Closest Airport to Port Canaveral for a Disney Cruise

A large portion of Disney Cruises sail out of Port Canaveral in Florida. In fact, a large number of other cruise lines do, too (such as Norwegian Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International). If you’re not lucky enough to live within driving distance it helps to know where to fly. I did a bunch of research and flew into a few Florida airports to help you decide the best central Florida airports to fly into if you’re sailing out of Port Canaveral on Disney Cruise Lines. It will mostly apply if you’re sailing on any other ship as well (but they may have better transfer options from certain airports).

I’ll consider best cruise transfer options, flight options, distance to the port, ease of navigating the airport, and which airlines frequent which airport. To top it off, I polled several DCL forums to see what they chose when it came to airports they chose for getting to their cruise ship. 

My daughters posing with Mickey Mouse on the Disney Fantasy.

But first, you should know about Disney cruise transfers.

Disney Cruise Transfers

Disney only offers transfers from three different places. You can take the Disney shuttle from MCO (a huge benefit for MCO I list below), from the Hyatt Regency attached to MCO, or from a Disney World Resort.

Therefore, if you’ve got one or two extra days, you could check out Orlando, Universal, Sea World, and of course, Disney World. We usually combine a Disney trip with a Disney Cruise trip. If nothing else, we book a Disney-area resort and enjoy a Disney Springs restaurant the night before we head out.

Another thing we do frequently is book a non-Disney suite to stay in, something huge (that doesn’t cost a fortune) since we’ll have tight living quarters aboard the ship. Of course, if its not a Disney resort, you’ll have to arrange different transportation to Port Canaveral.

I highly recommend getting a hotel room the night before your cruise rather than traveling the day of your sailing. It significantly reduces the risk of having a travel interruption that makes you miss your cruise.

 Click here for info on how to book a Disney Cruise transfer.

Now onto the best options for airports to get you to Port Canaveral.

Orlando Airport (MCO) to Port Canaveral

The overwhelming majority of cruise passengers headed to a Port Canaveral Disney Cruise fly through MCO. When I polled forums, well over 90% of the responders flew in through the Orlando airport. It’s the largest airport in Florida, servicing around 50 million people a year. Therefore, it will have the widest variety of flight times and airlines.

MCO has a few other things going for it as well. It’s the only airport with dedicated Disney Cruise transfers (run by Disney). At the time of writing, they are $45 per person each way. A huge benefit to the Disney transfer is that they can communicate with the port in a delay to make sure you don’t get left behind. The enormous size also means it will have more available rideshare drivers like Uber and Lyft to take you to the port if you don’t want Disney.

MCO is a hub for Southwest Airlines, Frontier, Spirit, JetBlue, and Silver airlines. Some of these are budget airlines can cost you if you try to bring a lot of luggage, which you’ll need for a cruise. Therefore, I highly recommend Southwest or another airline that allows complimentary checked luggage.

MCO is about 45 miles from the port, which equates to about 40-60 minutes of travel depending on traffic. We’ve had easy transfers from MCO, but we’ve also sat in gridlock on several occasions.

Third Baby to the Right and I flying into the Orlando International Airport (MCO). Pro Tip: On Southwest Airlines, even if you register a lap child, they’ll let them have their own seat if there’s room. Good news for me and the seat in front of me. Bad news for the guy trying to sleep next to him.

Pros for MCO

-Lots of airlines, nonstops, and times to choose from
 -Disney-owned transfers offer good rates and peace of mind

Cons for MCO

-extremely busy, can lead to delays
 -bad traffic from airport, can lead to delays

Sanford Airport (SFB) to Port Canaveral

The entrance to the Sanford Orlando International Airport. Courtesy of SFB.

Orlando Sanford International Airport is the choice for people who want to fly into Orlando but don’t want to deal with the crowds of MCO. It comes up frequently in forums when people are looking for a more relaxed option to get to the theme parks. 

It’s farther from Port Canaveral than MCO. At 58 miles, it typically takes 75 to 90 minutes to get to Port Canaveral. These will all be non-Disney tranfers, so you need to make sure that they arrive to the port on time.

