Disembarkation process & timing in Port Everglades

Please be aware that on our disembarkation on the Silhouette on Jan 24th that while the arriving passengers were embarking at terminal 25 the disembarking passengers were going through another terminal, not sure of the # but this is what caused the long walk outside in the unseasonably cold, 45f weather for over an hour that was described above.

 

 

We were on this cruise and were some of the last people off the ship, the reports of being in line, outside, for well over an hour are no exaggeration.

 

The best advice I could give is do luggage valet and get off early.

 

In almost 30 cruises I have never experienced such a long disembarkation.

we disembarked on Jan 30

I have NEVER experienced such a horrible process.

1. we exchanged our luggage tags from 36 to 10 so that we could get off as soon as possible ( our train was at 12:30 pm)

2. we could not even get off the ship until 9:30

3. It was a huge line OUTSIDE!

4. the only reason we did not miss the train, was because someone advised to talk to a security person at each station and to show them our ticket.

5. we were among first and we got to the taxi by 11 (and had to cut the line again showing our ticket)

6. other people reported it took them 6 hours...a lot of missed flights...a few people had to stay an extra day in Fl

7. it sounds like it was not cruise line fault - something went wrong with Customs (one of the ships was still floating near a port at 8:30, which is very unusual)

8. that said - if you have a similar situation, remember, if you show your ticket, you might get off much faster

We still don't know what happened there that day. Does anyone have any info?

We have our interviews with Customs & Border Protection next week for Global Entry. I'm hoping this will get us around the line at the customs shed.

 

We were on this cruise and were some of the last people off the ship, the reports of being in line, outside, for well over an hour are no exaggeration.

 

The best advice I could give is do luggage valet and get off early.

 

In almost 30 cruises I have never experienced such a long disembarkation.

Great advice.

This was the first time we've eaten breakfast on disembarkment day. We weren't flying home till the next day so WTH. We figured we'd be the last off so the terminal would be clear. We were so wrong.

This is what we do for self-disembarkation, and we normally sail in suites. First, we have never been escorted or even really come into contact with our stateroom attendant or butler on our disembarkation morning.

 

We like to self-disembark as if we're flying out of FLL we usually have about a 10:10 nonstop 90 minute flight home. We can be in our house in south La. right after lunch.

 

So.... you have to be able to carry everything yourself. If you need to do stairs in tandem it's ok. We've handled a set of golf clubs, two large suitcases, and up to 3 carry-ons. You will sign up and they'll give you a time to show up in a particular location. Whatever that time is, say it's 7:30 - go down with all your luggage at 6:45.

 

Typically they'll have you line up your suitcases to hold your place in line. Go ahead and do that. We don't worry too much about breakfast on those days. We might alternate getting a muffin or something at Cafe' al Bacio. If you do this, you'll be early off the ship, among the first handful really. If you have to go up or down a flight, try not to use the elevator unless you're standing right next to it. Just take the cases down in tandem. Usually you'll disembark on that same level that you lined up on.

 

You'll pass through the process and normally you'll get through pretty fast. I suggest not pre-arranging transportation. Just come out of the terminal and grab a taxi. They'll be there, particularly if you're one of the first off.

 

We have often been in the airport by 8:00. That's where we take a few minutes to breathe and enjoy a beverage and a bagel or something.

Why do you decline the escort by the Concierge?

Great advice.

 

This was the first time we've eaten breakfast on disembarkment day. We weren't flying home till the next day so WTH. We figured we'd be the last off so the terminal would be clear. We were so wrong.

We were probably in line together, we thought just like you. We were some of the last off the ship. Fortunately we also were flying home the next day.

We were probably in line together, we thought just like you. We were some of the last off the ship. Fortunately we also were flying home the next day.

It was a terrible end to a perfect cruise, wasn't it?

It was a terrible end to a perfect cruise, wasn't it?

Yes, we had a fabulous time on the cruise, no complaints at all. I sure wish I'd packed a jacket though, who would have thought it would be that cold in FLL?

....We figured we'd be the last off so the terminal would be clear. We were so wrong.

Waiting to be last off has worked well for us to avoid the crowds and lines at other locations.

But at Port Everglades other ships disembarking that morning used the same facilities, so even though we waited until all the passengers from our ship had cleared out, we just got stuck in long lines with the passengers from another ship.

Absolutely, Luggage Valet is the way to go IF your airline qualifies. We read about it in the papers that we got on Thursday and Fri noon was the deadline for signup. The instructions were to go to Guest Relations to get forms...

We had to pay the ppfee and also any baggage fees that would be owed to the airline. It was great not having to drag luggage to the airport, Not to have to stand in line and check in with the airline, not to have to wait in line to clear TSA.

The best money we spent and it our OBC money! We did not lose a penny trying to cash out in the casino.

We waited to leave the ship until 9:30 and the line to get to immigration took a good hour! Once finished there we needed a taxi to the airport and we had to go a spot where passengers from HAL were also trying to get taxis. The shuttle bus tried to grab us but it was more expensive than a taxi. Without luggage it was so much easier to move around.

Ft Lauderdale is the worst place I have ever disembarked a ship

During most prior cruises customs had separate lines for US and non-US. Not recently though. In exiting Infinity last October (on a Monday, only ship in port) we got luggage quickly but stood in line for almost an hour waiting to clear customs. Noticed that while US passengers were basically just waved through foreigners took a while to process due to fingerprint machines. Still reached FLL before 11am.

