Pre cruise hotel

[Pinkgurlshubby]

Anyone have a favorite pre cruise hotel? We've stayed at Country Inn and Suites twice because we chose to rent a car so we could have dinner at Kelsey's and once at Embassy Suites by the airport. Our next cruise we are again staying right by the airport and thinking of Spring Hill suites. We want to try out Cheddar's and be close to a Walgreens for last minute shopping.

 

[mevelandry]

Which port are you leaving from?

 

[mcd2745]

To me, depends on when your flight arrives. If it is in the afternoon or later, the MCO Hyatt is the clear choice. If arriving early in the morning, then you have all sorts of options - go and stay in the Canaveral/Cocoa Beach area, or stay at a WDW resort.

 

[mevelandry]

To me, depends on when your flight arrives. If it is in the afternoon or later, the MCO Hyatt is the clear choice. If arriving early in the morning, then you have all sorts of options - go and stay in the Canaveral/Cocoa Beach area, or stay at a WDW resort.

What mcd2745 said!

 

[Pinkgurlshubby]

Ya sorry missed that part. We cruise from PC and we've stayed at Country Inn and Suites and La Quinta in Cocoa Beach. For MCO we've stayed at Embassy Suites and the Hyatt. Yes we loved the Hyatt. This time we want to do it without renting a car and we decided to stay just off site because we like the area and are going to do a bit of shopping.

 

[sethschroeder]

What is the benefit to this? It seems to have to pay for the shuttle regardless or no?

stay at a WDW resort.

 

[mcd2745]

What is the benefit to this? It seems to have to pay for the shuttle regardless or no?

A day in one of the parks.

 

[Pinkgurlshubby]

What is the benefit to this? It seems to have to pay for the shuttle regardless or no?

Yes what MCD said. And it's a matter of personal preference. I could choose to get in early and book a day at Discovery Cove and stay at the Holiday Inn express because we absolutely loved it there or we could decide to go back to Royal Pacific and take in a day at Universal and hang out at City Walk for the night but spending a day at Hollywood Studios is also very appealing which is why I posted the thread just out of curiosity what peoples preference is even though in my mind I wanted to see what the general feeling of the hotels just outside the airport because there's probably close to 20 of them right there.

 

[lizzyb]

If we are staying at in Cocoa beach, we love the Hampton Inn

 

[FredtheDuck]

We stayed at the Residence Inn in Canaveral. Pool, breakfast, suites, and a five minute drive to the port. Worked out well for us.

 

[allashore]

Anyone have a favorite pre cruise hotel? We've stayed at Country Inn and Suites twice because we chose to rent a car so we could have dinner at Kelsey's and once at Embassy Suites by the airport. Our next cruise we are again staying right by the airport and thinking of Spring Hill suites. We want to try out Cheddar's and be close to a Walgreens for last minute shopping.

Don't have a favorite, we have stayed at several that have a free shuttle & breakfast, most recently, Homewood Suites, Hyatt Place, in Dec staying at Home2Suites, would stay at any of them again.
We eat at a restaurant that we can walk to or take the free shuttle, then either at night or on the way to the ship go to a local grocery store.
Morning of the cruise we take a car service direct to the pc

 

[allashore]

What is the benefit to this? It seems to have to pay for the shuttle regardless or no?

Some hotels have free shuttles from MCO, these hotels are usually cheaper for 2 rooms, then staying at airport,
We do not rent a car, take the free shuttle, and in the morning take a car service direct to pc
When our family of 7 flies in the day before our cruise, this seems the most economical for us.
We have stayed at pc, renting a van and having to return it the next day is not worth the hassle for 7 people with 7+ suitcases, etc

 

[mevelandry]

What is the benefit to this? It seems to have to pay for the shuttle regardless or no?

Experiencing the magic of Disney for 24 hours?

