Staying in Orlando before cruise--should I stay the port the night before?

Hi, my daughter and I are flying a few days before our cruise to do Universal for a few days. Should we shuttle to the port a day early to stay at a hotel nearby or shuttle the day of the cruise?

Any thoughts would be great :)

Thx

Hi, my daughter and I are flying a few days before our cruise to do Universal for a few days. Should we shuttle to the port a day early to stay at a hotel nearby or shuttle the day of the cruise?

 

Any thoughts would be great :)

 

Thx

I would, if it is convenient. Staying at the port gives you less worry about

any traffic delays, etc. coming to the east out of Orlando. Most of the hotels

there offer free shuttles to the terminal. Quick and easy luggage drop off with

the porter and on to check in. :)

I would, if it is convenient. Staying at the port gives you less worry about

any traffic delays, etc. coming to the east out of Orlando. Most of the hotels

there offer free shuttles to the terminal. Quick and easy luggage drop off with

the porter and on to check in. :)

That's what I thought. But I didn't want the hassle of checking into another hotel.

It's not that far from Orlando to the port. Just as easy to stay at your Orlando hotel the night before and using a shuttle in the morning. Now if you like to sleep in until noon you might consider staying closer to the port.;)

That's what I thought. But I didn't want the hassle of checking into another hotel.

Sounds like you already made your choice. ;)

Just be prepared to have alternate routes if you stay in Orlando. I-4 between Tampa and Orlando is a nightmare even on weekends. Just last week they shut it down for several hours due to a traffic accident. Happens all the time.

Just be prepared to have alternate routes if you stay in Orlando. I-4 between Tampa and Orlando is a nightmare even on weekends. Just last week they shut it down for several hours due to a traffic accident. Happens all the time.

ok this definitely sealed it for me. I do not want to be stressing should this happen.

Thx

ok this definitely sealed it for me. I do not want to be stressing should this happen.

 

Thx

Wise decision. The minor "hassle" of changing hotels is worth peace of mind. You don't want to start your vacation worrying whether you'll get to the ship on time. Enjoy your cruise!

Just be prepared to have alternate routes if you stay in Orlando. I-4 between Tampa and Orlando is a nightmare even on weekends. Just last week they shut it down for several hours due to a traffic accident. Happens all the time.

Thanks for this, we know to expect it at Galveston but did not really think about it at PC. We will change for sure now.

Hmmm...interesting how the OP never mentions which port...Tampa or Port

Canaveral. I just assumed OP meant Port Canaveral. Some on this thread

are mentioning Tampa.

Hmmm...interesting how the OP never mentions which port...Tampa or Port

Canaveral. I just assumed OP meant Port Canaveral. Some on this thread

are mentioning Tampa.

My thoughts too... but I was wondering if it was for Port Canaveral or Port Everglades

My thoughts too... but I was wondering if it was for Port Canaveral or Port Everglades

That could happen too, obviously. But it's quite a poke down the highway

from Orlando down to Port Everglades. :eek:

Hmmm...interesting how the OP never mentions which port...Tampa or Port

Canaveral. I just assumed OP meant Port Canaveral. Some on this thread

are mentioning Tampa.

My bad, I'm new here and my Disney Cruise was out of Port Canaveral, so I just assumed silly me.

My bad, I'm new here and my Disney Cruise was out of Port Canaveral, so I just assumed silly me.

Whether you go the night before or the morning of the cruise, from your hotel in Orlando make sure your shuttle is heading East!. :)

My bad, I'm new here and my Disney Cruise was out of Port Canaveral, so I just assumed silly me.

Which ever plan you choose...hope you have a fantabulous cruise!! :)

It's always better to stay at the port, but we usually stay in Orlando. We will be doing that next week. The hotels are often cheaper and sometimes nicer in Orlando. It's a short drive, only around 50 miles. We often stay in Orlando when going to Ft. Lauderdale too. One other option, you can rent a car in Orlando and drop it off in Port Canaveral with no drop off fee. Just an option.

I cant imagine if I lived in Florida how much cruising I would do. I would probably need a second job to pay for it..lol

Thanks all for your suggestions and your wishes for a great cruise. My daughter and I are looking forward to it.

I cant imagine if I lived in Florida how much cruising I would do. I would probably need a second job to pay for it..lol

 

Thanks all for your suggestions and your wishes for a great cruise. My daughter and I are looking forward to it.

Nah...no job needed. We are just blowing through our retirement

nest egg. :eek: ;) :D

I know you and your daughter will have a great time! :)

Wise decision. The minor "hassle" of changing hotels is worth peace of mind. You don't want to start your vacation worrying whether you'll get to the ship on time. Enjoy your cruise!

But what if the road gets shut down for 24 hours? You better head to the port two days before your cruise. Oh, wait, what if there's a nuclear waste spill and the road is shutdown for a week? :eek::rolleyes:

I would stay in the Orlando hotel and shuttle to the port at 9am on embarkation day. Oh, wait, I just did this in July to catch Freedom. Not. A. Problem.

When we sailed on Freedom out of Port Canaveral 2 years ago we flew into Orlando the night before. We rented a car for 24 hours. Spent the night at WDW and did some non-park things and bought our wine. The next morning we drove to the rental drop-off in Port Canaveral and they shuttled us to the ship. We had no problem at all.

The only time I stayed in PC was when I did b2b cruises with an overnight between cruises. I stayed at the Radisson which is very nice. Great pool. I arrived early in the morning and there were only suites available at the moment but they let me have one for an additional $15. Well worth the extra money just to get to the room right away. But it was huge with a kitchenette, jacuzzi tub in the bedroom, TV in each room, and a Sleep Number bed. Too bad I only had it for one night. There's a very good and cheap Italian Restaurant right next to the hotel with the unlikely name of Kelsey's. They have a shuttle to the port as well.

Another option would be is to just stay in Orlando. Purchase transfers from DIsney Cruise for embarkation day and just return to the Orlando Airport that day to board the bus. That way if there are any delays than it's all on Disney to take care of the problem and you don't have to stress about it.

I'm doing just that next month. Staying at the Orlando Hyatt Regency located directly inside the Airport. Purchased RCCL's transfers for the next day. The trick is that cruise lines will only sell transfers if you're arriving at the airport on the morning of embarkation day so you have to give them flight information for that arrival day. The cruise line doesn't know if you're actually on that flight or not as they are not prevy to the flight manifest. Just meet the cruise rep by the baggage carousel for the flight you've given them.

No need to go thru all that. There are very reliable shuttles like Cortrans (check them out on Trip Advisor) that will pick you up at your hotel and cost a lot less than the cruise line transfer. Plus you won't have to wait for a large bus to fill up in order to leave. Almost missed my flight once due to this.

Op where is your cruise embarking from? I am on tapatalk and can't see signatures so if there's a clue I don't see it. And in looking at your posts you haven't given a definitive answer that I noticed.

If out of canaveral I'd just stay up at universal (are you staying onsite there? I hope so!) and go the next morning. It's an hour away from canaveral.

If Tampa or Fort Lauderdale I'd stay in the port area the night before.

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Op where is your cruise embarking from? I am on tapatalk and can't see signatures so if there's a clue I don't see it. And in looking at your posts you haven't given a definitive answer that I noticed.

 

If out of canaveral I'd just stay up at universal (are you staying onsite there? I hope so!) and go the next morning. It's an hour away from canaveral.

 

If Tampa or Fort Lauderdale I'd stay in the port area the night before.

 

 

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I'm staying on International street (universal area) and I had decided to stay at the port the night before instead of using the shuttle to PC the day of the cruise.