Other options aside from Disney transfers to Port Canaveral?

kdeans1010

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 2, 2012
Hey,

So my first DCL cruise (got off 3 weeks ago and already itching for another. I wonder if there's an ointment for that...), I did the Disney transfer, had Disney book my flight, the hotel, and shuttle. Now I booked one with my mom for April 20th. My final payment is due by Feb 4th. Here's my thoughts/questions:

1.)After Feb 4th can I still add on Disney transfers and all that? That could be my tax return (pending my work gets those out quickly this year). I am not talking about adding it on April 3rd, but I am thinking more like Feb. 10th?

2.) Aside from the whole Disney organized thing, how can I get from MCO to Port Canaveral? I am still very new to this whole "take an airplane across country for a vacation" (an adult vacation), usually I load up the golden retriever and go camping within 20 miles of my house. I would need to get in the day before because if Sea-Tac and Washington weather has taught me anything it is to expect delays (whether traffic or thunderstorms or snow).

Thanks!

(Sorry babbling. I worked NOCs last night and haven't fallen asleep yet, but my brain is goo... hey look a butterfly.)
 
I think you can add the transfers up to about 30 days prior, but check with DCL. You may want to check if Mears offers transportation to the port; however, if you've already booked transfers with DCL you may want to keep those unless it's much cheaper. It's about an hour from Orlando to the port. You can rent a car, but the one way penalty may not be worth it.
 
Hey,

So my first DCL cruise (got off 3 weeks ago and already itching for another. I wonder if there's an ointment for that...), I did the Disney transfer, had Disney book my flight, the hotel, and shuttle. Now I booked one with my mom for April 20th. My final payment is due by Feb 4th. Here's my thoughts/questions:

1.)After Feb 4th can I still add on Disney transfers and all that? That could be my tax return (pending my work gets those out quickly this year). I am not talking about adding it on April 3rd, but I am thinking more like Feb. 10th?

2.) Aside from the whole Disney organized thing, how can I get from MCO to Port Canaveral? I am still very new to this whole "take an airplane across country for a vacation" (an adult vacation), usually I load up the golden retriever and go camping within 20 miles of my house. I would need to get in the day before because if Sea-Tac and Washington weather has taught me anything it is to expect delays (whether traffic or thunderstorms or snow).

Thanks!

(Sorry babbling. I worked NOCs last night and haven't fallen asleep yet, but my brain is goo... hey look a butterfly.)


AFAIK, you can add DCL transfer up until about 3 days before the cruise, but call DCL to confirm this.

DCL transfers (run by Mears) cost $35 per person one way. If you are a party of 2, that would probably be the cheapest way to go. Parties of 4 or more, generally it's cheaper to look into rental car or private transfers.

:cutie:
 
Hey,

So my first DCL cruise (got off 3 weeks ago and already itching for another. I wonder if there's an ointment for that...), I did the Disney transfer, had Disney book my flight, the hotel, and shuttle. Now I booked one with my mom for April 20th. My final payment is due by Feb 4th. Here's my thoughts/questions:

1.)After Feb 4th can I still add on Disney transfers and all that? That could be my tax return (pending my work gets those out quickly this year). I am not talking about adding it on April 3rd, but I am thinking more like Feb. 10th?

2.) Aside from the whole Disney organized thing, how can I get from MCO to Port Canaveral? I am still very new to this whole "take an airplane across country for a vacation" (an adult vacation), usually I load up the golden retriever and go camping within 20 miles of my house. I would need to get in the day before because if Sea-Tac and Washington weather has taught me anything it is to expect delays (whether traffic or thunderstorms or snow).

Thanks!

(Sorry babbling. I worked NOCs last night and haven't fallen asleep yet, but my brain is goo... hey look a butterfly.)

