Port Canaveral Transportation

[Gorilla579]

I'm not sure if this is the right board to post this question, but here it goes anyway. We are cruising on the Mariner out of Port Canaveral next October with a group of about 20 people. We are staying the day before. I'm wondering what will be the best way to get to the hotel. What are the pros/cons of renting multiple vehicles, taking taxis, or maybe a shuttle/minibus. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[brn2crz]

Hey Gorilla...

 

First,off what sailing are you on??

 

Secondly,if you can solve this question,then you are doing better than I.

What I am seeing is....taxis.from MCO to port,87 1 way. Limo,or shuttle 170-210 round trip.Car rental depending on size and duration...39-89 one way...

Do you know where you are staying yet.Some,well most hotels real close to the MCO airport,provide free transpo to hotel.You could take it back on Sunday,(transpo) to the AP and take the RCI shuttle to the port...I cannot remember how much that is....Something tells me 38 pp but I cant remember if that is one way or RT...We are leaning towards,car rental,staying at Radisson in PC,dropping the car off the next day,and taking the rental shuttle to the pier,and reversing this on the way home..

PS...these prices are based on 4 people...

Come join the Oct 2 Roll Call if you are sailing with us!

[TWELVEOHONE]

Where is the hotel located that you will be staying at? If it's in Orlando I would call Mears limo (shuttle) and have them take you from airport to hotel and back to airport next day. Then I would purchase RCI transfers from airport to pier and back. Your TA can arrange RCI transfers and also Mear transfers, it will be the least expensive way to go.

 

If you are flying into Melbourn we are talking about another situation.

 

If you are going with 20 people it's al group. I would have your travel agent work all this out for you with options and prices. It will save you a lot of work.

[Gorilla579]

We're sailing on the 23rd. We haven't picked a hotel yet, but we are leaning towards the Radisson. We definitely want to be in the Port Canaveral/Cocoa Beach area. We had originally planned to just rent a couple of minivans so that we had transportation while we were down there for last minute shopping or in case some in our group arrived at different times, but it looks like we're all going to fly in together so it might be cheaper to rent a minibus. The big problem with renting vans is space for luggage! We could fit all of the people into two vans without a problem, but we ALL over pack. Maybe I'll just look into getting a U-Haul truck and tell everyone it's a limo! If they drink enough on the plane they may not notice! :)

[RM]

You could try Arts Shuttle. Many have used them and think highly of their service. Maybe they could even strike you a good deal.

[Gorilla579]

Thanks. I'll look into them.

[BLUEICE]

Just a quick note, when I called RCCL this morning about transfers from airport to port, they advised me that the cost was now $50.00 pp. Even he was amazed as he said it use to be $38.00.

 

Lets see if I got this right - arrive in Orlando, get a hotel close to the airport for pre cruise stay - day of cruise go back to the airport and take the transfers that RCCL offers. After the cruise do the same thing - RCCL transfer to airport then airport to hotel (post cruise stay).

 

I am currently booked on the Explorer (Sept 11/05) and am thinking about changing to Mariner. However, not being familiar with the area, I am not sure if I should still consider leaving out of Orlando. Seems like alot of undue stress and lots of confusion.

 

Can anybody recommend a hotel that might be close to the airport. When I called the Radisson (Astronaut Boulevard) they said they were 12 miles away. I figure there must be one closer.

 

Thanks for clearing up a few questions that I have also pertaining to Port Canaveral.

[vossjemi]

You all should check out www.dcltribute.com. Although its a site geared to disney, there are lots of helpful accomodation, transportation, restaurant, and other info located on the site. On the maps section, they have links to the grocery stores, restaurants, etc. From what I've learned for my disney trip next year, a one way rental car is going to be the cheapest bet. So far, I've heard/read budget is usually the cheapest.

[rfische1]

I got back from Mariner a few weeks ago and here is what we did. We stayed at the Radisson which we found great. We rented a car through Budget in Orlando one way to Port Canaveral. The Budget office is about a 5-10 minute slow walk to the Radisson or there is a shuttle. We used the Radisson's shuttle to the port, but could have used Budgets as well. We then did the same upon returning. The Budget courtesy van was waiting at the port to take us to the office. It took longer to unloading our luggage from the rental car than processing the return in Orlando. We had booked a 3:20 flight home, but were at the airport before noon. Because the terminial has lots of shops and eateries, we found it a convenient place to kill time.

 

Except for the long line at Orlando's airport in getting the car, the whole transportation process was effortless and stressfree. I could not believe how easily it all went. BTW, Budget seems to have the best rates.

[PhilipNTx]

On both cruises out of Pt Canaveral, we discovered that rental car was the best way. We found a great online deal with Budget: $25 for a Ford Escape for the one night. And they will take you to the pier and pick you up.

 

If you are going with 4 or more people, I HIGHLY recommend looking into rental houses. This option is especially great if you have larger groups and/or children. The deal we got still amazes me: we got a 4 bedroom/3 bathroom home for $125 a night. It included a full kitchen, was fully furnished, and it had its own swimming pool. The one we got was in a brand new development and was literally only 6 months old. You do have to pay for cleaning if you don't stay a minimum number of nights, but it was still very much worth it.

 

We found it online at: http://www.floridadreamvillas.net/

 

Philip