please some one help with flight concerns

[huckster]

i have choice of two flights 11:15 am after departure from ship or 7:40pm wdw says i may not make it in time for 11:15 am but if i take 7;40pm ans sit at the airport allday do i haul my luggage around?? and if i take the 11:15 am flight and miss it becuse boat is late then do i have to buy more tickets this si on spirit air the other to costly?? i am flying from michigan thanks

 

[4nana]

I had the same concerns for our 11:30am Dec 21 SW flight. Provided all goes smoothly you should be fine. Our family group had no problem at all. We were up early, had breakfast, off the ship by 8-8:30am, 'Yourride' was waiting to pick us up, loaded baggage, were at the airport within an hour by 9:30am, with a
2 hr wait for our 11:30am flight.
Relax and enjoy!

 

[alexturner74]

As you already know, Disney can not guarantee that you will make your 11:15 flight. It's rare, but if something happens and the ship is late getting back to port (which can happen), don't be upset if you miss the flight.

If you miss your flight, you will likely have to buy another ticket as the airline has the right to cancel your reservations if you do not show for a flight. They may accomodate you but don't count on it.

You probably don't have anything to worry about, but if you choose the 11:15 flight, you will be doing so at your own risk.

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

We just flew to and from on Delta. Not sure how they compare to Spirit. One of the major advantages of Delta is that you can check your luggage and check in for your flight at the port.

I'd be nervous with 11:15. We arrived at the airport at 10:45 am but of course we'd already gone through the airline check in process at the port. You could be on an earlier bus or private transport and if all goes well make it.

The ship did not completely clear for disembarkation until close to 8:30 this past Saturday. Our server told us the night before that Public Health was expected on board and that tends to slow things down.

Deb

 

[joanb]

fantasticDisFamily-when did you take your last cruise? Delta did not have port check in in April 2002 but US AIR did have pre 9?11 in april 2001.

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

Last week! We just came home on Sat. 6/28/03. There were severalairlines with port checkin. In addition to Delta I remember seeing US Air and American. I think I took a photo of the process while DH & kids were in line. If you're interested in a different airline I can take a look and see if I can decipher it from that.

Deb

 

[gduvall]

The Delta port checkin seemed to be a very long line this past March when we last sailed. American and US Air only had a few people in line. It took us about 30-40 minutes to get thru the line for Delta.

 

[CruisinChick]

Late Flight

We have the same problem with Spirit but with a 10:15am flight we have no choice but to take the late one (6:30pm). I'm NOT going to spend 8 hours in the airport!! We are renting a car for the day and will go to the space center, a beach or just take a drive. With 3 people it ends up cheaper to rent the car then to use the transportation ..... and no sitting around for hours and hours.

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

I would agree that Delta is probably the longest line at the port. And it did take us somewhere in that same neighborhood to go through it.

But, I spoke with a couple of people at the airport who were flying Delta and checked in at the airport. It took them an hour and a half! Which doesn't surprise me for MCO. Remember that first you have to stand in line to check in at the desk and get your boarding pass. Then you have to stand in another line with all your bags to have them screened. By checking in at the port you bypass that second line.

The porters that collect your bags will take them right up to an area next to the check in podium while you get in line. Then when you are up to the podium the airline representative gives you your borading passes and puts the check baggage strips on the luggage. Because it theoretically hasn't been in your control - or at least not in a situation where you could really do anything with it of a negative nature from the time it came off the ship and has already been screened by customs they simply take it to the airport.

We did find that TSA opened and checked one of our bags - upon review I realized that packing most of the shoes, along with books, a metal makeup case, batteries, the extension cord, hairdryer, curling iron, etc - you get the idea in the same bag probably looked pretty weird on X-ray!

Deb

 

[Yankee914]

Go with the later flight so you don't have to stress out. You may be cutting it close with 11:30AM. You will probably make it, but why do you need to stress out at the end of what will be a great trip! Our flight is at 4PM and instead of sitting in the airport for hours, we are renting a car and going to Downtown Disney for lunch or maybe Disney Quest. If you have never gone to the Kennedy Space Center, it is a great place to visit also. We are saving $50 by renting the car over using the Disney transportation. By renting the car, you can take your pick of activities for the day and you won't be rushing to catch a flight. Hope it works out for you.