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Arriving in Orlando the night before cruise in Port Canaveral-need suggestion


mmeltz717

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I'm arriving in Orlando for our cruise out of Port Canaveral the day before. Can some one recommend if I should stay in Orlando for the night or go stay near the Port? Also, what service should I use to transport us from/to the airport? There is four of us traveling. We are on the freedom of the seas. Mark

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The last time we cruised out of Port Canaveral and went down a day early, we rented a car for the day and drove one way - then took the Royal Caribbean shuttle back to the airport at the end of the cruise. It was not prohibitively expensive to do a one-way car rental.

 

We picked up the car from Hertz at the Orlando airport. Because we wanted to visit the Cape for the day, we stayed in Cocoa Beach. If you book at the Residence Inn, Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach (321-323-1100) the car rental office and the hotel are connected by a parking lot, so dropping off the car when you are done is VERY easy. It's no more than 100 steps from the Hertz office to the hotel. VERY convenient and you can keep the car as long as you want on Saturday. The car rental place closes (4:00, I think) but they have a drop box where you just leave the keys. They have no idea what time you drop it off. We arrived in Orlando (9:16 AM), rented the car, toured the Cape, ate dinner and dropped the car at the Hertz lot around 8:00 PM, then walked over to the hotel and had a very restful night's sleep before getting up the next morning and going to the ship.

 

The Residence Inn is very convenient to the port and they shuttled us over to the ship on Sunday morning. The new pier at Port Canaveral is very nice - lots of nice restaurants right there. It was all very, very convenient.

 

Unfortunately I don't have the receipts for the car rental but I recall that it was very reasonable to pick up the car at the airport and drop it off at the Cape. The Residence Inn cost $217.43 including taxes and everything, which isn't bad for a single night at the Cape on a Saturday night (that's the most expensive single night to stay in a hotel, in nearly all cases).

 

So it really depends on what you want to do in central Florida. If you aren't going to one of the amusement parks, I recommend going on to the coast the day before and spending the night nearer the port. Obviously if you are going to do something closer to Orlando you would probably want to stay in Orlando for the night and go to the port the next day...but I am such a worry wart...I always want to get to where I am going as quickly as possible to avoid last minute commuting delays...but that's just me.

 

I would highly recommend the Hertz-Residence Inn connection though. It worked out very well and the hotel got us to the ship so there was nothing to worry about once you dropped the car off.

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You will find Orlando hotels usually less expensive (way more hotel choices in Orlando) but being at the port will save you commuting time the day of your cruise.

 

We usually stay in Orlando and then do a one-way rental car.  

 

I would look at hotel prices at both Orlando and Port Canaveral and then compare that with rental car prices.  Keep your options open in that way.

 

I think a rental car will be less expensive than Royal Caribbean's transfers.

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Lots of options for hotels in Orlando as well as Port Canaveral. From there you can book a private car or a shared shuttle or rent a car. There are some hotels in Orlando as well as Port Canaveral that offer packages that include shuttle service to and from the airport/port/airport which could save some money travelling with that many people.

 

I prefer hiring a private car..its a flat rate, much quicker and easier.

 

Lots to consider and lots of options. I have done this 5x now, but never did the rent a car thing.

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Agree with WAAYTOOO the Hertz and Residence Inn connection I have done several times

and it works very well - if you have the extra day, heading to the Cape Canaveral area can be fun

to visit for something different.  Lots of Airport Orlando hotels offer free shuttles to/from airport

then you could get the RCI shuttles or rent a car as well.

Country Inn and Suites is right next to the Residence Inn too - here are a few more:

 

Hampton Inn
Inn at Cocoa Beach (if you want beach front)

Ron Jon

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  • 7 months later...

The last time we cruised out of Port Canaveral and went down a day early, we rented a car for the day and drove one way - then took the Royal Caribbean shuttle back to the airport at the end of the cruise. It was not prohibitively expensive to do a one-way car rental.

