Where should we stay the night before our cruise?

[geminimagk]

Hi all! For our 2nd ever Disney cruise, we will be sailing on the Treasure over spring break (3/29-4/5). We are flying in from Chicago the night before (3/28) but prices to MCO are insane!! Jacksonville was the most reasonable flight option so we have decided to fly there instead. Due to work and school schedules, we can't take off until Friday evening. So we will be landing in Jacksonville (2.5 hours from Port Canaveral) at about 8:30pm. Where should we stay on Friday night? Options that we are thinking through:

1. Rent a car and drive to MCO, stay at the Hyatt there in order to take advantage of the Disney bus (and get an earlier embarkation time).
2. Drive/Uber to Port Canaveral and stay near the port, and then Uber over there in the morning.
3. Something else we're not thinking of?

Thanks!!

 

[Erica1016]

I think a lot of people put a higher value on the Hyatt and earlier boarding that we do. It's very expensive, in our opinion.

I'd probably opt for the car rental and staying either in Jacksonville or near the port depending on which is a better price. Then return the car at the port and get a shuttle to the ship.

That's all without knowing the prices of the rental car, etc. But the Hyatt and paying for Disney transportation doesn't seem worth it.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We are on that cruise!! We are driving, but also leaving Friday after school, so it's going to be a late night, and we are definitely not going all the way to Port Canaveral. I haven't booked anything yet, but I want to at least be as far as just to the south of Jacksonville, and maybe as far as Palm Coast (we've stayed at a Hampton Inn there before that was good). We're fine with having a couple of hours remaining to drive the day of the cruise. We actually prefer getting to the port a little bit later, not having to wait at all to board, and being able to go to the room almost right away after boarding.

 

[Girl of the South]

My birthday falls during the weeks of Spring Break. It’s an expensive and crowded time to go ANYWHERE!

 

[Cruisinonlydisney]

My absolute favorite GEM of a hotel is the Courtyard Marriott in Titusville. It’s like a full service hotel with a great pool area, huge new clean rooms with views of the Kennedy Space Center launch pads, and great food! Rooftop bar to view any launches going off!! My son has been fortunate enough to see two now. What a bonus before going on a cruise vacation! Just booked it again because it’s only about 25 minutes north of the port. Book the river view rooms just in case you don’t want to leave the room to see the launches. I can’t believe how lucky we were to catch two.

 

[auntlynne]

With an 8:30 Eastern time arrival, then luggage, and rental car pick-up, you could be pushing 9:15 - 9:30.

Will your family be hungry?

I would price out one-way rentals for JAX - Cape Canaveral and back. Also length of trip rentals. Parking at the Disney PC Terminal will be about $17.50 x 8 (you pay full days, not hourly). Decide what works for you - the convenience of pulling up to the cruise and then walking right to your car afterwards (without having to stand at the rental car counter after disembarkation.) That’s a family budget decision. There are also parking lots that are less expensive that will shuttle you to/from the ship.

I can’t imagine relying on a rideshare. And I have never looked at private transfers from JAX.

I usually stay at Hilton, Marriott, and less often Hyatt properties. (Tru, Hampton Inn, Fairfield… not Hilton higher-end). Hyatt has been upping their game; don’t overlook them. Their Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels often provide the extra bed space that families can use - like a sofa bed. And are generally more sq ft. Best Western, Comfort Inn. I check TripAdvisor to get reviews - and also why they are scored. If it’s about bad bartenders, not bad beds, I’d book.

I would want to stay at the Southern end of the interstate loop in Jacksonville or down the interstate, just to get the metro area behind me for the morning drive in cruise day.

And I am not so concerned about being a few hours away from the port. That drive would be somewhere under 2.5 hours.

You have time to get a full-night’s sleep (Unless you are “too excited to sleep,” like the old Disney commercial). Eat breakfast and be in your way down the interstate. Know your alternate routes if something happens.

Price for hotel would definitely be a determinant of exactly where to stay.

I’d lock in a price (but definitely not pre-pay) as soon as I found something reasonable. If the price drops, you can rebook. But I’m guessing now is about the best time to book before the price rises.

We stayed at the Hyatt when we had an arrival after midnight (and free hotel shuttles to our chosen place had ended). But it would have been hot and humid while waiting for our ride - after waiting for luggage. Then paying for the ride. And then getting up in the morning to go back to the airport to get on a bus. So we took the easy way and paid for convenience and comfort. But we used companion tickets / BOGO for the flights. And got a credit on card account if spent $300 at hotel (so we had room service to bring bill up to that. I had caught a drop in room price and rebooked it. It bounced back up afterwards).

If it were the exact situation, I would consider staying at the Hyatt. But one factor different (probably the late arrival time) would have me in different (less expensive) lodgings. With less expensive transfers, too. Disney bus is not the same bubble it used to be.



Every cruise and vacation seems to be different in my life. Maybe our various ideas will help you figure out what to do for your family for this adventure. You already figured how to pivot to a different airport!

 

[sponica]

I think you have to decide what will work best for you, spending the night in Jacksonville and leaving early-ish in the morning to get to PC or pushing through that night and spending the night in PC.

Going to Orlando seems like an unnecessary step.