Wow cool butterfly....anyway hey we live in Seattle too..we fly Alaska..red-eye if available...we take the Disney Magical Express to a Disney Resort..(often Port Orleans so we can catch Bob's show in the lounge in the evening..it's very good and even funnier when sleep deprived)then in the am we have Budget bring us a car from their location just down the street in the Doubletree,,you have to call the actual location a day or two in advance and remind them you need a ride..the car is usually right around 30 bucks and we drop it at Budget in Cape Canaveral where they shuttle us to the ship. You can also skip the whole Disney step and rent a car at Budget at the airport and drive to Cape Canaveral. I always use the Budget code that you can find here on the Dis Boards under Transportation. Sometimes a car is cheaper at the Doubletree and sometimes cheaper at the airport. I have also recently used the new car rental page here on the disboards and gotten really good prices for rental cars. There are hotels in Cape Canaveral that are cheaper than Port Orleans..but we love to go there..and taking the red eye its nice not to have to drive upon arrival!
 


I actually asked my travel agent what the latest I could add Disney transportation to the cruise ship was and he told me it was a week before the sail date. I plan to add it about a week and half or two before we sail next month.
 
...then in the am we have Budget bring us a car from their location just down the street in the Doubletree,,you have to call the actual location a day or two in advance and remind them you need a ride.

Am I reading it right that they will bring YOU the car? Or they come pick you up in a shuttle..? I would pay more to have them bring it to ME for sure! :idea:
 
Our last cruise we flew into Orlando and took the hotel shuttle to our room the day before we sailed. On the morning we sailed we had a private shuttle company pick us up and take us to the ship and it was MUCH MUCH cheaper!!
 


rescuetink said:
Our last cruise we flew into Orlando and took the hotel shuttle to our room the day before we sailed. On the morning we sailed we had a private shuttle company pick us up and take us to the ship and it was MUCH MUCH cheaper!!

Which company did you use?
 
You have several options to get from MCO or WDW to Port Canaveral. Obviously you know about DCL transfers. These can be added in advance up to 3 days before the cruise (the TA may ask for 7 to allow for THEIR processing time) and can also be added after you arrive at MCO.

Other options are a car rental one way (cost $30-50+ gas and tolls for us typically), a private limo service (cost ~$150), or coming in the night before and staying at a hotel that has a cruise + transportation package. There are several of these in the MCO area and more seem to be popping up. The two I can attest to are at the Wyngate and Hyatt Place (NOT Hyatt MCO). The Wyngate used to have a 10:30 departure time, which was great. I've read that they changed it to noon--not so great. Verify before booking! Cost at the Wyngate was $210 for 2, but only $270 for 5 which included an overnight stay, breakfast, and round trip transportation between MCO/hotel/Port Canaveral before and after cruise.
 
We are using Happy Limo (www.happylimo.com) for our upcoming cruise out of Port Canaveral. We are flying in the night before and staying at a local hotel. They are picking us up the next morning and dropping us off at 11am. They will also be picking us up when the cruise gets back and driving us back to Orlando airport.
 
We have enough points to stay for free at a hotel near Port Canaveral the night before our cruise, so I priced a private car/driver service from MCO to the port, with a stop for groceries. (DH has to get enough Diet Dr. Pepper to last the cruise!)

Happy Limo and Tiffany Town Car service both charge $115 each way, plus a tip. You can get a coupon from MouseSavers, if you're planning round trip car service.

On the return trip we'll go directly from the port to MCO so we'll use DCL transfers for that.
 
Happy Limo and Tiffany Town Car service both charge $115 each way, plus a tip. You can get a coupon from MouseSavers, if you're planning round trip car service.

.

While some quotes do include the tip for the driver, my guess is that this does not. Remember to add that expense into your budget.:)
 
Having a private car transfer from MCO to PC: ~$275 round trip with tip.

Asking the private car to stop at a booze boutique along the way so you don't have to worry about the bottle of Jack breaking in your suitcase on the plane....priceless!
 
How far in advance does it make sense to book a private car service? Seems like I should wait until I know my port arrival time, and have a guess as to my disembarkation time, so I can tell the service when to pick us up.

(Is disembarkation linked to early or late dining assignments? I can't quite tell from my research.)
 

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