Overnight the night before boarding

[birkner]

No. Not all rental agencies offer a shuttle. Budget, Avis and Thrifty are three that do. There are also Hertz and Enterprise locations in the port area but I"m not sure if they have shuttles.

Hertz has shuttles running from 7:30 AM-6:00 PM M-F and 8:00-4:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday.

 

[DisneyBride'03]

First time cruiser here.....

So, is it the norm to arrive the day prior to the cruise? Would I be living dangerously if I flew out of Chicago the morning of the cruise? What time do the seasoned cruisers arrive at PC?

Thanks!

 

[kaseyC]

First time cruiser here.....

So, is it the norm to arrive the day prior to the cruise? Would I be living dangerously if I flew out of Chicago the morning of the cruise? What time do the seasoned cruisers arrive at PC?

Thanks!

It looks like you may be flying out of the Chicago area in Feb. There is no way I would risk flying in the same day during the winter and coming from Chicago. It just takes one storm to throw things off for days.

 

[CraftyMouse]

It looks like you may be flying out of the Chicago area in Feb. There is no way I would risk flying in the same day during the winter and coming from Chicago. It just takes one storm to throw things off for days.

Ditto! Also, keep in mind that if you are booking your own airfare and get delayed DCL will not hold the ship for you.

I would never risk flying in the morning of the cruise. Even one minor delay could throw off the whole trip. With WDW it doesn't really matter if you're a few hours or a day late getting in. With a cruise a delay could mean no trip at all.

 

[birkner]

First time cruiser here.....

So, is it the norm to arrive the day prior to the cruise? Would I be living dangerously if I flew out of Chicago the morning of the cruise? What time do the seasoned cruisers arrive at PC?

Thanks!

Not a chance on the planet would I fly the same day in February. For me, it is better to get in at midnight the night before and stay at the MCO Hyatt than to chance a cancelled or delayed flight the day of the cruise that would cause me to miss the cruise.

We try to get to the port about 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM since we are taking a car service and don't have to worry about parking the car.

 

[yndygo]

Honestly? Come in the day before - if you get there before 3pm and feel like saving money, choose a hotel closer to the port. If you get there after 3pm and feel like not hassling, stay at the Hyatt MCO and just walk upstairs to your hotel - then take the shuttle in the a.m. so you get the whole "Disney experience".

Just remember to have fun!

 

[tmatthews]

our plans are to arrive 2 days ahead, rent a car, stay at Radisson by port.

 

[DisneyBride'03]

ok.....there is soo much to learn...lol...
We will leave the day before, we booked a room at the Radisson....they had a great rate , $129 with breakfast buffet for 2.....free shuttle to port...old hat to all you guys...lol...
Now the best route for transportation...???? We are going to WDW when we come back from cruise....so I can use ME once we get back to MCO....
More research.....

 

[CraftyMouse]

Now the best route for transportation...???? We are going to WDW when we come back from cruise....so I can use ME once we get back to MCO....More research.....

There's no need to go back to MCO if you are headed to WDW. Just take Disney transfers, a car service or a rental car directly to WDW. You'll have all of your luggage with you so getting back to MCO and shlepping your luggage to the ME buses would be a huge hassle, IMO.

I would definitely think about renting a car, particularly since you'll be in the port area for 2 days before your cruise. There isn't much within walking distance of the Radison and a car would be very useful. I'd do a one-way rental from MCO to the port, returning the car the morning of your cruise. Then I'd do a one-way rental from the port to WDW. Budget has an office at the Doubletree at Downtown Disney so you could drop the car off there after checking in at your resort Or, if you really wanted to you, could return the car to MCO and then take ME to WDW, but that would take an hour or two longer.

 

[patsal]

We're stying at the Radison because I do not function well with deadlines, so I would be all a panic trying to fly in the same day the cruise was leaving, but that's just me! I am better when I can take things at a more relaxed pace. So my plan is to fly out Saturday AM or early afternoon, rent a car from Budget, drive to CC and enjoy a leisurely day with a quick stop for a case of water and a few bottles of wine. Let the kids swim, grab something for dinner and crash. I'm leavign the car at the Radison while we cruise because I would only be saving $13.00 by playing the drop off pick up game--totally not worth it to me. I have been checking rates regularly and will continue to until just before we leave.

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

If we were going to stay anywhere, it would be with Disney. Last time we were pushed for time and flew straight in. We combined Disney at the end of the trip. Next time, we will do Disney first and stay at the Beach Club before our cruise. But that's just us. We love that Disney experience!!!!

 

[dicar123]

Had a Budget rental vehicle. Their shuttle system to the ship works pretty well. You will want to drop off your family for check in and have a single person drop off the car.

So many people have talked about doing this, but I have a question. We're flying in the day before, around 10am. To keep the rental car to drop us off the next morning, it was going to be a 2 day rental, even though it was only 24 hours. Are you guys coming later and getting around it that way?

Am I missing something?

 

[NancyIL]

For my first cruise out of Port Canaveral in 2004 (not with DCL), I flew in the day before, rented a car, and stayed at the Swan. I was cruising with my mom, who lives 10 minutes from the port in Cocoa, and I DIDN'T want to stay with her! But normally I wouldn't recommend going all the way to WDW just for the night, unless you have annual passes and arrive early in the day.

My mom and I are going on a Disney cruise in January, and I'm flying in 2 days before the cruise. This time I'll rent a car and stay at my mom's house pre-cruise, but I'll spend 4 days at WDW afterwards to recuperate!

 

[DisneyBride'03]

THought about the rental....but we are leaning towards using a towncar/limo company..TBD...we would need a van with 2 kids and a car seat for DD1...have them pick us up at MCO the night before cruise...take us to Radisson....free shuttle to Port....service pick us up at Port and take to WDW...and then ME....

Thanks for the other tips...trying to make it as easy as possible...

 

[CraftyMouse]

So many people have talked about doing this, but I have a question. We're flying in the day before, around 10am. To keep the rental car to drop us off the next morning, it was going to be a 2 day rental, even though it was only 24 hours. Are you guys coming later and getting around it that way?

Am I missing something?

Start your rental at 10:30 instead of 10:00. Then you can drop your family off at the terminal at 10:00 the next morning, return the car and only pay for one day.

 

[michelle9343]

We live in Fl and personaly love staying at the Radisson th night before. The shuttle was so painless and we were at the port very early AM.

 

[dicar123]

Start your rental at 10:30 instead of 10:00. Then you can drop your family off at the terminal at 10:00 the next morning, return the car and only pay for one day.

I'll have to look at the web site with my husband. He said that any next day drop off was being charged as two days. We'll try it again changing the "start" time. Thanks!

 

[disneydance]

We stay at the Ressidence Inn by the port and we absolutely love it we always rent a car and we also get a 2 bedroom suite which is great for us since we can all spread out for the night. Also free breakfast in the morning and on certain nights at the hotel free dinner!!!! For us this is a great choice and we love it!!!

 

[jajomo0118]

..We stayed at the Comfort Inn, it was less than 5 miles away from the terminal. Publix was right down the street, that made it nice for picking up supplys. Nothing fancy, it was clean and has a nice pool for the kids to play in before bed. The real bonus was I got it on Hotwire for 59.00 bucks plus taxes. Well worth it for a place just to but your head down for a night..

 

[CraftyMouse]

I'll have to look at the web site with my husband. He said that any next day drop off was being charged as two days. We'll try it again changing the "start" time. Thanks!

It goes in 24 hour increments. If you are over 24 hours they will charge you for 2 days, even if it is only an extra 15 minutes. Changing your start time should fix the problem.