What's the deal with SWA! MSY (New Orleans)to MCO?!?

[aesalsa]

Hi all. It's been ages since I've posted.

We're booked on the Disney Dream from 2/10/12-2/14/12. I looked at SW departures for 2/10 from New Orleans, and the earliest flight arrives at 11:55 AM, and prices are insane for one way ($264).

Does anyone have any info as to why SW has changed its schedule to limit arrivals to after 11 AM? The earliest arrival I could get for our November trip is 1:05 PM, but at least it was $125 one way.

I know some might say that I could use another airline, but SW is now the only airline that has some N/S flights between N.O. and Orlando, and those have diminished greatly.

Thanks for any insight or clarification that you can give.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I would assume this change was made for financial reasons.

I'd take a stop to save over $100 one way.

 

[aesalsa]

I would assume this change was made for financial reasons.

I'd take a stop to save over $100 one way.

Normally I would do what you are suggesting, except to get to Port Canaveral when we need to our flight must arrive no later than 12:30 PM.

 

[Jestocost]

Hi all. It's been ages since I've posted.

We're booked on the Disney Dream from 2/10/12-2/14/12. I looked at SW departures for 2/10 from New Orleans, and the earliest flight arrives at 11:55 AM, and prices are insane for one way ($264).

Does anyone have any info as to why SW has changed its schedule to limit arrivals to after 11 AM? The earliest arrival I could get for our November trip is 1:05 PM, but at least it was $125 one way.

I know some might say that I could use another airline, but SW is now the only airline that has some N/S flights between N.O. and Orlando, and those have diminished greatly.

Thanks for any insight or clarification that you can give.

IMO, you are better off flying in the day before a cruise departure regardless of how early you can get in on the departure date. Too many things can go wrong with your travel that could leave you out of luck if you arrive too late to make the cruise.

 

[LilyWDW]

Normally I would do what you are suggesting, except to get to Port Canaveral when we need to our flight must arrive no later than 12:30 PM.

Are you looking to fly in ON the day of the cruise? If so, I would seriously rethink this. Any sort of issue could end up with you missing your cruise if you do it this way. All you would need is one delay... and no cruise.

Fly in the day before your cruise.

 

[aesalsa]

IMO, you are better off flying in the day before a cruise departure regardless of how early you can get in on the departure date. Too many things can go wrong with your travel that could leave you out of luck if you arrive too late to make the cruise.

Thanks for this advice! I think that we will do this and stay at a value for the night. It's still crazy that there are only 4 departures the day before our cruise, and there are no Wanna Get Away fares!

 

[aesalsa]

Are you looking to fly in ON the day of the cruise? If so, I would seriously rethink this. Any sort of issue could end up with you missing your cruise if you do it this way. All you would need is one delay... and no cruise.

Fly in the day before your cruise.

Thanks! It sounds like there are some experienced cruisers here. This will be our first cruise ever, and now I will definitely getting to Orlando the day before!

 

[NotUrsula]

Thanks for this advice! I think that we will do this and stay at a value for the night. It's still crazy that there are only 4 departures the day before our cruise, and there are no Wanna Get Away fares!

The only reason that there are no WGA fares is that they have been sold already.

Four departures per day is not unusually low for that route; there simply isn't enough demand for many more. (Remember that a huge part of MSY's passenger base is people who live along the Gulf Coast in MS and AL; MSY is still the closest major airport from as far east as Gulf Shores. Those people are not going to backtrack to NOLA to get to Orlando; the majority of them are going to drive, and a few more will depart via the new airport in Pensacola. Folks from the Lake Charles area will often prefer to fly out of Houston because it is cheaper than MSY.)

Also, staying at WDW the night before adds a fair amount of transit time and hassle to your trip. Most people prefer to stay overnight near the departure port so that there isn't far to go in the morning; you can sleep in a bit later or have a bit of beach time without worrying about rushing to catch buses to get to the port.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

You can save even more if you skip the overpriced Disney hotel. You can get a good clean hotel near the airport and just take their shuttle back to the airport the next day and take the Disney Transport (or whatever you want) to the cruise.

Actually what i like to do is rent a car and drive over to the port. It's so nice to wake up, have a nice breakfast and slowly make your way to the ship!

 

[Katti Michele]

I'm also frustrated with the flight options from Nola to Orlando. Unfortunately SW is the only airline that has nonstop flights from MSY, so I guess they know we're in a rut and have to depend on them! I noticed yesterday our arrival flight went up from $105 to $178. I am so mad at myself for not booking it because now i'm scared it won't go down again.

 

[happymommy]

You can save even more if you skip the overpriced Disney hotel. You can get a good clean hotel near the airport and just take their shuttle back to the airport the next day and take the Disney Transport (or whatever you want) to the cruise.

Actually what i like to do is rent a car and drive over to the port. It's so nice to wake up, have a nice breakfast and slowly make your way to the ship!

That is what we did. Please DO NOT fly in the day of the cruise!

We had friends that tried that and almost missed their cruise! Ended up having to fly into Tampa and being met by Disney transport to take them all the way to Port Canaveral! It was so horrible for them, arriving just prior to sail. We stayed at a Four Points by Sheraton the night before, had dinner, relaxed (or they did) and then got up early, boarded as early as possible, kids swam in the pool before we sailed and it was fun!

 

[Southernswthrt]

I totally agree that prices from MSY to Orlando are outrageous! That's why we are flying into Tampa for our trips in December and February.

One reason the WGA flights are sold out for your dates is Mardi Gras! You had to be online right when the dates opened on July 16th to get WGA to MCO for Mardi Gras and even then, the prices weren't that great. SW knows that weekend is prime is NOLA and will make us pay a premium for it!

I've seen the rates to MCO drop as low as $212 RT, but are pretty much steady at around $300 for random days to Orlando. On the other hand, Tampa tends to be around $170-$200 RT and can drop as low as $130 RT!

Hope you have fun on your cruise!

 

[ToddyLu]

I check Pensacola, Mobile, Gulfport and New Orleans regularly when we are planning flights. SW is still the cheapest and the only Non stop within a 200 miles radius or us that is affordable. Sure I could take one out of Pensacola but it is $600 each way and I still have to drive 1.5 hours. We are used to driving 2 hours West to fly 2 hours East. The flights home are always packed on Friday afternoons so we alwasy get EBCI.

I paid $607.20 for our tickets in March for our trip in October. 2 adults round trip. So it was like $150 each way at that time. My BIL for the same trip out of Birmingham/MCO-nonstop was $100 down and $130 back. Lucky dog.

It is still easy to get in and out of that airport--unless there is an LSU or Saints game

 

[ktpc2005]

Cruising the day of a cruise and trying to fly out the morning the cruise gets back can make a relaxing vacation into a very stressful situation as you run into a lot of things that are out of your control.

I recommend to people I work with that you should fly in the day before and wait to fly out in the afternoon or evening of the day you get back.

On my last cruise from New Orleans, I was flying on a small plane from Chicago to NOLA. Our plane was weight restricted so half the luggage was left in Chicago and put on the larger plane later that day. I had 25 people in front of me that were cruising that day and now they would not see their luggage until at least day 3 of the cruise. I was not cruising until the next day and my luggage was at my hotel before I got back from dinner.

 

[aesalsa]

Thanks you all for the great advice! We will get in the day before the cruise. We have friends (joining us on the cruise) who we'll be sharing a van with to go to Port Canaveral the next morning. They will also be sharing a van with us upon return, then we will spend 3 nights at Boardwalk Villas. I should have checked SW air fares earlier; I have learned my lesson!