Sanford is a hub for Allegiant, Flair, and Sun Country Airlines. Allegiant flies out of LAX and a few other airports. Flair and Sun Country are budget friendly options for those who are coming from Canada, Minnesota, and other northern states. You can find some great deals if your airport caters to these airlines.

Pros for SFB

-relaxed atmosphere can provide a better experience
 -great deals if your airport has flights to Orlando on these airlines.

Cons for SFB

-limited selection on flights
 -long distance from Port Canaveral
 -no Disney-owned transfers

Melbourne Airport (MLB) to Port Canaveral

A new addition to MLB that’s currently under construction. Courtesy of MLB Instagram

Melbourne International Airport is the closest large airport to Port Canaveral. At only 29 miles from Port Canaveral, it takes roughly 45 minutes to get there. Again, Disney doesn’t provide service from MLB, so you’ll have to get a private transfer or rideshare.

It’s much smaller than MCO and therefore has much more limited flights. It does however offer flights from major cities such as Pittsburg, Charlotte, Atlanta, and Washington DC. Allegiant Airlines, Delta Airlines, and American Airlines are the prominent carriers to MLB.

Melbourne is a great choice if you’re flying out of one of the cities that serve it. Moreover, it’s a great option if you want to enjoy the beach or the Kennedy Space Center before or after your cruise, instead of going to Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando.

Melbourne has specifically good service from London, so if you’re flying from Europe it might be a good option.

Pros for MLB

-closest airport to Port Canaveral
 -on the beach and near Kennedy Space Center
 -good flights if you’re flying from the right airports
 -not as busy or crowded as MCO
 -good UK options

Cons for MLB

-no Disney transfer
 -limited flight selection
 -further from Walt Disney World (for fun or Disney cruise transfers)

Daytona Beach Airport (DAB) to Port Canaveral

The Daytona Beach International Airport. Courtesy of DAB

Daytona Beach International Airport is a little farther from the Port Canaveral area than the other airports on this list. Even though it’s 72 miles, the ride usually takes a little over an hour because of the interstate.

Daytona is a good choice if you’re also wanting to go to the beach before heading to Disney Cruise Line because it has a few larger airlines coming through that don’t go to Melbourne. It also has a few international airlines that offer periodic service.

The big downside is that Daytona does not have any dedicated shuttles to the Cape Canaveral port, so you’ll have to take a private car service, Uber, or Lyft to get there. If you’re traveling by yourself, this could mean $100+ charge for one person, each way.

Pros for DAB

-on the beach

Cons for DAB

-no cruise shuttle service at all
 -long distance
 -not many flight options

Conclusion and Further Reading

The best airport will depend first and foremost on what airport you’re flying in from. This will drastically change the availability of flights for you. I suggest looking for the best deals at each of these airports and then decide which airport to fly into.

I fly from Atlanta, and a lot of the rates are similar, so for me, it’s about availability and transport. We usually end up flying to MCO because the Disney transport is convenient, and we prefer Southwest.

You can mitigate a lot of the transfer issues by renting a car, but it seems really strange to rent a car for a cruise. You’ll pay per day for parking and for the rental car you don’t use.

A few other tips, make sure you give yourself enough time for to make your transfer and get the port before the boat leaves. Again, I highly recommend staying in a hotel the night before to make sure that even with delays, you'll still have extra time to get there. If you want really make sure you're there on time, consider staying at a Cocoa Beach hotel that offers cruise hotel packages. Cocoa Beach is in close proximity to the port, and many of the hotels offer shuttles to the port.

One more Disney Cruise picture to remind my readers that my son is a Jack Jack’s Incredible Diaper Dash champion. Aboard the Disney Magic.

Hopefully, this helps you make an informed decision about flying into Florida in order to get to the Port Canaveral cruise terminal. I also highly recommend a travel agent to handle all of these issues for you. They are free and amazing.

If you’ve cruised with Disney before, let me know what airport you used and how it went in the comment section.

For further reading check out this Disney Cruise packing list, or this article for your first time on Disney Cruise.