Where to stay before cruise

[PhoenixStrength]

We stayed at The Radisson at the port before our cruise on another line in 2017 and would stay there again. As PP said it's not anything fancy but our room was comfortable, there is a McDonalds right across the street that we ate breakfast at and we drove so we appreciated the cheap rate they give for parking during the cruise. And they had a shuttle to the port too that was nice.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Do you take the A1A or the I95 to get to the port?

We have done both for different cruises. A1A only one time. It’s slower, but more scenic. We’re more frequently anxious to get to the port and get the rental car back in time to avoid any extra hour charges, so I95 usually wins out.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I wondered if the A1A would be slower. Distance-wise, it's closer to port, but with all those red lights, I could see it adding a chunk of time to the trip.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We fly into MCO and take the ME to SSR (our DVC home resort). Sometimes do the park and sometimes just visit family in Orlando.

 

[daisyx3]

We are DVC so the last two cruises I used points to stay onsite the night before. The first time I got a studio at the Grand Floridian Villas, then this last time I got one at Copper Creek. This way I checked out two places I had never stayed. For our next one I am going to try to get Riviera Tower, Old Key West or Beach Club as I have never stayed at those places. Then the next day we get a car service (Tiffany Town Car) to pick us up at 915 and take us to the port. Even at $145 (vs. $70ish for the Disney Cruise Line bus) it's less expensive than paying for a room at the airport or the port.
We don't do the parks. At GF we swam until our room was ready, then rode the monorail around to the other monorail resorts. At CC it was a rainy day so we ended up doing a monorail loop again and eating dinner at Kona.
If I was paying cash, though, I think I would just stay at the airport, unless we had an early flight in and a lot of time to kill. We don't want to rent a car.