Cutting it too close??

[lavacruise]

The Freedom of the Seas returns to Port Canaveral at 6am and I know they need to clear customs and all that stuff before letting passengers off the boat.

 

Our flight home from Orlando leaves at 1055am. From what I have heard, it is about an hour to get from Port Canaveral to Orlando airport.

 

How soon do they let passengers leave the boat if I carry my own bags?

Is it usually a long line to leave the boat first?

Are we cutting it to close by anticipating to leave the boat between 7-730am?

[Clarea]

That's cutting it close, but you should be able to make it as long as there are no delays. I'd arrange a transport that will not wait to fill up, such as a private car service.

[CruiseDude_83]

Some have said that you could make it but I would not risk it. IMO I would not want the stress of...what if we are delayed getting into port or what if customs is slow. I dont like to have that stress at the end of a cruise but that is just me. When we sailed Enchantment we did not rush at all to get off the ship but we cleared customs at 930 and were at our gate at 1115am.

[TahoeBob]

That's cutting it close, but you should be able to make it as long as there are no delays. I'd arrange a transport that will not wait to fill up, such as a private car service.

This is the million dollar question, On my first cruise ever I was on the Vision when she was in LA, we arrived in port on time but there was some snags in clearing customs. I guess when they brought police dogs on board and when they took a few people off in handcuffs, this when they let everyone off the ship, a person who had many cruises under there belt told me we got off about 2 hours late.

 

Sometimes stuff happens!

[yarlenna]

Please remember that the Beachline is a long road. I use it often. Most times it is a time saver. BUT if there is a bad accident, it can be a problem. You cannot just get off the road, as there are few exits. Even if you can get off the road, the local roads are LOCAL full of stop lights, slow traffic, and other tourists like yourself.

If you do decide to try it, please have a back-up plan. A Taxi might be expensive, but it can save you in many ways. Good luck

[cello56]

Please also don't forget to figure in Orlando airport delays. OIA is a VERY busy airport - especially during holiday times when lots and and lots of people are coming down to Disney. I see your cruise is in April and that is ripe for Easter and spring breaks for school kids.

[FunCruiser56]

Because you are flying out of Orlando I would say toooo early. Orlando security is very congested and takes a long time, our experience has been usually 45min + just for security. It would not be a nice way to end a cruise with that stress.

 

Bev

[MrCruzeaddict]

Like others have said.. I wouldn't do it. You are STILL on vacation. MCO is horrible for customs back ups as everybody is going/coming back from Mickey Land...

 

 

Joe<---- Just my .02... :o

[lavacruise]

Wow..I'm nervous about our flight plans now. Thanks for all the responses.

 

 

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[Eng23]

You are cutting it kinda close. You will not have any room for error or snafu's that could occur. For flights out of Orlando Royal Caribbean recommends no flights before 11:30am.

[Cruising Lions]

No problems if you go off early and the ship is cleared

 

 

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[Gayle V]

FWIW, I say that flight is WAY too early. And I can't help shaking my head when read responses that would encourage you to do such a foolish thing with your cruise.

 

I do wish you luck.

[Justmekaren918]

Make sure to check in 23 hours before if you are checking luggage make sure the airline knows you are. Checked luggage has to get through all screening & cleared 40mins. before flight goes or you are not going! I would hire a private service to get you there.

Good luck!

[jc24cruiser]

Another NO vote....not worth the stress IMO!

 

Will your flight company let you re-arrange with out any charges?

[Tapi]

I've still been on the ship at 10:00am in Port Canaveral, waiting for clearance to debark.

 

 

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[MaryL31]

I have the same problem. Flight choices were 1:30 and 3:30. Hated to go with 3:30, but I have some peace of mind. As previous posters said, there are any number of things that can cause a snafu between debarkation and arrival at the gate.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Backtime it.

 

Flight leaves at 10:55.

You'll want to be getting to MCO around 8:55.

You'll want to be getting into your transportation at 7:55

You'll want to be off the ship and getting to customs by 6:55

 

Yes, there's some "slop" in there, but if you're hitting any of the above late, you could be in for trouble. Is it POSSIBLE to make a 10:55 flight? Yes. Assuming everything works perfectly as there's no delays.

 

Now, if you've already booked the flight and there's a massive fee to change it, I'd probably try it. Arrange for a private transportation company to meet you at the pier, self disembark, and hope for the best. You might want to contact your airline and find out what your options are if you miss your flight though.

