Help with air transportation Orlando/Sanfred

[busymomma123]

Hi, we are sailing out of Port Canaveral on a Sunday morning in October. RC's air transportation will cost us around 500 a person. We have eight people going, so that seems a little pricey. I can book flights with Allegiant for around 200 a person. The flight arrives at Orlando Sanfred at 12:20. Is this cutting it too close to arriving at the ship by four? Thanks so much for your help. Its our first cruise since our honeymoon a looong time ago.

 

[SteveMouse]

I wouldn't do it. While technically you could make it, there are several opportunities for delay that could be disasterous. It's a bit over an hour in normal traffic. It could take you 20 minutes to disembark and 25 more minutes for baggage. A 15 minute delay makes 2 hours, which would give you an arrival at port at something like 2:45.


If you hired a car/driver it would help on time.

 

[krysenchips]

I personally wouldn't do it. I would try and find flights in on the night before and get a room at one of the Cocoa Beach hotels that does a 'Stay and Cruise' package. You have the peace of mind of being at the port the day before, and they will shuttle you to the port on embarkation day.

Like the previous poster mentioned there are so many things that could cause you to miss the boat when flying in on embarkation day. Flight delays, flight cancellations due to weather, traffic from the airport to the port. (it's an hour (without traffic) from Sanford to Port Canaveral and 45 minutes from Orlando Int'l, so even the slightest delay could possibly have you missing the boat.

Below is what RCL's website says regarding delayed flights before embarkation:

If you miss the departure of your trip due to carrier-caused delays or other covered reasons, Royal Caribbean Travel Protection Program package of benefits reimburses you for additional accommodations, meals and "catch-up" transportation expenses. Otherwise, you are responsible for any expense incurred to meet the ship at its next port of call. For this reason, many guests find it is easiest to arrive a day prior to sailing and stay in a hotel the night before to avoid any possible delays. We offer pre-cruise packages at resort hotels near the port where you board. You can also extend your vacation by booking a post-cruise hotel package.

 

[nkereina]

Zero chance I would do it, especially on Allegiant who does not have the greatest reputation for being on time. There's also an hour drive to Port Canaveral from the airport, and we hit delays back in April on that commute due to an accident and the wild fires.

It's always recommended you fly in the day BEFORE your cruise to avoid delays. Not to mention, you can usually get on the ship around 11am-12pm anyhow so why not take advantage of the first full day! I would highly recommend flying in the day before and staying somewhere in Port Canaveral or Cocoa Beach so you can relax and get there early. It will also give you access to the most flight options since it won't matter what time you arrive the day before. If you absolutely can't arrive the day before, I would do the earliest flight out on the day of.