Disney Magic Debarkation What time?

[SeaUs]

I have a friend who is going on the Magic on April 16th and you wouldn't believe what he plans to do. He booked his own air and has a flight out of Orlando at 12:10pm. He plans on using the cruiseline transfers too. I told him he's nuts, but he insists that there will be no problem. Anyone back me up on this one. What time do the first few transfers actually start arriving in Orlando? Thanks

[Host Mick]

It can be done. It's not easy but it can be done.
He needs to be up early and be off of the ship ASAP.

[TheWog]

DCL doesn't recommend any flights prior to 12:00. So he should be fine. We were off and waiting for our ride by 8:00 and buses were loading up and getting ready to head out shortly thereafter.

[Senor Ferrari]

We always use the DCL buses and the latest we've gotten to the airport and through security has been at around 10:30am. You do have to get moving early in the morning, though. We always have breakfast early and get off the ship soon after they clear it. You can do it without too much trouble, you just can't dawdle on the ship that last morning.

In 12 cruises, we would have made a 12:10 flight every time.

[Slandi]

Sailed on the Magic last April and had no problem getting to the Airportbuy noon. Disney makes Debarkation easy and luggage can be checked for the flight home at the the Ship's Pier. However the big mistake you friend made was not letting Disney take care of the whole package. For the few pennieshes saved vs the cost of the entire trip its just plain dumb. The service from Disney would have been returned ten times over. :eek: :cool: :confused:

[Senor Ferrari]

It's worth it to price the air both ways. DCL's air, like most cruise lines, is pretty expensive and not as flexible as when you book it yourself. If the OP's friend has purchased the DCL transfers, than their luggage can be checked at the pier and transferred to the airport, too. In addition, when they arrive in Orlando, they'll claim your bags and transfer them to the ship. You just have to call and add your flight info to your reservation.

One of the plusses of DCL air, for me, is that when flying from the west coast, the air package includes a stay at the airport Hyatt on the night before the cruise. This is worth probably $150, although you can stay at an off-airport hotel for less. They Hyatt is right in the airport terminal and is very convenient.

My suggestion would be to price it both ways. You may end up saving a few hundred dollars, which is certainly not "pennies," even in the context of a couple thousand dollar trip. That's money you could spend on board or in port. To suggest it's "dumb" to book your own air is overstating it a bit, as many people do it and have no problems at all.

I've done it both ways. My personal experience has been that when using the DCL transfers and staying at the Hyatt the night before (also booked on my own), there's really no difference in the actual trip experience. The difference is that when you book your own air, you get to pick your flights. When DCL books it, you have to take what they give you (or pay an air diversion fee). The main plusses with having them book the air are the one-stop-shopping aspect, and the fact that they become responsible for getting you to the ship. On the off-chance that you're delayed and miss the ship, you'd be responsible to catch up to it when booking your own air. I've never had this happen to me, and flying in the night before essentially safeguards against such a problem.

[TheWog]

I think dumb is harsh. I saved almost $800 booking my own air and got to pick the flights I wanted. Granted we flew in the day before and stayed with friends, we did get to use the pier check-in with USAIR (it is no longer available to those who do not use DCL transfers), so we had no luggage for the rest of the day while enjoying hanging out with our friends who live outside Orlando. I think that is pretty smart myself. ;)

[dkort]

sure it can be done. we've cut it close plenty of times. until one of our last cruises a couple of years ago. here's what happened. the ship had problems clearing customs because of the "fishermen" that the ship had to pick up that we almost hit in the middle of the night. we sat at port for over 3 and one half hours. we got into port at 7 something, but not a soul could get off the ship until after 11 ish something. refunds on air fares (rebookings) were only given to people who booked air through the cruise line. yes, we do NOT book through the cruise line, but we always book afternoon flights after this experience.

[dkort]

reason number one to book outside of disney: FREQUENT FLIER MILES
reason number two to book outside of disney: you pick the times and air carrier
reason number three to book outside of disney: priceline for hotels

and did you happen to mention that when you let disney handle all of your transfers from your home city (where you do not see your bags until you claim them in your stateroom - sounds smart, right?) how many bags are lost, disappeared, etc?

the longer you can hang on to your bags, the better off you will be. that's also plain smart.

but in any case, do us all a favor. these are opinion boards. not insult and accusation boards.

thanks and have a great day