Night Before Cruise & Transport Advice

[asamklove]

What are my best options for staying overnight before our cruise? We are traveling in a large party (2 adults & 2 kids, and 2 more couples - so 6 adults and 2 young kids).

We plan to arrive in Orlando the night before our cruise departs & are looking for advice on where to stay the night before - Orlando MCO Airport Hotel or near Port Canveral?

What's the best (cheapest) way to get to port and back from the airport. I'm certain a single rented minivan won't hold all the people and luggage. But maybe its best to rent 2 minivans? Or hire a transport service? I know there's the Disney Magical Express, but I'm not sure if that is the most cost effective for our group size.

THANKS! So excited for our late Oct 2015 cruise!!!

 

[3Down1Up]

Staying: I would think it depends on how late you arrive at night: the later it is, then staying at the Hyatt makes more sense. Especially if your kids are young. For my kids, getting settled would be a better prospect than finding your transport and the hour or so drive to the port. But the Hyatt isn't cheap, so if you land early enough, I would think the port would be cheaper.

Transport: The DCL shuttle from MCO is $35pp one way, so that's $280 for your group - I would think you could find transportation for less than that on your own.

 

[Luvzmy3boys]

We had one of those long vans with 4 rows for 7 adults and 7 kids (all in booster or car seats). The van had a small trailer hitched to the back for our luggage (1 bag per person essentially). The driver stopped at a market on the way to PC from Universal where we stayed. I can't remember the name of the company because my brother made arrangements. I know it was less than DCL bus. We prepaid for pickup and driver was waiting for us when we hit the curb at PC on return trip to MCO.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Another vote for the Hyatt. It's super convenient. We never pay full price. It's often available through lastminutetravel.com or hotwire.
We have used Happy Limo many times. 3x got a free upgrade from a stretch limo to a big Escalade. Once we hired their mini bus for our group of 19.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Oops. Duplicate

 

[TgrFans]

We always fly in the day before also, and will again for our upcoming cruise! We are also a party of 8 also (4 adults, 2 teenagers and 2 tweens). We stay at the Residence Inn near the Orlando Airport (there are several different hotels in this area). They offer free pick up (in a van) from the airport back to the hotel. They have a free shuttle that will drive us around the area for dinner (we usually go to Chili's - but there are plenty of options). Kids can swim, adults can relax. And free breakfast!

On Sat. morning, we hire Southern Elegance to transport us all to Port Canaveral. For the 8 of us, we rented an 11 passenger van. It's about an hour drive from the hotel to the cruise terminal - and we always request a grocery stop along the way so we can pick up a few bottles of wine and anything else we "forgot". For all 8 of us (6 are girls so there will be lots of luggage), in the van, it will cost $290 round trip (not including tip). Upon disembarkation, after we get our luggage and go through customs, we call Southern Elegance, they pick us up at the cruise terminal, and drop us off at the Orlando Airport.

Works perfect for us...and we've done this 3 times - this summer will be our fourth....can't wait!

 

[havoc315]

We got in VERY late the night before our cruise, so the MCO Hyatt was super-convenient. It's arrangement with the DCL-transportation also makes it easy -- They will take your bags to the DCL transportation, you just go downstairs in the morning and hop on the DCL bus.
With a party your size, the official DCL transfers likely would not be the cheapest. But even with our total party of 7, we stuck with the official transfers -- They are very convenient with the Disney luggage handling, that for us, it was worth just doing. Though it may have saved a little money to just arrange for a van.

 

[Sunshine2U]

If it's in the budget it seems to me like it would be simpler to stay at MCO and arrange private transportation the morning of the cruise. Otherwise you're still dealing with handling luggage and catching a second shuttle from the PC hotel to the port. On the other hand the control freak in me says to get to within site of the ship before you let your guard down! I can crawl that far!!!

 

[asamklove]

If it's in the budget it seems to me like it would be simpler to stay at MCO and arrange private transportation the morning of the cruise. Otherwise you're still dealing with handling luggage and catching a second shuttle from the PC hotel to the port. On the other hand the control freak in me says to get to within site of the ship before you let your guard down! I can crawl that far!!!

Hilarious!! totally agree about "get to within site of the ship" - hubby is a stressed-out traveler (i.e., does NOT enjoy the journey)....so getting him to a point where he can SEE the boat will make a happier family all around
Thanks!