Do you fly in the night before cruise? About This Page:

[pixiedust2010]

This is our first time on a cruise and wondering if we should fly in the night before and stay somewhere that night.

If you do how do you get to the hotel then to the cruise. We will probably use Disney transport. How does that all work?

[Dave Marx]

A lot of cruisers do fly in the day before. Partly, this is for the safety/reduced stress factor (don't want to miss the boat!), and in some cases, because of airline schedules (West Coasters usually have to take a redeye with an early morning arrival, and that's rarely a pleasant way to start a vacation).

We almost always arrive the day or evening before (flying in from Michigan).

You have a variety of options, and none are absoultely right or wrong. The best hotel prices can often be found at the airport-area hotels. They're often deeply discounted on Priceline and similar sites. Nearly all offer free transportation to and from the airport, so all you have to do is take the free shuttle back to the airport in the morning to catch your DCL bus.

For (usually) a somewhat higher price, you can stay at the Hyatt right in the airport. It offers one particular advantage - the hotel will deliver your luggage directly to DCL for you in the morning.

If there are three or more in your party, it can be cheaper to use either a towncar service or rental car, rather than DCL transfers. You could arrange for towncar pickup in the morning from your airport area hotel, or you also have the option of staying in Port Canaveral the day/night before. Several nearby hotels offer shuttle service to the cruise terminal, as do the nearby car rental agencies. So, you can either have a towncar drop you at the hotel the evening before and take the shuttle in the morning, or, if you rented a car, drop off your passengers and luggage at the cruise terminal in the morning, return the rental car, and take the shuttle back to the cruise terminal.

[Colexis Mom]

We've been onsite (at Disney) before both cruises! Too much stress for me arriving by plane the morning of, and the chances for delays!

[nurse_mom]

We fly/or drive in before. Less stress. We did it one time to fly in the same days. WAY too much stress. All of the Florida airports were closed. We landed when the boat was supposed to set sail. They did wait for us and several people for that matter. But we made a choice right then and there. Go in the day before, and only direct flights!

[chezp]

I would always fly in at least the day before a cruise. We usually spend time at Disney before cruising, but for our Mediterranean cruise, we flew into Barcleona the day before. That took a lot of stress out of our vacation and we were able to spend the day exploring the city.

[jhoshowski]

Fly in the day before!! Much less stress. For our cruise in November, we flew in and had Quicksilver take us to the Residence Inn Cape Canaveral, then took a cab to the port ($4 per person). The area hotels also offer shuttles, which can range from being free to $3 per person. We took the cab to go on our schedule when we were ready, instead of having to adhere to a shuttle reservation.

[Angileyze1]

My upcoming cruise isn't a disney one, but I am flying in the night before. I am even staying in Floriday the night of debarcation and flying home the day after the cruise ends!

[Magic#7564]

Fly in the night before. Less stress that way, and you don't have to worry about missing the ship! Have fun!

[DrDolphin]

I always recommend friends and family fly in the night before. Makes things much less stressful the day of departure.

[dmpyron]

I always fly in the night before and tell all my clients to do so. Even if you are flying from a "warm" airport (the temperature here in Austin is currently 43. It was 67 at 3pm!) you never know where your plane is coming from. We almost missed our one plane a day to Maui a few years back because our plane, even though we were flying out at 6:30 am, didn't make it in from Boston the night before!

[duck addict]

I made the 'mistake' of flying the same day once. From the west coast that means a red eye. I was exhausted the entire first day of the cruise.

All subsequent trips, I have flown the day before... Much better

[kdevoe]

My husband and I usually do fly in the day before. I try to get the earliest flight out. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency in the Orlando Airport the last time. We then took Mears transportation to DTD!!!!! It was so convenient.

[MickeyWatch]

For the Disney Baltic cruise this summer we are flying into London the day before the cruise. We arrive early AM London time so we will have more than a full day in LondonDover before the cruise departs at 5:00 p.m. the next day.

[jimmymac]

We always fly in the day before just in case...

[Kenny]

As everyone here suggests, fly in the day before. With delays due to weather and aircraft maintenance, regardless of the time of year, it's the only reasonable thing to do.