Is an 11:50 am flight out of Pt Canaveral too early?

[suchablonde]

Orlando Int'l is about an hour from the port, right? I know anything can happen, but do you think we're pretty safe with an 11:50 flight?

 

We usually book afternoon flights but end up waiting for hours at the airport. Not fun w/a 5 & 6 yr old. I'd really like to take the earliest plane out that we can.

[VernRDH]

I would think that with the travel back to MCO from Port Canaveral, you might be cutting it close. We are going on Sovereign this Fri. and our return flight home is not until 6:45pm. We are travelling with our 5 yo DD. we decided to do the day rate at the Hyatt right at the airport. $89 day use rate gets you a room and access to all their amenities-like the pool. We figure this way we can take our time getting off the ship and can relax a little before flying home.

 

The cruise line recommends flights after noon. with the pier being 45 min to 1 hour away, you might not want to chance it.

 

Good luck and have a great cruise!!!!:)

[nightworker]

We Just Came Back Off Princess And Had To Make An 11:50 Flight Out Of Fort Lauderdale Which Is About 15 To 20 Min Form The Pier. I Really Think You Are Cutting It Too Close Because You Have To Allow Alot Of Time To Go Check Your Bags And Go Though Security Sometimes The Lines Are Long!! We Got Off The Ship First And Then Had To Get Our Luggage And A Taxi To The Airport. Depending How Many Cruise Ships Come In Also Makes A Difference As To How Fast You Get Out Of The Area. We Left The Crusie Port At 8:30 And Were At The Airport After Checking In And Going Though Security At 10:30 Am. Good Luck

[suchablonde]

Thank you both. I was hoping to hear "oh you'll have plenty of time!" LOL. I'll take your advice. Thanks again :)

[HB Cruiser]

suchablonde

 

If you are taking the Sovereign, you will have plenty of time to get to Orlando airport for a flight at that time. We just left Orlando this past Friday and we had a 11:40 flight and made it with plenty of time to spare.

 

I do suggest that if you are on the Mariner, I would not get a flight before 1:00. I have taken the Mariner and we had early disembarkation and barely made a 12:05 flight. The disembarkation on the Mariner does not happen as quickly or as smooth as on the Sovereign, mainly due to and extra 1200+ passengers.

 

Tim

[suchablonde]

Ahhh, thank you for posting HB Cruiser. We're sailing Mariner. I almost booked the 1pm; now I'm glad I decided to just chill and go for the 3:30. We'll just take our time at breakfast, get to the airport, eat some more :D and get home with no rush or stress.

 

I was second guessing not taking that 1:00 flight, so your post is appreciated. Thanks!

[devvt]

An 11:50 am flight out of Orlando is no problem at all if disembarkation from the Mariner goes well. In April we were off the ship by @7:40 (fourth group called) - out of the terminal and on the RCI bus before 8:30 - and at our gate at MCO before 10 am for an 11:30 flight. The travel gods were with us, I guess.

[Former Goalie]

Ahhh, thank you for posting HB Cruiser. We're sailing Mariner. I almost booked the 1pm; now I'm glad I decided to just chill and go for the 3:30. We'll just take our time at breakfast, get to the airport, eat some more :D and get home with no rush or stress.

 

I was second guessing not taking that 1:00 flight, so your post is appreciated. Thanks!

An 11:50 flight out of MCO would be marginal IMHO. I think a 1:00 should be fine. We sailed Mariner last March.

[chotton]

We were just on Mariner in July. My wide and I had a 11:54 flight, got to the airport and through security before 10:00. My parents were on the trip with us and had a 10:35 flight and made it no problem.

 

Go for it!

[Jim M]

Sailed Mariner (8/7 Eastern) and my sister and BIL waited for 3 hours at MCO for an 11:55 AM flight!!!

[Bahama Mama 40]

I was also trying to decide on what time to book a return flight from MCO.

I was considering a 2:20 flight which after reading these posts seems to be okay. We will be coming off of Soveriegn so it sounds like it is quicker. We were on Mariner in June and disembarkation was very slow but we were driving so didn't have to worry about it. I'm also debating between the RCL shuttle vs. a rental car and would appreciate any input. Thanks!

[HB Cruiser]

Bahama Mama 40

 

As I stated earlier, if you are on the Mariner, do not schedule a flight before 1:00. If you are on Sovereign, 11:00 is very doable. As a matter of fact, my wife and I just got off the Sovereign August 5th and made a 11:00 flight with about 45 minutes to spare. Just go to guest relations and ask for the luggage color that disembarks first, you will have no problems.

 

Tim

[negc]

An 11:50 am flight out of Orlando is no problem at all if disembarkation from the Mariner goes well. In April we were off the ship by @7:40 (fourth group called) - out of the terminal and on the RCI bus before 8:30 - and at our gate at MCO before 10 am for an 11:30 flight. The travel gods were with us, I guess.

We had the same situation when we disembarked from the Mariner in late May. In fact we got to the airport in Orlando in time to catch an earlier flight than originally scheduled. The earlier flight left around 11:30 and we were checked in and through security with plenty of time to spare. Obviously things can go wrong and you could be delayed, but our experience was very positive.

[Shappy]

I posted the same question a couple of weeks ago. I called RC first and asked them for the earliest flight time and rep told me 11:00 and I booked a 11:40. Then I panicked. Well my husband wouldn't consider changing the flight so we better make it! Seriously, I supposed we just go stand-by for the next flight. If there's a major problem we wouldn't make a later flight either. They need you off the ship to get ready for the next crew remember! We're on the Aug 28 cruise so I'll post how we do. I HATE to wait in airports! OTOH one cruise we took a few years ago I was glad we had a 5 pm flight. Another passenger took my bag and I wasn't leaving w/o my bag! Waited around and fortunately he lived in Florida and returned it so we got the bag back. If we had an early flight I don't think I would have gotten my bag. BTW, that was Princess and they were worthless in helping us, claimed they didn't even have a data base with passenger's phone numbers (there was a blue bag left over that looked like ours-had a name but no phone number -turned out we were right-he's taken my blue bag)