 

We picked up the car from Hertz at the Orlando airport. Because we wanted to visit the Cape for the day, we stayed in Cocoa Beach. If you book at the Residence Inn, Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach (321-323-1100) the car rental office and the hotel are connected by a parking lot, so dropping off the car when you are done is VERY easy. It's no more than 100 steps from the Hertz office to the hotel. VERY convenient and you can keep the car as long as you want on Saturday. The car rental place closes (4:00, I think) but they have a drop box where you just leave the keys. They have no idea what time you drop it off. We arrived in Orlando (9:16 AM), rented the car, toured the Cape, ate dinner and dropped the car at the Hertz lot around 8:00 PM, then walked over to the hotel and had a very restful night's sleep before getting up the next morning and going to the ship.

 

The Residence Inn is very convenient to the port and they shuttled us over to the ship on Sunday morning. The new pier at Port Canaveral is very nice - lots of nice restaurants right there. It was all very, very convenient.

 

Unfortunately I don't have the receipts for the car rental but I recall that it was very reasonable to pick up the car at the airport and drop it off at the Cape. The Residence Inn cost $217.43 including taxes and everything, which isn't bad for a single night at the Cape on a Saturday night (that's the most expensive single night to stay in a hotel, in nearly all cases).

 

So it really depends on what you want to do in central Florida. If you aren't going to one of the amusement parks, I recommend going on to the coast the day before and spending the night nearer the port. Obviously if you are going to do something closer to Orlando you would probably want to stay in Orlando for the night and go to the port the next day...but I am such a worry wart...I always want to get to where I am going as quickly as possible to avoid last minute commuting delays...but that's just me.

 

I would highly recommend the Hertz-Residence Inn connection though. It worked out very well and the hotel got us to the ship so there was nothing to worry about once you dropped the car off.

I just booked The Residence in you mentioned and it was reasonable too. Even thought it's not till next April I found hotels booked up quickly on my last cruise.I assume the hotel has a shuttle service that will come in to offer us a ride to the ship and then to the airport after the cruise.. Is there a shuttle service from the airport to Cocoa beach that's reasonable it we don't wish to drive out to Port Canaveral?

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If you don't want to go with the hassle of renting a car, a very convenient (although more expensive option) would be to use a car service such as Towncar Now (http://www.towncarnow.com/). They'll pick you up from the airport, and drop you off at a hotel in either Orlando or Port Canaveral at a time that you specify, and then be waiting for you outside the ship when you are ready to return to the airport. They communicate very well, and it was a comfortable and quiet ride. We used them to return to the airport after disembarking at PC, and I'd highly recommend them. 

 

I'd also recommend the Doubletree in Cocoa Beach (http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/florida/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-cocoa-beach-oceanfront-MLBASDT/index.html). While it doesn't have a shuttle to the port, it was a cheap cab ride the next morning and there are several local transportation options that the desk can help you with. There is also a restaurant and bar on site, along with a nice pool and beach access. The staff was all incredibly friendly as well. 

 

Hope that helps! 

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We have just found this out ourselves about a week ago....there are hotels in Orlando near the airport that are offering the fly to MCO, we pick you up at the airport, stay overnight at our hotel, we will bus you to Port Canaveral in the morning, and finally pick you up at Port Canaveral and drop you off at MCO when your cruise is done.

 

There are defiantly Hilton hotels just outside of MCO doing this and I can only assume that the other large chain hotels are offering the similar service.

 

The Hampton Inn just outside MCO offers a program called "Park, Stay, and Go" for a fee that does just this. 

 

Again, I am sure there are other chains doing similar.

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  • 1 month later...

Personally I would stay near the cruise port.  Having lived in Orlando for 10 years traffic on 428 (the Bee Line) is very unpredictable.  If there is a serious accident you could be struck in traffic for hours and miss your cruise..   Enjoy your cruise.  

I have to agree, I ride 417 (Greenway) from time to time and got stuck there too... I'd get as close to the port as I can, but thats just me...

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