Last family off

[Catherine Perez]

Ahead of our first cruise this October, I was actually researching just this and came across the following article which confirms much of what's been discussed here. YMMV of course:

http://www.disneycruisemomblog.com/guide-to-disembarking-in-port-canaveral/

Our flight home is at 3pm; understanding the airport will likely be a zoo by that time, I'm hoping do early breakfast in main dining or Cabanas when we open, get off the ship ASAP, then rent a car and make our way slowly to MCO, eat a slightly early lunch somewhere outside the airport at our own pace, and report to the airport by around 1pm (assuming that's enough time) for long trip home. Anyone ever done this?

Mark

Thanks for the link. It was helpful.

 

[Catherine Perez]

I want to 2nd what Dug720 said. We did a back to back and were delayed getting back on because a family was hanging back on board and had to be found and walked off.

We all gave them a look as they were walked by as we were patiently waiting and they couldn’t have cared less. So yeh please be courteous to the next group of cruisers.

Good to know. Ty

 

[DisneyWishes14]

what about the concierge lounge? will it open at all on disembark day? we are travelling as category 00T (first time cruiser, dont know all the lingo yet!) and this mama needs her morning coffee (or 3)

Yes, it will be open with a continental breakfast. I would speak with concierge about your needs for disembarkation day. They will help you with whatever you need.

I agree with the PP's who say MCO is a hot mess. We just flew out of MCO on March 24 after sailing on the Fantasy. Thank goodness we had pre-check because, when we arrived around 8:15 am (yes we got there that early by using express walk-off and a private car!), the security line was down the corridor through the MCO shops. I've never seen it that long and we go to Orlando at least 3 times a year. Even with pre-check, it was pretty disorganized.

 

[MUN]

Hi, my family and I want to know- how late can we stay on the ship on disembarkment day? Will the pool be open? Restaurant? Gift shop? Thanks 1st time cruiser

You can shoot hoops. I always do that on the final morning b/4 we disembark.

 

[bumbershoot]

I have pre-check. My spouse does not. At our home airport they let him come with me and the kids. MCO, they gave me the choice of going with him, or using pre-check.

Me and the kids went through pre and waited. And waited. It wasn't actually too bad, but holy cow is MCO security like amateur hour gone wild. The people in front of my spouse pretty much were like they'd never been through airport security in their lives. Hot mess o-rama.

Before my son turned 13 and we both got nexus for precheck, that’s what it was like for them waiting for me. They waited and waited. And waited.

I mean, if I have a rental by 10:00-10:30 and need to be at the airport by noon for a 3pm flight, where could one go that would be worth it?

Nowhere. Nownif yiu got off earlier and got the rental at 8:30 or so, then...eh, still not many places. At any airport I’m walking in the door 2 hours early. At mco it’s earlier.

Remember you have to fill it up with gas, do the return process, make sure you got everything out of the car (don’t forget your sunglasses!), and get yourself into the terminal. It all takes time.

There are Universal, seaworld, nasa, and Disney stores at mco. There’s a crocs store and a Cariloha for any bamboo sheet needs you might have. There are restaurants. It’s a decent airport. And their tsa is horrid.

I had two agents yelling at me to do opposite things.

Ah, so much fun when they do that.

 

[Sytrace]

Ahead of our first cruise this October, I was actually researching just this and came across the following article which confirms much of what's been discussed here. YMMV of course:

http://www.disneycruisemomblog.com/guide-to-disembarking-in-port-canaveral/

Our flight home is at 3pm; understanding the airport will likely be a zoo by that time, I'm hoping do early breakfast in main dining or Cabanas when we open, get off the ship ASAP, then rent a car and make our way slowly to MCO, eat a slightly early lunch somewhere outside the airport at our own pace, and report to the airport by around 1pm (assuming that's enough time) for long trip home. Anyone ever done this?

Mark

You would have time to drive from the port (leaving at 8:30 AM if you have early breakfast that is) arriving to Orlando airport area by 9:30 AM. From there, you could check out FL Mall where there is shopping and dining (Disney Store, Crayola Experience etc. ) You could hang out there for a few hours and have lunch at the mall (several options for dining) OR go back towards the airport a few miles away and there are several chain restaurants there as well (Cracker Barrel, Panera etc) Then head to the aiport, drop off the car and go thru security by 12 to 12:30 that should give you plenty of time to catch that flight. You will also avoid eating at the overpriced restaurants in the airport too.

 

[Ravenne]

We returned thru MCO earlier this month. I didn’t notice any passengers being a mess but the agents were awful. And rude. They split our line into two at one point then opened a new station behind us and our line just merged back into one again. No reason. As I was putting my stuff in bins and removing my shoes, I had two agents yelling at me to do opposite things. MCO TSA is a hot mess

MCO is a total clown show. The fact that they have those kiosks with the happy, neutral, and frown faces for you to rate them is the cherry on top. The last time we went through, my oldest kid said, "I can't spam that frown face enough!" and just stood there for a good 30 seconds spamming that red frown face. Do you want my shoes on or off? Make up your damn minds! If I listen to one, the other will pull me aside for a personal show. I don't want to go to jail for listening to the wrong agent!

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[TestingH2O]

what about the concierge lounge? will it open at all on disembark day? we are travelling as category 00T (first time cruiser, dont know all the lingo yet!) and this mama needs her morning coffee (or 3)

Get to the lounge early for the coffee. When the machine runs out of milk or beans, it's the one time they won't restock. Even the concierges understand the need to get you off the ship.

