Deaprting out of Port Canaveral: Should we spend the night in Orlando or in Port Canveral?

[Sailfish]

I am looking for the pros and cons regarding our pre-cruise night's stay in Florida.

 

We will be cruising aboard the Mariner, which departs out of Port Canaveral. Is it better to spend the night closer to the port or in Orlando? I ask this, as we are planning to fly out to Orlando the day prior to our departure (we will arrive in the evening, as we are departing from California), and thought of spending the night at a hotel in Orlando. The next morning, we would return to the airport and take Royal Caribbean's shuttle to the port.

 

We have never been to Port Canaveral, and thought it might be best to keep things simple, and use the cruise lines shuttle that departs from the airport.

 

Those of you who are recommending we spend the night near Port Canaveral, what did you do for transportation to the hotel and to the port the next morning? Was this more cost effective than using the ship's shuttle? If you rented a car, was there a drop-off by the pier?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Suzi

 

 

05 July 2004 Cruise Aboard Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas

 

21 November 2004 Cruise Aboard Carnival's Pride

 

20 February 2005 Cruise Critic Group Cruise Aboard Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas

 

 

 

[cgc33a]

You have many options. May I suggest that you look at www.dcltribute.com & www.disboards.com, both pertain to Disney cruise line, but both lines go out of the same location so info on ground transportation and hotels should be about the same.

There are a lot of hotels at MCO (& a Hyatt in MCO)& many people use priceline to get really good deals. They should all have shuttles to & from the airport so that is easy. Depending on how many there are in your party, a car service is sometimes less expensive than the cruise line bus. The web sites above can tell you more. Another option is a one day car rental. Budget, Avis, Hertz and National (National being the furthest away without a courtesy shuttle) is another option. They all have offices near the pier & run shuttles. This is probably the least expensive & most flexible. There are a few hotels close to the pier, the Radisson being the closest. They also run a shuttle, but it can get crowded. May other hotels including a new Ron Jon resort very close to the pier but must take a cab. I think it will be only a matter of time before they start offering a shuttle.

 

Happy Sailing

[sportsterjohn]

The hotels in Canaveral are about 15 min or so from the port. Many of them are right on the beach so you can have some swim time if you get there before dark. Some hotels have a shuttle to the port but most don't. I stayed at the hilton which didn't have a shuttle, however there are 2 private companies that run a shuttle service from the hotels to the port, It cost of $12 total for my wife and I to use it.

 

NCL Sea 3/03

RCCL Sovereign 10/03

NCL Dream 3/7/2004

[Sailfish]

How early can you bid through priceline for a hotel? We don't sail until February 2005.

 

Thanks for the input!

 

Suzi

 

 

05 July 2004 Cruise Aboard Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas

 

21 November 2004 Cruise Aboard Carnival's Pride

 

20 February 2005 Cruise Critic Group Cruise Aboard Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas

 

 

 

[Sailfish]

I just got off the telephone with Royal Caribbean, who said round trip transfers will run us about $38pp. Car rental one way will run us around $47 (that price includes taxes). If I could get a better rate on a car, that might be the way to go, but for now, I think I'll stick with the ship's shuttle.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

Suzi

 

 

05 July 2004 Cruise Aboard Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas

 

21 November 2004 Cruise Aboard Carnival's Pride

 

20 February 2005 Cruise Critic Group Cruise Aboard Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas

 

 

 

[Jacquelyn11]

I've gone out of Port Canaveral several times on Disney and CCL. It's the closest port for us to drive to from Atlanta.

 

Most times we stay at the Radisson, which is about a mile from the port. They have a policy that you can leave your vehicle there for a week while you cruise for the cost of one nights stay. This used to be $99 for a standard room and $129 for the suite with the jacuzzi tub, but I've heard it has gone up, charging for a "cruise and park" special. If you get a 3rd floor room facing the port you can watch the ships dock in the AM, with the help of binocculars. They have a very nice pool area and some good local restaurants. I've heard good things about GRILLS, a restaurant along the pier. You can eat and watch the cruise ships depart.

