American Airlines at the port - nope!

[kalama]

Just thought you'd like to see the response I got from AA.com re: checking in for American Airlines flights at the port:

Thank you for contacting Customer Relations via AA.com. We appreciate the
opportunity
to address your concerns.

While we do have three travel Centers in South Florida, in Miami, Coral Gables
and
Fort Lauderdale, we do not have a counter at the Cruise Terminal at Port
Canaveral. We
check in our passengers once they arrive at their departing South Florida
airport. I
am sorry to disappoint you.

We welcome all customer feedback. Should you wish to contact us again, please
do so
via http://www.aa.com/customerrelations and we'll be back with you as soon as
possible.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Holmberg
Customer Relations
American Airlines

 

[tezb]

They must have changed things...we checked in our bags w/ AA last summer ....they were one of the airlines there and it was very convenient.

 

[CAMICKEY]

Anyone just getting off the cruise see American at the Port? - Mike

 

[makaylee]

We cruised in May and they were there, I wonder why they left?

 

[Carasoyn]

I cruised in January (disembarked on 1/31/04 at 8:30 am) and was able to check in for my 4:30 pm AA flight at the DCL terminal. That was only 6 weeks ago!

 

[CAMICKEY]

Thanks for the answers to those just off cruises. Well I hope they are there in May. Gambling that I can make my 11:35 flight and one of the things I was counting on was a Port check-in. - Mike

 

[NCRedding]

CAMickey: You may want to verify with someone at AA whether they can accept bags that close to flight time. When we tried to port check our bags with delta for an 11:35 am flight, they wouldn't accept them at 8:30 because of the time limit. We wasted alot of time in line to be told they wouldn't take them, so we had to run to the airport.

Of course, if AA isn't aware that they have the check-in capacity, then you may not get an answer.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by kalama, who quoted J. Michael Holmberg of American Airlines:
While we do have three travel Centers in South Florida, in Miami, Coral Gables and Fort Lauderdale, we do not have a counter at the Cruise Terminal at Port Canaveral. We check in our passengers once they arrive at their departing South Florida airport.

It seems that J. Michael Holmberg is not even aware that Port Canaveral is in the Central Florida region, not in South Florida. Nor is Mr. Holmberg aware you're asking about the Disney Cruise Line Terminal, not "the Cruise Terminal at Port Canaveral." (After all, there are several cruise terminals there.)

Nobody on this board has reported that they have been unable to check their bags onto American Airlines flights after a DCL cruise.

My understanding is that the American Airlines folks at the DCL Terminal are Skycaps. They receive tips, just like curbside Skycaps at the airport. American Airlines provides a simple check-in service, not a "Travel Center."

I think Mr. Holmberg is mistaken.

 

[wltdsnyfan]

I sure hope they are at port. I got our air fare in August through them for this purpose.

 

[CAMICKEY]

Thanks NC Redding

I just sent an Email to AA asking about this. When we booked the flight, we were told no problems for flights leaving 11:30 or after. - Mike

 

[kalama]

Thanks, HORACE, you just calrified something. The skycaps don't work for the airline so that must be why AA doesn't know about it. I will forward these comments to AA anyway to see if it will enlighten them.

Thanks everyone. The people on this board are so helpful!

 

[Little Twin Stars]

Will AA accept luggage for the next day's flight?

 

[mmouse37]

American Airlines was definately there on 2/14/04.

I do not believe they will check bags for a next day flight, but you can ask when you disembark....I would not try calling AA since they do not even know they have a desk at the DCL terminal!!! LOL!!!

MJ

 

[NCRedding]

CAMickey: We had no trouble making our 11:30 flight (although I did have to drive a little fater than I would have liked). We spent about 15-20 minutes in line waiting to be told we couldn't check bags at DCL. Then had to maneuver to fit the bags into the car, so we spent about 30 minutes that we could have been driving.

 

[Jeanny]

Originally posted by Little Twin Stars
Will AA accept luggage for the next day's flight?

Nowadays, most airlines will not accept luggage more than 4 hours before your flight leave. We kept our luggage with us when we arrived at our Hyatt dayroom after our cruise in January, took our showers, etc and then took the luggage to the SouthWest check-in at 11a.m. for our 3pm flight... We got "A" boarding passes this way also.

 

[RKB]

We checked our bags at the port for AA on 1-10-04. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't still be there?...

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Maybe I'm being stupid here, but why would you want to check your bags at the port? Wouldn't there be more room for your bags not making it? I would just assume have my bags with me and head to the airport, Orlando is such an easy ariport! Not like JFK or LGA.

 

[din]

Isn't the AA or any other airline counter like the curbside check in at most airports?

If that is the case we can get boarding passess to right? Anyone?

 

[WDWLVR]

We used them twice last year and it worked great. There is a cut-off for early flights so if you want to make those get in line to get off the ship early. In Feb. we had a 2 pm flight but got off the ship and when we checked in at the AA counter at the port asked if we could get an earlier flight - we got an 11:30 - they took our bags and we made it to the airport with plenty of time.

In May we just booked the 11:30 flight and again made it in plenty of time.

We've never had a problem with the bags not making it. They are tagged the same as they are at the airport and end up going through the same sorting machines at the airport so I think they have just as good a chance of making it.

 

[han1211]

We just got off the March 4th cruise and did it yesterday. Checked them right at the port, it was great.