Shuttle from MCO if arriving the night before?

[wahoowa]

We were planning to take the Disney transfer to the ship from MCO but now are probably going to come down the night before. We will either stay at the Hyatt attached to the airport or a nearby hotel with shuttle service back to the airport. Can you still do this if you are not arriving on a flight (assume meeting them somewhere) and does anyone know then how your luggage is handled?

 

[videogal1]

We were planning to take the Disney transfer to the ship from MCO but now are probably going to come down the night before. We will either stay at the Hyatt attached to the airport or a nearby hotel with shuttle service back to the airport. Can you still do this if you are not arriving on a flight (assume meeting them somewhere) and does anyone know then how your luggage is handled?

If you stay at the Hyatt, they will handle your luggage transfer...When you check in just tell them you are a cruiser and they will give you an instruction sheet for taking the shuttle to the ship.

 

[ratfam]

We just did this last week, and although I almost got a towncar instead it ended up working out really well and was really no more expensive than the towncar quotes I got. We stayed at the Embassy Suites by the airport, took their shuttle back in the morning and it dropped us right in the area where the Disney buses were loaded. We had tagged our luggage with the DCL tags we received with our documents that morning and brought it with us from the hotel to the Disney buses. I went inside and checked our group in while everyone else waited outside with the luggage, then we left our luggage outside the bus and boarded. Once you arrive at Port Canaveral you have the option of taking your luggage with you or leaving it and it is delivered to your room later in the day just like if you had flown in (that's what we did, didn't want to drag it around the ship until rooms were open). It all worked out great and as an added bonus we were able to check our luggage at the port on the way back since our airline participated in this program (now you can only check luggage at the port if you have purchased DCL transfers). I think I have read elsewhere on these boards that you may be able to have your luggage taken directly from the Hyatt rather than bringing it to the buses yourself, maybe someone else can address that. Hope that helps!

 

[jrabbit]

We were planning to take the Disney transfer to the ship from MCO but now are probably going to come down the night before. We will either stay at the Hyatt attached to the airport or a nearby hotel with shuttle service back to the airport. Can you still do this if you are not arriving on a flight (assume meeting them somewhere) and does anyone know then how your luggage is handled?

This is what we did when we flew down the night before the cruise and we stayed at an area hotel.

1) Got our luggage from baggage claim at MCO (DO NOT put the DCL tags on before you leave home when arriving the day before) and caught the hotel shuttle.
2) In the morning before leaving the hotel we placed the DCL luggage tags on our checked luggage and took the hotel shuttle back to MCO and the hotel was kind enough to drop us off at the DCL busses!!
3) Checked in with the DCL personel and gave them our checked luggage - be sure to keep your carryons with you on the bus.
4) Got on a bus and were wisked to the port.

It was really easy and relaxing and we would do it again in the future!

 

[tvguy]

Yep, piece of cake. We stayed at the Sheraton.....it is among about 8 or 10 hotels located just off the airport, all built around a little pond. Most cost about half what the Hyatt in the airport costs. Besides being in the airport, the Hyatt's other advantage (or disadvantage ) is it has a agreement with Disney to get your luggage to the ship direct from the hotel.
No big deal though, just picked up our bags at baggage claim when our flight landed, took the shuttle bus to the hotel. Slept, put the bags on the shuttle back to the airport, got dropped right off at the Disney buses, they took the luggage from that point on. Besides being cheaper, the advantage to this was our luggage when on the same bus we took to the ship, so we KNEW it would make it to the ship.

 

[Buddy Bear]

There are many nice hotels a few minutes from Port Canaveral. I booked the Radisson which is two miles from port. I would rather get off the plane, take a car or shuttle to the hotel at PC and be a "stones throw away" then staying near the airport. Besides any hotel in the Port Canaveral - Cocoa Beach area has free shuttle service to the ship so I would rather have a leisurely morning and shuttle two miles than 40 or 50, but that is just my two cents.

 

[tvguy]

I guess the Port area would be okay if you get in early enough. The earliest flight we could get from the west coast put us in Orlando at 11:15 pm......so we were ready for rest then.......it was 12:15 am when we got to the hotel, would have been at least 1:15 am if we had gone to the Port then.

 

[Buddy Bear]

I see what you mean; I wasn't considering a long flight from the west coast. Getting into Orlando that late I understand just wanting to find a place to rest.

 

[TammiMcMan]

The Hyatt Airport is the only one with the luggage transfer option right from the hotel. As the others have mentioned, if you stay anywhere else around the airport, you'll need to bring your own luggage back and forth. We've done it both ways. Our first time, we stayed at the Hawthorne Airport Suites. We didn't arrive to MCO until 10:30pm. Some hotels don't run their shuttles continuously that late at night, so you might need to call them from one of the courtesy phones by baggage pickup. That's what we did and they arrived within 5-10 minutes. It was a quick ride back to the hotel and we had them put our names on 9:30 shuttle back to the airport. In the morning, we enjoyed a nice hot complimentary breakfast before setting off.

Most recently, DH and I stayed at the Hyatt Airport before our cruise. You are going to pay more (around $180 per night), but the convenience is really nice. When you check in, they'll give you a packet of information. Basically letting you know to tag your luggage and leave it in the hallway before you go to bed. Be sure to keep a carry on with anything that you'll need for the next day though. You won't see your luggage again until it's sitting outside your stateroom door. In the morning, take the elevator down to the lobby and you'll meet the DCL representatives. If you wanted to grab some coffee, or a bite to eat first, you have the food court and Starbucks is located right next to the Hyatt. I'm usually too excited to eat a big meal anyway.

Tammi

 

[LAMPSKIES]

We flew in the night before our 11/04 Western and had DCL transfers. I booked a night at BC and tokk DCL shuttle from MCO to BC then BC to port then port to MCO...


I believe ratfam may have given you some wrong information......in our 4 sailing with DCL NEVER was bringing our luggage on board with us EVER an option.....all you could bring on was "carry on" and all regular luggage was delivereg directly to the room......usually around 4:30 to 5:00...

 

[TammiMcMan]

Carrying luggage on board was an option for my cousin and her family when we sailed together in May. But that was only because they didn't arrive at the port until nearly 4pm

 

[Sneezy63]

Hi Tammi, I PM'd you.

 

[ratfam]

I don't know if the luggage thing differs based on who your driver or CMs are. I certainly wouldn't recommend hauling your luggage around the boat but when they walked us through baggage handling they definitely said that was an option--in fact, they wouldn't let anyone off the bus until all luggage was unloaded from underneath so that people could get whatever they wanted. We arrived around noon.

 

[kcashner]

I am more comfortable coming in the evening before (just to be sure that I am there!) We usually book a Priceline hotel. 3* hotels will all have free shuttles to and from the airport.

What you do is DO NOT put the DCL luggage tags on before your flight. At the airport, go to baggage claim and get your bags, then get the free shuttle to the hotel. The next morning, put the DCL tags on the luggage and take the hotel shuttle back to MCO. It will let you off near the DCL busses. Then turn your luggage over to the DCL people and board the bus.

If you are fortunate enough to get the Hyatt, you can use their system where the luggage is taken from them directly. It really isn't a hassle to use another hotel, and many are far less than the Hyatt. We can generally get a 3* thru Priceline for under $35 per night! There is good info at biddingfortravel.com