 

If you like the beach, Cocoa beach is just about 5 miles away down A1A. We have stayed at the Hilton there post cruise. I was not impressed but I hear it is going thru a major overhall.

 

The is also visit the Famous Ron Jon's surf shop, open 24hrs. Great place to go if you "cant sleep" prior to your cruise! There are also grocery stores and a Walmart to pick up your waters and sodas prior to your cruise.

 

Hope you have a great time on your cruise!

 

Jacquelyn

[pelletib]

Always, always, always, fly in the day before! Did you happen to see the "Airport" marathon a couple of weeks ago? Over 50 cruisers were stranded at various airports on cruise day and some made the ship, some did not...I'd rather lose a day's pay than miss the ship. One day's pay loss is better than missing a very costly cruise.

[KellyJean]

Jacquelyn11...hi neighbor! I'm in Marietta too!

 

We opt to drive down the night before and stay in Cocoa Beach. That way, IF we should sleep later than we care to (like the excitement would let us do that), we only have a 10 minute ride to the pier as opposed to 45 minutes.

[Single mom]

Remember if you are using the Ship Shuttle you wait until the bus is FULL they will not just shuttle half. I have heard horror stories about people waiting on the bus for an hour or two waiting for enough people.

 

Take the car, not to mention then you can sight see and eat whereever you want to.

 

I live in atlanta and typically drive down two days before, use priceline for my hotels and stay the first night in Orlando and the second night in Cocoa Beach. By the time we board the ship I am recovered from the drive down and ready to have fun.

 

Good luck and have a great cruise!!!!

[4evercruzin]

I would recommend you stay at the brand new beautiful Ron Jon's Resort right at the port. It is on the east side of A1A so you can walk to the beach easily. Raddison is a nice resort, but it is on the west side of A1A and you have to cross the highway to get to the beach. Ron Jon's is a more plush resort. The rooms are like condos. You can use Artsshuttle.com for transportation to the port. It should not cost much as the port is only about a mile from the resort. DH and I live about 30 min. from the port and are very familiar to the area. There is a state park called Jetty Park that borders RJ's.

 

About 5 miles from RJ's is Cocoa Beach Pier which is a fun place to visit with live entertainment on the weekends. They have a website cocoabeachpier.com.

 

If you are interested in theme parks, then of course stay in Orlando. DH and I prefer the beach.

[danajjj]

Does the Mariner sail out on Sat. or Sun.?

 

I live in metro Atlanta as well, and depending on when it sails would depend on whether we fly or drive. I would prefer to fly but am unsure if dealing with the transfer to and from the airport would make flying worth it.

[KellyJean]

The Mariner sails on out Sundays.

[negc]

We stayed at the Radisson before the inaugural Mariner cruise last November. Rented a car from Budget at the Orlando airport and turned it in to the Budget office less than a block from the Radisson on Sunday morning. Budget offers a free shuttle to the pier which runs more frequently than the one offered by the Radisson. We were able to use the rental car to visit friends in Cocoa Beach and to go to dinner so it worked out very well. Transfers back to the airport were available on the ship so we had no problem getting back at the end of the cruise. Radisson was not available on Priceline when we went but there may be some hotels in Cocoa Beach on Priceline that you might want to check out.

[R.D.D.]

My wife are leaving on the Mariner one week from today. (SWEET!)

 

We plan on doing what you have described. Flying in Sat. evening, and doing the hotel shuttle from airport to an Orlando hotel. Then in the AM, taking said shuttle back to the airport and catching the earliest RCCL bus to the port. Our hotel (Courtyard by Mariott) offers a shuttle service directly to the port for a little bit more than the RCCL one, and we would have booked that for convenience if we had known of it before we had purchased the RCCL service.

 

I will try to remember to post back here as to how the whole thing worked out, and maybe help you decide how you are going to do things.