11:50 am MCO Flight Time Cutting It Too Close For Cruise Out of Port Canaveral?

I am debating whether or not to change our flight time to 11:50 am we are cruising in August on the Magic out of Port Canaveral. Right now we have the only other direct fight (on SW) but it doesn't leave until 5:25 pm so a long wait to fly home after disembarking. Not sure 11:50 am is cutting it too close to get back to MCO? We still haven't booked any airport transfers yet (if we keep the 5:25 pm flight we may just rent a car). Carnival won't transport you if your flight is earlier than 12:30 pm. I don't really want to wait around so long to fly home (well to BUF then we have a 2hr drive back to where we live in Canada) but not sure if 11:50 am is feasible. Any advice would be appreciated:). Thank you.

If you get up early and are one of the first ones off of the ship you can make it easily. We just cruised Liberty out of PC last week and they started letting people off at 7:30am. We took our time, had breakfast and were still in our car headed home by 9:00 am.

The only problem would be if there was an issue with the ship clearing customs or something else that is out of your control that would delay debarkation. Remember, Carnival will do everything in their power to get you off of that ship as soon as possible so they can get ready for the new oncoming guests.

Being I fly out of Minneapolis, I do understand your concern of killing time for a flight. Our last trip we left at 4:30 PM. from MIA. Realize, MCO is about an hour away from port, and that flight of yours might be cutting it close, (Customs lines, check in at the airport, etc.) Boring as it sounds, I would go with the later flight.

Perhaps there might be a sight seeing excursion you can do to kill time before your flight. (We did this last month.)

Is the stress of making this earlier flight worth it to you?:confused:

You will have plenty of time provided there are no delays. Let them know you have an early flight when you board and they will get you priority debarkation - if you want to self debark - we were off the ship by 7:45 a few weeks ago.

If you're one of the first off the ship, and have direct transportation to MCO set, you should be fine. I live in Kissimmee, and my house is a 15 minutes cab ride from MCO.

Last time I debarked my cruise at Pt. Canaveral, I hopped on Carnival shuttle bus to Orlando airport, then into a cab from there and was in my kitchen at exactly 10:04am (I remember because I looked at the microwave clock.) You could easily be at MCO by 10am.

I am one who does not like to cut it to close from disembarkation to flight time. Lots of factors happen that you cannot plan and the stress adds up to your flight time. Cruise lines are good at getting people off the ships early but if coming into Canaveral remember a few things. You have an hour drive from the port to Orlando airport. Traffic down the Bee Line can get very crowded especially when ships come in at the same time. TSA lines at Orlando can be crazy even if you have TSA Pre that can be long lines. I like to get to my gate 60 to 90 minutes before flight time. Your answer might be given to you by your cruise line. Your travel agent or customer/passenger cruise line secession will give you the best guidelines. I have sailed into Ft. Lauderdale and my Princess agent suggests I should plan flights after 11:00 am and the airport is literally 5 miles or 15 minute ride.

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Your flight is doable as long as the ship arrives and cleared as scheduled, you self-disembark and don't rely on shuttles. Personally, I would take the later flight as I prefer to have my last vacation day in a relaxed manner and not being stressed in worrying if I can make the flight.

Cruised in/out of Port Canaveral in April 2017(Magic) and Dec 2016(Sunshine). Both times off the ship by 8:00am, shuttled to car rental and on the road no later than 9:00am. This is very do-able. I would personally do it, if you're in a rush to get home. But if you are renting a car, spend a few extra hours in Orlando at an outlet mall and take the later one for some extra breathing room.

Things out of your control:

Weather or other delays in docking back at Port Canaveral.

Delay in USCBP clearing the ship, which dictates what time you debark.

Delay or long lines in USCBP clearing other debarking passengers.

Will the transfer leave when YOU are ready or will they wait for others to fill the vehicle?

Traffic issues between PC & MCO.

Long lines at TSA checkpoint at MCO.

So given the airport is a 45-60 minute drive from PC, I would not do it. But that's just me...and what do I know?

There is a reason for people not booking flights too early. But sure, take a chance if you want. Just don't whine about it if you miss your flight.

