dizzyr

We are doing this after our RCL cruise that ends on May 26th. Our flight was originally scheduled for 2:30 and then got changed to 1:00 and then 11:50. It was starting to stress me out that we wouldn't get to the airport on time particularly since it's an international flight so I decided to end on a relaxing note. We are doing the tour and then will chillax at the hotel for the evening and then we have a mid morning flight home so we don't have to get up at the crack of dawn either.

I'm doing it on the 26th of May. Our return flight was changed twice and it was starting to feel like we would be cutting it too close to get to the airport on time so I decided I would stay an extra day. We are staying at the airport hotel so this tour is perfect for us as we will be able to have our luggage taken care of for the day and then since we are being dropped off at the airport after the tour that takes care of our transportation to the hotel. I'm super excited about it!

Thanks I’ll look them up.

Ok thanks. The airline changed our flight to an earlier time so I wanted to see what the options were for the transfers. I’ll give them a call.

I don't see anywhere online that I can book a transfer to the airport (MCO) at the end of our cruise. The only transfer option I see is one that includes a visit to the space centre. Am I missing something or do they not do transfers?

I’ll be there in May for the first time. There is a travel advisory for Haiti right now because of civil unrest but I’m assuming that doesn’t really apply to the private islands?

I think private transport is probably the way to go - can you share with me who you used? I also need to get from Disney to the port so I might use the same one for both.

Sorry that was my bad I just assumed that all the ships arrive sometime in the middle of the night no matter what time they say as the arrival time - every cruise I've been on has been docked by the time I wake up around 6! It says it arrives at 7:00. I know if this was a Princess or Disney cruise I'd have no problem getting off the ship early but I don't know anything about RC.

Will I be able to make it to the airport in time for my flight? It's an international flight (Canada) so I'm assuming I'll need to be there by 9:00. I do have Nexus so that should help with the security line I think?

My return flight keeps getting changed - it was 2:00pm, then 1:00pm and now 11:55am and I'm worried it's too early. I'm leaving out of Orlando and this is my first cruise with Royal Caribbean so I'm not sure how long debarkation takes. What's the earliest flight out of Orlando I can realistically make (I want to be prepared if it changes again)? As much as I love Orlando I would prefer not to have to spend an extra day there because we are already in Disney before the cruise.

Oh those sound cool - if we do another RCI it's something to consider for sure!

Movies under the stars and the milk and cookies are some of my favourite things on Princess! I chose my time dining for this cruise and booked every day around the same time (halfway in between early and late dining) and I'll adjust accordingly as needed. Since it's just myself and my oldest daughter it should be a little easier than when it's the four of us - trying to get everyone coordinated was much easier when the girls were younger and cared about my opinion LOL!

Thanks I'll check them out.

AWESOME! thanks so much for the info 🙂

Thanks Another_Critic for responding 🙂 Plum Happy my daughter has not requested a balcony - I'm the one who usually wants it, she's more than happy with the plans we have made.

Yes it was an inside guarantee which was another reason I was having second thoughts - on Princess it's the same price to pick your room or not so I was a bit surprised at the pay to pick option on Royal. I figure that since my daughter is way less picky than my husband this is a good cruise to roll the dice on and go with the flow!

Thanks all I feel better about the inside now and I'm going to keep it. I like sitting out on the balcony and reading in the morning but I can easily do that up on deck especially since it will annoy me less that my daughter is sleeping if I'm out of the cabin LOL! I promised her that she could sleep in as long as she wanted on sea days because I'm making her get up early on Disney and excursion days! I may try for a Royal bid just for fun.

What's the virtual balcony option?

My daughter (20) and I will be on the May 20th Mariner of the Seas sailing and I have booked an inside cabin. The only time I have booked an inside cabin before was on one night turn around sailings on Princess - I usually book a balcony. My reasons for booking an inside cabin this time were: 1. $$ - we are doing a few days in Disney first and I booked this trip right after a trip to Europe and right before a trip to the Cayman Islands so I was feeling a little strapped for cash but I'd rather spend the extra money if I'm going to end up regretting it. 2. My daughter will end up spending more time than me sleeping so I figured I'd be out and about the ship most of the time anyway. 3. The inside cabins on Princess are well designed for storage so based on that I thought it would be enough room for the two of us and my daughter doesn't care about the balcony like my husband and I do. This is our first cruise with RCI (Princess and Disney before) and I read an article that said to avoid the inside cabins and now I'm rethinking my decision especially since I don't yet know what cabin we've been assigned. If you've been on the Mariner in an inside cabin how are they? Is it worth it upgrading? Can I even do that without losing my deposit (is it considered a new booking?). How long before they assign the cabins?

We are leaving from Port Canaveral and are spending a few days in Disney World first - what is the best mode of transportation to port?

I cancelled three things during the Black Friday sale and rebooked and the credit showed up on Thursday so it was about a week turnaround.

This was great fun reading! I think the most plausible answer is he's a spy and was on a top secret mission with Tom Cruise and the coast guard rescue was a cover up. It was the fact that he kept his socks on to flag down the helicopter that did it for me! LOL

Anything else I should know ahead of time about the differences between Princess and RCI? What made you switch from Princess? I'm still having second thoughts about it.

Hmmm now I'm kind of rethinking it - it could come in handy for disembarkation. Originally our return flight was at 2:00 so I wasn't too worried about what time we left the ship but they changed the flight to be at 10:00. I thought it would be too stressfull so I changed it to a less desirable route home but the latest time I could get was 12:45 so being able to have a nice breakfast and still leave quickly might make it worth it. It would have to go on sale again before the cruise though or it's too pricy for me.

Thanks everyone for the opinions, it helped clarify things quite a bit. I think for us it probably won't be worth it. I'll save the money for something more fun 🙂