Meraviglia, end of January, Hotel suggestions please!

[cafevita]

I know there is a port board BUT ….since this is so close, would like MCS cruisers input.

Flying into Orlando the day before and leaving on the meraviglia the next day,  from Port Canaveral, for our first Yacht club experience. We have only cruised from Miami in the past. It’s an Early morning flight , so will have the whole day. Would really appreciate any input as to Hotels (Orlando or Canaveral), transfer options and restaurants. We are celebrating our milestone birthdays and anniversary from 2020. Very excited for this opportunity… as our NCL Encore cruise in November, was cancelled by NCL ,5 days before the cruise(weewaa). 

[JT1962]

GoPortCanaveral has packages that include hotels and transportation to / from the airport, hotel & ship. They offer hotel options at multiple price points  in Orlando & Cocoa Beach near the port. You may be able to book the options individually a little cheaper, but the convenience of having everything in one package is nice.  Note that GoPort has had a policy of offering a future credit rather than a refund if your cruise is canceled. 
 

[Southern latitudes]

I have sailed out of Canaveral several times.  If you don't have a rental car, there is very little to do, and it can be difficult to find a place to eat.  Nothing is really walkable.  I have stayed twice at Radisson at the Port, and I do not recommend that one.  It is very difficult to navigate due to the fact that there are very few elevators and those they have are inconvenient-not generally a problem because I like to take the stairs, but it is an issue with luggage.

We are sailing on Meraviglia on January 2.  I love Disney World, although I don't want to go to the parks before our trip due to crowds.  I found a great rate for one night at the Swan hotel.  Our plan is to uber from the airport to the hotel.  After we check in, we will use Disney transportation to visit several hotel lobbies to view the Christmas decorations, which supposedly remain up until January 2.  I also hope to be able to see the fireworks from somewhere.  (I think checking out the lobbies might be fun even if they aren't decorated) We have a car service picking us up at the Swan the next morning to take us to the port.  

[cafevita]

11 hours ago, JT1962 said:

GoPortCanaveral has packages that include hotels and transportation to / from the airport, hotel & ship. They offer hotel options at multiple price points  in Orlando & Cocoa Beach near the port. You may be able to book the options individually a little cheaper, but the convenience of having everything in one package is nice.  Note that GoPort has had a policy of offering a future credit rather than a refund if your cruise is canceled. 
 

Thank You, Great suggestions! Several options here! Should start with deciding on Orlando or Cocoa beach and go from there. 

[cafevita]

8 hours ago, Southern latitudes said:

I have sailed out of Canaveral several times.  If you don't have a rental car, there is very little to do, and it can be difficult to find a place to eat.  Nothing is really walkable.  I have stayed twice at Radisson at the Port, and I do not recommend that one.  It is very difficult to navigate due to the fact that there are very few elevators and those they have are inconvenient-not generally a problem because I like to take the stairs, but it is an issue with luggage.

We are sailing on Meraviglia on January 2.  I love Disney World, although I don't want to go to the parks before our trip due to crowds.  I found a great rate for one night at the Swan hotel.  Our plan is to uber from the airport to the hotel.  After we check in, we will use Disney transportation to visit several hotel lobbies to view the Christmas decorations, which supposedly remain up until January 2.  I also hope to be able to see the fireworks from somewhere.  (I think checking out the lobbies might be fun even if they aren't decorated) We have a car service picking us up at the Swan the next morning to take us to the port.  

Thank You for your input! We are big fans of Disney as well! Although we are not planning to visit the parks for one day, it would be nice to stay in the area. I just worry about getting to the port the next day. Which car service do you use and have they been reliable. The lobbies at Disney are amazing during Christmas, we especially Love the Gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian.  

Cheers! Hope you have a wonderful trip!

[dexddd]

OP, it sounds like you won't have rental car?  We've sailed there many times and as recent as September.  The rental agencies at PC got to point of ridiculous crowded and unable to handle the people.  We did use one in September and due to only two ships it was a breeze.

 

We normally stay just north of airport and do one way rental.  We've also used rental and stayed in Melbourne due to it being cheaper and things to do.  As said, either case if using service you are kind of stuck.  When cruising gets back to normal I wouldn't use rentals as some closed down.

 

On way back, we used one of the ride services and it was about $100 for the three of us. 

[Southern latitudes]

Our travel agent made our reservations for the car service.  She got quotes from Carey and Black Diamond.  We are using Black Diamond because they were slightly less expensive.  I have used Carey to get from Houston to the port in Galveston and back and had no issues.  I totally trust my travel agent, so I am not expecting any issues with Black Diamond.  

 

We considered using Uber or Lyft, but that can be tricky for longer distances and sometimes difficult to obtain at busy ports, so we decided we wanted the insurance of a guaranteed ride.

[Jaco5NC]

Port Canaveral has limited things to do but it does have restaurants right at the port overlooking the water.  There is also the Exploration Tower.  There are several hotels and many are new.  Like someone else said, I would avoid the Raddison.  It is currently under renovation so in the future, once complete, it will hopefully be nicer.  Cocoa Beach (just south of the port) has many things to do and many chain hotels that are nice.  Lots of things are walkable and there is a huge Ron Jon Surf Shop that is fun to visit. Staying in Orlando is a great option also just be aware that there can be traffic issues on the highway (528) from Orlando to Port Canaveral.  If it shuts down for any reason you can be stuck for a while as there is no alternate route.  It takes less than an hour from the airport to Port Canaveral though so very easy.

[cafevita]

Thank You all for your suggestions and taking the time to share information and thoughts. Having a difficult time deciding but will make it a priority over the next few days!