Cruisers from Canada - What airline does DCL use?

[Mickey&JoshNut]

I was just wondering if any Canadian Disney fans from Ontario have booked a Disney Cruise with Disney directly and had Disney arrange your flights? If so, do you know what airlines do they use out of Toronto? Was it a smooth transition - I've heard that I check my bags in Toronto and don't see them again until they're outside my stateroom on the ship. Do I not have to go to the baggage claim area to make sure my bags arrived?

Our cruise is still 99 days away but I'm getting a little worried about our bags not getting on the bus/ship because I "forgot" to claim them first.

Any information you guys can provide would be very helpful.

Thanks
Elaine

 

[hpsauce]

Hi there, fellow Canuck!

The last time I used DCL air in 2002 I was on USAir -- Toronto to Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh to Orlando. I think that they just buy the cheapest possible route from A to B, regardless of the airline. But I've never heard of a Canadian getting a direct flight. You might even get 2 connections!

As for the luggage -- I know we had to pick ours up in Pittsburgh and recheck it onto the second flight. I don't remember if we then had it checked through to the ship.

It sounds like a hassle and it sort of is, but the benefit to DCL air is that they will make every effort to get you onto the ship, including holding the boat for a reasonable amount of time. I did this on my honeymoon since I had to leave the same day as the sailing and wanted the additional "insurance." This time, (6 days and counting!) we're leaving a few days early and going to Disney, so no need to buy the DCL air.

Hope that helps!
hpsauce

 

[banderson]

We just got our docs today and we're flying Air Canada direct to Orlando. We decided to get air through DCL because it freed us of the hassle and because we felt more certain about making it to the boat at a time of year when the weather is less than predictable...

Glad though that they put us on Air Canada. We were a little concerned about that detail.

 

[Meshee]

We were on the January 15th cruise this year and had DCL book our flights. We decided to fly to Orlando the day before and stay at the Hyatt...just in case we had bad weather. DCL booked us with Air Canada direct leaving Toronto at 3:30 p.m. We found out that the Hyatt was over booked and was transferred to the Disney Dolphin Resort. We didn't get out of the Orlando airport until 9:00 p.m. so our day early was totally wasted. Our return flight was with US Air from Orlando to Pittsburg with a change in flights in Pittsburg to Toronto. We did not make it into Pittsburg (Jan 22nd) since there was bad weather and our flight was cancelled. We ended up changing our flight in Orlando and going to North Carolina and spending the whole day at the Charlotte Airport waiting for a connection from Charlotte to Toronto. If we are lucky enough to cruise again, we will be booking our own flights.

 

[Canadiancruiser2]

Hi Mickey&JoshNut,

When we went on DCL in Dec 2003, Disney booked us through Continental Airlines on the way there and through United Airlines on the way home. Since we are from the west coast, Disney required us to fly in the day before and they provided us with a free hotel stay at the Hyatt.

As for luggage, we had to pickup them up and checking them in again for our connecting flight. When we arrived in Orlando, we had to pick up our luggage from the airline and carried them over to the Hyatt hotel. At the hotel, we then got our DCL tags for our bags. We were told then to leave our bags outside our hotel room early Saturday morning and DCL will pick them up and transfer them to the ship.

CC

 

[banderson]

We were on the January 15th cruise this year and had DCL book our flights. We decided to fly to Orlando the day before and stay at the Hyatt...just in case we had bad weather. DCL booked us with Air Canada direct leaving Toronto at 3:30 p.m. We found out that the Hyatt was over booked and was transferred to the Disney Dolphin Resort. We didn't get out of the Orlando airport until 9:00 p.m. so our day early was totally wasted. Our return flight was with US Air from Orlando to Pittsburg with a change in flights in Pittsburg to Toronto. We did not make it into Pittsburg (Jan 22nd) since there was bad weather and our flight was cancelled. We ended up changing our flight in Orlando and going to North Carolina and spending the whole day at the Charlotte Airport waiting for a connection from Charlotte to Toronto. If we are lucky enough to cruise again, we will be booking our own flights.

That must have been a nightmare! Now I feel even more lucky to be leaving at 10 a.m. At least if we are delayed, we have a little more breathing room...Jeesh, I'm tired just from reading your message.

 

[Meshee]

Hi banderson, I am curious.... are you also flying back from Orlando direct with Air Canada? You will like Air Canada. It only took 2 hours and 20 minutes from Toronto to Orlando with little hassles. I forgot to mention that when we returned on our US Air flight from Charlotte, NC to Toronto, We found that one of our brand new suitcase was totally distroyed.... I guess it just wasn't our week. As you might have already read on other threads, we were on the cruise that missed Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay because of rough seas (The Jan 15th cruise). However, the ship itself was unbelieveable and the service was excellent. Missing Castaway Cay give us all the more reason to do the cruise again, since we were all really looking forward to enjoying this Island. BUT, like I mentioned, next time, we will definitely book our own airline.

 

[hmrgang]

Hi: I am also going on the Panama Canal cruise to CA in May. When I talked to the DCL people, they told me they are booking airfare through American. The flights are of their choosing, and you can often get a better rate by booking the airfare yourself.

 

[banderson]

Meshee, our flight back is through Toronto - that's unfortunate for us because it adds on two hours to the actual transit time. But then I'd rather be stuck in an airport this side of the border than on the other side.

I've sent you a PM on another issue...

 

[R&J]

We booked our trip through Sears Travel. We flew Air Canada from Toronto directly to Orlando, but we purchased the DCL bus transfers. We didn't have to worry about our checked luggage. There was a DCL rep holding up a DISNEY CRUISE LINE sign and she just took us right through to board the bus to the terminal. We did not go down to the baggage area at all, our suitcases simply "magically" appeared in front of our stateroom. It was wonderful not having to worry about suitcases and transportation because our 2 kids were already exhausted. They were up at 6 AM for a 9:45 flight out of Pearson, and by the time we boarded the ship it was about 3 PM. With the bus transfer it was a very smooth process, but just a long day for the little ones.

I would suggest booking the air portion of the trip with someone other than Disney, as I've heard that they don't necessarily use the routing that is most convenient for you. I don't think that you can request a certain airline, etc. either if you book flights through them.

HTH