How to get to the Port for your Disney Cruise

 How to get to the Port for your Disney Cruise

You can start your Disney Cruise before reaching the ship!! Catch a DCL bus from Walt Disney World, the Airport or select hotels! Let them take you to the port to board your ship. These cost between $30-40 per person per trip.

Why take DCL Ground to the ship? The biggest perk to using DCL bus service is you can ignore your PAT (Port Arrival Time)! When your bus arrives you can just start the process of going through customs instead of waiting for your PAT. You may get to board earlier!

 

At the end of your trip you can have the DCL bus take you right back to the airport or Walt Disney World! This is a easy and stress-free way to return to the airport or go to Walt Disney World and it keeps the DCL fun going a little longer.

New DCL Busses

You will notice I mentioned that the DCL Bus can be used from the Airport to the ship. If you have read my blogs you will also know I strongly advise not flying in and arriving the day you board the ship. Flying in the day you board has too many risks and it is too easy to cause avoidable stress and you could even miss your cruise. I recommend flying in at least the day before so you can avoid stress and make sure you make it onto the ship. I also recommend it so you have an evening of relaxation and a night of rest before boarding. Remember, if there is ANY flight delay or cancelation you could miss your trip! It is not like going to WDW or Universal where you may just miss part of your trip. You miss the boat you miss the trip! No trip insurance? You lose the money!

 

How do you use the option from the airport to the port if you are flying the day before?? Look for a hotel that has a free shuttle service from the airport to the hotel and back. Take the shuttle to the hotel when you get there. In the morning take the hotel shuttle back to the airport and catch the DCL bus to the port.

 

The transportation required varies by port. If you fly into MCO for a cruise out of Port Canaveral it is a long drive from the airport to the port. Coming in the day before you need to decide if you will get a hotel in Orlando, near the airport or a hotel closer to the port. It is about a 90-minute drive between the airport to the port. I suggest renting a car at the airport and driving to a hotel near the port. Many car rentals have return locations near the port that have shuttles from the drop off location to the port. I have the car overnight so I can get dinner and maybe even run to a store for any items I forgot to pack and need. In the morning, I drop the car off at the drop off location and take the shuttle to the port.

 

Disney Ground Transportation costs $30-$40 per person each way. For a group of 4 or more it may cost less to rent a car to get between the airport and port. Again, on the way home the car rentals have shuttles at the port to pick you up at the end of the cruise to take you to where you pick up your car. You just drive to the airport and drop it off there.

 

However you get to the port have a great cruise!