With Disney Cruise Line’s onboard airline check-in program you can have your boarding passes printed for you on the ship and your checked luggage taken from your stateroom, not to be seen again until you reach your home airport. There are a few stipulations, which you see in the following documents. This first one is a page that can be found in the cruise documents that will be mailed to you shortly before your cruise and can be seen here:
Onboard Airline Check-in Page from Cruise Documents
Here is the front and back of the instruction sheet that you will receive in your stateroom, along with luggage tags and boarding passes, towards the end of your cruise:
Important items to note:
You must have booked DCL transfers from the ship to Orlando International Airport (MCO) on the morning of disembarkation in Port Canaveral, or have booked your flight through Disney Cruise Line
Only certain airlines participate
Your flight must be between the hours of 11:25 am and 11:59 pm on the day your cruise ends
You must have a domestic flight (including Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands)
There are weight and quantity restrictions on your luggage and fees will be charged to your onboard account
You must complete the above form while onboard the ship and return it to Guest Services by the deadline given
.
We have used this service once and it was very convenient and worked flawlessly. I would not hesitate to use it again if I was flying home the day my cruise ended. I especially recommend it for those traveling with small children who can’t help wrangle luggage out of the terminal or into the airport (or will whine profusely while doing so like mine).
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What kinds of activities are on a Disney cruise . Are there different themes.
Did this and luggage never made it to the destination. Have called DCL 2x, emailed, they told me they are working on it. Four pieces of luggage lost. Airlines is telling me that DCL placed 26 pieces of luggage at the wrong gate. Obviously, this service didn’t work great for us.
I’m so sorry to hear this! Can the airline even tell you where the bags are? DCL should have given you claim tags or numbers for the bags just like you get when you check bags at the airport. Do you still have those?
Actually, the airlines were the ones who told me this morning that 26 bags from the cruise were found dropped off at the wrong gate by DCL in Orlando. That’s why the luggage was never scanned to show the status of where they were in transit. We got off the ship at 9am yesterday, our flight wasn’t until 5:25 pm, so they must have sat there all day at the wrong gate. According to the airlines, someone else on our flight was missing five pieces of luggage.
I had emailed DCL Lost and Found department and this morning they said they would get back to me asap to let me know the status. Have not heard a word from DCL since that email. I called back and left a message as well.
Your are correct on the luggage tag numbers. The night before you get off the ship DCL provides you with a sheet that lists your flight details, acts as your boarding pass and lists your baggage tag numbers. Then you are given baggage tags to place on your luggage before you put luggage outside your stateroom door, which we did two nights ago.
A helfpul tip for anyone using this service (we won’t again), is to take a picture of all your luggage with the tags, this will help the airlines with color and size description that they need to make the lost luggage report.
Oh my goodness, what a mess! Thank you for the tip to take a photo of your bags – that is such a great idea. I really hope this is resolved quickly for you and I’m so sorry this happened to you. ?
Have used this service before and it is so nice to not worry about baggage. Cruise for 2018 and times for flight leave MCO at 11:20. Will we not be able to use this service since the time if off by 5 minutes?
I don’t think that they will let you. I have heard that they are real sticklers for their time restrictions, but you can always ask onboard. Maybe you will get some extra pixie dust, but I wouldn’t expect it.
Do checked bags have to be picked up the last night of the cruise or will we be able to finish packing toiletries the morning of debarkation?
Hi Katy! Any luggage that you want DCL to transfer and check in at the airport for you needs to be set out the last night. Anything like toiletries that you need on the final morning, you will have to carry off the ship with you and take it with you on the bus to the airport. Once at the airport, you could either check the bag yourself or carry it on the plane if it’s small enough. We have always managed to fit all of our toiletries and pajamas into 1 or 2 carry on size bags that we carry to the airport and then carry on the plane. Hope this helps!
Thanks for all your helpful info! Question: can we send our car seat as part of the onboard airline check in? I would love to put it outside our stateroom and not see it again until we land in DCA! If yes, will we get charged for it? Usually airlines let you check your car seat for free.
Hi Adam! As far as I know, you can do this. However, I have never personally done it so I suggest asking guest services sometime during your cruise to double check.
Hi, any idea how/if this works if you have an airline credit card and shouldn’t have to pay baggage fees? I have an American Airlines card so I can check my bags for free on American flights. Can I still use this service or would I automatically be charged baggage fees?
Hi Sharon! I’ve never personally run into this issue so I’m not exactly sure what they do. You would need to go to guest services at some point during your cruise and ask them. I’m sure they deal with this a lot and have a process for it.
We plan on using this service when we sail in a couple of months but am curious how we take care of baggage fees. We’re flying on American so how does this work exactly?
Hi Gia! I don’t remember exactly how it works, but I think they charge the appropriate fees to your onboard account. You should go to guest services after boarding the ship and double check.