MCO to Cape Canaveral transportation help

[mom2myrugrat]

flying in night before the cruise, can someone lead me in the right direction of a way to get to hotel near the port ( this is the day before) there would be 5 of us, so looking for the best option that wont break the bank

[firefly333]

I rented a car, but rentals were cheap att. Turned it in the next morning.

 

Not sure now, but uber might be a better choice.

[BlerkOne]

I don't have experience with them, but you can check. Hotel plus transportation.

 

 

https://www.goport.com/fly-snooze-cruise/orlando-airport

 

[SNJCruisers]

Go to the Florida Departures section of Cruise Critic under North American Homeports.  I would stay at a hotel near MCO and then take one of many reasonably priced shuttles directly to the cruiseport.  Since there are five of you, you may find cheaper alternatives mentioned in a thread in the FLA departures.  Good luck.

[pe4all]

We use(d) VIP limo.  Always on time.  Very easy to work with.  With car rental prices crazy high, they might be your best and cheapest way to go.  https://viplimoandtaxi.com

[ColeThornton]

7 hours ago, mom2myrugrat said:

flying in night before the cruise, can someone lead me in the right direction of a way to get to hotel near the port ( this is the day before) there would be 5 of us, so looking for the best option that wont break the bank

 

 

Here is the link to the Florida Departures forum.  Lots of good info on transportation, hotels and things to do:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/386-florida-departures/

[mondello]

With the popularity of Mardi Gras, this question is going to be posted repeatedly.

[Elaine5715]

Go the the MCO website https://www.orlandoairports.net/parking-transportation/

Check closer to your sailing date

[JohninDC]

Pre-virus Cocoa Beach Shuttle and Cortrans were the most often suggested shared shuttle providers between MCO and PC.  Expect to pay about $20-25+ per person each way.

 

If you are flying in the night before you might consider staying close to MCO and not making your way to PC until the morning of your cruise - lots of hotels near MCO in every price range.  One way rental cars are an option - for 5 plus bags, especially if anyone in your group packs like my wife - you will need either a mini-van or two standard rentals.

 

UberXL is another option - you can do a mock booking to check the fare, but expect to pay about $100+ for door to door service ($20 each or so is not bad).

 

Have a great cruise! 😎

[stingray310]

We have used Cortrans in the past and they were very accomodating and very professional with very nice clean shuttle vehicles. They had excellent communication and were always on time. One trip even the owner of the company was on our shuttle helping to coordinate passenger pickups at the port.

[BoozinCroozin]

First, from experience, GoPort is a group of criminals. They have stolen money from 10,000s of customers.

 

As far as hotels go, my recommendation is based on how much you want to spend and when you get in. PC hotels are not cheap. You will be paying quite a bit especially if you have to get 2 rooms for 5 people. Hotels near MCO are inexpensive. I have gotten great hotels from the "bid" sites for as low as $40/night. It is not difficult to get those deals near MCO. Everything I have seen at nice hotels in PC is $200/night.

 

Next, you are trying to figure out how to get to the port. If in PC, you could use the hotel shuttle. I would Uber/Lyft regardless. If near MCO, there are quite a few shuttle services. You can also do Uber, rent a car (cheapest option but may have the capacity issues), or hire a private van or similar. It really comes down to what you want to do. There are a lot of options. On top of that, no one knows the boarding procedures moving forward. You may be given a time window to arrive and they are strict about it. Let's say yours is 11AM - 11:30AM. If you don't make that window, you get moved to say 3PM. This would be to control flow and grouping of passengers. It is only a guess, but I suspect something like this to happen.

[Ashland]

Use a hotel near MCO that provides transportation for your nights stay. An option for a shuttle from hotel to Cape Canaveral and then a return back to MCO for your flight home I suggest

Cruise Control Shuttle.

[cruisegirl1976]

We used Cocoa Beach Shuttle.. they were great.

[BoozinCroozin]

I just checked rental car prices for July. The rate has gone from $60 to $150. We will probably Uber or take a shuttle now.

[SNJCruisers]

6 minutes ago, BoozinCroozin said:

I just checked rental car prices for July. The rate has gone from $60 to $150. We will probably Uber or take a shuttle now.

I would recommend a shuttle because surge pricing will probably kick in with Uber or Lyft.

[Price31]

I used GoPortCanaveral and was very pleased

[Darkingnj]

We sailed out of Port Canaveral once a few years ago.  We rented a minivan for the four of us and our luggage, added extra cost for one way rental was about $160 then.  For the return trip to MCO we rented a big size suv for around $100, no premium for one way rental.  We're sailing this year with 6 and the car rentals are through the roof, or they don't have any cars available (read an article that some of the car rental agency's sold some of their fleet due to the pandemic).  We'll be looking for a reliable shuttle this time around.