[Orlandocruiser]

We did walk off yesterday from the Freedom and were home ( which is several exits past the airport off the 417) by 7:55. Here's how we did it: we were told to gather at Boleros at 6:45 a we went down at 6:10 and stood in line outside on the deck were they were setting things up, we were the third group in that line. The ship docked on time and they started disembark on time. We had only carryon size rollers and a backpack so we were able to use the escalators instead of having to wait for the elevators. After a long walk thru the terminal we arrived at the one:eek: immigration agent - there was no line. We were parked in front of the terminal and we were out of the parking lot and exiting the terminal complex by 7. We were held up a few minutes because the drawbridge was up but other than that there was very little traffic on the expressway. ( We have an E-pass so we didn't have to stop to pay tolls)

 

We did this just so we wouldn't have to stand in line for hours to get through immigration - it didn't really matter to us when we got home. I don't think the airport at that hour on a Sunday would be super busy so as others have said if you are already checked in you might be ok. Since you already have your tickets the best thing to do is try - good luck.

[Karter]

You probably will make it however I would never book a flight that close. As much as I hate sitting around airports when I cruise from somewhere other than Florida I book a flight that leaves in midafternoon because I want peace of mind that I protected myself the best I could.

 

Nine times out of ten we are back home (we live near OIA) by 9:30 or 10:00 with no rushing but we usually are the first ones off with checked luggage normally zone 3 or 4. But you can't always count on it because the 528 is notorious for accidents that tie up traffic for an hour or more.

 

I fly out of OIA at least once a week and the TSA lines are very unpredictable. It could take 15 minutes or an hour depending on the amount of passengers and how many agents they have available. If when you check in you get the TSA precheck mark on your ticket you're in good shape since I have never seen that line over 15 minutes. What I would be worried about is the luggage you will probably be checking. That process can sometimes take 30 to 60 minutes if you need to see an agent.

 

One last thing that can delay the commute unexpectedly is there is a bridge between the ships and the 528 that when it opens can add 15 to 25 minutes to the commute. There is no other way to get to the 528.

 

If I were you I would change your flight to no earlier than 1:30 and be prepared to wait 4 hours in the airport because everything worked perfectly.

Edited March 17, 2014 by Karter

[Jobeth66]

Dirving home near the airport is one thing - the real question in the mix is 'how long am I going to wait for the TSA'. As others have said, it could be 15 minutes or it could be an hour+. Plan on an hour.

 

If you are driving yourself, the fastest way to go is a toll road, if you don't have an Epass and are driving a rental car, the rental car company will let you use the Epass toll lanes, but you get charged an extra fee for that (how much depends on the company).

 

I don't know when your cruise is, but IF you have the ability, I would recommend signing up for the TSA's PreCheck program so you can have a much, much, much better chance of skipping the TSA long lines. It's $85 per person, good for 5 years, but you have to do an interview and complete an application in order to get it. It lets you skip the very long line and go through a special lane, you don't have to take anything out of your bags, you don't have to take your shoes or belts off - it's security the way it should never have been changed from, you go through the walk-through metal detector and they scan your bag and you go.

[UCF_Knight]

I'll echo what most others said and wish you lots of luck in trying to make that flight. If everything goes well, you'll make it. If anything goes wrong, you might not. I've been delayed a couple of hours getting off the ship in Port Canaveral before, and I've sometimes waited 1+ hours for TSA screening at Orlando International.

Edited March 17, 2014 by UCF_Knight

[SamFritz]

I have an 11:15 flight out of MCO in August. On the way TO the cruise port we are going to rent a car. For the trip back we will use a private service.

 

FWIW, I think it would take more than one thing to go wrong to miss the flight if you arrange a service to pick you up.

 

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Edited March 17, 2014 by SamFritz

[travelplus]

If it were me I would book a flight anytime after 1 PM. There could be traffic with people going to and from Disney World and you never know how the road is to the airport. For me a 2 PM flight sounds about right. The worst that can happen is you wait at the airport for your flight and have lunch at the airport.

[lavacruise]

Follow up to this thread:

 

We just came back from our Freedom cruise yesterday. We kept our 10:55am flight and made it with plenty of time to spare.

 

We were off the boat by 740-ish. We pre-ordered a private car service that arrived by 8am and we made it to the airport by 845am. The line for security wasn't bad and we made it through by 920am. We had time to eat breakfast and hang out by the gate.

 

Now it's time to wish I was back on the boat :(

[gerif]

Thanks for the follow up. Glad things worked out well.