How long to ship from airport?

[goofynut41]

My flight gets in at 11:00a.m. and the transfer to boat picks me up at airport is that enough time to get to ship before it takes off?

 

[dcassetta]

As long as your flight is on time, you will be fine for making it to the ship. Is there any way you can fly in the day before, as delays can occur.

 

[goofynut41]

I guess I could< do you think I should?

 

[dcassetta]

I think you will find that most people on the board recommend coming in a day early, especially if flying from northern areas in the winter. Is your same-day flight the first of the day from your airport? Does it require you to change planes?

 

[Calantha]

I guess I could< do you think I should?

A lot of people on the forums suggest flying in the day before if possible, due to airline issues. For example, last year, there was a snow storm that cancelled my flight out the day before, so I could have driven to PC if I had to, but fortunately, I was able to get an earlier flight.

For our cruise out of San Juan, we are going 2 days early (seeing San Juan is a bonus), but given the limited number of options to get there if there is a problem, we wanted to be able to problem solve.

 

[sadiecatie]

Just with how air travel is these days, I would be very anxious flying in that close to departure of the cruise. If it's at all possible, I think flying in the day before is the way to go. While you could certainly have all your travel plans go off without a hitch and get there just fine, it would be awful to miss your cruise because you got delayed/cancelled flights (and it's not just for snow - on our return from WDW last summer, someone in our party ended up spending 8 unplanned hours on a layover because of a big rain/thunderstorm system working through the midwest).

 

[RedHead0186]

I'm assuming Orlando airport and Port Canaveral? The answer may change based on which airport and which port, but what I've written below is based on those assumptions.

On paper, yes, that should be enough time. If your flight lands at 11, then you're probably getting on DCL transport around noon-ish (by the time you get your luggage, get to pickup, etc.). It's a little over an hour to the port with no traffic, so that gets you there about 1/1:30, well before all-aboard. But, if there any delays, you could be sunk.

Here is DCL's official guidance: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...val time to Orlando,Debarkation Day: 11:25 AM

Also, keep in mind if you're checking luggage that also has to make it on the ship. I once flew the morning of (first flight of the day, so landed at MCO with plenty of time to get to the ship). My luggage did not make that flight (no clue why, because my travel partner's did so it's not like I checked it too close to takeoff). While my luggage did make it on a later flight, and Southwest was great about the whole thing, it added stress to the beginning of the cruise. After that, I've always flown at least one day before the cruise, both to account for any flight/travel delays as well as luggage delays.

 

[kiford]

I guess I could< do you think I should?

Yup - absolutely. My dad missed his last cruise because his flight was a few hours late. Two weeks ago, my friend's BIL was scheduled to go out of one airport, got there, was told his flight was going to be delayed by several hours but they had space on another flight (same airline) at a different airport and he had to haul you-know-what and managed to just make it on time. My friend still got to the ship before his BIL did even though his flight left later. So they both made it in time but I'd be very uncomfortable myself.

Our second-to-last cruise we planned to come in the day before and stay at the MCO Hyatt. We were supposed to get in at 7 pm but ended up arriving a little after midnight. I wasn't even sure we were going to get there that night at all. I thought they were going to end up cancelling the flight and I'd have to fly the next morning. Maybe.

Far too many things can go wrong if you fly the day of (lots of people do it - my friend's family and his BIL's did and it worked out - but I just don't trust my luck) and arriving at the airport at 11 am is a little tight for my personal liking. It's at least an hour to the port, if you get transportation as soon as you pick up your luggage assuming it comes out in good time and assuming you arrived on time and assuming there's no traffic jams. We drove with friends from Tampa for our last cruise and there was an accident which delayed us by over an hour though we still arrived in very good time.

You also don't say where you're flying out of or at what time of year. That can be a huge factor weather-wise as well as how busy the departure airports can be. You need to take that into account (and the on-time stats for the airline).

 

[disneyfaninaz]

As an example, we had a morning flight from Phoenix to Orlando in February. (Not going on a cruise, just WDW) There was no weather issues, but we were delayed 4 hours due to mechanical issues with the plane and having to unboard and reboard a different plane. Anything could happen. I recommend flying in the night before and stay close to the airport to pick up the DCL shuttle in the morning. You will sleep better, I promise.

