I traveled on a $30 shuttle from Florida's busiest airport to a Disney cruise ship. It was crowded, but I'd do it again.

• I took a Disney cruise in early September and arrived at my vacation via a $30 Go Port shuttle.
• The bus was crowded and a bit outdated, but the hour-long ride was still comfortable.

If there's one thing I learned this summer, it's that Disney cruises are expensive.

I recently took a three-day trip on the company's newest ship, the Disney Wish, and spent over $2,700 just to board. By the end of the trip — after plane rides, a hotel stay, purchasing souvenirs, and more — my total reached nearly $4,000.

That said, there were a few areas where I was able to save a little money — the main one being transportation.

Disney charges $39 each way to bring travelers to and from Port Canaveral, so I searched for other options

I was originally meant to take my Disney cruise in late July, but my sister tested positive for COVID-19 at the port and we were both denied boarding.

So when I rescheduled and booked our new sailing only four weeks in advance, most private shuttles were fully booked. Luckily, a service called Go Port was available, with one-way tickets costing $30 per person.

That's cheaper than Disney's tickets and far less expensive than an Uber or Lyft would have been.

My sister and I were also able to save money by taking our hotel's free shuttle back to the airport where Go Port would pick us up.

Go Port's $30 shuttle was crowded but easy to use

When my sister and I arrived at the airport the day of our cruise, we headed straight to the Go Port desk in the ground-transportation area.

We checked in, were given a numbered card, and were told that a Go Port representative would bring us to the next available bus shortly.

Go Port shuttles run between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on pickup days, and the drive to Port Canaveral takes about an hour.

About 10 minutes later, a new Go Port representative called and escorted us to the bus where employees helped us load our luggage underneath.

The bus filled quickly with antsy tourists, and my sister and I were the only ones wearing Mickey Mouse shirts. But we got there early, so at least we got to sit together.

The bus was a little outdated, with worn fabric seats, broken footrests, and yellow-tinted windows.

Still, the ride was comfortable, and there were working ports for phone chargers above our heads, so I had no complaints — especially after arriving at Port Canaveral.

Every other traveler on our bus was dropped off at the main section of Port Canaveral where their ships were stationed. But because Disney has its own section, we were driven all the way across the port so that we wouldn't have to walk with our luggage.

So while we weren't greeted with "Disney magic" from the moment our trip started, we had a safe, comfortable ride, and saved a little money along the way.

And after looking at all my receipts at the end of my vacation, that's really all I could ask for.