Fly, Snooze & Cruise, Port Canaveral...

[theavonb]

Hello, New to this world of cruising. So our 1st cruise is booked, waiting for airfare to come out, and now to decide on a hotel the night before we cruise. Any advice for a good place with reliable airport shuttle service from Orlando to Port Canaveral and back to the airport after the cruise?

Thanks

[boo214]

Hello, New to this world of cruising. So our 1st cruise is booked, waiting for airfare to come out, and now to decide on a hotel the night before we cruise. Any advice for a good place with reliable airport shuttle service from Orlando to Port Canaveral and back to the airport after the cruise?

Thanks

yeah, forget about shuttle service. your best ( and probaly cheapest) option would be one way car rentals. most agencies (budget, avis) have locations right near the port (you can see the ship from the budget location) that offer free shuttle service to and from the port. you can stay at whatever hotel you want and not have to worry if they have a shuttle or not and you can go to the port on your schedule. simply return the car and take their free shuttle to the port.

[GranysT]

Are you coming in a day early for the cruise? That is always highly recommended by the way. If you are, I would rent a car in Orlando, and drive to Port Canaveral, for a hotel stay. I recommend staying at Country Inn & Suites, listed under Cape Canaveral. It's a very nice hotel, lovely pool area, and they offer free shuttle to the pier.

[Brendarudd28]

Last Halloween we booked the Hampton Inn's cruise package. It was a little pricey ringing in at $200 for two of us. But we figured that we were likely going to spend $100 on the room anyhow and $50 per person for transporation was almost the cheapest I could find. Renting a car for 2 people really turned out to be the same cost ($45 each way for a rental car) and I didn't want the hassle of driving. I'm on vacation, I'll pay a little extra to have all my worries taken care of.

The hotel contracts with Travelynx and I just can't say enough good things about them. I've posted on a couple other threads here that our cruise was delayed getting back because of a medical emergency that occurred on our last sea day. So we were 2 hours late docking in Port Canaveral. As soon as I turned on my cell phone (before we even docked) Travelynx was calling me to calm my nerves and tell me that there was a driver already waiting for us and would whisk us away to the airport as soon as we got off the ship. We had an 11:30 a.m. flight. Also, you don't have to book a hotel package to utilize Travelynx. You can book them independently. I HIGHLY recommend them and Hampton Inn's cruise package.

Happy cruising! :)

[theavonb]

Yes, we are coming in the day before. Is it an easy drive to PC? Never really thought about doing the rental car thing. Will check into it though. Thanks...

[Banditswife]

Last Halloween we booked the Hampton Inn's cruise package. It was a little pricey ringing in at $200 for two of us. But we figured that we were likely going to spend $100 on the room anyhow and $50 per person for transporation was almost the cheapest I could find. Renting a car for 2 people really turned out to be the same cost ($45 each way for a rental car) and I didn't want the hassle of driving. I'm on vacation, I'll pay a little extra to have all my worries taken care of.

 

The hotel contracts with Travelynx and I just can't say enough good things about them. I've posted on a couple other threads here that our cruise was delayed getting back because of a medical emergency that occurred on our last sea day. So we were 2 hours late docking in Port Canaveral. As soon as I turned on my cell phone (before we even docked) Travelynx was calling me to calm my nerves and tell me that there was a driver already waiting for us and would whisk us away to the airport as soon as we got off the ship. We had an 11:30 a.m. flight. Also, you don't have to book a hotel package to utilize Travelynx. You can book them independently. I HIGHLY recommend them and Hampton Inn's cruise package.

 

Happy cruising! :)

Thank you for this link. We'll be doing the same in Nov.

 

To OP--Check out La Quinta in Cocoa Beach. Their fly, snooze & cruise pkg includes: transfer fr MCO to hotel, welcome cocktails, deluxe contintental breakfast, transfer to cruise terminal & then back to airport again after cruise. As pp said, its $199. + taxes & such. Good luck on your planning.

[theavonb]

Brenda, I kind of agree with you, we don't really want the hassle of driving. Will certainly check out the Hampton as well. Thanks...

[theavonb]

Another one to check out, thanks Banditswife...

[Brendarudd28]

Brenda, I kind of agree with you, we don't really want the hassle of driving. Will certainly check out the Hampton as well. Thanks...

 

 

You're very welcome. Just on a side note, about a 1/4 mile down the road from the Hampton Inn (we walked) is an Italian restaurant that was just the best! I believe it was called Brano's Italian Grill. They have coupons there at the front desk for a free appetizer. I'm a huge fan of Italian food and have eaten at many, many Italian restaurants and this one was superb!

[theavonb]

Brenda, Does the airport shuttle wait until it is full before leaving for the hotel? Love Italian as well...

[dremn2004]

Radisson Resort at the Port has free shuttle service to and from the airport (according to a sign in there lobby last week) and offer shuttles to and from the port. There is also a great Italian resteraunt nest to it called Kelsey's. I am not sure how much it is without parking, but for a one night stay and parking while on crusie with shuttle to and from port it was 177.20 for a 2 room suite.

