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6 minutes ago, slidergirl said:

I stayed at that Hyatt Place last November (didn't want to drive down to Cocoa Beach at night after a long flight).  It was an OK hotel for my points.  It's definitely a lower-end type of Hyatt (similar to Springhill with Marriott), but better than Super 8/La Quinta.  I'm a picky person - I work for hotels and I'm used to staying at Westin/St. Regis/Hyatt Regency/W/Andaz - so I'm a little harsh maybe.  I left a note at the Front Desk for some little things I found wrong that the hotel might want to fix before the next guest (some gaps in the tub seal, a big stain on the carpet, a piece of molding broken off at the entry door), but most may not have noticed (I do room inspections to a Forbes level where I work).  It is a perfectly fine family-class hotel.  You've stayed at HP before, so you know the product.  This was my first time at a HP. I just walked down the street to a BBQ place for dinner - lots of chains within 3 blocks of the hotel.

 

The hotels near Port Canaveral do not have a store nearby - you'd have to take a Lyft or Uber to get to the nearest store.  

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I'm a bit picky with my hotels too so appreciate your advice.

Are there any grocery stores within walking distance of the Hyatt Place in Orlando? (to pick up last minute supplies before the cruise)

On 8/10/2019 at 7:42 AM, JohninDC said:

Often suggested on this board.  Lots of Hotels near MCO compared to PC/Cocoa Beach, so I suspect they are able to get discounted rates leading to slightly cheaper prices. We prefer to stay in Orlando pre-cruise, especially if our flight arrives later in the day.

Thanks so much! 

Any suggestions on hotels near MCO? There seem to be more options with MCO hotels and they seem a bit less than the PC/Cocoa Beach ones.

I'm a Starwood (now Marriott etc.) member so checking out the Sheraton/Marriott/4 points etc. brands, and also looked at the Hyatt Place Orlando Airport (since have had good experiences with the Hyatt Place in Fort Lauderdale). I'm sure any of them would be find but it's always nice to get a recommendation too.... 

On 8/10/2019 at 8:55 AM, SteerageJoe said:

Lets do a quick pricing check shall we? Please check my math yourself and comment please! I am bad with numbers.

 

Sep 8, 2019 - one night for 2pax

 

GoPort - Homewood Suites King Bed for 2 pax, breakfast included - Fly - Snooze - Cruise Package - $471.38

 

Room with Breakfast:

Booking.com - $185.47

Hilton - $206.08 (flexible rate)

 

Let's pick Booking.com.

Now add the one way shared Port transfer from the hotel - $12 (for 2 pax) with Cocoa Beach Shuttle 

Add the one-way shared Airport transfer to the Hotel - $58 (for 2 pax) with Cocoa Beach Shuttle

Add the one-way shared Airport from Port to Airport with GoPort Bus - $29.98

 

Total with Booking.com = $285.45

 

Seems to me it is MUCH cheasper to book direct online ? $186 savings! Disclaimer - your actual savings will surely depend on the hotel, travel dates, number of people.

 

What do you think? Did I make mistakes? Let's discuss.

 

Thanks so much - since I posted originally, I've been doing the math on a bunch of hotels, and similarly found that the GoPort pricing wasn't that competitive (but wasn't sure if I was missing something!)

I am leaning towards booking directly with the hotel/shuttle services directly (instead of GoPort) but had seen lots of positive reviews on TripAdvisor and Facebook, but less here, so wanted to know if anyone else had any reviews.

Thanks again!

2 minutes ago, GTO-Girl said:

Scroll down on this board to the Transportation from Orlando to Canaveral post.

 

Steerage Joe who is one of the knowledgeable posters has responded to them with some good links and info....

Thanks, GTO-Girl - I did see Steerage Joe's post in that thread which briefly mentioned GoPort re: shuttles but it doesn't answer my questions re: fly/snooze/cruise packages and Orlando vs. Port Canaveral hotels.

I've tried to search this board but no luck.

We are a party of 6 people:  2 kids (ages 4 and 6) and 4 adults (elderly mom and aunt) - cruising out of Port Canaveral in Feb 2020. I've previously only sailed out of Fort Lauderdale previously so still figuring out the best way to arrange transportation/hotel pre-cruise (flying in the night before). Given that my mom and aunt have mobility issues and we have our young kids too, we are trying to find the easiest/least stressful (but also cost efficient) route to take. 

