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Port Canaveral??

Mark

By Mark,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Mark

Mark

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Question for you veteran RCI cruisers who have sailed out of Port Canaveral.

 

What airport is used to sail out of Port Canaveral?

 

How is the transportation from the airport to the ship? Taxis etc?

 

I am used to flying into Ft Lauderdale and Miami with many flights to choos from and many inexpensive taxis to use once there...how does Port Canaveral stack up against Miami and Ft Lauderdale?

 

I have been hesitatnt to consider booking a cruise on Mariner since she sails out of Port Canaveral and I have heard people talking about Orlando which is no where near the ocean?

 

Please advise:cool:

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DonnaK

DonnaK

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We flew into MCO and rented a car from Budget, which is right in the airport. It's a 50 minute drive, straight and easy, across one main highway. Impossible to get lost. I dropped the family and baggage off at the pier, and then returned the car at Budget's Cape Canaveral office, which is about 2 miles south of the Port, and they shuttled me to the ship (took about 15 minutes). We reversed the process on the way home. Really, it couldn't have been easier.

 

Some CCers recommend Art's Shuttle as an alternative to driving yourself. Since we were 5 people with lots of baggage, renting an SUV was cheaper.

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katiel53

katiel53

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Orlando is the main airport serving Pt Canaveral. We live near the port so we drive but there are many car services that can be used, or as Donna mentioned, renting a car is another option. I am including the website for the port and it has a lot of info on it.

 

I much prefer sailing from Pt Canaveral, not just because I live close by, but it doesn't seem as chaotic as Miami. Mariner is a great ship and I'm sure you would enjoy your cruise.

 

http://www.portcanaveral.org/portinfo/groundtrans.htm

 

Katie

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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I would not be too concerned about the distance from MCO to the port. Considering traffic and the roads, it can take almost as long to get from FLL to the Port of Miami as from MCO to Port Canaveral. I am not sure about taxi costs. That might be rather steep but there are shuttle services. We used Art's and were very satisfied with them getting us to and from the port and MCO.

 

Now, if you are comparing FLL and Port Everglades, well I'm not sure anything, anywhere, can beat the convenience factor there.

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CoronaCpl

CoronaCpl

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We sailed out of Canaveral this past August. Flew into Orlando. We chose to take the transfers offered by RCCL. It took no more than an hour (possibly 50 minutes) to get to the ship. As was mentioned above, boarding was absolutely painless...very efficient for our cruise.

 

Don't let the distance between Orlando and Port Canaveral bother you. It really isn't bad, even if you rent a car. We'll sail out of there again someday!

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wraithe

wraithe

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Allegiant Airlines serves Sanford Airport (SFB) in Orlando as well, very good prices if you can use their services. Most people do use MCO though, because it has the most available flights and the least expensive rates. If you choose to use Budget car rental, the office in P'Can is CC5 on Astronaut Blvd. Very good people to work with, they're open 7 days/week, and have a good shuttle system worked out. Good luck.

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murphyis1

murphyis1

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We have sailed out of Port Canaveral 3 times. We used RCI's transfers twice and found it to be very efficient and easy. One time we hired a private town car service. It was rather expensive for one couple, but very efficient and comfortable. On our next cruise, we are traveling with another couple and will split the cost of the town car. This ends up being cheaper than four people on the RCI shuttle. We have never tried renting a car, but it seems to work out very well for people from what I've read on these boards. We have sailed out of other FL ports, and we don't really have a preference. However, we LOVE the MOS, so we'll probably continue to sail out of Port Canaveral.

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Inshape

Inshape

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We have done Mariner twice because it was so easy. MCO is easy to get in and out of. rental cars are right there. They are 5 min from the port in port Canaveral with free shuttles. We did this both ways...if traveling with more than 2 people the rented car makes the most sense. Now tell me how it is flying into ft lauderdale...i find that car rentals are more money and not all car companies have free shuttles to the port of Miami. This is thinking for our LOS cruise.

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Mark

Mark

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Thanks for your feedback...am thinking about trying the RCCL shuttle bus...it seems that no one has anything bad to say about bus from MCO to ship. What time do you get back to the MCO for return flights?

 

As far as Ft Lauderdale...it is best to fly into Ft Lauderdale and either take a cab which is somewhere around $20 or take the RCI bus.

 

As far as Miami, it is best to fly into Miami and either take a cab which is around $20 or take the RCI bus. I don't have experience flying into FLL for a Miami sailing.

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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Thanks for your feedback...am thinking about trying the RCCL shuttle bus...it seems that no one has anything bad to say about bus from MCO to ship. What time do you get back to the MCO for return flights?

 

As far as Ft Lauderdale...it is best to fly into Ft Lauderdale and either take a cab which is somewhere around $20 or take the RCI bus.

 

As far as Miami, it is best to fly into Miami and either take a cab which is around $20 or take the RCI bus. I don't have experience flying into FLL for a Miami sailing.

FLL to Port Everglades... taxi for sure... approx. $20.00 per cab flate fee no waiting around.

 

Port of Miami.. use either FLL or MIA depending on where you can get the best flight deals to. From FLL about 40 minutes and $70.00 from MIA about 25 minutes and $25.00 flat fee per taxi.

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edd1

edd1

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Car service at Orlando International to the Port will run you between $180.00 and $240.00 roundtrip for up to approximately 10 persons. A lot depends on the vehicle and company available. Many services are listed on the webs, but you can also go to the airport site looking up transportation by vehicle-for-hire companies.

 

The car services provide "meet and greet" service, baby seats, grocery shopping and immediate departure from Orlando International and the boats back to Orlando International. This is not a bus ride or shuttle service and the vehicles are clean and up-to-date. The prices are per vehicle and you could potentially save $$$ depending on the number of passengers in your group.

 

Keep in mind the prices for one passenger roundtrip: Disney Cruise - $69.00. Caribbean Cruise - $61.00 and Carnival Cruise - $54.00.

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dianancolin

dianancolin

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We sailed on the Mariner out of Port Canaveral last October choosing this port as we were starting from our RV in Tampa. Stayed the previous night at a local hotel which gave us free parking for 2 vehicles and an easy hotel shuttle transfer.

 

Could not fault the embarkation (or debarking) - very smooth after a slight delay getting to the Security checkpoint. Being suite passenger avoided a line up to check in but even that line was moving fast.

 

Do not hesitate to use Port Canaveral. Easy to use, easy to get to and the Mariner is a great ship - particularly for a 3 generation cruise which we were!

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kvand3l00n

kvand3l00n

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Port Canaveral is really easy. We rented a car in Orlando, drove to PC and took Budget's free shuttle. We were on the ship in less than an hour doing it this way. On the way back, they told us on board it was about $100 for a taxi back to MCO, but we had booked the airport transfer with our reservation. SUPER easy - it's a BIG nice air conditioned bus, about a 45 minute ride back to MCO from PC. I think it was $65 for two of us.

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murphyis1

murphyis1

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Less2me,

 

We used Busy Traveler. We were met in baggage claim by our driver. The car was very clean, and the drivers in both directions were very polite and helpful. When we arrived at PC, the driver parked and we paid our roundtrip fare by credit card. The gratuities were automatically added to our bill. This was very convenient for us...no need to have cash and when we were dropped off at MCO we didn't need to take the time to handle a bill. We had never used a car service before, and I must admit I was a little nervous wondering if the driver would indeed pick us up 7 days later. Sure enough, he was there waiting when we disembarked. Overall, we were very pleased. It was a little pricey for two people, but if you have another couple to share the cost it works out nicely.

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