FIRST CRUISE ANXIETY!!

[ScooterScott44]

Saw this thread earlier and glad you found a cruise, happy planning.

Just wanted to chime in on airports/travel. I travel frequently for work around Florida and outside of the state. Including Disney in a Miami trip really probably requires an extra day. Plan on a 4 hour drive between Orlando and Miami via the Turnpike (toll road). Both FLL and MIA are viable options if you are not including Orlando. As a frequent traveler (110+ flights/year) FLL is not a very user friendly airport. That is also seen on some of the polls , see the Points Guy. MIA can be more crowded and longer lines at security but they move much faster and much less frustrating. The terminal is large and has lots of food/shopping options.

Hotels around the FLL airport can be pretty cheap but you still need to travel down to port of Miami. In Miami you have the option to stay near the airport and some of the places are nice, as well as options near the port. If you stay near the port both airports are options but the commute from MIA would be shorter and cheaper. There are some choices that allow you to visit the shopping and dining near the port easily. Some of the hotels also have a good view of the ships if you are on a higher floor, which can be a neat.

Happy to answer any specifics on the areas, airports or hotels.

 

[Shelby Schroepfer]

Saw this thread earlier and glad you found a cruise, happy planning.

Just wanted to chime in on airports/travel. I travel frequently for work around Florida and outside of the state. Including Disney in a Miami trip really probably requires an extra day. Plan on a 4 hour drive between Orlando and Miami via the Turnpike (toll road). Both FLL and MIA are viable options if you are not including Orlando. As a frequent traveler (110+ flights/year) FLL is not a very user friendly airport. That is also seen on some of the polls , see the Points Guy. MIA can be more crowded and longer lines at security but they move much faster and much less frustrating. The terminal is large and has lots of food/shopping options.

Hotels around the FLL airport can be pretty cheap but you still need to travel down to port of Miami. In Miami you have the option to stay near the airport and some of the places are nice, as well as options near the port. If you stay near the port both airports are options but the commute from MIA would be shorter and cheaper. There are some choices that allow you to visit the shopping and dining near the port easily. Some of the hotels also have a good view of the ships if you are on a higher floor, which can be a neat.

Happy to answer any specifics on the areas, airports or hotels.

Thank you so much! I think we have decided to fly into MIA. For some reason I didn't even realize the drive between MCO and MIA and it seems obvious to fly as close to port as we can. We will probably just take an UBER or Taxi to the port or maybe snag a hotel with that service? We do plan on flying in the night before just to avoid any delays as it's out first cruise!

 

[lklgoodman]

This might take some practice on my end as I'm NOT a seasoned flyer and pretty much just booked the cheapest flight I saw both times we flew that was a straight shot. It makes me nervous to think of booking 2 one ways but possibly worth it? Maybe we should scrap disney springs though. We just are antsy about "missing" disney doing a cruise vs parks but I think I'm learning that I will get my fair share of Disney.

We will be going on our 6th cruise next Jan. We always fly down the day before the cruise begins. We always take the first flight in the morning and usually get to Florida by 9am, so we have practically a whole day before the cruise to do things. We've never gone to WDW or Disney Spings before any of our cruises. I don't feel like we aren't getting enough of Disney by just doing the cruise. Isn't Disney Springs just stores and restaurants? I haven't been there, so not sure what all it has. There's no characters, parades, or shows, correct? There's shops with cruise line items on the ships and CC. And there's plenty of food. I don't really care about just walking around stores, so I don't know what the draw is for Disney Springs, but a lot of people go there.

 

[Shelby Schroepfer]

We will be going on our 6th cruise next Jan. We always fly down the day before the cruise begins. We always take the first flight in the morning and usually get to Florida by 9am, so we have practically a whole day before the cruise to do things. We've never gone to WDW or Disney Spings before any of our cruises. I don't feel like we aren't getting enough of Disney by just doing the cruise. Isn't Disney Springs just stores and restaurants? I haven't been there, so not sure what all it has. There's no characters, parades, or shows, correct? There's shops with cruise line items on the ships and CC. And there's plenty of food. I don't really care about just walking around stores, so I don't know what the draw is for Disney Springs, but a lot of people go there.

