Flights to Florida from Canada

[frexicle]

Can anyone who has flown out of Western Canada to Florida give us their flight itinerary experiences? We booked everything with DCL because this is our first cruise and we are going 02/07. We felt winter storms or missed connections could delay us. We are flying down the day before however. A few people on the board have indicated that the cheapest not the most convenient flight times are booked by DCL. Is that true?

 

[Scratch42]

I've used DCL to arrange air for our very first cruise.

I do it myself now!

We flew Toronto to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh to Orlando. And then the same on the way home. Not a fun trip considering DD was ill and boy I wish we had a direct flight!

DCL make arrangements that work out cheaper for them and not convenient for you.

j

 

[J&B_Disney]

I flew Edmonton - Toronto and then Toronto - Orlando on Air Canada booked through Disney. The stop in Toronto was just long enough to get through Customs and grab some food. It worked very well for us.

Going down we left Edmonton early in the morning. Coming back we left Orlando at about 1:30.

 

[joliejacqueline]

Hi

I've done a few cruises from Miami etc and found it is always better to book your own flights. We live just out of Vancouver BC and we will be going to Orlando WDW for 1 week prior to our 7 day cruise with DCL. I orginally did book with DCL for our flights until I found an excellent deal. What we will do is fly out of Seattle. It is a 2.5 hr drive from Vancouver but the hotel we are staying at the night prior will store our van for 14 days. Our flights out of Seattle to Orlando return is $188.00 US + 35.00 tax for a total of 223.00 US with the exchange being soooo good I think it was around 263.00 canadian. There is my husband, myself and my 5 year old son so it was around 789. 00 canadian for the 3 of us. Out of Vancouver the cheapest I found was 695.00 + 150.00 taxes x 3. Over 2100.00.

Our flight goes from Seattle to Cincinatti with 1 hr stop over then Cincinatti to Orlando. Same for coming home.

When you book with DCL, you do not have the flexibility of leaving earlier or coming back when you want. If you want a change in your flight days/times you have to pay an extra 50.00 US per person.

Once when I took the cruise line (Different then DCL) they flew us on the midnight flight. Not a good idea with children.

Hope this helps.
Jacqueline

 

[frexicle]

Thanks for the information. We are flying out of Calgary so we don't have the same flexibility. It cannot be any worse than the Alaska Airline pkg we got to Disneyland. At the airport at 5am to leave and arrive back at home at 2am.......never again! I just hope to arrive in Orlando early enough for the kids to unwind, eat and mabey get in a swim at the pool. We will either get the layover in Toronto or Ottawa which will get us into Orlando around 9pmish. I dont mind the layovers as it allows the kids to burn off some energy and it is a new experience for the kids also. We bought the new Passporter Guide to DCL. It has helped us immensely. Clear up to date answers to all our questions. I definitely recommend it if you are a first time DCL cruiser.

 

[cruiser2two]

Hello!

We are also from Calgary and just got home from our first DCL cruise at the beginning of May.

We looked at the Disney flight package but found the times were so inconvenient.

Ended up booking through Expedia which is where we found the best rates at the time (although still expensive). Our flights for four totalled around $2000 (Cdn).

We booked our flights all through United. Left Calgary at 7am, the day before sailing, connected in Denver and flew through to Orlando. We had an hour wait in Denver and ended up in Orlando at 4pm. The hour connection was perfect in Denver as it gave us a chance to feed our 3 and 5 year old and stretch our legs. Of course, with a layover of only an hour there was potential to miss the next flight or not have our luggage transferred. I was quite nervous about this flight but luckily no lost luggage and everything timed out perfectly.

In Orlando we decided to stay at the Sheraton by the airport. Their free shuttle picked us up at the airport. The shuttle also took us to a nearby restaurant for supper later that night. The next morning the shuttle took us back to the airport at our requested time and dropped us off right at the Disney buses. From there we took the Disney bus to the port (we had purchased the Disney transfers - recommend it, very easy and convenient).

On the way home we again took the Disney transfer to the airport. First flight was at 1:30pm (we were at the airport by 10am so a bit of a wait). Flew to Chicago and from Chicago to Calgary (2 hour layover). Landed in Calgary approx 8:30pm. All in all, everything worked out perfectly.

Expect to have the time of your life on this cruise - if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!!

 

[seashells]

Did you request a flight the day before or is that standard as you are coming from Calgary? I am booked through DCL and will be flying from Toronto to Orlando, but I expect it to be sameday with a US carrier and involving a stop. I am worried what could have been a 2-3 hour direct flight will turn into 7-9. Missing the boat is my worst fear!!!

 

[frexicle]

It is standard coming in from Calgary. My only concern at this point is we are going on the Feb 03 cruise in 2007. Winter storms or missed connections are a real possibility in February, especially connecting in Toronto and booking through DCL allowed us the comfort of knowing they will "hold the boat" if we are delayed. I have no idea just how long they would hold it but we do have that to fall back on. I could pay another 250.00 to request specific flight times if I wanted but coming in from Calgary we almost had to sell our left kidney to get on the cruise as it is.....

 

[frexicle]

At least I think it is standard? Cruiser2two, do you remember what times DCL gave you? Did you use the kids clubs? Our youngest DS will be 4 years old when we sail but he will go into the kids club alone. Fortunately he starts playschool in September so he will be used to being away from us as I am a SAHM in Coventry so he is a bit of a momma's boy still. Our older kids dd10 and ds12 will be together in the other club.

 

[cruiser2two]

Hi again.

I honestly don't remember the specifics on the DCL flights. I know we looked at them, didn't think they were a lot cheaper and felt their flights were at terrible times. I can't remember if it is standard that they fly you in the day before. Maybe this was another reason we didn't go with them (because you fly in the day of).

My boys liked the kid's club a lot. They spent anywhere from 1/2 hour to 2 hours a day there. We rarely put them in the clubs to get our own time - we more scheduled it so they could be in the club when an interesting activity was going on. Because my boys are 3 and 5, I had the 5 year old put into the younger group so they could be together. But in reality, they didn't stick together much anyways and I think I would probably separate them next time and they would be fine. There were times when one would go to the club and the other wouldn't and they would be fine. One thing that was nice is that we were seated with another family at supper times. They also had two boys who were close in age. So when they went to the clubs they often saw their new friends there also. Maybe that will happen with your son also?

I've been a SAHM for the last few years also (I'm across the city in Evergreen) and just returned to work lately. My 3 year old is also quite clingy but did great in the clubs. I think having your son in playschool will be an advantage also. My youngest had never been on his own yet. Make sure you go to the open house the first night so you can hang out with them and help them get used to the club. It really helps.

 

[matsterrocks]

Hello!

inconvenient.

Ended up booking through Expedia which is where we found the best rates at the time (although still expensive). Our flights for four totalled around $2000 (Cdn).



QUOTE]


$2000 for four is a Great price at least from what I've researched. Hoping to use airmiles for our flights but if not looking at spending at least $3000 for the four of us unless West Jet just happens to haev a sale during that time. Flying from either Calgary or Edmonton.