carnival magic alumni! need help

[fireman92]

ok so i to am a alumni of rhe magic, but cant remember debarktation time. so that being said can someone tell me does the magic let off guests with early flights out off before they go floor by floor?

 

my issue is this. i have two choices of flight times. 11:40am or 4:55 pm. we did the 4:55pm last time and it was a nightmare waiting in the airport 5 hours. we would like to do the 11:40am flight. do you think we can make it? we are on the riveria deck.

 

brian

[Camlott]

What itinerary are you going on? Belize can delay things.

 

Do you plan to carry your own luggage off?

 

Have you purchased or would you purchase FTTF?

 

What time of year are you cruising? Fog in Galveston can be an issue during fall/winter and delay the ship.

 

How do you plan to get to the airport? The shuttles will wait until they are full before they leave even if you have an early flight. We watched this happen to someone a couple years ago. A family of about 8 people didn't make it to Hobby until 30 minutes before their flight. I have no idea if they made their flight or not, we got off at IAH.

 

 

All these things can affect what time you can get off the ship or make it to the airport. That is why the cruise lines don't recommend any flight before 1:30 when cruising from Galveston.

[panoramaofthepast]

I would also consider which airport. Hobby is 30 minutes closer to Galveston.

[fireman92]

sorry we are going out of hobby airport. this cruise is in march. going to belize honduras and cozumel. planned on checking luggage in but if its quicker we can keep them ourselves. plan on taking taxi to airport.

[Camlott]

sorry we are going out of hobby airport. this cruise is in march. going to belize honduras and cozumel. planned on checking luggage in but if its quicker we can keep them ourselves. plan on taking taxi to airport.

 

If you carry your own bags off the ship you will get off in the first group. Since you are going to Belize, there is a high probability that debarkation will be very slow. Fog in March shouldn't be a problem unless a late cold front comes through.

 

Are you flying southwest?

 

I would recommend the later flight and taking your time getting off the ship or exploring Galveston before you head to the airport.

 

If you fly Southwest, you could book the later flight and then once you get off the ship and see you have plenty of time... Call and see about the earlier flight since they don't charge change fees.

 

If you don't do the self-debarkation or FTTF, then there is absolutely no way i'd consider the early flight.

[tkportersat]

I think it might be too hard to predict, you might be more relaxed with the later flight. Can't you do something in the area for the day until you have to head to airport? I am a worrier, so the early flight would freak me out.

[Rowan555]

We cruised in January and our debarkation was delayed by 7 HOURS due to fog - so you might want to check on the possibility of fog in March when making your plans. Our embarkation had also been delayed by about 5 hours, btw, so this is not an uncommon thing in Galveston.

[Sammycupcaker]

Now I'm nervous. I have a 1:33 flight out of IAH. We go to Belize and are on the 10/20 sailing. I thought 1:30 would be plenty of time. My BIL is picking us up so we won't have to wait for a shuttle.

[4hunters]

If you are platinum or have FTTF and want to carry your own bags off, you can expect to walk off the ship anywhere from 7:00 - 8:00am.

[Rowan555]

Now I'm nervous. I have a 1:33 flight out of IAH. We go to Belize and are on the 10/20 sailing. I thought 1:30 would be plenty of time. My BIL is picking us up so we won't have to wait for a shuttle.

 

I'm far from a "fog expert", but I believe the fog doesn't set in until later in the year...so hopefully you'll be fine with this.

[Rowan555]

From a bit of googling, it appears the "fog danger zone" starts in December and can go into April. Ouch!

[okgirl]

sorry we are going out of hobby airport. this cruise is in march. going to belize honduras and cozumel. planned on checking luggage in but if its quicker we can keep them ourselves. plan on taking taxi to airport.

 

Even with a stop in Belize if you do self assist then you will probably be off the ship by 8:30ish. And if there is any way to do priority self assist I would do that or I would go to Guest Services and ask for zone 1 tags, but still carry my stuff off the ship.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

If you fly Southwest, you could book the later flight and then once you get off the ship and see you have plenty of time... Call and see about the earlier flight since they don't charge change fees.

 

The change is based on the current price for the replacement flight.

[Karmalady]

I would take the later flight just to be safe. I know it probably doesn't happen often, but sometimes there is just trouble getting off the ship. We had that happen both on the Triumph and the Magic; it was almost noon before we got to customs., almost 11 the second time. It seems that there was someone on board with a warrant out for his arrest and he was hiding! :eek: Until he was found, no one got off. :( The other time we never heard what the problem was but still no one got off until about 11.