1. Reviews of GoPort.com and their "Fly, Snooze, Cruise" packages? Are they reliable/on-time for transportation (I think they are coach buses)? Are their package prices truly better vs. booking hotel and private shuttles separately?

2. The packages for Orlando hotels look a bit cheaper than for Cape Canaveral hotels. Assuming they take into account the possibility of traffic etc. on the day of the cruise (the Orlando hotels I'm looking at say pick-ups range between 10:30am and 11:45am). Even with traffic/construction etc. this is sufficient time to make it from Orlando to the port on time?

3. I'm used to FLL pre-cruise hotels with nearby stores to pick up water/pop/wine to carry-on board.  Are the hotels in Orlando and Cape Canaveral in walking distance of a grocery store to pick up last minute supplies?

Appreciate any help or advice. Thanks!

Sorry you had a bad experience with SFS...we have had great service with them.

 

You might also check Jiffy Jeff (305) 588-6143 he will provide car seats too.

 

www.gojiffyjeff.com

Thanks for your reply, Ashland. Yes, I was very optimistic about SFS (and booked them after I read about your excellent experience with them).

I did contact Jiffy Jeff and they only have 1 carseat and 1 booster per vehicle (and my kids are both young still so need 2 carseats). Thanks for the recommendation anyways!

I do not recall seeing them mentioned previously. Go Airport, Holland Limo and Larry's Limos are the most often suggested providers for private transport.

Thanks for your reply, JohninDC! I will contact them for quotes.

Has anyone used Fort Lauderdale Shuttle & Limo Service?

http://www.fortlauderdalelimos.org/

They seem to have good reviews on tripadvisor and on yelp, but haven't seen anything on here about them.

Looking for a private shuttle service that is able to provide car seats (but had a bad experience with South Florida Shuttles, so prefer to try another company).

Thanks!

Have booked a cruise on Harmony of the Seas in March 2019 with my family (including 2 kids ages 5 and 3, my husband and my mother).

Unfortunately we had a poor experience with South Florida Shuttles last year, so I am hesitant to use them again. We tried them last year as we travelled without our carseats (used CARES harnesses on the plane) and they offered to provide carseats for the kids (though didn't come through for 2 out of 3 trips....).

For transportation to FLL post-cruise, would people recommend using the Royal Caribbean transfers? Would love to avoid the gong show of waiting at the curb for all the millions of different private shuttles coming to do pickups. From what I understand the Royal Caribbean transfers are large buses so no carseats are required. However, it sounds as if the waiting time to leave for FLL may be variable, as they wait for the bus to be filled before departing? How much time is generally safe to leave between debarkation and flight departure if using the Royal Caribbean transfers?

Otherwise, any recommendations for private shuttles that provide carseats (other than South Florida Shuttles?) I have gotten some quotes for VIP2GO (~$142) and Fort Lauderdale Shuttle & Limo Service (~$110) which apparently both provide carseats, but haven't seen that many reviews on them.

(For pre-cruise - trying to decide whether we can just use a hotel shuttle from FLL to hotel and from hotel to Port since we are flying in the day before vs. hiring a private shuttle).

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

Thanks for the detailed feedback - hope the rest of your cruise was more fun than your transportation experience.

Yes, we had an amazing cruise, thanks!

Totally did not let the hiccups with the shuttle transfers interfere with our enjoyment of the whole vacation. Hoping to book another cruise again soon! :)

So sorry to read of your unfavorable experience with SFS. As with anything in life experiences can vary.

However I will say that any shuttle service company you use that provide's carseats you "personally" need to install them yourself...a liability issue I believe and actually we feel better knowing we have installed them and not just assume they were installed correctly in the first place.

 

Hopefully whatever company you decide to use next time when the situation arises you'll be happy with.

 

Best of luck on your next journey with the little ones.

Thanks, Ashland.

Yes, for the 1st trip we should have installed the carseats ourselves (but since we were waiting so long for pickup, we were trying to head off 2 toddler meltdowns by getting going as soon as possible).

They didn't even have the 2 requested carseats in the van for the 2nd and 3rd trips.... only 1 booster seat for the 2nd trip and 1 booster and 1 carseat for the 3rd trip.

