I just wanted to share an experience for anyone researching private transfers from Orlando Airport (MCO) to Port Canaveral.
I was travelling last week with my wife and two small kids (9 months, and 3.5 years). We flew into MCO on Friday and stayed at Hampton Inn & Suites at Gateway Village before our Saturday cruise. I wanted transfers from the Hotel to the Port, and back from the Port to the Airport. I wanted private transfers so I could be on my own schedule, and rent car seats for my kids. I did my homework, and chose Happy Limo because of some posts on TA, and their mousesavers.com endorsement (they have been pretty spot-on in my experience, and they had a discount code.) I booked via phone – no problems.
The transfer from the hotel to the port was fine. The driver showed up 15 mins early, had a clean van with the car seats we ordered and got us to the port well ahead of schedule with the included stop for groceries at a Publix close to the port. The charge for the transfer+carseats was $138 (billed two weeks in advance to my CC) and a $20 tip.
The following Saturday, Happy Limo knew we were scheduled for late breakfast (8am) and suggested a 9:30am pickup for our return transfer. Fine. We ate breakfast as scheduled and got in line to get off the ship just before 9am and were met by a huge backlog line up to get off the ship. This being our first cruise, we didn’t think this was unusual, and expected to be through the line quickly, given the suggestion from Happy Limo. We reached the luggage/customs area around 9:25 and didn’t get cleared to leave until just after 10am. We went to our appointed meeting place and I called Happy Limo to pick us up.
The dispatcher who answered the phone was not very friendly. When he retrieved our reservation he asked me if I “realise I had a 9:30am pick up time.” I told him yes, but we had been delayed in customs. He then put me on hold for what seemed like a long time. When he came back he told me that the car had left and that another one could pick us up in 45 mins. I politely told him that didn’t work for me, and that I needed to get to the airport asap for our 1pm flight. Again, I was put on hold for a while and was then told that I had the option to take a refund rather than wait the 45 mins. I asked him to process the refund, and he said he couldn’t until Monday because the guy who does that doesn’t work weekends!?! I bet the guy who processes payments does…
Anyway – In the end it wasn’t a big deal – we caught a cab right away that had us to the airport on time (for $110 + tip), but I was uncomfortable the whole ride because the kids didn’t have carseats. I was just floored by how unreliable Happy Limo was, and how inflexible/unhelpful they were in our situation. If you are looking for a reliable Port Transfer company, I would look elsewhere.
Happy Limo is Unreliable for Port Transfers
in Disney Cruise Line
Posted
Hi Everyone –
I just wanted to share an experience for anyone researching private transfers from Orlando Airport (MCO) to Port Canaveral.
I was travelling last week with my wife and two small kids (9 months, and 3.5 years). We flew into MCO on Friday and stayed at Hampton Inn & Suites at Gateway Village before our Saturday cruise. I wanted transfers from the Hotel to the Port, and back from the Port to the Airport. I wanted private transfers so I could be on my own schedule, and rent car seats for my kids. I did my homework, and chose Happy Limo because of some posts on TA, and their mousesavers.com endorsement (they have been pretty spot-on in my experience, and they had a discount code.) I booked via phone – no problems.
The transfer from the hotel to the port was fine. The driver showed up 15 mins early, had a clean van with the car seats we ordered and got us to the port well ahead of schedule with the included stop for groceries at a Publix close to the port. The charge for the transfer+carseats was $138 (billed two weeks in advance to my CC) and a $20 tip.
The following Saturday, Happy Limo knew we were scheduled for late breakfast (8am) and suggested a 9:30am pickup for our return transfer. Fine. We ate breakfast as scheduled and got in line to get off the ship just before 9am and were met by a huge backlog line up to get off the ship. This being our first cruise, we didn’t think this was unusual, and expected to be through the line quickly, given the suggestion from Happy Limo. We reached the luggage/customs area around 9:25 and didn’t get cleared to leave until just after 10am. We went to our appointed meeting place and I called Happy Limo to pick us up.
The dispatcher who answered the phone was not very friendly. When he retrieved our reservation he asked me if I “realise I had a 9:30am pick up time.” I told him yes, but we had been delayed in customs. He then put me on hold for what seemed like a long time. When he came back he told me that the car had left and that another one could pick us up in 45 mins. I politely told him that didn’t work for me, and that I needed to get to the airport asap for our 1pm flight. Again, I was put on hold for a while and was then told that I had the option to take a refund rather than wait the 45 mins. I asked him to process the refund, and he said he couldn’t until Monday because the guy who does that doesn’t work weekends!?! I bet the guy who processes payments does…
Anyway – In the end it wasn’t a big deal – we caught a cab right away that had us to the airport on time (for $110 + tip), but I was uncomfortable the whole ride because the kids didn’t have carseats. I was just floored by how unreliable Happy Limo was, and how inflexible/unhelpful they were in our situation. If you are looking for a reliable Port Transfer company, I would look elsewhere.