To each their own, we truly enjoy Disney Springs and sometimes do half a day there and half a day at a Disney waterpark so depending on when we get our flight home, we might take advantage of it. I get too anxious sitting around an airport.

 

[fredandkell]

This might take some practice on my end as I'm NOT a seasoned flyer and pretty much just booked the cheapest flight I saw both times we flew that was a straight shot. It makes me nervous to think of booking 2 one ways but possibly worth it? Maybe we should scrap disney springs though. We just are antsy about "missing" disney doing a cruise vs parks but I think I'm learning that I will get my fair share of Disney.

If you can book a round-trip, you can definitely book two one-ways. You just check the box that says one-way instead of round-trip. The more you do it, the more you practice, the better and more confident you get. In America, there are no penalties for booking two one-way flights. It is not any more expensive to do it that way. Now if you’re buying Europe flights two one-ways are way more pricey than a round-trip but that’s a whole different story. Also there are many hotels near the Miami port that have free shuttles from the hotel to the port. If you do a search on this board for Miami port hotel shuttles you should be able to find many posts about that topic. You definitely get the Disney feeling on the ships. I think the character interaction on the ships is way better than what you get in the parks.

 

[Shelby Schroepfer]

If you can book a round-trip, you can definitely book two one-ways. You just check the box that says one-way instead of round-trip. The more you do it, the more you practice, the better and more confident you get. In America, there are no penalties for booking two one-way flights. It is not any more expensive to do it that way. Now if you’re buying Europe flights two one-ways are way more pricey than a round-trip but that’s a whole different story. Also there are many hotels near the Miami port that have free shuttles from the hotel to the port. If you do a search on this board for Miami port hotel shuttles you should be able to find many posts about that topic. You definitely get the Disney feeling on the ships. I think the character interaction on the ships is way better than what you get in the parks.

thank you SO much that is really good to hear!

 

[justKim]

It is a 3+ hour drive from Miami to MCO, so I wouldn't recommend it. Really, airports aren't much different from each other around the world. I think FLL is slightly easier than Miami to navigate, but I would fly into one of those airports and use Uber or Lyft for transportation if you don't want to rent a car.

I second the vote for FLL. We have family in Miami and always fly into FLL. It feels less congested and isn't as big as Miami.

 

[spiders]

If cheap flights is what you're looking for then you should look into FLL. Southwest and Spirit don't fly to MIA but they do to FLL. Also, if you're just looking for cheap flights then know that Spirit is definitely one of the most un-bundled airlines out there so expect lots of fees.

 

[Shelby Schroepfer]

If cheap flights is what you're looking for then you should look into FLL. Southwest and Spirit don't fly to MIA but they do to FLL. Also, if you're just looking for cheap flights then know that Spirit is definitely one of the most un-bundled airlines out there so expect lots of fees.

We actually are staying AWAY from the "cheap" airlines. More so looking for DEALS on normal airlines. We got flights through Delta the last 2 years for under 600$ for 3 of us and for me that was kind of our budget so I was happy with them! And we had never flown before, ever, so we didn't ave an expectations or loyalties to other airlines but were really pleased with Delta actually. I think our budget this year will probably be around the same 600-700$ mark and we'll just see what we can find in that area! The cheap airlines terrify me as I've only flown twice in my whole life I still know very little about fees and add ons and HOW to fly and WHERE to fly, so really I am more interested in hassle free.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

We actually are staying AWAY from the "cheap" airlines. More so looking for DEALS on normal airlines. We got flights through Delta the last 2 years for under 600$ for 3 of us and for me that was kind of our budget so I was happy with them! And we had never flown before, ever, so we didn't ave an expectations or loyalties to other airlines but were really pleased with Delta actually. I think our budget this year will probably be around the same 600-700$ mark and we'll just see what we can find in that area! The cheap airlines terrify me as I've only flown twice in my whole life I still know very little about fees and add ons and HOW to fly and WHERE to fly, so really I am more interested in hassle free.

Just avoid "basic" fares on the legacy airlines (American, Delta, United). Those fares restrict you in ways similar to the budget airlines (no assigned seating, first passengers to get bumped from the flight in case of overbooking, etc.) Stick with regular economy fares & ezchew anything labeled "basic".