Is the Cruise Transfer worth it?

[LovetoKruz]

My family and I (party of 6) will need transportation from the airport in Orlando to Port Canaveral for our cruise on the Carnival Glory on 7/22. Is it cheaper to get our own transportation and can anyone recommend a reputable company?

[calicruising]

My family and I (party of 6) will need transportation from the airport in Orlando to Port Canaveral for our cruise on the Carnival Glory on 7/22. Is it cheaper to get our own transportation and can anyone recommend a reputable company?

 

How much are they charging for the transfers? There are shuttles available at a per person cost, but with 6 in your party, it may be less to just hire a car. I will review your thread again for your answer and then let you know what company would save you money. My cousins were a party of 4 on the Glory in December and it was not that more for a limo.

[LovetoKruz]

Carnival is charging $50pp round trip which sounds a bit excessive - especially x 6.

[airbusdrvr]

If you book transfers through the cruiseline (air or land) and a delay happens, be it bad weather , automobile wreck, road construction ,ect. the ship will delay sailing until you get there. The more passengers they have delayed the longer they will delay the departure. If the ship leaves without you and you booked transfers through the cruiseline it is the cruiselines responsibility to get you to the ship at the next port. If you do your own transfers its up to you to get to the ship. Sometime a few dollars saved is not a bargain in the long run . We always fly in the day before the cruise and overnight near the cruiseport , then we don't worry the day of the cruise and arrive early at the pier and beat the crowd.

 

Two years ago we were to set sail at 5pm and the ship delayed sailing until 10pm due to approx. 200 passengers were delayed from late flights that was caused by bad weather in the northeast part of the country.

[calicruising]

Carnival is charging $50pp round trip which sounds a bit excessive - especially x 6.

 

Yes, it does add up. There are numerous companies that offer private transportation via limo or van from Orlando to Port Canaveral. Here is a great deal for you:

http://www.transportationflorida.com/deals/boatdeal.htm $170 rt plus tip

 

Good luck and have a blast:D

[LovetoKruz]

Thanks for the link - looks like a great deal!

[calicruising]

No problem. It is a great rate, but please take into consideration what airbusdrvr has said too, since that is a fact. If you do take the company that I provided the link to, make sure that you leave very early since there can be traffic from MCO to Pt Canaveral and it is a minimum 45 minute drive.

[LovetoKruz]

Thanks. Our flight arrives Orlando at 9:30am and the ship leaves at 4pm I think. This should allow for plenty of time. I was going to ask for suggestions in tipping, but I understand that the transportation company automatically adds it to the price.

[LonghornKJK]

If you book transfers through the cruiseline (air or land) and a delay happens, be it bad weather , automobile wreck, road construction ,ect. the ship will delay sailing until you get there. The more passengers they have delayed the longer they will delay the departure. If the ship leaves without you and you booked transfers through the cruiseline it is the cruiselines responsibility to get you to the ship at the next port. If you do your own transfers its up to you to get to the ship. Sometime a few dollars saved is not a bargain in the long run . We always fly in the day before the cruise and overnight near the cruiseport , then we don't worry the day of the cruise and arrive early at the pier and beat the crowd.

 

Two years ago we were to set sail at 5pm and the ship delayed sailing until 10pm due to approx. 200 passengers were delayed from late flights that was caused by bad weather in the northeast part of the country.

 

Is this true even if you don't buy the cruise air and arrange your own flights? Thanks!

[airbusdrvr]

IF you book through the cruiseline and your flight is delayed you stand a much better chance of having the ships departure time delayed or if you miss the ship the cruiseline will fly you to the next port. If you do your own air arrangements you are on your own as to getting on the ship. I always recommend if at all possible to arrive the day before you are to set sail , even if you booked with the cruise line. That way you can get up nice and refreshed ,have a relaxing breakfast then transfer to the cruise pier , check-in before the large crowds arrive and be one of the first to embark. The cruise ships always start embarkation well before the posted embarkation time.

 

Booking your own air and tranfers to arrive on the day of the cruise is not a smart move in my opinion, there are just to many things that can cause a major delay and you miss the ship .......... not a good way to start your vacation!

[LonghornKJK]

Yes , if you book through the cruiseline and your flight is delayed you stand a much better chance of having the ships departure time delayed or if you miss the ship the cruiseline will fly you to the next port. If you do your own air arrangements you are on your own as to getting on the ship. I always recommend if at all possible to arrive the day before you are to set sail , even if you booked with the cruise line. That way you can get up nice and refreshed ,have a relaxing breakfast then transfer to the cruise pier , check-in before the large crowds arrive and be one of the first to embark. The cruise ships always start embarkation well before the posted embarkation time.

