Carnival Shuttle from Orlando Airport

[mnsawyer]

Question for those who have used the Carnival shuttle out of Orlando. We'll be flying down a day early and taking a hotel shuttle the morning of the cruise back to the airport. In looking at the layout of the MCO airport on the website, all ground transportation is on level 1 which I assume is street level and baggage claim is on level 2. Do we need to take our bags up to the second level or can we just find someone from Carnival/Mears on level 1 to take our bags and then go up to level 2 to check in? Are there escalators or elevators to get yourself and luggage up and down the levels? I know there are two sections of the airport - A & B based on your airline.

 

Also, when we arrive back to MCO for our flight home, is there baggage check-in on level 1 where the shuttle bus will drop us back?

[suzy671]

there is big elevators to take you to the lower level. And, yes the buses drop you off where you check in at the airport.

[Boston6]

Embarkation day. Take everything to Level 1. There is no Mears or Carnival "check-in" on level 2.

 

On debarkation day, the shuttle will take you back to MCO Level 1. You can take the elevator with your luggage to level 2 for check-in. If you have a lot of baggage, there are self-help carts and porters available.

[RRCRUISE]

As Boston mentioned...just got to level 1 and find the Carnival podium and there will be someone to sell you your transfers or give you a numbered ticket to get on the bus. It's pretty easy.

[WellesleyIslander]

My return flight at the end of my cruise doesn't leave MCO until 6 that night (the only direct flight I could find)-will they let you check your luggage with the airline that early (like noon-1:00 PM), or is there a secure place to store your luggage at the airport? I don't want to lug it around all day. Thanks...Laurie

[kathy7558]

As I remember from when that happened to us, airlines would not let you check baggage more than 2 hours prior to your flight time. I believe they told us there are lockers at the airport, though. You can leave your luggage in those if you want to stroll around the airport while waiting to check in for your flight.

 

Another option might be to rent a car at the pier and drop it off at the airport - that way there's a place for your luggage and you have some freedom of how to spend your extra hours in Florida. We did that in Miami two years ago and had a really nice day before finally flying home. :D

[WellesleyIslander]

Thanks for the info Kathy. I guess we'll have to decide what to do with our time between debarking the ship and the flight home...not that familiar with the Orlando area...

[Boston6]

You could try to leave your luggage with the Bell Captain at the airport hotel. If they ask, just tell them you just checked out. A little tip to grease the palm and you should be all set. ;)

[kathy7558]

On our trip, we actually ended up leaving all the luggage with the men at the airport, who were content to sit and wait, while we women took the public bus to International Drive and the Beltz Outlets for lunch and shopping. I considered it quite the adventure as I almost never get on a public bus. (I live in a rural area, so very few busses here.)

 

With a rental car your whole group could go. International Drive is an interesting urban street with shops, restaurants, hotels, etc., and the big Beltz Outlet at the end of it. I'm sure the rental place would be glad to give you a map with directions, or you could look up Beltz Outlets online and get directions to the Orlando one.

 

All the women in my family wear Birkenstocks almost exclusively, and there is a Birkenstock Outlet at Beltz - the only one I've ever found on the East Coast! They have great prices, so we always try to get there whenever we're in that area. Also, my favorite buffet style restaurant is Sweet Tomatoes, and there is one on International Drive. If you like fresh salad bar food, fresh pasta, and homemade soups, try Sweet Tomatoes. They also have the best, biggest muffins I've ever tasted!

[WellesleyIslander]

There are no men travelling with us-this is a 'girlfriends' cruise for us, so we can't leave the luggage with someone. Maybe we'll just rent a locker, stow the luggage, and hit the outlet malls-yeah!!! (that is, if we still have any money left from the week) Thanks for the info.

Laurie

[kjunea]

There used to be a place where you could pay to store your luggage, over near the shopping area in the main terminal. I did that, then hopped a cab and went to Universal Studios and rode the rides! Came back, picked up bags and caught my flight!

 

June

[kathy7558]

If you decide to use the public bus, you can get the times and transfer directions right from the bus company. I found a link to it from the Orlando Airport's site under ground transportation. They were quite prompt about answering my questions and right on the money with their answer. We had no trouble at all getting there and back - except that we were carrying so many shopping bags on the way back wondering how we were going to fit the goods into our luggage!! LOL

[rpsinnj]

i cant tell you the different from bus serivce and private pick up, night and day different, private is by far the best, you control where and when you wnat to go.. family one in orlando is very good and very fair prices

[mnsawyer]

Thanks for the information. We'll just check in with Mears/Carnival on level 1 the day of our cruise. After our cruise, we are flying out of MCO on American and have spoken with a representative, supervisor and person in baggage claim. They assure me that I can check my luggage anytime the day of my flight. We'll take the Mears shuttle from the ship to the airport, check out bags curbside and go to the Hyatt where we have reserved a day room. Our flight is at 5:30 p.m.

[rpsinnj]

how much is a day room at hyatt

[mnsawyer]

It's $75 for two of us and is available from 10-6 only. Full use of facilities, etc. While I'm not 100% sure of how long we'll be able to use it since we won't know what time we debark the ship, travel, check-in, security, etc., but felt it would be better than hanging around the airport and a million times better than a post-cruise tour. On the Glory, the only post-cruise tour available is the Kennedy Space Center and that's quite a bit more expensive than $75 for 2 plus we arrive at the airport around 1 or so which doesn't really help. From what I've read from other posters, there is a nice outdoor pool and we'll plan to have lunch right at the pool and then relax in our room. It will be nice to take a shower, etc., before our 5:30 p.m. flight. Just call Hyatt reservations directly. You can cancel up to 4:00 p.m. the day before.