WDW to Port Canaveral

[ghost1000]

Our cruise is still a while from now, but Doug and I are looking into our options.

We both feel it's a good idea to fly to Orlando the day before the cruise, just in case of any problems, flight delays, etc. I looked into hotels near the airport and they're either very expensive or don't offer complimentary transportation. So we'll probably stay at OKW for one night and use Magical Express to go to WDW.

So the question is, will we be able to get picked up at OKW and taken directly to Port Canaveral? Our Cruise Line PassPorter mentions specific hotels associated with the land/sea cruise package. Will we be able to add OKW to the agenda that morning, or will we have to transport ourselves to one of the "official" cruise hotels? Or, another option is to take Magical Express back to the airport and pick up the cruise bus that way.

One of the official cruise hotels was Port Orleans, so it wouldn't take much for the bus to make a sidetrip to OKW.

[Stimpy]

Did you try the hotels near the port? We're staying at Country Suites, about 1 mile from port for about $95. (I actually just made the ressies about an hour ago so I guess we're in the same cruising frame of mind today LOL) They also have shuttle to the Port itself.

We actually rent a car from Budget for 1 day at MCO and drop it off at their Cape Canveral location and then pick one up on return. It's usually cheaper than taking the DCL transportation. (atleast for us since we have 4 people) I have ressies for about $25 each day.

[ghost1000]

Did you try the hotels near the port? We're staying at Country Suites, about 1 mile from port for about $95. (I actually just made the ressies about an hour ago so I guess we're in the same cruising frame of mind today LOL) They also have shuttle to the Port itself.

We actually rent a car from Budget for 1 day at MCO and drop it off at their Cape Canveral location and then pick one up on return. It's usually cheaper than taking the DCL transportation. (atleast for us since we have 4 people) I have ressies for about $25 each day.

I'm thinking that renting a car may be a better idea. I just got a quote of $69 per person for shuttle from WDW to Port Canaveral (I'm trying to confirm if that's a one way or round trip). A car for one day would definitely be less than that, even if the $69 per person is round trip.

So if we're going to rent a car, I might just look into staying at a hotel near Port
Canaveral.

[mountainjourno]

We've just come back from cruising, and had no trouble catching the bus:
1) from the Beach Club Villas (we stayed there for 3 days before the cruise)
2) to Old Key West (we stayed there for 10 days after the cruise)

I'd suggest staying at a DVC resort and using your points!

We were glad to get there 3 days early and just laze by the pool - get into holiday mode!

Enjoy your trip! :)

Edited to add: The $69 is round-trip per person. Similar bus to the Magical Express, complete with Disney videos to enjoy enroute.

[skelster]

Mousesavers.com has a decent section full of info on this. We are going on the members only cruise in October and found it is much cheaper to rent a car than to take Disney's bus...It's even cheaper to take a stretch limo if you have more than 2 people! I hate to say it but Disney's bus is a big rip off on this one.

As far as hotels go there is also a residence inn right by the port. I don't know what it costs though....we are using marriott rewards points for the room. (I knew sleeping in hotel rooms half of the year for my job would pay off sooner or later.:woohoodan :dancingba :woohoodan ) If you don't have tickets yet, you may want to think about going a day early to visit the space center.

[carolina_yankee]

Let me say - be sure to go down the day before you cruise! I just read a TR from a family on another board who missed their ship because of weather delays. fortunately, they were able to add days to the WDW portion of the stay, but they still missed the boat.

I'm not sure how well advertised it is, but DCL will definitely pick you up at a DVC resort. They take care of us!! We were the last stop at SSR before the cruise, and we were given a minivan transport directly back to BWV after the cruise.

You'll definitely save money on transporation by renting a car, but you have to balance that against using points at WDW vs. cash at Port Canaveral. Of course, you could rent a car and stay on points at WDW, and then drive yourself to the port! The Budget one-way is the best way to go.

We almost did that last Spring, but once we bought DVC, with so many first year points to use, we decided on the DVC stay for the night before.

Advantages:
It was a wonderful relaxing beginning. We didn't have to touch luggage. We vegged at our first ever DVC stay, and had a nice dinner with fellow friends we met on the chat boards who were going to be on our cruise.

We had a leisuresly start on Saturday, with a noonish pick up for the port. Everyone else handled luggage, etc.

Your stateroom will be ready by the time you get onboard.

You don't have the hassle of car return, luggage trasnfer, and shuttle to port, or dropping family and luggage off at port, then returning car, and shuttling back. It's quite doable, but it's stuff the you're doing.

Disadvantages:
You get on the ship around 2 pm - not much time to get on the ship and get settled before lifeboat drill. We found cabin, dropped luggage, grabbed a bite at Topsiders, and then did lifeboat drill and sail away.

You won't have the best choice of slots for reservations for Palo if you get on the ship late (we had already made ours online, and were happy with the times, though).


Personally, I think it's a judgment call. How do you want your first night to go? We had a great time at WDW, better than if we had stayed at the port. I would have enjoyed being on the ship earlier, but it was a 7 day cruise - we had plenty of ship time!!

