Cruise Parking Question

[iheartdisney]

We will be driving to Port Canaveral and staying at the Country Inn & Suites the night before departure. They offer "cruise package" rooms with a shuttle to the Port. There is a fee, of course, and it costs roughly $20 less than parking at the Disney Cruise Port.

I have a feeling my husband would prefer to park right at the Port so we can go immediately upon debarkation. Me? I wouldn't mind saving the $20.

Which do you all prefer? Shuttle to the port or park right there? Is one safer for your car than the other?

Thanks!

[BrerGnat]

I liked parking at the port. The structure is covered and literally steps from the building. It makes getting back to your car after the cruise easy and quick. For $20, I'd pay the extra to park right there.

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[pamlvt]

We have taken the Disney transportation from WDW and we have driven ourselves. Our last cruise was May 2015 and we drove ourselves. If you take a shuttle other than Disney, it appears they drop you off outside the gate and you carry your luggage off the bus, through security and into the building. If you self park, they direct you to the cruise building entrance where "bell-hops" take your luggage from you (we tipped them) and then direct you onward to the parking structure. We learned if you park on the 3rd level, there's an elevated walkway into the building. There are far less people waiting in line to go through security than on ground level. We parked on ground level and waited in line. It wasn't too long and of course most people were in great moods as they waited to get on the boat. Next time we will park on level 3

Next time we cruise will be Aug 2016. We are treating our children and grandchildren to a 3-day. We will be driving ourselves because the Disney bus is $70/person rt. It will be cheaper to rent 2 cars and park them than ride their bus.

So in summary, I'd drive and park to avoid handling my own bags and waiting in a long line with all the other bus riders. Also, you might inquire how long you'll wait for a bus back to the hotel to get your car.

Hope I helped. Have a BLAST!!!!! Get there as early as you can board, then you can go straight to Cabana's to enjoy a leisurely lunch and snag some good chairs by the pool.

[CanadianWDWFan]

We parked at the port this August and it was so easy! We arrived early before the porters were out so we had to take our luggage up to the port entrance from the parking deck. Drove up to the parking gate, put my card in and in less than 2 seconds the gate arm went up. There was no line up and there was lots of parking in the garage. I drove up to the third floor of the garage, dropped the family and luggage off at the entrance and found a spot close by on the third level. At this entrance point the porters do come out when it opens and take your luggage before you enter. For the the week it was $120 not bad considering my local airport charges $160 for the week.

Now at debarkation we got a porter and he carried our luggage right to our car. Sure the porter costs a bit but he even offered to help pack our luggage in our car. We were off the ship and on the road within 20 minutes. Nothing could have been easier.

We are driving down again for a cruise on March Break and will park at right at the port again.

Another thing, you can even pre-pay online if you want to take care of the parking costs before hand.

[iheartdisney]

Wow! Thanks, everyone! Looks like we'll be parking ourselves. I know this will make my husband happy and it sounds like the $20 extra will be well spent. Appreciate all the advice. This is our first cruise and we're super excited!

[Christine]

I've done it both ways. Parking at the port, hands down!