On or Off Site Night Before Disney Cruise

[Terk-1]

Would you recommend staying on Disney property the night before your cruise or choose a hotel near the airport and take their earlier transportation to Port Canaveral? I saw a transportation company that was recommended that you can book a room near the airport and the cost includes the room and transportation to and from Port Canaveral and you arrive by 11am. I've heard by the time DME picks up at Disney resorts and gets to Canaveral it's well after 12 or 1pm and you tend to be the last people on the boat. I understand the rooms are not available until 1:30pm, but would like to get on board as early as possible to check things out.

 

[dprincessmom]

To me, it was more relaxing staying near the port (in Cocoa Beach) for our last cruise, than when we stayed on property before our cruise.

Both were nice, but not having to worry about the "what ifs" of accidents and delays. We had early PATs each time and where on board by 11:30 each time.
The second time we visited the surf shop and picked up last minutes wants.

 

[MomOTwins]

This really just depends on what you want. If you just want a place to sleep, there's no reason to stay at WDW. We stay at WDW because we like to visit a park the day before and have a character breakfast the morning of. We also plan to use private transportation, as we were able to get an early PAT so I know we'll be in one of the first boarding groups, but we are still planning to arrive around 11am since the boarding doesn't even start until 11:15/11:30 at the earliest and I'm not interested in being a sardine in a crowded terminal for longer than necessary. If you take the MCO bus, I've heard you can get high boarding numbers and just end up having to wait around to board anyway.

I don't know about hotels with included transportation to port, or what their transportation schedule might be.

 

[Terk-1]

To me, it was more relaxing staying near the port (in Cocoa Beach) for our last cruise, than when we stayed on property before our cruise.

Both were nice, but not having to worry about the "what ifs" of accidents and delays. We had early PATs each time and where on board by 11:30 each time.
The second time we visited the surf shop and picked up last minutes wants.

I was looking at that option as well. I am not a big fan of playing beat the clock and would rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Kaertos]

On the two cruises we've taken, my wife and I have done it both ways (hotel at Port Canaveral & On-site at WDW) and I have to say our chances of staying at Port Canaveral again are pretty slim. We don't rent a car unless we have to, and the bus from MCO to PC took three hours to arrive and two hours to get us to the hotel. Our thoughts of spending part of the evening walking on the beach were dashed. I know this isn't typical of everyone, but one time losing a day of vacation is enough for me.

Last cruise, we stayed at Pop Century the night before. Got up embarkation morning, took a shower, had a leisurely breakfast at the food court and a nice, relaxing (I slept most of the way) ride to the ship was just the best. The caveat is that we did arrive fairly late, but there was still food on the buffet and plenty of time to eat, drop off our bags, and get to the Sail-Away party.

Our next cruise (which is in a couple of weeks!) we're staying at All-Star Music the night before and hoping to repeat the slow, methodical, relaxing embarkation morning. Just my $.02.

 

[mevelandry]

Would you recommend staying on Disney property the night before your cruise or choose a hotel near the airport and take their earlier transportation to Port Canaveral? I saw a transportation company that was recommended that you can book a room near the airport and the cost includes the room and transportation to and from Port Canaveral and you arrive by 11am. I've heard by the time DME picks up at Disney resorts and gets to Canaveral it's well after 12 or 1pm and you tend to be the last people on the boat. I understand the rooms are not available until 1:30pm, but would like to get on board as early as possible to check things out.

I think there's not bad choice, it only depends on how early you want to arrive to PC and how early you want "the disney experience". Yes, staying at a Disney hotel will bring you to the port a little bit later.

Do you know which hotel near Orlando airport is included with your deal?

 

[MonaMN]

We have only stayed at WDW before and taken the bus; we are not in a huge hurry to get onboard. We'd rather be able to go directly to our stateroom and drop stuff off instead of carting it around all over the ship. But we also don't have a need to get to Guest Services to make any requests immediately. If that was a priority, we might change our plans.

 

[SG131]

If you want to arrive early, stay by the airport and hop on the first bus in the morning. Personally, I hate lugging carry-ons around all day. I'm not in a rush to get there so I prefer to stay at Disney have a nice breakfast and then take their transportation, but it does get you there rather late.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

A few PPs have mentioned lugging a lot of baggage around the ship when they arrive early. Apparently some people don't like to give the porters their bags, because really, all you need to carry onboard is one shoulder bag with short-term necessities. DCL is happy to manage the heavy stuff for you. I do feel sorry for the people I see sitting next to the roped-off corridors with huge bags, waiting for the staterooms to open. There is just no need for that, and if you're that glued to your bags, I agree that you definitely should arrive later to get a better experience.

But to answer the OP's question, if you want to board early, I recommend booking the airport Hyatt via DCL & taking Disney transfers. Those transfers begin leaving the airport early, and when we booked both the hotel & transfers via DCL, we didn't have to choose a PAT. We were given a low boarding number upon our arrival at the port, and quickly boarded.

 

[Cat15]

We took the dcl bus from mco last time we cruised and arrived right when the terminal opened with the hopes of getting on the ship as soon as possible. We weren't able to get a port arrival time since we were taking disney transportation. Although we arrived at 10:30 we were given a high boarding number and waited in a packed terminal for 2 hours. In the future we will just take the bus from the disney resort and arrive later. I would rather spend my morning enjoying a nice disney resort then waiting forever and still not getting on board early. That was just our experience though. I'm sure there are others who have been able to get right on the ship.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Would you recommend staying on Disney property the night before your cruise or choose a hotel near the airport and take their earlier transportation to Port Canaveral? I saw a transportation company that was recommended that you can book a room near the airport and the cost includes the room and transportation to and from Port Canaveral and you arrive by 11am. I've heard by the time DME picks up at Disney resorts and gets to Canaveral it's well after 12 or 1pm and you tend to be the last people on the boat. I understand the rooms are not available until 1:30pm, but would like to get on board as early as possible to check things out.

