Transportation from MCO to Port Canaveral

[giandave23]

Does anyone have any experiences with Transportation from Orlando Airport to Port Canaveral other than the DCL Shuttles??? Our Group will be from Ohio and New York and we were looking for alternatives that might be a little less expensive. Thanks for all the input!

 

[NYGiantsRule!]

Depending on the size of your group, a rental car or van would be the least expensive alternative. There are several car rental agencies at MCO that do one way rentals to the Cape Canaveral area. We have used both Avis and Budget several times and it works out great. Go to Dave's site at www.dcltribute.com to review the rental car options.

 

[CurtS]

I'm new to DCL so I had a simlar question. We have 8 in our party and the wonerful veterans here suggested I use a rental car or limo service. After checking prices, both were much cheaper than DCL's service so we went with a limo service (I drive almost 80 miles everyday--having someone else drive starts my vacation earlier!).

 

[sgt. jeff]

I'm using a company called Absolute Limo in Orlando! We are going on the 8/28 western and they have been very nice. 150.00each way for a 10 person limo! My kids are looking forward to that!

 

[kcashner]

The "break even" point between DCL transfers and private limo transfers is generally at 3 people. More than 3, it is cheaper to go private. In addition, the private limo services will run on YOUR time schedule.

The way they usually work is that they are booked ahead. The driver meets you at the baggage check area of MCO and takes your bags to the waiting vehicle. The type of vehicle depends on the number of people involved. Vans and limos are generally equipped with a DVD player to keep little people occupied. It takes about 45-50 minutes to the port. The driver takes you to the luggage drop off area where your bags are handed off to the ship porters. You DO need to place your cruise tags on the luggage between the time you collect them at baggage check and the time you give them to the porters.

I'm familiar with Tiffany Limo, Happy Limo, and FL limo. The prices are fairly close. The price does include a tip to the driver, although many people tip additionally.

You can book a limo one way or round trip...as above, another alternative is a rental vehicle which is dropped off near the port.

 

[CurtS]

Another nice thing we found in renting a limo over DCL is that we aren't limited on our stay the night before, if that's what you are planning to do. Correct me if I'm wrong, you more experienced DCL'ers, but I understand DCL pickup is only at MCO, which limited us to either the Airport Hyatt or dragging our bags back to MCO for pickup. The limo company was very agreeable to pick up at the Holiday Inn near the airport the morning of the cruise, which saved us some additional money. We have a 9:30 pickup time which, if I calculated correctly, should get us to the port around 10:30. Anybody with experience: did I calculate that right????

 

[pdarrah]

Actually, we believe that we are going to save a little even on a party of 3 by renting a car. The rates we are looking at are under $40 for a 1 day rental, so the total for 2 one-day rentals will be under $80. This is less than the DCL transfers for 3. We also want the car because it makes us more flexible. Our flight to Orlando arrives at 10:15am the day before the cruise, so we are going to meet a couple family members who live near Orlando for a few hours that day and then drive over to the coast. We'll drop off the car that evening (before 6pm - both Avis and Budget close then) and stay at a hotel with a shuttle (probably the Radisson). On the return, our flight out isn't until 8pm, we'll rent a car and visit the space center or a beach and then drive back to Orlando and return the car at the airport. Although there are a few more logistical hassles (picking up/returning cars), the flexibility and saving a few $$$ are worth it.