Hoping for shuttle advice

Aug 29th we sail away on the Disney Dream. Grandpa n Grandma bringing 2 darling grandkids, 11 and 12.

We have flights but need a shuttle. We understand the Disney Shuttle buses and renting a car, but wonder if any Cruise Critic friends might have advice or pros/cons about other choices. :confused: Thanks in advance for helping us.

Your other choice is to book a towncar/limo service. The price for 4 people is about the same as the DCL bus.

OK, advantages of DCL bus--ease. You will get luggage tags before the trip. If you are taking the DCL shuttle, you place the tags on the bags before checking them at your home airport. DCL will claim your bags for you and you won't see them till they arrive outside your cabin door on the ship. No one can steal them--they never go on the baggage carousel. Anything wearing a Disney tag is taken off before it ever goes onto the carousel.

You proceed from the plane to the "Welcome center" lower level, terminal B. You will be assigned to the next bus and taken to the cruise terminal. There will be a video about the ship as you are driven there. On arrival, you will be permitted to enter the terminal and check in. No tipping for luggage (you never see the handlers and their pay is included in the transfer fee). Waiting of up to 20 minutes for bus departure.

Advantage of rental car--price. You can stop at a store for anything you've forgotten. Stop for breakfast or lunch if needed.

Disadvantages--claim your own luggage, tips to porters at terminal, need to drop off car and shuttle back to the terminal. Driver can drop passengers and luggage and then return the car. If you arrive significantly before your PAT (Port Arrival Time) there can be a short delay before you can enter the terminal, but if you arrive after about 11:30, this won't happen. You have to drive yourself--it's easy, but there is the "nerve" factor of being unsure about where you are going.

Towncar/limo service--price is about equal to 4 DCL transfers

Most allow a 15 or 30 minute store stop.

You must claim luggage and take it to the driver....but your grandkids are big enough to wheel their own. There are LOTS of good companies. FL Tours, Happy Limo, Southern Elegance, etc. have great reputations.

Honestly, for first timers unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, just take the DCL bus. It makes life much easier.

IF you are doing anything other than a DCL bus, do not put the luggage tags on until you have claimed the bags in Orlando. If you have not purchased DCL transfers and you have Disney tags on your bags they will be sent to the ship....and you will be charged for it.

DCL Bus really is the way to go unless you have other plans before boarding the ship. Just makes the trip so much easier and less stressful. Plus they have TVs on the bus to keep the little ones entertained on the approx 45 min drive to and from the ship

I'm a firm member of the car service brigade myself and always use Happy Limo when in town, but its really a matter of preference, there's not really a bad option (rental car is the only pure no for me, but that's more a matter of hating to drive when on vacation unless I have no other option)

are you arriving day of departure?????

I'm guessing so

for the least "pain" aka easiest way to go, DCL transfer is it .... it is ALSO the most expensive (short of renting a private stretch limo .... a simple town car might cost less!)

Wanna save a few bucks, make a stop on the way, arriving day early .... any of these and I'll make some recommendations.

But if arriving "day of" and going straight to the ship, the DCL bus makes the "magic" start that much earlier as they show Disney movies on the bus .... which is painted to look like the ship . . . for our kids first DCL cruises, I did the DCL transfer for this reason ... the experience starts sooner despite the cost.

Captain BJ--

You probably have some less costly sources of private transportation than I'm aware of. If so, please share as a help to all of us.

We have found that the cost of a private van/towncar service is very nearly the same as the cost of DCL transfers for 4 ($140). Fl Tours lists 4 people in a Lincoln town car from MCO to Port Canaveral at $135, not including the tip to the driver or the tip to the porters at the terminal. If this does not meet their luggage requirements, a van is $160 one way. Happy Limo rates are similar.

While DCL transfer costs have remained stable over the last few years, we've found the private transportation costs have increased.

For first time cruisers arriving on the same day as the cruise....DCL transfers are the easiest unless a stop on the way to the terminal is needed. And I'm with you--it starts the vacation about 45 minutes earlier.

are you arriving day of departure?????

 

I'm guessing so

 

for the least "pain" aka easiest way to go, DCL transfer is it .... it is ALSO the most expensive (short of renting a private stretch limo .... a simple town car might cost less!)

 

Wanna save a few bucks, make a stop on the way, arriving day early .... any of these and I'll make some recommendations.

 

But if arriving "day of" and going straight to the ship, the DCL bus makes the "magic" start that much earlier as they show Disney movies on the bus .... which is painted to look like the ship . . . for our kids first DCL cruises, I did the DCL transfer for this reason ... the experience starts sooner despite the cost.

thanks for helping us. We are not flying in the same day. We fly into MCO the day before at 4:00 pm. Need transportation from MCO to our hotel near port. We booked Country Inn and Suites.

Maybe a car is a good idea. Don't know about tolls. Someone said you can't pay cash as there aren't any toll booths anymore.:confused:

Given that, I would go with a car service if the hotel has a shuttle, even tho pricier than a rental..

