Luggage Tags, MCO, and Travel Times (oh my!)

[jeffnheather]

Hi all! Quick question:

We are sailing next week on the 12th from Port Canaveral. We are flying in to MCO on the 11th and staying at the airport Hyatt overnight. We are registered for DCL transport from MCO to the Cruise Terminal.

Should I put the luggage tags that DCL mailed us on my bags before we fly out of Austin, or wait until we check out of the airport hotel the morning of our cruise? Also, we have a registration time of 12:30 at the cruise terminal, so what time should we make sure we leave MCO by on the DCL buses?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ChuckElias]

Should I put the luggage tags that DCL mailed us on my bags before we fly out of Austin, or wait until we check out of the airport hotel the morning of our cruise?

I think that you should put the tags on when you're ready to leave the hotel, since that's when they're going to the ship. If you were flying in on the morning of your cruise, you'd put them on the bags before checking them at your departure airport. But since you're going to pick them up to stay at the Orlando hotel, the tags don't need to be on the bags.

Also, we have a registration time of 12:30 at the cruise terminal, so what time should we make sure we leave MCO by on the DCL buses?

Thanks in advance!

It's a 45-minute drive from MCO to Port Canaveral. So an 11:30 bus should do the trick.

 

[jeffnheather]

I think that you should put the tags on when you're ready to leave the hotel, since that's when they're going to the ship. If you were flying in on the morning of your cruise, you'd put them on the bags before checking them at your departure airport. But since you're going to pick them up to stay at the Orlando hotel, the tags don't need to be on the bags.

It's a 45-minute drive from MCO to Port Canaveral. So an 11:30 bus should do the trick.

Thank you so much! This helps a bunch.

Do you know how often the buses run from MCO to Port C?

 

[ChuckElias]

I don't know! I've never actually used the DCL bus to Port Canaveral. Sorry! But I'm pretty sure that the first bus is scheduled for 10 a.m.

 

[MaryJaneP]

Our experience in doing exactly the same (fly to Orlando, stay in airport hotel overnight) was we were recommended when we made the reservation to not put the DCL tags on our luggage until after we checked in to the hotel. The staff at the hotel told us to put the tags on the luggage then, if we had changed our minds on what the DCL staff was to hold/deliver to our stateroom versus what we were carrying on the ship. IIRC, we may also have been told to have the DCL luggage piled just inside our hotel room door early the next morning so the hotel staff could easily and correctly gather that luggage for the trip to the Port. We ate a leisurely breakfast and then wandered down to the DCL bus to the port. We had a late DCL boarding group time but were nonetheless on the ship by early afternoon. Have a great cruise!

 

[jeffnheather]

Our experience in doing exactly the same (fly to Orlando, stay in airport hotel overnight) was we were recommended when we made the reservation to not put the DCL tags on our luggage until after we checked in to the hotel. The staff at the hotel told us to put the tags on the luggage then, if we had changed our minds on what the DCL staff was to hold/deliver to our stateroom versus what we were carrying on the ship. IIRC, we may also have been told to have the DCL luggage piled just inside our hotel room door early the next morning so the hotel staff could easily and correctly gather that luggage for the trip to the Port. We ate a leisurely breakfast and then wandered down to the DCL bus to the port. We had a late DCL boarding group time but were nonetheless on the ship by early afternoon. Have a great cruise!

Thank you! This is very helpful! And also eases some stress.

 

[NelleBelle]

Thank you so much! This helps a bunch.

Do you know how often the buses run from MCO to Port C?

IIRC, they generally leave from MCO to the port as soon as the bus is close to being full.