Our first cruise we made ressies at the Hilton because we had a late flight and were traveling with my mid 80s mom and aunt. Turns out that was a great decision since we had a ground stop at DFW because of lightning and didn't get into MCO until 1:00 AM.
DCL transport worked great for that one. The second one we rented a van, collected everyone from the airport and DS and DIL from Animal Kingdom Lodge and stayed somewhere near the port. Don't remember where and we wouldn't stay at that place again anyway. The next morning we drove to the port, unloaded everyone and DH returned the van and was shuttled to port. I would say it's pretty much your choice depending on how you get to PC (fly or drive) and what time you want to board the ship. An early PAT won't do you any good if you take Disney transport.