Ft Lauderdale is the worst place I have ever disembarked a ship

That's interesting, because we've never had a problem disembarking at Port Everglades on Princess. The customs lines can get long, granted, but that's sort of universally true at pretty much every entry point these days. But, the process has always been relatively painless in our experience. That's why I started this thread, though, because I saw that so many people seemed to be having difficulty. Seems like it has a lot to do with which terminal is used and the cruise line's procedure.

By the same token, we've had some extremely bad embarkation experiences in Port Everglades with Princess in recent years. Again, in that case, it seems to be the cruise line's ground personnel didn't really have a good handle on the process. Was better again for our last cruise, fortunately. And, by contrast, I've been hearing repeatedly here on the X board that Celebrity boarding is a breeze.

So, I'm sitting here in our hotel at Ft. Lauderdale Beach, and am looking forward to our cruise. Thank you all again for all your helpful information and experiences. It has really helped give me a good idea how to handle the disembarkation process to, hopefully, minimize the anxiety. Can't wait to explore this beautiful shop, and the fantastic features and venues I've been reading about for years. :)

That's interesting, because we've never had a problem disembarking at Port Everglades on Princess. The customs lines can get long, granted, but that's sort of universally true at pretty much every entry point these days. But, the process has always been relatively painless in our experience. That's why I started this thread, though, because I saw that so many people seemed to be having difficulty. Seems like it has a lot to do with which terminal is used and the cruise line's procedure.

 

By the same token, we've had some extremely bad embarkation experiences in Port Everglades with Princess in recent years. Again, in that case, it seems to be the cruise line's ground personnel didn't really have a good handle on the process. Was better again for our last cruise, fortunately. And, by contrast, I've been hearing repeatedly here on the X board that Celebrity boarding is a breeze.

 

So, I'm sitting here in our hotel at Ft. Lauderdale Beach, and am looking forward to our cruise. Thank you all again for all your helpful information and experiences. It has really helped give me a good idea how to handle the disembarkation process to, hopefully, minimize the anxiety. Can't wait to explore this beautiful shop, and the fantastic features and venues I've been reading about for years. :)

Enjoy your cruise, Silhouette is a great ship.

Have a wonderful cruise:)

And, by contrast, I've been hearing repeatedly here on the X board that Celebrity boarding is a breeze.

 

So, I'm sitting here in our hotel at Ft. Lauderdale Beach, and am looking forward to our cruise. Thank you all again for all your helpful information and experiences. It has really helped give me a good idea how to handle the disembarkation process to, hopefully, minimize the anxiety. Can't wait to explore this beautiful shop, and the fantastic features and venues I've been reading about for years. :)

Yes, boarding is always a breeze on X

Have a wonderful cruise on one of my favorite ships! Let us know how your disembarkation goes. Have fun!

So, I'm sitting here at FLL waiting for our flight home after an absolutely fabulous 7-days aboard the beautiful Silhouette. I will write much more about the trip separately, but wanted to just comment quickly about disembarkation.

On embarkation day we went to Guest Relations and got the Luggage Valet form (and signed up on the wait list for the Alcoves). Our flight time qualified, so we took advantage of the Valet service.

This morning we left our cabin a little before 8:00 a.m. and walked right off. Unfortunately, I was flagged for a random customs check, which added about 15 minutes to our experience while they pulled my suitcase aside. Once it arrived, the customs officer did the most cursory visual inspection I've ever seen, and let us go on our way.

We were in a cab and on our way to the airport by 8:35. At that time, there were no lines whatsoever for anything: luggage, customs, cabs, etc. Don't know what it was like later, but that early it was a breeze.

Thanks again to all of you for your great advice; worked like a charm. Now, back to reality. :D

Hi 5:00 Somewhere

We are working on having global entry/nexus for our cruise on March 28. We have a n earlier flight (10am) and so I don't think the luggage valet would work in our scenario and I'm hoping not to get caught up in the craziness that can happen but I've never experienced.

Does anyone know if luggage valet works for Silver? We are headed to Orlando after our cruise.

Thanks and have a wonderful trip

So, I'm sitting here at FLL waiting for our flight home after an absolutely fabulous 7-days aboard the beautiful Silhouette. I will write much more about the trip separately, but wanted to just comment quickly about disembarkation.

 

On embarkation day we went to Guest Relations and got the Luggage Valet form (and signed up on the wait list for the Alcoves). Our flight time qualified, so we took advantage of the Valet service.

 

This morning we left our cabin a little before 8:00 a.m. and walked right off. Unfortunately, I was flagged for a random customs check, which added about 15 minutes to our experience while they pulled my suitcase aside. Once it arrived, the customs officer did the most cursory visual inspection I've ever seen, and let us go on our way.

 

We were in a cab and on our way to the airport by 8:35. At that time, there were no lines whatsoever for anything: luggage, customs, cabs, etc. Don't know what it was like later, but that early it was a breeze.

 

Thanks again to all of you for your great advice; worked like a charm. Now, back to reality. :D

Welcome back and thanks for the follow up post.

>..

 

Does anyone know if luggage valet works for Silver?...

What do you mean by "Silver"

What do you mean by "Silver"

Silver Airways, I assume.

Yes Silver Airways--sorry for leaving that out. I'm beginning to regret booking with them as I could've booked as United. My wife has top tier status with Star Alliance and that would have been helpful moving through the lines.