Reply To: JoCo Cruise Crazy 3: Get excited and talk about things!
@dndgirl – Flip a coin. Taking the later flight would be the safest bet, but 12:30 should be ok. That said, there are so many variables that can effect when you disembark the ship, plus traffic to the airport. Sometimes you can be off the ship at 6:30am, but there is no guarantee. Customs can delay clearing the ship, plus there could be delays in the individual customs lines. Norovirus outbreaks (wash your hands, people!) and lost luggage can add delays too. That said, since RCI’s Luggage Valet* service only requires a flight after noon, that pretty much says that any flight after noon would be fine.
*If you have a late enough flight (noon @ MCO, according to this PDF Google found for me), you may be able to use the Luggage Valet for a fee ($20pp/free for concierge suites + usual airline baggage fees) to haul and check your bags for you. You put your bags out the night before with the required tags and don’t see them again until you land. We’ve used it twice and never had any problems with it. Just thought I’d put that out there for anyone who doesn’t want to deal with claiming bags at the port and checking them at the airport.