To clarify something DME is the free transportation to/from WDW and MCO. DCL transfers are at a cost from WDW to PC and you don’t have to use them. If you want to stay at WDW but still get to PC early, you can get a private car service which is usually pretty reasonable. We’ve used Happy Limo on numerous occasions and have them booked again for our June cruise. We always just book a minivan as that is the most economical for the amount of bags we always take. They’re set to pick us up at 9:30 so we can arrive at PC around 11:00.

With all of that said, if this is your first DCL cruise, I would definitely stay at WDW and take DCL transfers. They’re so good at holding your hand through the whole process so there is no stress at all. Yeah, you’ll get there a little later but you’ll totally be in cruise mode with no worries. When we do DCL transfers we always have a nice leisurely character breakfast and look forward to the fun bus ride.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Budzooka]

We’ve done both and will stay at WDW resort next time. I was not a fan of getting to the port early just to wait when we stayed in PC. It was really nice just pulling up and walking on from the WDW transfer. The downside was that we were really hungry by the time we got the port, but will enjoy the morning and eat a later breakfast in the future. Also, the bus ride over gets you pretty excited and in the Disney mood.

 

[Rob1872]

We've driven ourselves, taken DCL bus from the airport, and taken DCL bus from WDW. For us, the easiest option if you aren't doing several days at WDW before the cruise is to stay at an airport hotel (we like the Homewood Suites so that the kids get a separate bedroom) and then take the Homewood Suites free shuttle back to the airport and get on the DCL bus from there.

 

[Donna M]

Your deal sounds good if the price is something you're happy with. I wouldn't stay at WDW unless you really want to go there, if it's just for a hotel you should be able to get a cheaper place for one night closer to the airport.

I think, but not sure, you should be able to check in, get a PAT for an early time, and say you are using private transportation, then later add on DCL transfers. I don't think they cancel your PAT. It would be worth a shot if you decide to go that route.

A few years ago, a friend and I stayed at WDW, took the bus to the airport real early and got the transfer. We arrived at the port early. I had gotten a PAT. So, maybe things have changed since then.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We will be onsite for our next cruise. There’s a MVMCP that night. We have rented a one way car rental, very reasonable, about $50.

 

[jdb in AZ]

A few PPs have mentioned lugging a lot of baggage around the ship when they arrive early. Apparently some people don't like to give the porters their bags, because really, all you need to carry onboard is one shoulder bag with short-term necessities. DCL is happy to manage the heavy stuff for you. I do feel sorry for the people I see sitting next to the roped-off corridors with huge bags, waiting for the staterooms to open. There is just no need for that, and if you're that glued to your bags, I agree that you definitely should arrive later to get a better experience.

DCL doesn't have Diet Dr. Pepper so we opt to carry several 12-packs onboard on a collapsible luggage cart. Drinks aren't supposed to be checked -- too much of a chance they will leak on someone else's luggage, so we haul it around until our room is ready. We do check our large luggage and other than the drinks, we just haul our carry-on with meds, paperwork, a little jewelry, and the lap-top.

 

[truck1]

Its personal preference. For us, we like staying at Country Inn Suites at the port, the day before, relaxing there, having dinner at Fishlips or Grills, and watching the ships leave the night before. Our room usually overlooks the port so the first thing we see is the DCL ship were traveling on. Were on the first on one of the first busses to the port.

UBER Lyft or other transport options are available to get you to PC from MCO.

As others have said MCO is an option where you fly in and take DCLs bus to the port.

Realistically yould need to figure out what's most important and most economical way to get there.

 

[louey]

On the two cruises we've taken, my wife and I have done it both ways (hotel at Port Canaveral & On-site at WDW) and I have to say our chances of staying at Port Canaveral again are pretty slim. We don't rent a car unless we have to, and the bus from MCO to PC took three hours to arrive and two hours to get us to the hotel. Our thoughts of spending part of the evening walking on the beach were dashed. I know this isn't typical of everyone, but one time losing a day of vacation is enough for me.

Last cruise, we stayed at Pop Century the night before. Got up embarkation morning, took a shower, had a leisurely breakfast at the food court and a nice, relaxing (I slept most of the way) ride to the ship was just the best. The caveat is that we did arrive fairly late, but there was still food on the buffet and plenty of time to eat, drop off our bags, and get to the Sail-Away party.

Our next cruise (which is in a couple of weeks!) we're staying at All-Star Music the night before and hoping to repeat the slow, methodical, relaxing embarkation morning. Just my $.02.

We are thinking about doing this. Did you use the Disney Transportation for your trip to Port and back to Airport? I think its around $78/person round trip

 

[Qbie]

We never stay on site before the cruise and we don't take Disney transport. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the DCL busses don't get to the port until later in the day. We like getting to the port bright and early and getting on that ship as fast as possible! We don't stay at the port any more though since those hotels are over priced. We usually stay at the Holiday Inn at Disney Springs so we can spend the day there shopping and then head over to the port in the morning. If there's a delay on that highway, all the busses are delayed anyway so it's not like we'll miss the cruise

 

[auntlynne]

What did you do the first two times you cruised? Anything you liked or disliked about those options?

Any reason not to rent a car? We find it can be more cost effective if there’s more than one of us. And we feel like we are in control.