Some help where to stay, etc.???

[swede63]

I just booked my flight to Orlando in April for the day before we leave on the Magic. This is our 4th time on the MAgic, we love it but we have never stayed over the night before. We have always come in the day of the cruise.
It is myself and my DS14.
First where to stay?
How do we get there? Taxi, limo service, etc?
Where to eat that night and what to do?
How do we get from there to the Ship the next day?
What time can you get on board?

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

We always fly in the night before and stay at the Hyatt, then take the DCL buses to the port the next day. The Hyatt is more expensive than the off-airport hotels, but I think this is offset by the convenience of having the hotel right in the airport terminal. This way, you don't have to find a shuttle to get to your hotel, its just upstairs from the baggage claim (at least the one Delta uses). Check-in for the DCL buses is in the Hyatt lobby, and you can leave your bags outside your room in the morning and the bell service will collect them and hand them over to DCL, who will transport them to the ship. The Orlando airport has a fair-sized mall, and there are plenty of choices to eat, from fast food, to a sit-down dinner. As far as what to do that night, we usually arrive in the evening, check in, take a shower, then grab some dinner. By then, it's late enough that we'll just watch a movie in the room and then go to sleep.

The busses leave the next morning at around 10:00, getting you to the port by 11:00 or so. I think the transfers go for $49/person round trip. Again, this way (Hyatt/DCL bus) costs a bit more, but is very convenient and saves you a bit of standing around and waiting in rental car lines, for hotel shuttles, etc.

I suppose if you arrive early enough, it might be worth renting a car and heading over to the WDW resort for the evening. You could also use the rental to drive to the port the next day. Several companies have offices near the port and allow you to rent one-way without a drop-off charge. Most have shuttle service to the port, or will reimburse you for a cab. Among those are Avis, Budget, and Hertz, and there may be others. If you choose this option, you can purchase one-way transfers to get back to the airport after the cruise. I think these go for $25/person.

 

[faireygod mother]

We always stay near the airpot. I used priceline last time. The hotel has a fre shuttle from the airport. We arrange for the liom to pick us up the next morning. We also eat breakfast for free in the hotel. Where we atayed there were several resturaunts close by and in walking distance not to mention that the hotels have their own.

 

[DrCavin]

Look at Daves website, probably has the best info on doing this: http://www.dcltribute.com/

 

[NeedsNEscape]

We stayed at the Radisson Resort at the Port. It was pretty nice and the kids liked the pool. They have a shuttle that takes you right to the ship. It also will pick you up after the cruise and take you back to the Radisson. There was a nice McDonalds across the street (highway) from the Radisson, too. However, not much else within walking distance.

 

[swede63]

Has anyone ever rented a car and returned it at Port Canaveral the next morning and taken the shuttle over to the dock?

 

[jrabbit]

Has anyone ever rented a car and returned it at Port Canaveral the next morning and taken the shuttle over to the dock?

We do it and so do very, very many others here in the DIS. It works out very nicely.