 

Booking your own air and tranfers to arrive on the day of the cruise is not a smart move in my opinion, there are just to many things that can cause a major delay and you miss the ship .......... not a good way to start your vacation!

 

So if I understand correctly, booking your own air but using Princess transfers does not offer the protection of the ship waiting in case you're late. I had read an old post that I may have misunderstood, that seemed to be saying that booking the transfer alone (from the airport to the cruise ship) is what kept the ship waiting when their flight was late. (They never specifically said whether the cruise booked the flight.)

 

We've booked our own air to Seattle the day before the cruise and are trying to decide if we want to use Princess transfers from the airport or the Gray Line transfer, which is a little less expensive. Thanks!

[airbusdrvr]

If you book land tranfer with Princess and say there is a major traffic delay such as big auto accident , major road work ect. and you are on the Princess contracted bus you are covered . But IF you are delayed by the airline and you miss your bus from the airport to the cruise pier you are on your own again. If you are planning on an Alaska cruise get there a day early. We went on an inside passage cruise four years ago and met a lady that missed the ship due to a late flight(cruise booked), RCCL flew her to Juneau to get on the ship but she still missed two days of her vacation and the day at Hubbard Glacier. We did our own transfers on that cruise but flew into Seattle, spent the night , then the next morning rented a car and drove to Vancouver . Toured Vancouver that day then stayed at a Holiday Inn just a few blocks from the cruise pier. If you have the time I highly recommend a day in Vancouver , its beautiful !

 

BTW we rented a car with Enterprise and they only charged us for 2 days of rental. They seem to cater to you if cruising, our car that we drove back to Seattle was driven to Vancouver by other cruisers that morning.

[Cruise To Relax]

I want to add my agreement about getting to the port early. We all tend to try and save money on airline tickets but with the state of the airline business, getting to the port a day or two early is wise advice. We booked our own flight (used miles-I was probably dumb to do that knowing what I know now but hindsight is always perfect) to Rome for a transatlantic cruise and we are supposed to get to Rome 2 days early - and I am still worried because of flight schedules, weather, security, etc. I think the longer the distance you have to travel to get to a port, the more time you need to allow for problems. I certainly think the cruiseline arranged air is good - and in our case, it would have been cheaper than anything else. I tried everything - and Princess was at least $400 dollars a person cheaper than anything I could get online. In retrospect now, I should have had Princess book my air, paid them $75.00 per person to fly me 3 days earlier, and enjoyed the entire experience. As for the transfers, you pay more but, in my opinion, this can be the best depending on your circumstances. I don't think there is a right answer - just the best answer for your family. Good luck and happy cruising.

[zookeepr26]

We have cruised from Port Canaveral before, and arrived In Orlando the day before the cruise. Our hotel arranged shuttle to the pier. Going to the pier it was great. But coming back to Orlando was very frustrating.... first they off-loaded us very early, then the shuttle did not arrive for about 2 hours. There is no where to sit there, and hardly any shade. We sat on our luggage in a parking lot. Needless to say, we were all hot, sweaty, aggravated and miserable by the time the shuttle came. Our friends however, were off-loaded directly to an A/C RCI transfer bus, and taken directly to Orlando. They had no wait or aggravation. Our experience was a nasty end to a fabulous trip. And because of that we vowed to always book transfers thru RCI. End of story!

[NancyIL]

MCO to the port is about an hour drive. I would rent a mini-van from Budget or Avis and drive to the port, drop off luggage and passengers, and drop off rental car at the Budget or Avis location in Cape Canaveral . They will shuttle you back to the port. Make a reservation for another mini-van for when the ship returns to Port Canaveral, and drop-off the mini-van at the airport.

[DGNewton]

My family of 5 and another family of 6 are traveling on the Glory trip that you are on....we plan to arrive in MCO for a couple of days..the relo to the Radisson at the port...Budget rent a car allows unlimited mileage and they will take me back to the hotel or port (in your case)...it's much cheaper to rent the car for going to the ship...you'll have plenty of time!

 

However, we are taking the ships transport back to the airport to save time......

 

My car rental for 2 days is only 85.xx......I'm dropping it off Friday and the hotel will shuttle us to the ship

 

Just thought I'd throw this in and say hi and looking forward to the cruise and time in my favorite state