We Have Airline Tickets To Get Us Home From Our December 2015 Disney Cruise

We have airfare for one half of our December 2015 Disney Cruise Line vacation—the return flight! 

When I told some folks, they thought I was nuts/crazy.  “What about getting there?”  “How can you do that?”  “That would drive me insane!”  And, my favorite, “Can you do that?”

Oh, yes, you can do that!  And, by “that” I mean not purchase round trip airfare.  It’s not the first time that we have only purchased one leg of airfare for a trip and there is definitely some thinking behind it. . .

Our cruise is over New Year’s and is 7-night itinerary.  We disembark on Saturday, January 2, 2016—after spending New Year’s Day on Castaway Cay!  And, given that we have to be at work and school on Monday, January 4, 2016, our window in which to get home starts at noon on January 2 as the cruise line suggests not booking flights any earlier than noon on disembarkation day.  The price for those flights, if they existed at all, was incredible—we’re talking $400-$700 per ticket one-way.  Alas, I found a very reasonable one-way flight for the next morning.  Yep, it is an early flight 6:00 am and yes, it has a connection with a short layover (50 minutes) and the price was right—especially after watching it fluctuate for a few days.  So, yesterday, I jumped.  I called our travel agent and within minutes, we had our seats. 

Was our travel agent worried about us getting there?  Nope.  She knows it will happen, especially since we aren’t sure yet when we can leave in December as work and school schedules have yet to be set. 

Another decision we made was to stay at the Hyatt at Orlando International Airport after we disembark the ship as we don’t fly until the next morning.  We could have picked a Disney Resort Hotel.  The trade off was ease and a bit of sleep.  If we stayed at a Disney Resort the Magical Express would be picking us up at 3:00 am for a 6:00 am flight.  Staying at the Hyatt means we can have a bit more leisurely pace in the wee hours of the morning and check-in for our flight literally downstairs say at 4:30 am.  I’ve got another ace up my sleeve in case of inclement weather by being at the airport the day prior to our flights home, too.  (I don’t want to jinx it and at the same time, if travel advisories are issued we may be able to get on flights sooner—rather than later.)

Buying airfare is like playing Russian Roulette. . . at least it feels that way.  I set the price alerts on Kayak to get notifications, I watch the prices for various days, and even various airports.  Most of the time, we do okay—as of today, that same flight is now $51 higher per ticket.  Whew!  Now, I’m going to stop looking at those prices and keep an eye out for flights TO Orlando!