Orlando to Port Canaveral

[MsMot]

Greetings fellow cruisers, 

 

I have never sailed out of Port Canaveral and feel like I need to start planning earlier than usual.  I understand it is a 45 minute ride from the airport to Port Canaveral.  Can I get suggestions on the most efficient way to get to Port Canaveral?  We plan on going a day early so we'll also need lodging.  Thanks in advance for your help.  

[CruiserBruce]

A little down the board would see many threads on the topic. Shuttles and car rentals are the two most common suggestions. There are a small number of recommended hotels in the area of the port.

 

It is closer to an hour from airport to port.

[JohninDC]

We prefer to stay in Orlando and drive to the port the morning of the cruise  - drop off your rental and ride their shuttle to the port.

 

Post cruise use a shuttle to get back to MCO unless your flight leaves after about 2:00.

[Pyrate13]

We stay in one of the Orlando hotels just outside the airport and take Cortrans shuttle to the port. Most of the hotels have free a shuttle from the airport to their location. Cortrans is $20 per person from the hotel to the ship and $20 from the ship back to the airport. Simple and easy.

https://www.cortrans-shuttle.com/

[precious89904600]

I agree with Pyrate 13 . We are also staying in Orlando at Homewood suites then next morning taking shuttle to cruise port. Cortrans has a lot of excellent reviews

[MzOhioLady]

3 hours ago, Pyrate13 said:

We stay in one of the Orlando hotels just outside the airport and take Cortrans shuttle to the port. Most of the hotels have free a shuttle from the airport to their location. Cortrans is $20 per person from the hotel to the ship and $20 from the ship back to the airport. Simple and easy.

https://www.cortrans-shuttle.com/

Thanks so much for the helpful tip. This shuttle service is much cheaper than Uber and Lyft!! 

[SRQbeachgirl]

We rent a car (Hertz) at the Orlando airport then head straight to Port Canaveral. We stay at the Residence Inn, which is close to the port terminal, near waterfront restaurants for dining the night before the cruise, and has a Publix down the street for picking up the wine and sodas we take onboard. There is a Hertz location literally in the parking lot of the hotel, so it's a 5-minute process to drop the car off the morning of the cruise nd walk back across the parking lot. The hotel has a shuttle to the terminal that's about $5.

[MsMot]

Thank you everyone for this information!  Cortran’s is exactly what we will do.  

[Williamsburgcruiser]

Hi,

Has anyone used this service?

https://www.orlandoairportlimotransportation.com

 

There are going to be 10 of us - from an Orlando hotel to the port - and then 8 of us will return the following Sunday.  Was wondering if the shuttle service would do 10 there, and 8 back.  

And, with all that luggage too!  :-)

 

Really love everyone's opinion!

[DBARR913]

Hi All - we are staying in Cocoa Beach the night before our cruise so that we can get in some beach time and Kennedy Space Center. After the cruise, we are going to Disney. The cruise is a Carnival cruise so Magical Express is not an option. I was leaning towards rental car but for those who have done it - how much time should I give to drop off the rental car and on to the ship? We don’t need to be the first people on the ship and typically book a 2pm embarkation time. There will be 4 adults and 1 child.

[Anyislandwilldo]

On 3/30/2019 at 3:21 PM, DBARR913 said:

Hi All - we are staying in Cocoa Beach the night before our cruise so that we can get in some beach time and Kennedy Space Center. After the cruise, we are going to Disney. The cruise is a Carnival cruise so Magical Express is not an option. I was leaning towards rental car but for those who have done it - how much time should I give to drop off the rental car and on to the ship? We don’t need to be the first people on the ship and typically book a 2pm embarkation time. There will be 4 adults and 1 child.

We returned our rental car to the agency closest to the port.  The return of the car was easy, it was the wait for the shuttle that took the longest.  There were other people who had returned cars that were waiting with us in the lounge.  They wanted to have a full shuttle before heading over to the port.  I think the total time was about 30 minutes.  The ride to the port was about 7 minutes.