I was stuck in the TSA checkpoint for 75 minutes on a Monday at 930am... with pre check. Total cluster.

Then next trip no lines .

MCO is a goat show.

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As you have already read from other posts, if all goes well you will definitely make it. I live in Tampa and have cruised out of Port Canaveral and made it back to my house by 10:30am. However, it is hit or miss. The last time we cruised out of Port Canaveral everything was so delayed we were waiting for hours (and we had FTTF). Then, when we were finally getting off my family and I were "randomly selected" to get pulled to the other room. Immigration went through every piece of our clothing and bags. We didn't even buy any souvenirs that trip so had absolutely nothing to even declare. It scared my 9 year old and he was hysterical because he thought we were in trouble. We didn't even walk off the ship until after 11am...

We are flying to Seattle in about a week to go on the Legend to Alaska. The only flight home was at 12pm. I decided we will stay another night and got a hotel by the airport and we will fly out the next day. It is inconvenient with our schedules, but it is worth it because I don't want to be worried about not making the flight home the entire cruise.

You must be looking at an a American Airlines flight to DC? I posted the same question about a week or so ago. Decided to book the 2:30pm flight so that we have a "no worry" Day on our last day of vacation in the unlikely event we get off the ship late. Depends on the amount of risk you want to assume. As you can see, there are a wide range of opinions. :)

If it was me I would take the later flight and not stress about it. We've driven from Port Canaveral to MCO several times, and while it would look to be doable based on average driving time, there could be road construction or an accident that completely backs up the Bee Line, or a delay in getting the ship cleared for whatever reason.

I would rather spend a couple of hours having lunch or walking around the Florida Mall than risk sitting behind an accident on the highway, stressing about missing a flight. But everyone is different.

Thank you everyone for all the advice. I think we will stick with the later flight and just rent a car (seems like one of the least expensive options to get to MCO) and yes we may hit the outlet mall and so some last minute shopping.

You must be looking at an a American Airlines flight to DC? I posted the same question about a week or so ago. Decided to book the 2:30pm flight so that we have a "no worry" Day on our last day of vacation in the unlikely event we get off the ship late. Depends on the amount of risk you want to assume. As you can see, there are a wide range of opinions. :)

Actually it's a flight to Buffalo NY on Southwest. I wish there was a 2:30 direct flight option but anything leaving at or around that time is connecting and gets in at 11pm or later. While our flight is at 5:45 and gets in at 8:20 pm. I think we'll just stick with the later flight.

My concern would be the actual airport. I've seen huge lines to check in before and I've waited almost an hour to get through security.

When we were flying back to Buffalo we had a later flight and rented a car. It was super easy and only cost us about $50. We did some shopping and grabbed lunch before our flight. It was nice to not be rushed

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MCO can be a huge mess. I have been stuck in security for over an hour due to families, crying children, contraband in luggage and people arguing to keep the items.

Out of 11 cruises, we have been VERY late twice. One time our ship lost 1/2 power off the coast of Roatan and we paddled back to Tampa an entire day late. Another cruise on the route home, our ship had to turn around and sail BACK to within helicopter distance of San Juan for an emergency pick up of a very sick passenger. We were 4 hours late arriving in port for that one. After "disembarkation lightning" striking us twice I now try my best to give us a bigger buffer zone for our flight home. I usually aim for mid-afternoon, 2 or 3-ish.

Personally, I would not do it because as others have said, MCO can be a mess. I wouldn't want to get there less than 2 hours before a flight.

Getting to MCO on time is one thing, but the lines for Southwest are extremely long.

Being I fly out of Minneapolis, I do understand your concern of killing time for a flight. Our last trip we left at 4:30 PM. from MIA. Realize, MCO is about an hour away from port, and that flight of yours might be cutting it close, (Customs lines, check in at the airport, etc.) Boring as it sounds, I would go with the later flight.

Perhaps there might be a sight seeing excursion you can do to kill time before your flight. (We did this last month.)

Is the stress of making this earlier flight worth it to you?:confused:

You are already stressing so book a later flight.