Port Canaveral- FOS- what time can we board?

[jesters]

What time can we board ship- sailing FOS out of Port Canaveral in July? We like to be among the first onboard, to grab a quick lunch and enjoy the pool without all the crowd that will surely follow.

 

Curious what time the port opens, and what time you are generally allowed to board.

 

 

Also- do you think i can make an 11am flight out of Orlando in mid July for the return trip home?

 

Thanks for any info!

[GTO-Girl]

What time can we board ship- sailing FOS out of Port Canaveral in July? We like to be among the first onboard, to grab a quick lunch and enjoy the pool without all the crowd that will surely follow.

 

Curious what time the port opens, and what time you are generally allowed to board.

 

 

Also- do you think i can make an 11am flight out of Orlando in mid July for the return trip home?

 

Thanks for any info!

 

We always head over to the Port around 10:30 BUT we have never been on board until 11:30 or so....I'm one of those crazy people that would rather wait at the Port than at the motel.

 

Also keep in mind your room will not be ready until at least 1:00pm so you will have to lug your carryons around with you until that time.

 

In regards to your 11:00am flight.....that would be cutting it way too close for me. You have a 45min - 1 hr drive from the Port to the airport and if there are any delays in getting off the ship it would be disastrous!

[yogimax]

I would not go for the 11AM flight out of MCO. You never know what will happen with customs and immigration, there's a significant distance from the port to the airport and security lines can be amazingly long once you get there.

[chotton]

We have an 11:00 out of MCO next month and I'm not worried at all. If you look back at Freedom reviews you will notice most people that need to be off early are off by 7:30.

[balcony4u]

We were at the port by 11:00 and were onboard by 11:30.

 

I love getting there early...we were the only ones at the h2o zone with our kids for at least 1 1/2 hours it was so great.

 

If you do not mind the stress you can do an 11:00 flight. If you can book a later flight i would but they did have us off the ship really fast. are you renting a car or do you have a shuttle booked...this could also effect your decision.

[reallyitsmema]

We usually get to the port just before 11am and as on board around 11:30.

 

As far as you 11am flight home, you can make that if the ship is not delayed. We had an 11:15am flight due to Delta consolidating flights and cancelling our originally booked afternoon flight. We used a private towncar service instead of a shuttle so that we could leave immediately once we debarked.

 

If there is a little later flight, I would book that instead just for peace of mind because the security lines at MCO can be horrific. If you stay with the 11am flight just do your homework beforehand and check out flights for later in the day. We had a list of airlines and flight times with us just in case the ship was delayed. We would have been able to rebook our flights while waiting to debark with a lot less hassle than if we just called the airline.

[katiel53]

I haven't sailed on Freedom, but did sail on Mariner from Pt Canaveral many times. We are also Diamond Plus, so we get to board a few minutes earlier than those who are not Platinum/Diamond. We usually get to the port about 10:45 or so and boarding starts about 11:30.

 

Normally, the wedding parties board first. After that, the Platinum/Diamonds board. Then everyone else. If there are no wedding parties, then the boarding is a bit faster.

 

As far as an 11AM flight, if there is nothing to delay the debarkation, you should have no trouble making your flight. Last year we were off early, had a Travelynx shuttle drive my sister and brother-in-law to the airport and then home for us. I think they were to the airport by 9 or so. I say no delays because the ship can be late getting to port due to an emergency, or the port having an immigration inspection for crew members. I think most shuttle companies can tell you the "normal" time for debarking and if it seems tight, perhaps you could try the self debarking. I know we couldn't do it, but if you know in advance, perhaps you could pack accordingly.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise. I am waiting patiently for our chance on Freedom.

[hazeleyez3]

What time can we board ship- sailing FOS out of Port Canaveral in July? We like to be among the first onboard, to grab a quick lunch and enjoy the pool without all the crowd that will surely follow.

 

Curious what time the port opens, and what time you are generally allowed to board.

 

 

Also- do you think i can make an 11am flight out of Orlando in mid July for the return trip home?

 

Thanks for any info!

 

I'd say that 11am is cutting it extremely close. We were one of the 1st ones off last year and I think we got to the Orlando area around 10 (with no traffic).

[TxStacey]

We have an 11:00 out of MCO next month and I'm not worried at all. If you look back at Freedom reviews you will notice most people that need to be off early are off by 7:30.

Chotton, please write back andlet us know how it went for you.. I am contemplating booking a 10:45 a.m. flight in order to make a meeting at home later that day. I have sailed out of PC several times and flown out of MCO several tmes but never had to make an early flight. Sounds like a private car service is the way to go...

[tneah]

I've left the ship at 7:30am and were in a car by 7:45am We got to the airport by 8:30am. Our flight was at 11:30am. We had plenty of time to kill.

However, we didn't have any issues to hold us up.

 

This last time we left the port area about 9:30am and were in Downtown Disney by 10:30-10-45am. I think this place is further away than the airport?