[boo214]

Yes, we are coming in the day before. Is it an easy drive to PC? Never really thought about doing the rental car thing. Will check into it though. Thanks...

yes very easy. its one road from the airport to port canaveral. its about an hours drive.

[baymadsus]

Yes, we are coming in the day before. Is it an easy drive to PC? Never really thought about doing the rental car thing. Will check into it though. Thanks...

 

Brenda, I kind of agree with you, we don't really want the hassle of driving. Will certainly check out the Hampton as well. Thanks...

 

 

We rented a car from dollar the day before our dream cruise last year. It was really not a hassle at all, very convenient actually. You pick the car up right there at the airport, then a very easy drive to Port Canaveral, go where ever you want and do what ever you want, drop the car off at the rental agency in the morning and take their free 5 minute shuttle to the port. After the cruise the shuttle will be waiting to take you back to the rental agency and then you can do whatever you want until your flight.

 

It was VERY easy even for me who had never flown or rented a car before (sad I know!).

 

Have a wonderful trip! :)

[theavonb]

Thanks everyone for your input. I will have fun putting this all together. I don't mind doing the research part. This cruising is so very different from our usual island getaway which we are still going to do in April for 2 wks.

[Brendarudd28]

Brenda, Does the airport shuttle wait until it is full before leaving for the hotel? Love Italian as well...

 

 

After I booked the room at Hampton Inn, I was given a phone number for Travelynx and told I needed to contact them directly with my flight information. There were us, another couple, and a party of four whose flights all arrived within a 20 minute window. We were instructed when we got to baggage claim to call Travelynx. I did and they told us where to go. By the time we got to the designated pickup spot, we waited only about 10 minutes before the bus arrived to pick us up. That was the extent of our wait. All the other folks were already on the bus when we got on. All of them had just got on as well. So, I don't think they waited long either. There was probably still 2 more seats available on the bus, but it left after picking us up. We didn't wait for anyone else.

[theavonb]

It all sounds very easy and non complicating.

[Banditswife]

Brenda: thanks from us too. Your input has been great. Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. We are just waiting on SW to open flights for our sail date. Thnx everyone.

[bobsfamily]

http://g.co/maps/k39q4

 

Shows the straight shot from airport to PC...

There is a thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1119114

 

That is all about going, where to stay, etc. Go to last few pages for more up to date info...

[RWolver672]

I would definately plan on a visit to the space museum and the Kennedy Space Center. It's something you'll never forget.

[theavonb]

Thanks to all who gave input here. Like I said, this is our 1st ever cruise and am rather green at it. We too are waiting for our air to come out and hopefully the flying times will be compatible with our cruise arrival at the end. Any other suggestions please add them. I will look at them all and try to decide which one is good for us.

[medianeh]

We went on the Sensation in June and stayed at Comfort Inn through their fly, snooze, and cruise package.

 

They picked us up from the airport, we stayed the night (and they offer continental breakfast), and took us to the port. When our cruise was over, they picked us up at the port and took us back to the airport. Very very simple and no hassle. I would do it again in a heartbeat! We ended up staying in a honeymoon suite (it was our 25 year anniversary) with a view of the ocean. It had a front door and a back door with a balcony. A living room, and wet bar sink, fridge microwave, and coffee maker. Then a separate complete bedroom with an oceanview. Very nice! I think it was just a bit over $200, but like I said, it included all the shuttles and the honeymoon suite.

 

Since it is near the ocean, you literally walk across the street to a walkway that goes right to the beach. Very simple little walk.

[theavonb]

Thanks Medianeh...I will check that one out to...no hassle is what we are looking for...

[Brendarudd28]

Brenda: thanks from us too. Your input has been great. Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. We are just waiting on SW to open flights for our sail date. Thnx everyone.

 

 

You're very welcome! I've learned so much from these boards over the past two years that it's nice to finally be able to help some others out. I hope you and Theavonb have a wonderful cruise!

We, too, are waiting for Southwest to open up their bookings. We missed the deadline this time by three days. They opened up their booking calendar to November 2 and we're flying home on November 5. Now we have to wait until May 20 before they open it up for the rest of the year. Oh well, just means I'll have something to do in May. LOL

[Cruzface]

Just off the Dream. We rented a car from Budget at the airport. They actually convinced us to do a large van because we had two reservations for 2 families of 4. It's about a 45 minute drive, easy, one road. Plenty of hotels. We stayed at the Cocoa Beach Hilton. Very nice. Beach access and a pool.

 

The way back is a different story. We heard horror stories about the crowd of people at Budget and all the other rental car agencies after the cruise. We asked the owner of budget and she was very honest that you could expect an hour wait just to get your car after the cruise. If you have a flight before noon, not a good idea. We sucked it up and booked a cab to Orlando ($85 with tip). Made our 12:15 flight with plenty of time to spare.

[theavonb]

Just another thought...hopefully when we get to book our flights we get a return with decent flying time home. What is a good time once you have cleared the ship to catch your flight home or should I book another nights stay at whatever hotel we choose?