Transportation from Port Canaveral to MCO

[kkopa22]

Taking the family and grandparents on our first Disney Cruise, but worrying over transportation from cruise port to MCO. FLTours (DisBoards sponsor) says they will charge extra or may even have to leave if we are not there at our specified pick-up time. How can I estimate a pick-up time if the ship may dock later than 7 am, I won't know my disembarkation time, and I have no idea how long it will take us to clear customs? Any help or suggestions definitely welcome!

 

[bumbershoot]

Who are you cruising with?

With DCL at PC, the absolute "you have to get off the ship now" time is 9am. If you don't have to be off any earlier than that, just go for the latest. I know from filling out their form that they know that time and have a pickup cutoff based on that.

With RCCL we docked at 7am and had actually arranged for a 9am (if memory serves but maybe a little later) pickup. We filled out the form for disembarking the ship somewhat early; they gave us a time that was earlier than we had requested. We left our bags outside the room the night before, disembarked with our carryons, got our bags and were done and outside at something like 8. DH texted our fltours driver who texted back almost immediately; he was already well on his way. He arrived later than he intended (there was intense fog along 528) but was still earlier than we had arranged and it was all fine.

I think they mainly want to make sure you aren't dawdling along, waking up late, etc, and keeping them from taking earlyearly people who actually would have been off the ship.

 

[kkopa22]

Thanks for the quick reply! We are cruising with DCL (Fantasy) out of PC. After getting up early and grabbing the buffet, we don't intend to dawdle. I'm just worried that the customs line will be long or that the ship won't be cleared right at 7am. I guess 9:00 would be the time to choose then. Thank you!

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

If you arrange 9:00 AM pick up, you should have plenty of time.

I am not sure what time your flight is, but I would grab the earliest time to get off. If everyone is packed simply, drag your bags as a walk off.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Wow you booked your flight home the same day the ship returns.
What a brave sole.

 

[kkopa22]

Our flights aren't until 2pm, but I would like to grab the buffet breakfast on the ship before heading to the airport. From the previous response it seems I can do so and still make a 9am pickup with FLTours van.

 

[robhawk]

You will have plenty of time. We had the second seating breakfast. We were still at MCO 10am. We try to book in the 1-230 range.
Not sure if previous poster was trying be funny. I would think most cruisers leave the same day.
Have a great time!

 

[schoen]

My cruise did not disembark until 11:30 am or or maybe even later. I know that we drove straight to BWV and we checked in around 3:00. When you are on a cruise you are not in charge, and the captain is not in charge. The Ocean is in charge! We were delayed by hurricane Sandy. It is a rare occurrence, but I can say with 100% certainty that the times they tell you are tentative!

 

[goofy4tink]

While most cruisers here would heartily recommend arriving in port the day before the cruise, most have no issue with booking a flight home the same day you end your cruise. In fact, the prevailing sentiment, at least on the cruise board, is that you are fairly safe of you book a flight after noon that day.
I really can't recall seeing too many people saying to book flights home the following day. Could you run into an issue? Sure you could. If you want to be as safe as possible? Book a room for the day/night prior to your cruise, then book a room for your disembarkment day/night. Overkill? Probably.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Wow you booked your flight home the same day the ship returns.
What a brave sole.

Not a big deal. It's only an issue when you fly in the day of a cruise departure.

 

[bumbershoot]

My cruise did not disembark until 11:30 am or or maybe even later. I know that we drove straight to BWV and we checked in around 3:00. When you are on a cruise you are not in charge, and the captain is not in charge. The Ocean is in charge! We were delayed by hurricane Sandy. It is a rare occurrence, but I can say with 100% certainty that the times they tell you are tentative!

The good thing there is that the car services were all aware of the hurricane, and were probably monitoring the ship arrival times.


OP, you could always call fltours and talk to them about this. What happens if the ship is delayed, etc. Maybe it would ease your mind.

Doesn't really sound like you have a flight to get to ASAP (I haven't read urgency in your tone), you just want to have a ride when you get off the ship.

 

[dioxide45]

Wow you booked your flight home the same day the ship returns.
What a brave sole.

Not a big deal. It's only an issue when you fly in the day of a cruise departure.

I agree, I don't see any issue with booking a flight home the day the ship comes in to port. I would say about 90% of people do this. We do this for almost every cruise. We often fly in the day before or even the week before and have a land based stay before a cruise. After the cruise, no big deal.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

The reason I say that is that my Aunt is a cruise CM at the port and said there are lots of things that can go wrong with booking a flight home on the day your cruise end.

Ship does clear customs on time
Winds are bad and the ship has trouble docking.
Ship runs into mechanical issues.
There ends up being a crash on 528 or a brush fire that causes heavy fog on 528 slowing down the traffic.

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

Price a one-way rental car from PC to MCO. You likely won't pay too much more and you'll have peace of mind.