Port Canaveral

[GinaRz]

I've browsed the threads a bit and there is a ton of information. Just hoping to get a few direct answers as I don't know how much more I can read. If I choose to fly in the night before, would my cheapest option be to rent a car and drive it to the hotel. Then stay the night and head to the car drop off in the morning and shuttle over to the port? Also, what would be the best way to go about getting a good cheap hotel rate. As of now, we are scheduled to come in the morning of the cruise and I'm nervous that we may be pushing it if we do that. I can change my inbound flight.. One last thing, how late could I pick up a rental car, we are looking at evening flights. Thanks so much for any tips you can offer!!

[GinaRz]

Another option would maybe be to stay near the airport and get a rental in the morning to make the drive down. Thoughts? Suggestions?

[Orlando Vic]

Your cheapest option (assuming you are a party of one) would probably be a shuttle, either the night before to Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral or on the day of the cruise departure directly to Port Canaveral. If there are 2+ in your party, I would recommend a 1-way car rental.

 

"Also, what would be the best way to go about getting a good cheap hotel rate."

I am a big fan of Flyertalk for savy travel intelligence. Start looking here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals-607/ Both Carlson Hotels and IHG (Holiday Inns, Crowne Plaza, etc.) have friends and family (F&F) rates.

[JohninDC]

The smart cruiser always flies in at least one day early.

 

As mentioned above, unless you are travelling solo a one way car rental will likely be your cheapest option. Compare hotel prices near MCO with those closer to PC - it's only a one hour drive so you can make your way from MCO to PC the night before or the morning of your cruise. Good luck! :)

[VideoTech]

I've browsed the threads a bit and there is a ton of information. Just hoping to get a few direct answers as I don't know how much more I can read. If I choose to fly in the night before, would my cheapest option be to rent a car and drive it to the hotel. Then stay the night and head to the car drop off in the morning and shuttle over to the port? Also, what would be the best way to go about getting a good cheap hotel rate. As of now, we are scheduled to come in the morning of the cruise and I'm nervous that we may be pushing it if we do that. I can change my inbound flight.. One last thing, how late could I pick up a rental car, we are looking at evening flights. Thanks so much for any tips you can offer!!

 

First of all, I would definitely fly down the night before. Nothing would be worse than having a mechanical or weather delay, a flight cancellation, missing a connection or one of the many other things that can go wrong with air travel. You'd be kicking yourself as you sat in some airport somewhere, knowing your ship is sailing away without you.

 

If you decide to fly in on the day of sail away, why not buy your airport transfer from the cruise line? No, I know this isn't the cheapest option, but while this won't keep the ship waiting for you if you have travel problems, it can raise your chances of getting to the ship if you are delayed. The cruise lines have many buses leaving all through the sail away day, and they know you are coming. Plus you don't have to do the drive, and deal with highway tolls and car pickup and return.

 

Your second option, on sail away day or the day before, is one of the many Airport to PC shuttle services. You probably saw all of them mentioned on the Port Canaveral board. If you fly in the night before, and stay in the MCO area, you can get back to the airport the next morning to pickup the shuttle bus, or find a service that will pick you up at your hotel.

 

If you decide to rent a car, you can do a one-way from MCO to PC. We have done this with Hertz. They have a Hertz office in the parking lot of the Residence Inn, Cocoa Beach. We arrived a day early, got the car, drove down to Cocoa Beach, explored and had a great dinner, then dropped off the car in the morning and used the hotel's shuttle service ($15 per person) to the ship. Simple and easy. I'm sure the other major rental chains also have locations in PC, and I'm sure some will shuttle you to the pier when you drop off the car.

 

You could also get the car, and stay in the MCO area that night. The main road out of MCO towards town is lined with hotels. It should be easy to get a room in any price range, and since you are not near the Disney mess, you won't be competing with Disney tourists for those rooms. Next morning, drive on to PC, return the car, and so on.

 

I believe you can pickup a car at MCO 24 hours a day. The rental counters never close, as far as I know.

 

Finally, let me suggest one other option: Hire a car service. This will be a little more expensive than a car rental, but several advantages over the car rental: Someone else does the driving; you're not responsible for the car (fuel, insurance, tolls, possible accidents, etc); They pick you up where and when you want (at the airport, at the hotel, wherever); for a slight extra fee they can stop on the way to PC if you need to pick anything up; they handle your luggage; and last but not least, you can arrange for them to meet your ship when you return, and get you back to the airport.

 

We've done both cruise line airport transfers, rental cars, and car services, and we have settled on car services as our method of choice for these situations. There are many suggestions for car services on the Port Canaveral board.