Hyatt the day before cruise because we will be arriving at MCO late. We were so glad when we got it.

However, for the night after the cruise, we would prefer other MCO area 3* hotel but Hyatt because we know Hyatt will be cahring us for parking. But to our surprise and some disappointment, we got it again!

So, if you are OK with all 3 stars hotels offered by priceline, I highly recommend it. Hyatt costs over $ 100 regularly but we just have to pay $ 38. Really a good deal.

 

[NJ Cruisers]

Hi Lampskies. We found it less expensive to rent a car than to use the DCL transportation. That was for 3 people. We drove out to the port area when we arrived on Friday evening. We stayed at the Raddison ($89) but since we don't need a shuttle I'm going to see if I can get something cheaper this year.

Dealing with the rental car was really pretty easy.

Diane

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

We are also going to be on the Western December 4th. I booked two rooms at the Radisson by the port for $94 each for the 3rd. They are available on-line for $85.

We are using Tiffany for our transportation. Depending on how many people are in your party, sometimes it is much cheaper to use a private car service.

 

[tpseller]

Thanks to Mmouse37 who posted about getting the Doubletree at Cococa Beach for $39 on Priceline, we are staying at the Doubletree for two nights prior to our Western Cruise in May.

The lowest rate online for this hotel is $130! We got three rooms for the $39 price!

We are renting a car to drive from MCO on Thursday evening and then we will have the car all day Friday to look around Cocoa Beach. I have a feeling we will actually be spending the day at the beach, but it will be nice to have the car in case we need it.

 

[Mary Anne]

Could you explain the Day Rate at the Hyatt to me? About how much is it and what times does it cover.

Many thanks.

 

[DreaminDisney]

Originally posted by Mary Anne
Could you explain the Day Rate at the Hyatt to me? About how much is it and what times does it cover.

Many thanks.

It's 60.00 for the day (38.00 is a much better deal but we booked directly through Hyatt) and we can stay there from 10:00am to 6:00pm.
We booked it for the day we disembark because our flight home ins't until 6:30 that evening, this will work our great for us.

 

[Little Twin Stars]

Originally posted by Mary Anne
Could you explain the Day Rate at the Hyatt to me? About how much is it and what times does it cover.

Many thanks.

According to Hyatt's own hotel site, booking a room on the days I need: March 13 and March 18 costs $ 144.
Through priceline I got MCO Hyatt both days for $ 38 per day.

 

[cadburysmom]

We tried to get the Hyatt at MCO on Priceline for our Jan 10, 2004 cruise but got the Airport Renaissance instead. We bid $38 for a 3 * hotel. Although I would have preferred the Hyatt, we loved the Renaissance as the room and service were great and we even got the free breakfast buffet. They offer free shuttle service between the hotel and airport so the morning of the cruise, they just dropped us off at the airport where the Disney buses were located. It was fast and easy and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Mom from NC