[JohninDC]

On 5/16/2021 at 5:01 PM, Darkingnj said:

We sailed out of Port Canaveral once a few years ago.  We rented a minivan for the four of us and our luggage, added extra cost for one way rental was about $160 then.  For the return trip to MCO we rented a big size suv for around $100, no premium for one way rental.  We're sailing this year with 6 and the car rentals are through the roof, or they don't have any cars available (read an article that some of the car rental agency's sold some of their fleet due to the pandemic).  We'll be looking for a reliable shuttle this time around.

Pre-virus the most often suggested shuttles were Cortrans and Cocoa Beach Shuttle -- do some homework to see if they are still in business.

 

In addition to continuing to look for car rentals (things change) I would also look at splitting y our group into two Ubers (might need one UberX and one UberXL - especially if anyone in your group packs like my wife! 😲).  There is always the cruise line bus as a reliable but expensive option.

[BoozinCroozin]

I am in the original thinking of car rental. However, prices have gone up significantly. I was looking at shuttles and the prices are not outrageous. I then looked at private cars, but they got expensive when asking for a 10-minute stop at CVS or similar ($30-$40 extra charge). 

 

After searching for luxury rides, limo, etc, I finally stumble on Cruise Control Transportation. He gets great reviews across the board except one person on a shared shuttle. We decided to use them for RT private service. They even stop at CVS with no extra charge. They were much better choice than other services. The owner (very small company) returned my call in a few minutes. He said he is 100% booked for January already and December was almost fully booked. 

[Ashland]

7 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

I am in the original thinking of car rental. However, prices have gone up significantly. I was looking at shuttles and the prices are not outrageous. I then looked at private cars, but they got expensive when asking for a 10-minute stop at CVS or similar ($30-$40 extra charge). 

 

After searching for luxury rides, limo, etc, I finally stumble on Cruise Control Transportation. He gets great reviews across the board except one person on a shared shuttle. We decided to use them for RT private service. They even stop at CVS with no extra charge. They were much better choice than other services. The owner (very small company) returned my call in a few minutes. He said he is 100% booked for January already and December was almost fully booked. 

I think you'll be happy with them...glad to have suggested them...I too like to work with small responsive companies. Enjoy !!

[Wolfshair]

We just scheduled with Cortrans Shuttle. It's $20 per person each way. This is for our september cruise. We decided to stay at the airport in Orlando, Homewood Suites by Hilton. We are traveling with my daughter and her husband and got a 2 bedroom suite. There are places to eat in walking distance. I believe Carnival runs a shuttle from the airport for about $35 per person each way.. I have no idea what you  may think is too expensive. There are many web sites to shop rates for hotels. If you go with Cortrans you need to be sure they can pick you up at the hotel. The trip from the hotel to the port takes almost an hour. You can be there in plenty of time for your book in.

[ohiowilly]

On 4/27/2021 at 11:28 PM, BlerkOne said:

I don't have experience with them, but you can check. Hotel plus transportation.

 

 

https://www.goport.com/fly-snooze-cruise/orlando-airport

 

We’ve used this service several times in the past, normally staying in a hotel near MCO Orlando airport the night before the cruise, and using their shuttle to get to Port Canaveral the morning of the cruise. 
 

I’ve found the service to be extremely efficient, convenient, and a great value. It went from shuttle van to full size bus, as their service gained popularity, but it’s very nice to make a single reservation that took care of all the shuttles, hotel, and saved money in the process.

 

I haven’t seen current pricing for the cruise restart, but I’d have no hesitation in recommending goportcanaveral.com

[Ashland]

17 hours ago, ohiowilly said:

We’ve used this service several times in the past, normally staying in a hotel near MCO Orlando airport the night before the cruise, and using their shuttle to get to Port Canaveral the morning of the cruise. 
 

I’ve found the service to be extremely efficient, convenient, and a great value. It went from shuttle van to full size bus, as their service gained popularity, but it’s very nice to make a single reservation that took care of all the shuttles, hotel, and saved money in the process.

 

I haven’t seen current pricing for the cruise restart, but I’d have no hesitation in recommending goportcanaveral.com

Some shuttle companies had some very negative reviews due to Covid cancellations...best that anyone needing current information do some new research.

[quiltsnh]

We used Cortrans.  Stayed at a hotel on their pick up route.  The hotel had a shuttle from airport to hotel and also would shuttle you from hotel to area restaurants.  Cortrans was on time in both directions at $20.00 each way per person you cannot beat it.  Highly recommend them.

Hotel Information: Sheraton Suites Orlando Airport 7550 Augusta National Drive. 

 

[margie1221]

Highly recommend CORTRANS from before-times - altho with five people you may want to rent a mini-van at the airport (it's kind of a hassle and prices are soaring for rentals post-COVID but I would check out cost comparison)

 

Agree that hotels near MCO will probably be cheaper than PC - it's only a 45-minute ride to the port so no worries there...  We like to stay at PC so that when we wake up we're already at the port.  Have stayed at Radisson and Country Inn and Suites - both great and both had shuttle to port.

 

Just glad to think we'll be cruising again soon!!!  Good luck 🙂