Pros/cons of using Disney transportation

[DMOMof3]

Interesting! Some friends of mine said their bus was scheduled to leave at 9, so they should be off the ship by 8. They were going to a resort instead of the airport. Or it's possible I heard them wrong.

I took the DCL bus back to a resort last month. I was told the bus leaves at 9. By the time I got off the ship and through customs and on the bus it was about 8:15. The bus was already about a 1/3 full. It left for the resort around 9.

 

[Budzooka]

You can have your TA try to book transfers from the Hyatt even if you didn’t book your room through Disney.

We are sailing out of Miami next month and the Disney block of rooms at the Hyatt were sold out, but they still had transfers available. We booked the room on our own and then called Disney to add the transfers.

Trying to make sure I have this done this correctly. Our TA booked transfers and it shows pickup as “Hyatt Regency Orlando Int’l Airport”. Is that the same as Hyatt lobby and we will not be assigned a PAT?

 

[MomOTwins]

One related advantage to arriving early is you have a better chance of being able to buy a port upgrade before they sell out. We were on the DCL bus from a WDW hotel and our bus was the first to arrive so we were at the front of the line outside the terminal waiting for the doors to open. We saw they had garage and uber folks lined up outside the terminal separately but the bus arrivals were let in first. We were in the terminal before everyone except the back to back cruisers. We did get the concierge upgrade we wanted and I’m sure it was because of the DCL bus, as our sailing was extremely full (4,000 guests we were told—a full ship) and we saw the “no upgrades available” sign up later while we were waiting for boarding to start.

 

[kamcgrory]

What is the earliest time you can get off the ship at PC? Trying to decide between 2 flights.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

What is the earliest time you can get off the ship at PC? Trying to decide between 2 flights.

GENERALLY, around 7:30-8:00. Depends on the tides, and how long it takes the ship to dock and tie up.

DCL does recommend no flights before 11:25 from Orlando.

 

[poohbears75]

Thanks everyone for your input….we are going to use DCL for our transportation.

 

[Pixie Dust Believer]

Trying to make sure I have this done this correctly. Our TA booked transfers and it shows pickup as “Hyatt Regency Orlando Int’l Airport”. Is that the same as Hyatt lobby and we will not be assigned a PAT?

I would assume so.

Ours in Miami spells out the name of the hotel like yours does.

 

[Dug720]

The other major benefit is that if there were to be a major thing on the highway DCL has you covered. With the car rental we always give ourselves an extreme amount of extra time.

THIS!

It was not Disney (since Disney doesn’t sail out of Anchorage/Seward in Alaska), but my Soithbound RCCL cruise was out of Seward. The cruise line offers transportation via a train or busses. I opted for the less expensive bus. Enough in our running group did we had our own bus. There is ONE road between Anchorage and Seward.

We got to the port and got on. It was not until dinner when people in our group who had taken the train got there - because there was a car wreck that shut down the road completely, so RCCL had the train stop and moved as many from busses as they could into the train.

There were busses that had not left Anchorage and were held until the road opened up.

The captain made the decision to do muster between the dinner seatings for those of us on board, then did a muster in the auditorium for those who had still not arrived after the final bus did. (He would have been well within his rights to hold off doing it for everyone until then, but chose to split it. We finally pulled out around 3am.

When we stopped in Icy Strait Point, I was on a shuttle to Houna to see the big eagle nest and got to talking with a couple who had been on private transportation that day. Their driver managed to get in front of the final bus, and they pulled in just before it. As the final bus pulled in, the port staff closed the gates. Anyone after that final bus was finding their way to the next port.

So yeah - any time I’m having to travel a distance from the airport to the port, I make sure that I get cruise line transportation to it.

 

[Shinaniganz]

Is "no PAT" with Disney transportation only from WDW/Orlando?

When I checked in for the Dream from Miami, I still had to pick a PAT and got 11:45. But checking with my TA for when I should get to the airport (we are staying in a hotel nearby overnight), she said "When taking Disney Ground transfers, you don’t have to adhere to your Port Check-in time. Once you arrive at the port, you will be allowed to check-in as soon as you arrive." Anyone have recent experience if that's accurate?

Saw mixed feedback in https://www.disboards.com/threads/miami-pat-with-disney-transfers.3894055/.

 

[Pixie Dust Believer]

Is "no PAT" with Disney transportation only from WDW/Orlando?

When I checked in for the Dream from Miami, I still had to pick a PAT and got 11:45. But checking with my TA for when I should get to the airport (we are staying in a hotel nearby overnight), she said "When taking Disney Ground transfers, you don’t have to adhere to your Port Check-in time. Once you arrive at the port, you will be allowed to check-in as soon as you arrive." Anyone have recent experience if that's accurate?

Saw mixed feedback in https://www.disboards.com/threads/miami-pat-with-disney-transfers.3894055/.

Interesting. I just checked in a few days ago for our May 4th cruise on the Dream from Miami and I didn't have to pick a PAT taking the Disney transfers from the Hyatt.

It sounds like you are taking the transfer from the airport rather than one of the Disney pre cruise hotels. Others mentioned that in Orlando, folks taking the transfer from MCO still have to select a PAT. Maybe that's the difference?

 

[Shinaniganz]

Interesting. I just checked in a few days ago for our May 4th cruise on the Dream from Miami and I didn't have to pick a PAT taking the Disney transfers from the Hyatt.

It sounds like you are taking the transfer from the airport rather than one of the Disney pre cruise hotels. Others mentioned that in Orlando, folks taking the transfer from MCO still have to select a PAT. Maybe that's the difference?

Yep, from the airport.

 

[mmouse37]

Interesting. I just checked in a few days ago for our May 4th cruise on the Dream from Miami and I didn't have to pick a PAT taking the Disney transfers from the Hyatt.

It sounds like you are taking the transfer from the airport rather than one of the Disney pre cruise hotels. Others mentioned that in Orlando, folks taking the transfer from MCO still have to select a PAT. Maybe that's the difference?

This. When we took DCL transfers from Miami airport we still had to pick a PAT and wait outside for our PAT to be called after we got off the DCL transfers.

Last month we cruised the Fantasy and did not have transfers booked. We were going to have a rental car at WDW for a few days and drop off at Port Canaveral day of cruise. We had a boarding group #15 and a PAT at 12:15. Plans changed and we decided to book transfers from Coronado Springs Resort. As soon as I booked the transfers through DCL our PAT changed to 11:00 am and our boarding group changed to #3.

We were told to be in the hotel lobby at 8:45 for a departure around 9:15. Our bags were picked up from our room at 7:15 am. We actually left the hotel around 9:30 and they needed 2 buses. One bus was filled with just guests from CSR and the other bus was half full with Animal Kingdom Lodge guests and CSR guests. The bus came from Animal Kingdom Lodge after picking up those guests. The buses were generic buses on the way there and we had a DCL themed bus on the way back to the airport at the end of the cruise. I think what bus you get now is just hit or miss. No guarantee it will be a DCL themed bus.

Several buses arrived at the port at the same time so we did have to wait in a line inside the terminal to show our documents and go through security.

MJ

 

[lanejudy]

Is "no PAT" with Disney transportation only from WDW/Orlando?

For Port Canaveral departures, the "no PAT" is specific to DCL Transfers from WDW resorts or the Hyatt Lobby. Transfers from MCO airport still require choosing a PAT, though the PAT isn't enforced but the associated Boarding Group will be.