DCL Airfare

[wdhinn89]

Question? Has anybody used DCL airfare with their cruise recently? If so, how were your flights? Did you have any layovers and if so how long? I would appreciate any info available. Thanks

 

[we're all mad here]

I have not cruised DCL, but have with other lines and I have used another cruise message board. The general consensus is that you should book airfare yourself. The transportation coordinator has to book airfare for thousands of people and you may get stuck with either a short connection, long connection or horrible flight times. DCL will book you on the cheapest flights they can which will probably be very inconvienent. You can probably book a flight for cheaper than they can too, unless you are flying from a remote location.

If you are worried about "missing the boat" buy trip insurance (which is a good idea for cruising anyway, esp for medical evac).

 

[wdhinn89]

I have not cruised DCL, but have with other lines and I have used another cruise message board. The general consensus is that you should book airfare yourself. The transportation coordinator has to book airfare for thousands of people and you may get stuck with either a short connection, long connection or horrible flight times. DCL will book you on the cheapest flights they can which will probably be very inconvienent. You can probably book a flight for cheaper than they can too, unless you are flying from a remote location.

If you are worried about "missing the boat" buy trip insurance (which is a good idea for cruising anyway, esp for medical evac).

We are actually flying in the night before the cruise to try to make this a little more stress free. The airfare through DCL is at this point $300 cheaper than the cheapest flight we could find out of JFK,LGA,& EWR. The cruise is during NY & NJ spring break. If we pay a $50pp deviation, it would also make it a non-stop flight. Still deciding about that. Just trying to get a feel out there as to if we should pay the extra $200 for the non-stop or if it is not necessary. Thanks for your suggestions

Anyone else?

 

[DisGal520]

We thought it would be a good idea to book the flight with DCL when booking the Disney Cruise through DCL. Well yes - they did get us to MCO the same day.

However no matter what the savings we would not do this again. Reason: as DCL explains it, the only way you would be booked on a non-stop direct flight is if there are no others available. It costs DCL less to use connecting flights. First flight scheduled to leave at 9:15 AM. We had to fly from BWI to Charlotte. Plane was late departing BWI which made it late arriving Charlotte. And - you guessed it, we had the mad dash through an airport we'd never been to before just to catch the next plane. There were literally only minutes to spare. No time to grab anything to eat first.

When we did arrive in MCO, we decided to not stop to eat - just grabbed the DCL ME bus to the ship. Arrived at Port Canaveral terminal 3:00 PM . Were practically the last people boarding. The terminal was deserted. No DCL photgrapher in the terminal to take pictures (only after you got onto ship). Sailaway was at 4:30. So we felt rushed and tired all day. We were sick from not eating. It did not make for a good first day of vacation.

And yes there are plenty of non-stops out of BWI to MCO. So if you're looking to save 50 bucks or so, let DCL set it up. If you're looking to enjoy the first day of your vacation, please book your own flights.

BTW - the cruise itself was wonderful - great staff - beautiful ship

DisGal

 

[dwg]

I generally have been booking the airfare myself, flying in the night before and flying out the same day the cruise returns. The one year that I did use Disney Travel to book my airfare the return flight was cancelled and they put us on another flight which conflicted with the DCL policy of advising travelers not to book a flight out prior to noon. The disney travel agent called the airline and got us a full refund, no penalties. We ended up driving to the port instead. If I had booked the flight myself I do not believe I would have been able to get the refund.

 

[wdhinn89]

anyone else

 

[Edd]

You can save a lot of money by bookiing transportation on your own. Car service transportation from MCO roundtrip for 2 - 8 passengers runs $180 - $220.00. DCL ground transportation is $69.00 per person round trip. 5 passengers will cost you $345.00 as compared to 5 persons in a car service running about $180.00. Approximately $165.00 difference compared to a bus and private car service.

 

[wdhinn89]

 

[rsschneck]

If the airfare is cheaper then have Disney Book it especially if you included insurance because then every aspect of your trip would be covered by the insurance. Even if you paid the $50 per person to get the non-stop flights sounds like you are still saving money.

We booked our first Disney cruise with air and transfers. We now do it ourselves just because we usually find a better deal. If Disney could find a better deal than I would book with them.

Disney will sell bulk air instead of published air and usually bulk air is more $$$ but with the cost of airfare lately the bulk is beating the published prices.

 

[wdhinn89]

If the airfare is cheaper then have Disney Book it especially if you included insurance because then every aspect of your trip would be covered by the insurance. Even if you paid the $50 per person to get the non-stop flights sounds like you are still saving money.

We booked our first Disney cruise with air and transfers. We now do it ourselves just because we usually find a better deal. If Disney could find a better deal than I would book with them.

Disney will sell bulk air instead of published air and usually bulk air is more $$$ but with the cost of airfare lately the bulk is beating the published prices.

We are just waiting for SW to come out tomorrow. If that is cheaper then we will take it but if not, we will stick with DCL. We will have to purchase insurance outside of DCL because they do not cover pre-existing conditions and my son is a type 1 diabetic.

How was your flights when you booked with DCL. Did you have stops or long layovers or really early or late flights?

Thanks for the info

 

[rsschneck]

We are from the West Coast so we always have a layover. The flight was on Delta and probably what I would have picked. They flew us in the day before and put us up at the Hyatt with morning transfers. I would not hesitate to use their air services again if I was going to save some money.