So, it was the combination of being late for pickup for all 3 trips, plus the lack of both requested carseats for the 2nd and 3rd trips that makes me hesitant to use them again. If it was only 1 trip (or possibly 2) that had issues, I could possibly overlook it, but not with all 3.

Hopefully SFS will take my feedback and those that use them in future will have a better experience.

Thank you!! Just was reading about Valuetrips today actually- have you stayed there with kids?? Just wanted to make sure it is walkable to shopping restaurants, which it sounds like it is.

And I will look into that shuttle company :-)

I just returned from a cruise on Allure of the Seas the first week of March, and stayed at the Hyatt Place the night before the cruise with my husband and 2 and 4 year olds, booked via Valuetrips.

I definitely agree that the Hyatt Place is an excellent pre-cruise hotel, especially with young kids. We were pleasantly surprised to find a local playground called Harbordale Park just 1 block northwest of the Hyatt Place. You can even see the blue "sunshade sail" covering the playground from the Hyatt Place parking lot - it was actually my eagle-eyed 4 year old who spotted it! As others have said, the location of Hyatt Place can't be beat (next to Publix and other shops). It was nice to have a place for the kids to run around and play after breakfast while waiting for our ride to the Port.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the same great experience as Ashland with South Florida Shuttles so would not recommend them (see my post here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2470747 )

I recently stayed at the Hyatt Place using valuetrips. I had submitted a request on the valuetrips website on Nov 12/17 (for a stay in Mar 2018) and didn't hear back for just over 3 weeks.

I phoned the Hyatt Place on Nov 30/17 and they were able to verbally provide me with my reservation number (but said they couldn't email me the reservation number for some reason - ?security). The person with whom I spoke was also able to confirm that it was booked with the valuetrips rate ($219+tax). With the reservation number, I was then able to look up the reservation on the Hyatt Place website to confirm that my booking was there, which was very reassuring.

I also emailed valuetrips again on Nov 30/17 and finally got an email confirmation of my booking on Dec 5/17.

While I was waiting, though, I did book another (fully refundable) hotel just in case the valuetrips booking didn't go through. Once I got confirmation from valuetrips and Hyatt Place, I just cancelled the other refundable booking.

I agree that the slow communication is somewhat frustrating, but as long as you have time before you leave (and can book an alternate hotel just in case), valuetrips still provides good value for a Hyatt Place booking (paid almost $150 USD less than the quoted rack rate for 1 night). It is also reassuring that once booked, you work directly with the hotel and can see your booking on their own system.

You're so very welcome. I have no doubt you will have the same great experience we did with South Florida Shuttles...several other's I have given the same recommendation to have replied with their great personal experience also. Enjoy planning your cruise....knowing all your land transportation will be professionally handled with no worries.

I am mostly a lurker here on these boards but based on your recommendation, Ashland, I booked transportation with South Florida Shuttles for our recent cruise Mar 4-11, 2018 (booked with them last August).

I wish I could say that I had the same great experience that you had, Ashland, but unfortunately I did not. I was travelling with my husband and 2 young daughters (ages 2 and 4) and specifically booked with South Florida Shuttles for use of their provided carseats (my daughters used CARES harnesses while on the plane since we did not want to bring 2 convertible carseats with us onto the cruise).

We had 3 trips booked with them: (a) FLL to Hyatt Place 17th St on Mar 3, (b) Hyatt Place to Port Everglades on Mar 4, and © Port Everglades to FLL after our cruise ended on Mar 11. For all 3 trips, the driver was late and there were issues with the carseats (I had previously requested 2 forward facing carseats when booking the reservations).

On our arrival at FLL on Mar 3 at 6pm, as per their instructions, we phoned the dispatcher, who said to call them again after we picked up our luggage, which we did at 6:25pm. The driver called at 6:45pm saying he was late due to traffic, and asked us to meet him on the departures level instead of arrivals (which we had no problem doing). We did not get picked up until 7pm, and when the driver arrived, he did have 2 carseats with him but they were not installed. Since it was getting late (and my daughters were getting tired after a long travel day) we didn't bother trying to figure out how to install them and just sat them beside me in the middle bench of the van with seatbelts. The driver was very pleasant, though, and he brought us quickly to our hotel (though he was very confusing as he kept on asking which Hyatt Place we were going to, even though I had confirmed it to be the 17th St Convention Centre location when booking the trip).