 

[mevelandry]

I really wasn't prepared for this! I read about it here and I thought it was a bit crazy for people to cry about having to leave the ship, but I was bawling my eyes out!

It catches me by surprise every time...

I repeat to myself: "I'm a grown up. I know I'm coming back soon. I have no reason to cry about this. My home and my life don't suck.I miss my pets."...

But no: I bawl every single time. Lol

 

[ladyofthetramp]

MCO- the only airport that gives me massive anxiety. Esp. the security line. Not the way to end a vacation. If you get off the ship early enough, you can get your car and go to Ron Jon's, stop for brunch in Cocoa Beach (Juice N' Java). Walk around on the beach (Lori Wilson Park). But get to the airport sooner rather than later. Add time if you have to check bags.

 

[TestingH2O]

MCO- the only airport that gives me massive anxiety.

Perfectly stated.

 

[polyqueen]

Yes, the concierge lounge is open with a nice light breakfast. The staff will also escort you downstairs to disembark. Very civilized and easy.

 

[annacali]

We got off the Wonder on 3/15. Adding to massive anxiety at MCO was a seemingly random requirement to remove ALL food from carryons and place in bins (even prepackaged snacks). No one was prepared including me (who had them of course stashed at the bottom of my backpack for my kids as well as some in their backpacks). We did not have to do this in Kansas City on our way to the cruise. Anyone else met with this at MCO? There were no signs for advance warning. My parents with precheck did not have to do this.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

This is starting to make me re-think the debarkation strategy... I do wonder now if it just makes more sense to jump on one of the shuttles instead, if we have a good chance on needing to be there by lunchtime anyway. I mean, if I have a rental by 10:00-10:30 and need to be at the airport by noon for a 3pm flight, where could one go that would be worth it?

Mark

Normally, I'm a big advocate of the one-way rental. But in this case, I think transfers might be the way to go. PP is correct that lines at the rental agency that morning are hit or miss. No way to tell if you'll have your car at 8:30 or 10:30. And that's after you take the shuttle to their agency, and then you have to schelp your luggage to the airport. The bus is much easier. When we stayed an extra day after our cruise we rented a car, but when we flew out the same day we took the shuttle. Granted, we ended up getting through security much earlier than needed, and then had to wait, but at least we didn't have to worry about delays. The lines were long for us, but moved well, and we didn't have problems with the TSA agents. Years ago was much worse. They at least have more room for the lines than they used to.

 

[cgolf]

We got off the Wonder on 3/15. Adding to massive anxiety at MCO was a seemingly random requirement to remove ALL food from carryons and place in bins (even prepackaged snacks). No one was prepared including me (who had them of course stashed at the bottom of my backpack for my kids as well as some in their backpacks). We did not have to do this in Kansas City on our way to the cruise. Anyone else met with this at MCO? There were no signs for advance warning. My parents with precheck did not have to do this.

We encountered this in Milwaukee and Ft Lauderdale too. They also wanted cameras and iPads out too, even though the signs in line said they could stay in. They were very rude about it too, so after pulling out an ipad, nook, point and shoot camera, DSLR, I just happened to forget the food items (because they were so rude) and it went through just fine. I was not a happy camper, especially since their signage doesn't match what they expect to happen.

 

[Geomom]

We got off the Wonder on 3/15. Adding to massive anxiety at MCO was a seemingly random requirement to remove ALL food from carryons and place in bins (even prepackaged snacks). No one was prepared including me (who had them of course stashed at the bottom of my backpack for my kids as well as some in their backpacks). We did not have to do this in Kansas City on our way to the cruise. Anyone else met with this at MCO? There were no signs for advance warning. My parents with precheck did not have to do this.

There have been reports of this randomly happening at MCO since September, including from people who had all their Mickey's Halloween party candy in their carryon that needed to be individually swiped. We flew through MCO in October (having packed all our Halloween party candy in our checked luggage) and they didn't ask anyone to remove food (we just had some normal snacks in one bag...ready to come out if need be). It was also the quickest we'd ever been through security at MCO. We went through security around 1:30PM on a Tuesday.

I agree that MCO security line is normally horrible and we've had the multiple instructions yelled at us too. It makes going home even worse when we're already sad at the end of vacation!

 

[Spotthecat]

On our recent trip back on March 13th, we had the request to put all electornics in separate bins, all food out, all liquids out, all shoes off, all in separate bins. I swear, I had 6 bins to myself and was worried that some shmuck would walk off with my tablet or ereader by the time they allowed me to go through the scanner to get my stuff. And my 3 kids...each had snacks, their 3DS, etc, etc. It was mind boggling. But at least i wasn't in a wheelchair like the person in front of me. Now THAT took forever.

 

[Deb T.]

We got off the Wonder on 3/15. Adding to massive anxiety at MCO was a seemingly random requirement to remove ALL food from carryons and place in bins (even prepackaged snacks). No one was prepared including me (who had them of course stashed at the bottom of my backpack for my kids as well as some in their backpacks). We did not have to do this in Kansas City on our way to the cruise. Anyone else met with this at MCO? There were no signs for advance warning. My parents with precheck did not have to do this.

I subscribe to several travel blogs and they're all reporting that this is a new and random thing at many airports across the U.S. Everyone has been caught off guard. I usually put all our snacks in gallon size ziploc baggies which should make the screening process easier if and when we have to pull them out.

 

[starvenger]

Good to know. We typically pack some cup instant noodles and assorted goodies for the kids. And I have chewing gum stashed pretty much everywhere, so I guess I should prepare for that on my next trip, just in case.