 

[coast2coastmickey]

We stayed at the Beach Club before our cruise last year. We did a couple of days in the parks before the cruise, but the main reason we liked the hotel before the cruise was that we were able to do a couple of hours in Epcot before having to get on the bus to Port Canaveral on embarkation day. Because Beach Club is extremely close to Epcot, we were able to do this without worrying about Disney buses to the parks as they can sometimes not run on time. We were able to get in a light snack in France, ride Frozen, Test Track, Spaceship Earth, and see some of the characters in the Character spot. A great way to start the day before heading to port.

 

[mevelandry]

We stayed at the Beach Club before our cruise last year. We did a couple of days in the parks before the cruise, but the main reason we liked the hotel before the cruise was that we were able to do a couple of hours in Epcot before having to get on the bus to Port Canaveral on embarkation day. Because Beach Club is extremely close to Epcot, we were able to do this without worrying about Disney buses to the parks as they can sometimes not run on time. We were able to get in a light snack in France, ride Frozen, Test Track, Spaceship Earth, and see some of the characters in the Character spot. A great way to start the day before heading to port.

We've done this as well before our last cruise. Stayed at the Beach Club, spent the evening at Epcot, had breakfast with the characters before leaving for the cruise. It was awesome.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

Anyone have a favorite pre cruise hotel? We've stayed at Country Inn and Suites twice because we chose to rent a car so we could have dinner at Kelsey's and once at Embassy Suites by the airport. Our next cruise we are again staying right by the airport and thinking of Spring Hill suites. We want to try out Cheddar's and be close to a Walgreens for last minute shopping.

We live in Tampa but always stay at WDW prior to cruising from PC. You don't have to visit the parks either; WDW is so much more than the four theme parks. There's lots of stuff to do (or just chill by the pool) and being in the midst of the Disney "magic" really kick starts the vacation.

 

[jnsma]

We live in Tampa but always stay at WDW prior to cruising from PC. You don't have to visit the parks either; WDW is so much more than the four theme parks. There's lots of stuff to do (or just chill by the pool) and being in the midst of the Disney "magic" really kick starts the vacation.

Agreed. We try to sneak in an extra day or two at WDW when possible. With HS opening at 6am this fall, we plan to go there before heading to the port. Having our own car makes it easier.

 

[DisneyKrayzie2]

We like staying at the Hyatt MCO and taking the Disney transport in the morning, everything is so convenient with them handling our luggage, and get to be one of the first on the ship.

 

[daisyx3]

If I was flying in late I would stay at the Hyatt and pay for the DCL transfers. We are flying in earlier (1030!) the day before, so since we are DVC we will stay at a DVC resort and then pay for a town car to take us to the port (we like to get there right at open). Still cheaper than paying $200 for the Hyatt plus paying for the transfers.

 

[Barbamama]

We stayed at the Beach Club before our cruise last year. We did a couple of days in the parks before the cruise, but the main reason we liked the hotel before the cruise was that we were able to do a couple of hours in Epcot before having to get on the bus to Port Canaveral on embarkation day. Because Beach Club is extremely close to Epcot, we were able to do this without worrying about Disney buses to the parks as they can sometimes not run on time. We were able to get in a light snack in France, ride Frozen, Test Track, Spaceship Earth, and see some of the characters in the Character spot. A great way to start the day before heading to port.

This is what we are hoping to do before our cruise! We are staying at AoA a few days before our DCL Holidays cruise on December 30th. On the morning of Dec. 30th, we were hoping to catch the Skyline to EPCOT for opening time at 9 AM, ride Figment, Soarin (we have FP booked for 9:30) and - maybe - The Land, and then take the Skyline back to AoA to around 10:30. We had an extra day ticket that we will loose anyways otherwise. We are hoping the Disney transfer to Port Canaveral doesn't leave before 11:00, and we will scrap this plan if the resort tells us otherwise on the evening before, but in our experience, the transfer has always picked us up quite late from the resorts, around 12:30 or so. Any thoughts?