Good luck,
Dirk

[ghost1000]

I think we're going to fly down the day before and spend a night at OKW (maybe head off to a park). Rent a car at the airport and drive to WDW, then Port Canaveral the next day.

We were already planning to rent a car after the cruise and spend a few days at WDW.

For one person, Disney transportation is more economical, but for two (and up) there are better options. And I honestly don't mind driving (sitting in traffic is another matter, but I like to drive when things are moving).

I figure we could leave OKW between 11:00 and 12:00 noon. That should give us plenty of time to drive and drop off the car. And staying that night at WDW will give us an opportunity to pick up our Owner's Locker.

[ErinC]

Rita, just so your clear, you don't have to go all the way back to MCO to rent a car. There is a hotel right at DTD that rents one ways to Port Canaveral. You could cab there, or take a bus to DTD and walk over earlier in the morning. We had friends that did this. I believe this is Budget (Dirk mentioned it). My personal preference also, but I would leave by 10:00. When we went with friends, we met them at SSR, had a late Breakfast at Artist Palette, and by 10:00 we were on the road. We got to port about 11:00 and waited to check in. Our friend returned the rental car and hopped on there shuttle. He made it back to port while we were still waiting in line. Once we were all checked in, we enjoyed looking around the terminal a bit and shortly before noon we started boarding. You can eat lunch at Topsiders/beach blanket, or on level 3 at Parrot Cay (our personal preference). We ate lunch and then headed to make our spa reservatiosns which they start taking at 1:00. My kids were equiped with their Swim suits under their clothes, so we headed to the pool next. Great to get some swimming in before the masses arrive. After that, our stuff was in our room and we went to change for the life boat drill. I enjoyed a good extra 3 hours on the ship by getting there early. Plus, lunch was on the ship and was already paid for. I liked not being rushed. I've always heard that this is the folks biggest complaint that use DCL transport. Whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy your trip! It was the best vacation we have ever had!

Edited to add: I reread your post and now it seems that you weren't going back to MCO, my mistake.

[ghost1000]

Thanks for the info. Maybe we'll just grab something quick for breakfast and plan on a bigger lunch on board the Wonder.

[carolina_yankee]

Rita, if you're going on the Wonder, I would definitely go with the lighter breakfast and bigger lunch. It's a shorter cruise, and you'll want to take advantage of every minute on board that you can (and the food really is good - and paid for!).

Dirk

[bmalonef45]

In Nov. we went on a 3 day Wonder cruise. We flew in the day before rented a car and stayed at BCV. Spent a cold evening at MK but had a nice character meal at Crystal Palace for the kids. The next morning we loaded up the rental (actually the bell services did that) and we were on our way. Stopped by Target to get some things etc... This was nice since DS came down with a cold on the plane ride down.

We drove to the port and I dropped the family off at the boat and went to return the car. We had rented National so I had to get a cab back but it was no big deal. Shared one with a couple of gals headed out on a 7 day RCL ship. They were ready for some fun! Cab ride was 14.00 but was easy. National is the farthest from the port on the south side of Cocoa Beach so I don't reccomend them. There are others closer.

When we returned it was actually a blessing to have to get a cab back to National. You see a lot of people use the free shuttles and all those people have lots of luggage. So there was a pretty big line for the shuttles. As far as handling luggage. There are great porters at the port and they were awesome. Got us through customs and made life with a 6yo and 4yo a breeze getting out of the crowd. Cost me a 20.00 tip but it was well worth it. Got the cab and made it back to National and we were on our way. Our flight was leaving that day but not until late afternoon. We wanted to do something other than wait at the airport so we drove to WDW. Went and looked at the decorations at WL and then did some shopping at DTD it was a great way to spend some time.

Looking back here is what I liked: Cost - Renting a car was much cheaper than the bus. Way less than half. Flexiblility - we could go where we wanted without waiting on a bus. Coming in the day before - great decision. We had cruised RCL a few years ago and flew down the same day. Our flight was late and we were some of the last few people on the boat. That was not fun.

What I didn't like and would change: Using points on a weekend night at the BCV for the night before. While we had a good time and got to spend a few hours at MK. I think it was a terrible use of 20 some points. When we go on our next cruise we will stay at near the port. Renting with National, Could have saved 30.00 by not using the cabs... do you know how many margaritas I could have bought with that? I will rent with one of the "shuttle" compaines.

Enjoy your cruise! Be aware it is easy to book another one while on the boat. They give you a good deal and also on board credit for your next trip. They got us!

[Frozenfingers]

We are doing a May cruise on the Wonder, and are coming in the night before like so many of you do. We also are doing an extended stay at WDW post cruise. 14 days total time in Florida.

I had thought of renting a car, returning it at the port. Re renting again when we got back, and returning at MCO. I found that if I rent for two weeks and park at the port, I will save $11.00, even paying the $12/day parking fees. I think even if the rental contracts broke even,.. paying the $48 bucks to park the car would be worth not having to deal with the lines for shuttle, lines at the rental desk, etc...

The rental was from Dollar for $316 2/weeks.

Fro