Cuba on Majesty of the Seas - Flight question

Excited to go to Cuba on Majesty of the Seas in December. We will get back into port in Ft Lauderdale on 12/31, and I was hoping to make it home to my kids before the ball drops at midnight (flying into Pittsburgh, but we have a ~3 hour drive home from there). The cruise documents I received said it was recommended not to book flights out of Ft Lauderdale for 6 and 1/2 hours after the ship docks (7 am), which means we wouldn't be able to fly out until after 1:30 pm, giving me almost no chance of making it home to Pennsylvania in time. Do I really need to wait to fly out until 6+ hours after the ship docks, or will we be cleared to leave the ship in 2-3 hours which is more typical of previous ships I've been on? I've never seen it recommended to wait that long to disembark on any other cruise I've been on... wondering if it's due to something different with being in Cuba as I know the airport is close to the cruise port in Ft. Lauderdale and it's a small ship...

Thanks for any help!

Excited to go to Cuba on Majesty of the Seas in December. We will get back into port in Ft Lauderdale on 12/31, and I was hoping to make it home to my kids before the ball drops at midnight (flying into Pittsburgh, but we have a ~3 hour drive home from there). The cruise documents I received said it was recommended not to book flights out of Ft Lauderdale for 6 and 1/2 hours after the ship docks (7 am), which means we wouldn't be able to fly out until after 1:30 pm, giving me almost no chance of making it home to Pennsylvania in time. Do I really need to wait to fly out until 6+ hours after the ship docks, or will we be cleared to leave the ship in 2-3 hours which is more typical of previous ships I've been on? I've never seen it recommended to wait that long to disembark on any other cruise I've been on... wondering if it's due to something different with being in Cuba as I know the airport is close to the cruise port in Ft. Lauderdale and it's a small ship...

 

Thanks for any help!

If you opt for self-assist disembarkation, and are willing to get into that line very early, and there are no delays, you could easily be at the airport 90 minutes after the ship arrives.

Thank you!

Excited to go to Cuba on Majesty of the Seas in December. We will get back into port in Ft Lauderdale on 12/31, and I was hoping to make it home to my kids before the ball drops at midnight (flying into Pittsburgh, but we have a ~3 hour drive home from there). The cruise documents I received said it was recommended not to book flights out of Ft Lauderdale for 6 and 1/2 hours after the ship docks (7 am), which means we wouldn't be able to fly out until after 1:30 pm, giving me almost no chance of making it home to Pennsylvania in time. Do I really need to wait to fly out until 6+ hours after the ship docks, or will we be cleared to leave the ship in 2-3 hours which is more typical of previous ships I've been on? I've never seen it recommended to wait that long to disembark on any other cruise I've been on... wondering if it's due to something different with being in Cuba as I know the airport is close to the cruise port in Ft. Lauderdale and it's a small ship...

 

Thanks for any help!

Can't speak for Ft Lauderdale but just got off the Majesty of the Seas from Cuba in Tampa a week ago. I had a 12:05pm flight out. My cabin was on deck 3. Self disembarked had plenty of time to get to airport and to the gate with time to grab a bite of lunch.

Rule of thumb is book flights at 12:00 or later. You are flying on a Holiday. You need to be at the airport 2 hours early but they recommend earlier than that on holidays.

So getting to the airport by 9:00 should be your target time. It is very doable, and likely that you can do this without any issues.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the info!

Official recommended flight times from RCCL for your sailing are 11:30 if flying from FLL and 12:30 if flying from MIA