Not to mention all the flights being diverted or turned around for unruly passengers lately!

 

[Chemist]

Yes, you should fly in early.
It won't take much of a flight delay to miss the ship completely.

Weather, obviously is the big one. Not just at your airport, but at the originating airport. Thunderstorms in the summer cause delays just as much as snow in the winter!

Mechanical issues are another issue.

 

[RedHead0186]

Weather, obviously is the big one. Not just at your airport, but at the originating airport. Thunderstorms in the summer cause delays just as much as snow in the winter!

This! So often people complain about weather delays even though "the weather is fine where they are." Well, air travel is a delicate balancing act; weather in one area, especially in a hub, can have great ripple effects. And yes, summer thunderstorms can wreak havoc!

 

[Chemist]

This! So often people complain about weather delays even though "the weather is fine where they are." Well, air travel is a delicate balancing act; weather in one area, especially in a hub, can have great ripple effects. And yes, summer thunderstorms can wreak havoc!

I just had a flashback to half of my husband's family nearly missing our wedding! They were flying in the day before, planning to arrive in time for the rehearsal dinner.

Instead 3 or 4 couples (flying different airlines/airports) all missed the rehearsal dinner and were driving a good way into the night to get to us. One ended up flying into an airport two hours further away so that they were able to make it.

 

[sponica]

I just had a flashback to half of my husband's family nearly missing our wedding! They were flying in the day before, planning to arrive in time for the rehearsal dinner.

Instead 3 or 4 couples (flying different airlines/airports) all missed the rehearsal dinner and were driving a good way into the night to get to us. One ended up flying into an airport two hours further away so that they were able to make it.

I went to a wedding in New Orleans during one of those freak cold spells, and while everyone was smart about flying in the day before, there were still people trying to land around the time of the rehearsal. The southern tier where everyone connected through all had problems with ice and had delays (and probably had to wake up the one 70 year old who knew where the manual to the de-icer was)

 

[I Run Long]

Definitely fly in at least the day before. When we went on a 7 night eastern Caribbean cruise in 2019, a hurricane came in and closed MCO. We were leaving from Vancouver Island and all of our flights got cancelled. I managed to get them rescheduled and have us fly into Tampa, which stayed open, where we rented a car and drove to DW. We ended up checking into OKW around 10:00pm after just over 24 hours of travel. It was the most stressful travel day of my life, especially as I was worried we wouldn't even be able to get to go in the first place if we couldn't reschedule. No way would I ever travel the day of a cruise. We had 3 relaxing non-park days before our cruise. It took me that long to come down from all the travel stress. Now, mine is an extreme example but you just never know what the weather gods may throw at you.

 

[OpieDoodle]

I have flown a lot in the past 6 months and I don't think I've had a single flight that something didn't cause a delay. Most multiple hours or even an entire day delay. I really recommend reconsidering flying in the day of your cruise. Move your flight to the day before.

My last cruise for example (non disney, this was a carnival a few weeks ago). We had a late morning direct flight, due into Miami @ about noon. We got stuck at the airport with delay after delay until our flight finally went out at about 9p that evening. We got in then got stuck in the Miami airport waiting for our bags due to a mechanical issue for 2 hours. Our port arrival time for our cruise was 9a the next morning and we finally got checked into our hotel at about 1am.

Airlines are delaying and moving flights left and right, not just for weather or mechanical issues. Fly in the day before and save yourself the potential risk. Never ever ever fly in the day of your cruise. Even before when flights were more reliable that was still a big thing advised against. Now with the state of travel I am only looking at booking flights for the morning the day before, giving me a full 24 hours in case of delays.

 

[soniam]

MCO is one of the most delayed airports in the US due to the large number of lightning strikes. We sat on the tarmac for an hour once when landing. They closed the airport to incoming flights because they were so backed up trying to get people deplaned. Some incoming flights were canceled delayed, or diverted.