Transportation Choices: to/from Orlando Airport (MCO), Cape Canaveral, Port Canaveral

February 2018

We flew into the Orlando airport for a cruise from Port Canaveral. We needed transportation three different times: from the airport to Cape Canaveral, from our hotel in Cape Canaveral to the port, and from the port back to the airport. Following are the options we found, and our experiences.

Transportation for three from Orlando Airport (MCO) to Cape Canaveral

• If you are heading directly to the cruise port, the Carnival shared transfer service is $35.99 per person one-way. 
• There is also a link for a private car service on the Carnival page, which looked to be around $66 before tip. This seems like the best choice, if you do not want to use Uber.
• The online cab fare estimator said this trip would cost over $100 in a cab.
• We chose Uber, and the fare was less than $50 before tip. We were happy with the end result of this trip; however, we had some difficulty at the start. The first Uber driver who showed up refused to take us. We are three small to average size adults, and we had three pieces of luggage; one large bag, and two medium to large size bags. He said he did not have room, which was untrue. The second driver who showed up was Murat, and he was great. He had a smaller vehicle than the first driver, and we all easily fit in his car with our luggage in the trunk. I think the first driver did not want to take us that far, and then have to drive all the way back, most likely without a fare (it is about 45 miles one-way). I wanted to report the first driver; however, his name disappeared from the app as soon as he left. I had received a text from him before he arrived, and his number is (407) 439-2406. I will make sure I never do business with that number again, and I will advise others to avoid it. After we waited 10 minutes for him, we had to request the trip again via the app, and then wait for another driver. The Uber app says you have to be ready when requesting the ride; however, at MCO I observed three other passengers also waiting over 10 minutes for Uber drivers.

Map of the area

Transportation from Cape Canaveral hotel to Port Canaveral (Carnival cruise port)

Carnival Magic Cruise ~ 7-day Western Caribbean [Cozumel Plus] from Port Canaveral

February 2018

Sunrise from Carnival Magic cabin 7455

This is a long post, which covers our experience on the Carnival Magic. You can find additional photos in the Carnival Magic album on my Facebook travel page. I will have separate posts for the ports of call, and information about John Heald's For Fun Sake (FFS, formerly called bloggers cruise) activities. Being on this cruise to join the FFS group was an exciting coincidence for us, as we had this cruise booked long before it became designated as a FFS cruise.

Pre-cruise

We checked in online and printed our boarding passes, as usual. This was the first time we experienced "setting an appointment" for our arrival time. We have Platinum status, so I am not sure if we actually needed to schedule our arrival; I chose the first time slot available when I checked us in. 

We purchased the Cheers package, and one Carnival shore excursion beforehand. A better shore excursion price was offered through a different company, so after booking the excursion through Carnival, we filled out their "Best Price Guarantee" form. You can find details for their price guarantee in one of my previous blog posts. There was not much price difference; we received an onboard credit of $5.49 per person. The Cheers package cost including the 15% gratuity was $57.44 per day. Carnival raised the daily price to $59.74 (with the 15% gratuity) at the end of 2017, and it is 10% higher, if you purchase it onboard.  

Arrival and check-in ~ Port Canaveral

Our appointment time was scheduled for 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM, and we arrived around 11:15 AM. Everything was well marked for Priority Boarding, and we were on board in less than 20 minutes. Priority guests had already boarded when we arrived, so we were ushered into the priority lounge, where we had no wait to check-in, and then we boarded the ship. Our son was not able to board with us this time, even though we had our reservations linked together, so were not able to get our boarding photo taken together.

View from Carnival Magic cabin 7455 at Port Canaveral

Balcony Cabin 7455, category 8B

I did not take as many photos of our cabin as I usually do. We had this same cabin on the Carnival Breeze, and the layout is exactly the same. The furnishings in the Breeze cabin were a bit more deluxe than this one. For example, the in-room chair on Carnival Magic was a straight-backed chair with cushioned back and seat only, rather than the soft cozy seat and footstool on the Breeze. You can see the room layout and balcony photos for the Breeze cabin in that blog post.

Carnival Magic cabin 7455; balcony door open, bathroom door on right

Cape Canaveral, Florida / Residence Inn by Marriott, local restaurants

February 2018, Weekend, 1-night, 2-bedroom 2-bath suite #407

I had some difficulty getting a room at this hotel. I started checking quite far in advance, and there was no availability for several months. I kept checking, and room availability kept going from zero to some rooms being available. I booked a 2-bedroom suite as soon as I saw one available. The AAA rate was $256, which I thought was pretty high. A few weeks before our trip, I decided to change it to the pre-pay, non-refundable rate, which saved us over $35.

Sunset from the walking trail across the road from Residence Inn

Gold perks and check-in

I did not receive any recognition or extra perks for being a Gold member. We could not receive a room upgrade, because we had already booked the most expensive room type. Although the cost was steep, we decided we did not want to take the chance with a possible upgrade. And, the hotel was pretty full. Premium Internet access is complimentary for Gold members.

Another view from the walking trail

Check-in time is 4:00 PM, and we arrived around 3:00 PM. I had contacted the hotel via Facebook to let them know we would be arriving early. I received a reply two days after I had sent the note, with an apology for the delayed response. I have the Marriott app on my phone, and I received a notification that the room was ready at 10:00 AM! Made us wish our flight had been arriving even earlier.

Suite #407

When we arrived in the guestroom, I saw that my profile preferences for extra pillows had been fulfilled! 😊 This guestroom is located on the top floor in the northeast corner. There is a view of the Exploration Tower, and a partial view of the cruise port. The room was comfortable, and it is in a quiet location.

Grand Rapids, Michigan / Holiday Inn - GRR Airport

February 2018, Weekday, 1-night, King suite #230

Platinum perks and check-in

I redeemed points for this stay, and received an upgrade to a suite before our stay. I called IHG to make the reservation, because the site was not functioning properly when I tried to make the reservation online. When I called, I found out it was because the only available room type with points for three guests, was a queen-bed handicap guestroom. The agent said he could reserve that for me, and he suggested I call the hotel directly to see if they would upgrade me to a king suite because of my status. King suites have a sofa bed, whereas, a standard king guestroom does not. I called the hotel, and the agent happily fulfilled my request. At check-in, I received 500 Platinum bonus points, which posted to my account right after we checked out.

King suite 230

There are three floors at this hotel, and the agent had told me the suite on the top floor was not ready yet. We had arrived about 15 minutes early of check-in time, and gladly accepted the one on the second floor.

The suite was comfortable, and we loved it. The only thing we did not like about it, is that the lighting over the table in the work/sitting room was extremely dim. I am not sure how anyone could hold a meeting at the table. A guest we chatted with in the bar that evening commented that he did not like that the door into the guestroom opens into the bedroom instead of the sitting room. This suite served our purposes well.

Wet bar area in the work/sitting room

The workroom contained a small fridge, sink, table with four or five chairs, TV, work desk, and sofa sleeper.  A K-cup coffee maker with supplies was on the sink. I am guessing there was supposed to be a trash liner in the large trash can in this room. The lid was not set on all of the way, as if housekeeping had not completely finished up before leaving the room.

Room with sofa sleeper and table