Is this the way to go?

[Kykitty]

I have a few q's. We have cruised 4 x with RCI; always booked air through them. On our recent Mariner cruise, we booked a cruise for 2/25/07 on Mariner w/air. I recently found a flight with good price and times (straight thru from Nashville to Orlando, both ways) the day before the cruise. How difficult would it be to cancel flight on already booked cruise/flight? We would like to stay at the Radisson/Port Canaveral. Does anyone recommend this? Also, what transportation have you used to/from MCO? The direct flights are very appealing from Nashville to MCO, as we have a 2.5 hr drive on each end. This would cut the hours of waiting in the airport after being booted off the ship on Sunday morning. We did the Space thing in March, and still wound up waiting in the airport for at least 3 hours! Got home @ 2:00 am -compliments of booking air thru RCI. One other question: how difficult would it be to get off the ship in order to be on a 9:55 am flight out of MCO going home? Thanks to any and all who may help - I find these boards to be very informative! :)

 

Lisa

[cme]

I can't answer your question about canceling. I would never atempt to make a 9:55 flight out of MCO:eek:

 

Carrie

[Cruising89143]

You should be able to cancel your air with the cruise line with no problems up until the time of final payment. On the other hand I would not book that early of a flight from MCO with the 45 minute drive from the port.

[BearySweet2Cruise]

I have read on the boards of people cancelling air with rccl and getting their own, so that should be no problem.( I personally have not done it because we never need air we live near all ports within a few hours of those in florida )

You will have a real problem with a 9:55 flight.. sometimes the ship does not even clear customs until after 8 am... book for at least noon or later.

[Kykitty]

I appreciate your comments. I felt that 9:55 was pushing it a bit. However, we did get off the ship at 7:30 last time! That was because we were doing the Space Center, though. I found a return flight out of MCO for 3:20 pm, for the same fare. Sounds much better to me. Have any of you stayed at the Radisson at PC?

 

Lisa

[elleluv]

The 3:20 flight is definitely the way to go!

 

The most economical transportation is to rent a car at MCO and then drop it off at the port. We're renting through Budget in October and it's just a little over $40 for a 1 day rental. You can do the same thing in reverse going back to MCO.

 

We haven't ever stayed at the Radisson, but there seem to be a lot of people who recommend it. We're staying at the Residence Inn in Cocoa which just opened a month or two ago... It has received good reviews. It's very close to the port and has a free breakfast.

[Kykitty]

Hi Elleluv - I did look up the Budget rental a few nights ago on the net and found a good rate for $41. Was not sure about the drop off thing, but that would certainly allow for more freedom. I was going to get around to calling about it (where to drop off at port, etc.) That sounds like the way to go! Most of the shuttles are $60 one way (MCO to PC). Thanks for the tips. Will check out some of the places on Cocoa as well - I read about it on another thead too.

 

Lisa

[SpuddGirl]

If renting a car, it might be wise to ask if there is an additional fee for dropping off the car at another location. Some do/some don't.

 

For example I recently called the Enterprise location nearest the Miami port to find out if there was a fee for dropping off a car rented at FLL, and was told it was $30 if it was not returned where it was rented.

 

Again, not all companies do this, nor for all locations, but its a question worth asking....

 

Sue