Disembark Freedom and Return flight home at 11 am out of Orlando realistic?

[cdoobiest]

Hi everyone, there will be 14 people, 5 cabins catching flight home at 11AM after completing Freedom cruise in April.

 

I was thinking we could hopefully disembark 7AM, get pick up by shuttle at 8am and be at airport by 9am for 11 AM flight out of Orlando.

 

Is this realistic? We are all able to walk and carry our bags so I was thinking self disembark to speed up the process. There will be 5 kids but likely only one suitcase per adult.

 

From the boards, it looks like you can self disembark at 6:30-7AM? What time do you usually leave your cabin and go down to line up for self disembark?

 

There is flight at 3PM also, but 100 more per person plus I like we can all get back home at decent time.

 

Thanks for advice.

[marci22]

Possible, but I wouldn't do it. Everything has to go exactly right-no delays docking, no traffic problems, and then when you get to the airport, there are always lines for security.

 

And with so many people-if anyone has a problem getting off the ship, if someone is missing luggage, then you have to wait for them.

[breezy_carol]

Not sure I would risk it but I am a worrier.

 

We got off Freedom a week ago and we were an hour late disembarking because of weather we encountered the day before.

 

Did not do self disembark but know it was late also and there was a huge line for it. People were lining up well before we were docked.

 

Also, there can be long lines at security in Orlando on Sundays.

Edited November 10, 2014 by breezy_carol

[Clarea]

We've made an 11am flight from Port Canaveral before, but did not have much margin for delay. I'd feel more comfortable with a flight after noon.

 

In addition to self-assist disembarkation, I would also arrange a private car service so they don't have to wait for anyone else.

[AZAficionado]

It is certainly do-able (I did it by accident - got to MCO by 9 AM for a 2 PM flight) and I would second clarea's suggestion of a private car. However, you will be taking a huge risk. A one hour delay could easily result in missed flights. My Freedom B2B had about a one hour delay in disembarking on turnaround day due to fewer customs agents than usual. If it were me, I'd take the later flight.

[cruisers103]

We (DH and I) made a 10:40 am flight in September. We walked off with our luggage to a pre-booked shuttle, but were truly prepared to rebook flight if times did not align. (Cost and hassle of rebooking for 2 would have been minimal, and we needed to get home as early in the day as possible.)

 

Also the new terminal is supposed to be open by the time you cruise. Not sure what difference that will make. :)

[JasonV1]

I'm one of the few that don't mind tight schedules/flying out early, but the distance to the airport and Orlando airport in general worries me here.

 

Will you be fine? Probably. The issue is what happens if cruise customs is slow, or you hit traffic into Orlando, or airport security is busy.

 

Remember that Orlando has trams to get to the airport gates. If you hit those at the wrong time you'll add another 5-10 minutes to the time it takes to reach your gate. Also, when I was there a few weeks back only 1 of 2 "sides" of the security line were open, which led to some additional wait time (this meant that only 2 of 4 scanners were operating).

 

If all goes well you should be fine, but you better have everything in order (first off ship, already checked in at airport (including no checking bags if possible), everything set to breeze through airport security, etc).

[cdoobiest]

Thanks everyone. Changed to 2:45 flight with everyone's advice. Cost me an extra $100 per person but with 5 kids in tow and such a big group, better to have more time and relax.

 

Thanks again, these boards are great!!!

[jkrislc]

Good choice on the change. While I've gotten to the airport as early as 9/9:30 when coming off Disney ships, it's always a gamble. The 45 minute to hour drive can be hindered with accidents, plus the airport can get crowded with all the people leaving WDW and Universal.

[Big_G]

Thanks everyone. Changed to 2:45 flight with everyone's advice. Cost me an extra $100 per person but with 5 kids in tow and such a big group, better to have more time and relax.

 

Thanks again, these boards are great!!!

 

Good choice. We were on a shuttle with a couple that had an 11:30 flight. The shuttle picked us up first but then we stopped at both Disney and Carnival to pickup more passengers. They were getting more nervous with every stop as would I in their situation. They really had to fly once we got to the Southwest terminal...no pun intended.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Big_G

[orville99]

 

Also the new terminal is supposed to be open by the time you cruise. Not sure what difference that will make. :)

 

If anything, the layout of the new terminal will slow the process down. They're eliminating the baggage carousels, and going back to the old stack the bags in a pile under the luggage tag sign approach that Disney and Carnival use in their terminals. While finding your bags might be easier, no one will be able to get to the baggage claim area until everything is stacked and ready.

[RCI Cruisers 004]

Thanks everyone. Changed to 2:45 flight with everyone's advice. Cost me an extra $100 per person but with 5 kids in tow and such a big group, better to have more time and relax.

 

Thanks again, these boards are great!!!

 

Wise choice ! Even using private transportation, things can go wrong. We have done at least ten cruises out of PC, and always book an early afternoon flight. There is a lot to do at MCO to help pass the time .