It's a matter of logistics. You will need to get bags, go to rental area, get car, check car out, drive to hotel, drop people off, fill gas, get car to rental location, and if they don't provide a ride back get back to hotel..

OR do the same thing, keep car overnight and return at port next day, which adds to the complexity in the AM.

If the hotel does not have a shuttle, the second option makes more sense.

thanks for helping us. We are not flying in the same day. We fly into MCO the day before at 4:00 pm. Need transportation from MCO to our hotel near port. We booked Country Inn and Suites.

 

Maybe a car is a good idea. Don't know about tolls. Someone said you can't pay cash as there aren't any toll booths anymore.:confused:

Aug 29th we sail away on the Disney Dream. Grandpa n Grandma bringing 2 darling grandkids, 11 and 12.

 

We have flights but need a shuttle. We understand the Disney Shuttle buses and renting a car, but wonder if any Cruise Critic friends might have advice or pros/cons about other choices. :confused: Thanks in advance for helping us.

thanks for helping us. We are not flying in the same day. We fly into MCO the day before at 4:00 pm. Need transportation from MCO to our hotel near port. We booked Country Inn and Suites.

 

Maybe a car is a good idea. Don't know about tolls. Someone said you can't pay cash as there aren't any toll booths anymore.:confused:

This above is the EXACT reason when you ask a question it is imperative to include all of your details and travel arrangements you plan to take!

5 people took the time to try to answer your question that had missing information!

If it had been stated in your first post that you were flying in the day before, after you mentioned you know how the DCL buses work, someone would have pointed out that the DCL buses, unlike the Magical Express buses to the parks, only run on embark/debark days, so your options of getting to your hotel are only taxi, limo/private hire or drive.

Now people know flying in the day before, staying at the Country Inns and Suites at Port Canaveral they can answer your question properly without guessing or presuming what your arrangements are!

It's not a conspiracy to know every single detail of your trip, just information that is vital to getting an accurate reply.

So they offer

If you’re taking a cruise from Cape Canaveral, use this hotel’s cruise parking packages and convenient shuttle service to the port.

Your nearest car rental drop off locations are Hertz on your doorstep. 0.1 miles or 2 minutes walk from you hotel.

Budget 0.7 miles away

Alamo 0.9 miles away

Thrifty 1.7 miles away

Avis 1.8 miles away

Enterprise 2.1 miles away.

Someone else can jump in to explain how rental car Sunpass works or even pay by plate.

ex techie

Um....that changes everything!

You are staying at the one near the port....you'll either need a towncar service or a rental car to get to the hotel. If you go with a rental, keep it till the morning, take the family to the terminal and drop them off with the luggage, and have the driver return the car and take the car place complimentary shuttle back to the terminal.

Last time I did it SUnPass lanes would read your code or there were cash lanes between MCO and the port. There are locations in FL that no longer have manned lanes. I'm sure one of the locals can confirm or refute that cash is still an option. OR you can get a rental car with a Sunpass on it. You pay a small daily fee for each day you use it (if you are renting but don't charge tolls, no charge) and the tolls.

Breakfast will be at the hotel, but you're going to need to get dinner somewhere. If doing a towncar, you might think about dinner at the airport before you meet the car. If renting, there are tons of places to eat near the hotel.

There is something called Cocoa Beach Shuttle. This is a group shuttle (not a private vehicle). Ask the hotel if they will take you from MCO to the hotel. At one point they were only serving certain hotels. It has a per person charge and costs less than a private towncar would. But I'd still get a rental car.

The real decision is whether you mind driving or not. If driving to the port area doesn't bother you, the car will give you the most flexibility and cost a little less. There are MANY discount rental codes available to use for your car. Check out rentalcodes.com, travel magazines and ads, etc.

Given that, I would go with a car service if the hotel has a shuttle, even tho pricier than a rental..

 

It's a matter of logistics. You will need to get bags, go to rental area, get car, check car out, drive to hotel, drop people off, fill gas, get car to rental location, and if they don't provide a ride back get back to hotel..

 

OR do the same thing, keep car overnight and return at port next day, which adds to the complexity in the AM.

 

If the hotel does not have a shuttle, the second option makes more sense.

I'm not aware of any hotels near the port that offer shuttles from MCO. There are a couple of private shuttles that serve the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral area.

I was thinking shuttle to the port the next morning, not from the airport.

I'm not aware of any hotels near the port that offer shuttles from MCO. There are a couple of private shuttles that serve the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral area.

Um....that changes everything!

There are locations in FL that no longer have manned lanes. I'm sure one of the locals can confirm or refute that cash is still an option. OR you can get a rental car with a Sunpass on it. You pay a small daily fee for each day you use it (if you are renting but don't charge tolls' date=' no charge) and the tolls.

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Although I didn't drive directly from MCO to Port Canaveral, we drove MCO - International Drive and then I-Drive - PC and didn't encounter any tolls that cash wasn't accepted.