 

[ljhayes]

I would definitely not drive to MCO. I would likely stay near the Jacksonville airport that night, rent a car for the entire time and park at the port. If the savings were really significant I would consider two one way rentals but the convenience of not having to drop off/pick up the car is worth a lot to me.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Another thought ... make sure you're aware of the operating hours for rental cars out of Jacksonville. It's a smaller airport and they may not have 24 hour rental desks open. If your flight gets delayed a few hours, will you be able to get your rental car?

We had a situation where we were on a delayed flight and got to our airport after 11pm. Even though I had listed my flight info for the reservation, the rental desk was closed. We had to taxi to the hotel (which was close to the airport but didn't offer a shuttle), and then get back to the airport early the next day to get our rental car.

 

[geminimagk]

Thanks for all the replies! A couple of you who said definitely don't drive to MCO, you don't feel it's worth it to take the Disney bus for the earlier ship boarding time? That's one thing I was curious about.

 

[ljhayes]

Thanks for all the replies! A couple of you who said definitely don't drive to MCO, you don't feel it's worth it to take the Disney bus for the earlier ship boarding time? That's one thing I was curious about.

For this scenario I definitely don't think it's worth the extra time or money.

 

[sponica]

Thanks for all the replies! A couple of you who said definitely don't drive to MCO, you don't feel it's worth it to take the Disney bus for the earlier ship boarding time? That's one thing I was curious about.

My mom drove down from a vacation on Hilton Head Island and while she toyed with booking something in Orlando so we could board together, she realized that on disembarkation day the last thing she wanted to do was drive to Orlando to go back north (the final destination was NH)

 

[AZMermaid]

We are flying into Jacksonville too for our Treasure Cruise on 12/28. But we are flying in on the 26 because the holiday travel makes me nervous.

We are renting a car upon landing (also late at night) staying the first night in Jacksonville. I had some Marriott points that I’m unlikely to use so we are the Springhill Suites near the airport that night. We are in a 2 queen bed plus sofa bed room for 18,500 points. Feels like a great deal and my young teens don’t have to share a bed!

The 27th we are driving to Port Canaveral and stopping along the way to see some sites- mostly in St Augustine. We are returning the car before the place closes and then ubering to the port the next morning. That stay we are at Homewood Suites Cape Canaveral in the same style room.

I have no idea if these are any good- but that’s what we are doing. We will just get the PAT we get, but I did consider that loss. In your case, I’d get a car and stay in Jacksonville near the airport and drive down the next day.

Edit- okay. Reviews are really bad on the springhill. They are good for the Homewood. But some reviews do say the Springhill is under renovation. I may poke around and see what the alternatives are!

 

[Skippyboo]

How much extra time and money to go to MCO and take the Disney bus for maybe 1 to 1 1/2 hr earlier PAT time which will probably just be spent eating and waiting for cabins to be ready. Are you flying home via Jacksonville too?

 

[auntlynne]

We are flying into Jacksonville too for our Treasure Cruise on 12/28. But we are flying in on the 26 because the holiday travel makes me nervous.

We are renting a car upon landing (also late at night) staying the first night in Jacksonville. I had some Marriott points that I’m unlikely to use so we are the Springhill Suites near the airport that night. We are in a 2 queen bed plus sofa bed room for 18,500 points. Feels like a great deal and my young teens don’t have to share a bed!

The 27th we are driving to Port Canaveral and stopping along the way to see some sites- mostly in St Augustine. We are returning the car before the place closes and then ubering to the port the next morning. That stay we are at Homewood Suites Cape Canaveral in the same style room.

I have no idea if these are any good- but that’s what we are doing. We will just get the PAT we get, but I did consider that loss. In your case, I’d get a car and stay in Jacksonville near the airport and drive down the next day.

Edit- okay. Reviews are really bad on the springhill. They are good for the Homewood. But some reviews do say the Springhill is under renovation. I may poke around and see what the alternatives are!

It is hard to find a hotel in Jacksonville with that extra bedding. And then combine it with Marriott and points. It was fun doing a dive into your situation, but also oof! There are so many bad or poor reviews of so many places. I usually can find something on the lower price end. Even without the extra bedding, it’s a challenge.

I finally gave up on Marriott and looked at Hyatt.

In modern day pricing, it’s not bad. A few years ago and I wouldn’t have considered it.

Free parking, standard-fare included breakfast.

AAA and Members Rate are the same. If you don’t have AAA, you can join Hyatt when booking. No fee.
I can’t tell where bathroom is in relation to sofa bed, but it seems to be off the bedroom area, so no squeezing by in the middle of the night.

…Otherwise, just accept that the Springhill is not going to be great, but it’s “free.”

I don’t think I got around to Hiltons, though. Maybe they are the hidden gem.

 

[AZMermaid]

Yeah nothing was significantly better and we’ll be there for less than 12 hours and aren’t terribly fussy. So we will just roll with it!

 

[Carohs]

Have you priced out the costs of hotels in Jacksonville vs Orlando? And the cost of a one-way car rental? There's always fees involved when drop off isn't the same as pick-up. The $ you save in flying to another airport, depending how many in your party, may be negated by the extra transportation expenses.

An earlier PAT won't make a big difference. Even when getting to the port earlier you have the crowds and sometimes the waiting around for them to start calling boarding groups. Much better not to stress about a couple hours and get have a relaxing morning of and start to your vacation.

My advice is to do what causes you the least stress for the least $$. But most of all, remember to stop and smell the roses, you're going on a Disney ship!