Ugh help need pre cruise advice..

[Lilylogan]

We are going on the 11/13 Dream and I'm stressed - been on 8 DCL cruises but never with kids so this is new to me.

We were planning on driving (13 hours) and staying in a hotel at Port Canaveral the night before, parking at the pier. And drive to WDW after the cruise for 4 nights at Art of Animation.

Well just last minute - my mom said she'd buy my family of 4 airfare as a gift - so 2 hour flight instead of 13 hours in the car with two kids was a no brainer. So we booked the flights!

Didn't think about ground transport/car seats though. I'm trying to make things as easy as possible. So was planning to stay at the Hyatt Regency in the airport the night before and use DCL transfers so we don't have to lug around car seats. I priced the Hyatt last week at $200 - not too bad. Go to book it today and now it's $285...ugh... really didn't want to spend that one night to just sleep.

Value resort at Disney is $150 but I really want to get to the ship early - we are meeting my inlaws there and it's their first cruise- don't want to get there at like 1pm.

A hotel near MCO is around $120 - we would have to take a shuttle back and forth so not as convenient as the Hyatt but less than half the price.

What would you do? Stay at the $120 hotel near the airport? I thought about car rentals/car hire services but I really don't want to deal with adjusting carseats, etc.

Thanks!!

 

[Chica1581]

Have you checked the AAA rates for the Hyatt? Also, you can get their member rate by signing up for their rewards program (free and not a credit card). Keep checking the website because prices fluctuate by day.

I would say staying at the Hyatt is your best bet since they take care of your luggage and you don't need to deal with car seats.

 

[Lilylogan]

Have you checked the AAA rates for the Hyatt? Also, you can get their member rate by signing up for their rewards program (free and not a credit card). Keep checking the website because prices fluctuate by day.

Yeah, $285 is the member rate....

I didn't check DCL's price to have them book the Hyatt, I assumed it would be higher but I guess I should check.

 

[jdrobinson06]

Probably not much help but these are my thoughts:
I would probably stay at the cheaper hotel and then hire a car service that has car seats (the driver installs them prior to pick up).

On the other hand, with that being the situation and not having to pay gas for the trip down and back, or pay the crazy fees to park at the port, I would maybe just pay extra for what I think may be easier....

Honestly have not looked into UBER rates (so it may be completely out of the question if it even runs down there), but in NYC I use UBER family from the airports to the city and the drivers have very easy and convenient car seats that are quick and easy to adjust.

 

[MaleficentRN]

Don't forget that the Disney transfer is $35 per person one way.

 

[Chica1581]

Looks like it's $189 right now

 

[wombat_5606]

I priced the Hyatt last week at $200 - not too bad. Go to book it today and now it's $285...ugh... really didn't want to spend that one night to just sleep.

Clear your cookies on your computer or try booking on another computer. Sometimes hotels increase the price on subsequent visits to the site.

It shows $189 for AAA rate for me.

 

[Dug720]

Hampton Inn Gateway is super close to the airport - like less than a 5 minute shuttle ride.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Well, I'm like you and have my price point for a hotel. But I don't have kids in car seats. You were willing to pay $200, so this is only $85 more. That's a good chunk of change, but it's only one night. Depending on when your flights come in, that convenience might be worth it. Otherwise, a hotel with a shuttle, if you don't mind handling your bags (and kids), will save you a lot. But will it stress you out?

 

[DISNEYFAN3260]

We've cruised with and without kids of all ages. I know it's a pain to lug stuff, but since it sounds like you'll now be booking Disney transfers to/from MCO at $35 per person, each way, $285 may be a bit steep. We've stayed at the Hyatt and the convenience is GREAT, but we've also stayed at several nearby hotels with two-bedroom suites, free airport shuttles and free breakfast for much less than $285. To me personally, unless you can get a lower price on the Hyatt it's worth a little temporary struggling with luggage. Whatever you choose, enjoy your cruise!

 

[Lilylogan]

Looks like it's $189 right now

I'm still seeing $250 plus tax on the hyatt website and kayak

 

[FigmentSpark]

I don't know how old your kids are, but I did a sample for Nov 12 and got this:

 

[Lilylogan]

Oh I'm sorry it's the night of the 13th - the cruise starts on the 14th I wasn't clear in my op. I appreciate your help though!!

 

[FigmentSpark]

No problem. I'm getting this for the 13th:



Not that it matters, but if you were flying in the night of the 12th and needed 2 nights there, the AAA rate is $150 a night. It really goes down when you're booking more than one night. Anyway, I wonder if what another PP said about cookies or even IP address makes a difference?

 

[diznymom]

Clear your cookies on your computer or try booking on another computer. Sometimes hotels increase the price on subsequent visits to the site.

It shows $189 for AAA rate for me.

And try during the week, like Tuesday evening and Wednesday.

You can look at sites anonymously by clicking "Control", 'Shift" and "N".

 

[Dug720]

And try during the week, like Tuesday evening and Wednesday.

You can look at sites anonymously by clicking "Control", 'Shift" and "N".

That is fine if you're looking for any night. But not for a specific night such as the OP needs.

 

[JanBlessed]

I would do Value Resort. I wouldn't mind getting to the terminal at 1:00 (that's actually early for me - haha! Although this upcoming cruise, I want to get there at 12:30).

Your mom sounds like my parents & my in-laws. So sweet and giving and spoiling us!

 

[diznymom]

That is fine if you're looking for any night. But not for a specific night such as the OP needs.

What I meant, was to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday to look at the pricing for your trip. And look anonymously.

I looked today and got a price of over $400 / night. That's ridiculous. I will look again on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week and see if I can get a better quote.

 

[Rai's Mommy]

While this might be more of a bother than it's worth to most people, what I did for our last cruise (when we stayed at a Disney resort the night before the cruise but wanted to get to port early) was I called and told Disney that we wanted to schedule the free Magical Express bus to get from our resort to the airport the morning of our cruise and then grab the Disney cruise bus at the airport. I was told that I could do that but would have to provide flight details for a flight leaving the morning that I wanted the Magical Express to bring us to the airport since Disney's system required the cast member to enter a flight number and time to make this happen. I looked up flights to our hometown leaving MCO the morning of our cruise and picked one that was leaving around 11 since Disney schedules your bus to the airport for about 3 hours before the flight departure time that you give them (our bus got us to the airport before 9). It worked out great and we were on the first Disney bus to arrive at the cruise terminal After the cruise we took the Disney cruise bus directly back to our Disney resort.