Best time to get a flight on last day of cruise? (Port Canaveral)

[DisneyDad1736]

So I’m looking at flights out of Orlando and just wondering which times are best for leaving. How long does disembarkation take? Would it be best to grab a flight later in the day? What times would you recommend? Thanks!

 

[Clarkson U]

So you have options:
1. Express walk off the ship usually starts at 7:15 Am and you could be at your car in the garage or getting a pick up from someone before 8 am.

2. Do breakfast in the MDR in the morning which means you have either an early breakfast time or the second breakfast time to correlate with early or late dining. Then you get called off ship based on the color and character of your luggage tags.

Generally speaking most people are off ships before 9:30 am. You could reasonably be at MCO airport within 1 hour of leaving the port in a vehicle.

Security lines can be long at MCO without Clear Or TSA pre check and decide if you are checking luggage or not.

That being said if you give yourself three hours max to drive from port, check in luggage and go through regular security it is enough time.

If planning to be off ship at express walk off then an 11 am flight or later should be fine. Otherwise a 12:30 pm flight or later would also work for you. Depends on how early you like to get to airports for flights etc.

Some folks pick last flight out at end of day and go to Disney Springs for the day to enjoy a little more Disney before heading home. So that is also an option.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We rent a car for the day. Take our time. Disney Springs for a few hours/lunch. MCO is a mess. Leave yourself plenty of time.

 

[Marc D]

If everything goes according to plan, meaning the ship is not late, it is cleared at the usual time and there are plenty of border officers, and you do every step as fast as possible (breakfast at the buffet, express walk-off, private car waiting at the curb), you could be entering the terminal at MCO as soon as 8:15 - 8:30. If you prefer to have a casual breakfast in the dining room, walk-off after that and take the DCL shuttle, you should plan on arriving at MCO no later than 10:30.

In all circumstances, you then have to deal with MCO security which can be.... problematic.

In our case, we don't like rushing or being stressed about catching our flight on disembarkation day, so we never book anything before 12:30. However, we don't mind sitting around in the airport.

 

[Girl of the South]

The line to check baggage at Southwest was 45 minutes long in December. Took Disney transportation to MCO and traffic was at a standstill. Barely made 2pm flight. MCO has a lot of shopping and places to eat. I would pick a flight at Noon. Or later. It was a Saturday and heaps of cruises were ending. Airport was packed.

 

[Hubie]

We've never flown home on the last day of our cruises because MCO is nuts when the cruise ships pull in. We've always chosen to stay a day or two at WDW before heading home. If we did have to fly home on the last cruise day, we'd definitely choose a late flight to try and avoid the massive security lines that MCO has before the earlier flights on that day.

 

[SleepyDeb]

Security line at MCO (no Pre check) was 2 hours on Jan 28. The sign said it was 45 mins. That was after the 1/2 hr wait to check bags for SWA. We had enough time, but it was a stressful end to a lovely trip. Give yourself plenty of time.

 

[RedHead0186]

We've never flown home on the last day of our cruises because MCO is nuts when the cruise ships pull in. We've always chosen to stay a day or two at WDW before heading home. If we did have to fly home on the last cruise day, we'd definitely choose a late flight to try and avoid the massive security lines that MCO has before the earlier flights on that day.

This is usually what we do as well. We'll stay an extra night to avoid the large crowds, or if we have to fly back the same night, schedule a later flight to let things 'calm down' a bit.

We came back from the 7-night on the Fantasy last September when PC closed for Ian and we didn't know if/when we would be able to dock. There were six ships in port that day, and many of them had been delayed by PC closing and so allll of those people's flights had also been affected. Thankfully we already had planned to fly home Sunday (the day after), but we had seen posts in our cruise's FB group from people trying to fly home Saturday and getting stuck the airport, major delays, etc. We arrived reallllly early to MCO the next morning prepared for all kinds of long lines, and we sailed through (no pun intended, lol).

But yes, I always like to leave a buffer (on either end of the cruise) when possible.