The next day, our pickup to head to Port Everglades was scheduled for 12pm. We received a phone call at 11:55am saying that the shuttle had a flat tire and so would be late. It did not arrive until 12:30pm, and when it did, there was only 1 booster seat in the van (and no car seats). Since we had no choice, we just buckled our kids into the van's middle row with carseats for the short ride to the port (both my daughters are too small still to use a booster seat).

After our cruise ended, I was very nervous since the first 2 trips with South Florida Shuttles had issues (and I admit that the general craziness at the Port in the pick-up area, the hot sun, and the post-cruise letdown did not help matters!). Our pickup time was 10:30am (chosen by SFS based on our return flight time) and the driver did not arrive until 11:15am (he again said it was due to traffic). When he did arrive, he again did not have the correct carseats - only had 1 booster seat and had a rear facing carseat installed.

I know that traffic can happen, and flat tires can happen, but I would hope that an experienced shuttle service would be able to at least try to anticipate the usual traffic at FLL and Port Everglades when picking up and dropping off cruisers. Perhaps if only 1 trip had issues I could overlook it, but all 3 of our trips with them had difficulties. Also, if they advertise that they will provide proper carseats, I don't think it's too much to expect that they will bring the carseats that they said they would bring (i.e. carseats and not booster seats).

I emailed them today to let them know that I was disappointed in their services and that although we hopefully will be cruising from Fort Lauderdale again in the future, we would likely not use their services due to our experiences. They just replied to my email with a 1 line email stating: "Thank you. We will make all necessary corrections"....

I don't think I would ever use them again, but it still would have been nice to have more of an acknowledgement and apology for the issues that we experienced.

I'm glad that you had a great experience with them, Ashland, but just wish that we could have had the same....:(

Just a thought since you are Starwood, why not try the Renaissance on 17th at the north entrance to the port and near shoos and restaurants. A $12 Uber ride to the port. Also near the Water Taxi and Trolley.

 

 

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Thanks for the reply!

I have 2 toddlers and am not bringing car seats. So, even though it's a short distance, I wouldn't feel comfortable using Uber without car seats.

But, thanks for the reminder that I should look into non-shuttle hotels and other hotels that are further away - since I am also researching private shuttle services that provide car seats, if I find a reputable one, then I don't really need to be that close to either the airport or the Port!

We just booked a cruise for March 2018, and are flying in the night prior to departure, so need a hotel for 1 night prior to our cruise.

I know that the Hyatt Place 17th Street is recommended by several on this board and seems like a good option.

However, I am a Starwood member, so was wondering about the new Four Points Sheraton at 1800 S. Federal Highway - apparently it is opening in Oct 2017 (though was previously the Comfort Suites and is currently operating as a non-branded hotel - the Fort Lauderdale Airport/Cruise Port Inn - and has had some bad reviews recently on TripAdvisor).

Right now, I have booked both (with free cancellation for both) - the Four Points has a AAA breakfast package (on Starwood website) that is the same price as the Hyatt Place on Expedia (which I know also includes breakfast) - both for ~$385 USD. I usually do like Starwood hotels but am concerned that the new Four Points may not necessarily be as good (given its prior troubles as a Comfort Suites and now as the unbranded hotel).

Also complicating matters is that we will require shuttle transportation from FLL to hotel and from hotel to Port Everglades pre-cruise, and then from Port Everglades to FLL after the cruise. I have 2 toddlers (ages 2 and 4) for whom we are using CARES harnesses on the plane, so not bringing any car seats. Does anyone know if the Hyatt Place shuttle is a van vs. a mini-bus (and does it have seatbelts?) I know it is a very individual thing whether to allow a toddler to ride the shuttles without a car set so I don't want to open up that debate.... (I'm guessing no one will know what kind of shuttle the Four Points will have).

Since we will need a shuttle post-cruise from the Port to FLL, I am also looking into shuttles that have car seats (i.e. South Florida Shuttles) - I know there have been a few positive reviews on them recently, but if anyone else has any reviews or recommendations, it would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry for the long post! Thanks!