 

[kiford]

In our case, we don't like rushing or being stressed about catching our flight on disembarkation day, so we never book anything before 12:30. However, we don't mind sitting around in the airport.

Same for us. We have lounge access at MCO so I'd rather sit there chilling for a couple of hours, knowing I'm at the airport and close to my gate, I can have a drink or a snack, sit in a comfy chair, plug in my charger, read news and decompress (and deal with the fact that I'm no longer on the ship). I've been to MCO when even the TSA Precheck lines were very long so I'd rather even sit at the gate or at one of the little fast food places for an hour or two before the flight than have to haul you-know-what to get to my gate or to make sure my luggage can be checked in before cut-off. AND I don't have to get up early.

 

[tvguy]

We barely made a 12:35 pm flight despite being in the security line at 10:30 am. Literally walked right on our flight as it was already boarding. So much for a leisurely lunch at MCO while waiting for a flight.
As others have mentioned, MCO security can be a night mare.
Next cruise, nothing before 1 pm for us.

 

[StalCA]

Just a heads up that there can be issues at PC customs too. On our last Fantasy cruise there was something up and there was still a huge line of people waiting to get off the boat at 10:30.

 

[DisneyDad1736]

Security line at MCO (no Pre check) was 2 hours on Jan 28. The sign said it was 45 mins. That was after the 1/2 hr wait to check bags for SWA. We had enough time, but it was a stressful end to a lovely trip. Give yourself plenty of time.

We recently got pre check. Highly recommended if you don’t have it already

 

[shananigans]

I would echo the TSA pre-check. It’s a huge timesaver! We are flying out of Orlando after a spring break cruise and the flight leaves at 11:45.

 

[tvguy]

I would echo the TSA pre-check. It’s a huge timesaver! We are flying out of Orlando after a spring break cruise and the flight leaves at 11:45.

I guess it depends on the airports. I have never paid for TSA Pre-Check, but about half the time my boarding pass is marked TSA Pre-Check. I don't see a big difference. And the last time I was through MCO was 2017 and TSA agents were pulling groups of about 10 people out of the regular screening line and moving the people into the TSA Pre line because there was nobody in the TSA Pre check line.

 

[shananigans]

I guess it depends on the airports. I have never paid for TSA Pre-Check, but about half the time my boarding pass is marked TSA Pre-Check. I don't see a big difference. And the last time I was through MCO was 2017 and TSA agents were pulling groups of about 10 people out of the regular screening line and moving the people into the TSA Pre line because there was nobody in the TSA Pre check line.

So all of the TSA precheck people had already gone through-which means they were ahead of everyone else.

 

[Dug720]

I don't see a big difference.

Not having to take off shoes, belts, jackets, etc. and not having to unpack your liquids bag, laptops, and other electronics and then take the time to get dressed again and repack your bags is a big difference.

 

[DisneyJade]

I actually wish we had an earlier flight. We don't leave until almost 6pm, and we have TSA pre-check. I worry we're going to be sitting in MCO for 6 or 7 hours, or more!

Will the airlines even check our bags in that early, or are we going to be sitting on a pile of luggage too?

 

[tvguy]

Not having to take off shoes, belts, jackets, etc. and not having to unpack your liquids bag, laptops, and other electronics and then take the time to get dressed again and repack your bags is a big difference.

I went to a Rheumatologist for the first time last month. She said I need to do MORE things like bending to take off my shoes off! Probably not a bad idea to move around a bit if you are about to get on a long flight.
Don't travel with electronics or laptops, so no issue there.

 

[tj48103]

I like 2pm.

 

[FantasyCruiser100]

I actually wish we had an earlier flight. We don't leave until almost 6pm, and we have TSA pre-check. I worry we're going to be sitting in MCO for 6 or 7 hours, or more!

Will the airlines even check our bags in that early, or are we going to be sitting on a pile of luggage too?

Last year, Delta wouldn’t let us check in our luggage in, until 2 hours from our departure.