Will this Chardonnay Sister make her flight?

Hi,

I just found out that the 11:50 am flight out of FLL that I booked months ago has been changed to a 10:00 am. I booked Alaska Airlines with miles and their only other flight that day is 8:30 pm.

• So, I can spend 12 hours with nothing to do in Florida,while hauling luggage behind me;
  
• Or, spend hundreds of dollars re-booking on another airline where all that’s available are middle seats;
  
• Or, spend hundreds of dollars on a hotel room and leave the next day, probably also in middle seats.
  

If we sign up for expedited disembarkation and roll our own luggage off, will we be able to make this flight?

Any advice is appreciated!

Diann

I think if you do Luggage Direct and have your luggage taken care of so you don’t have to lug it off the ship or go through luggage check in, do priority self embarkation and take Uber or Lyft to the airport, you should be able to get out of the car, take your carry ons and go right to TSA and should have no problem making the flight

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Possibly

I would hate to be that stressed on the last morning of the cruise.

Maybe you can inquire about a day pass at a hotel???

FLL is about the only port will we feel good about flights that early, As long as your ship docks on time, and the US Authorities are not having a really bad day, you will be fine. In your case we would have a "Plan B" which is how to deal with the airline if something did cause you to miss that early flight. You simply go to Alaska and make the case that missing the flight was their fault because of the change. It is likely they would accept this argument, waive the change fee, and put you on the later flight.

Hank

I'd say you can make it with Expedited or Luggage Direct. Hank has it nailed.

Otherwise, does HAL have a shorex that you could take in FtL that might interest you? We've done that when we had to take a midnight flight and it sure helped!

Isn't this frustrating??!! How soon before your cruise did they change your flight?

Agreed that it's quite doable if the ship docks on time. Disembark as soon as possible and take a taxi. Chances are good you'll make it. Worst case scenario, you miss it and then have to sort out a later flight or an overnight. But don't opt for the fallback to begin with. Good luck.

As others have said..you should be able to make the flight. I think to use Luggage Direct your flight has to depart at 11:00 or later. If so, you will need to ask for expiditated departure and handle any luggage yourself. I would contact airline now and ask about rebooking at no charge.

Thanks for the tips. I just checked Luggage Direct and the flight doesn't fall within their time frame so that's a NO.

I just happened to pull up my reservation this morning to check my seat assignments and found that the schedule had changed. When I called they told me that they notify 3 months in advance so I'd be getting a notice sometime next week. I wouldn't mind so much if the next flight was a few hours later but 10 1/2 extra hours is crazy.

The shorex options are all roughly four hours so that would still have us sitting at the airport for a dangerous amount of drinking time!

I'm leaning toward trying it. I'm due for some good luck!

No problem

Thanks for the tips. I just checked Luggage Direct and the flight doesn't fall within their time frame so that's a NO.

 

I just happened to pull up my reservation this morning to check my seat assignments and found that the schedule had changed. When I called they told me that they notify 3 months in advance so I'd be getting a notice sometime next week. I wouldn't mind so much if the next flight was a few hours later but 10 1/2 extra hours is crazy.

 

The shorex options are all roughly four hours so that would still have us sitting at the airport for a dangerous amount of drinking time!

 

I'm leaning toward trying it. I'm due for some good luck!

Hi Diann!

I am so glad to see that you are cruising again! Mitzi and I hope to see you onboard sometime soon. We enjoyed our brief interactions on the Nieuw Amsterdam a few years ago...

For those experienced with FLL, doesn’t the number and SIZE of other ships come into play here?

If so, does that play into advise?

Wishing you a great cruise. Good to see you are back on the seas.

Diann - at FLL they do not let you go through security or check your bags until a couple hours before your flight - sitting around baggage claim for several hours is no fun. That was our experience last January. Thought you might wish to factor this into the equation also.

Hopefully you can manage your own luggage. If so, chose Expedited Departure. Go down to the departure deck +/- 30 minutes before your expedited departure time and patiently wait for the OK to get off the ship. You'll be off the ship generally by 7-7:30 with your luggage. You'll be through border inspection in nano speed! Go directly to the taxi line (the great sheriffs will direct you). That early in the morning you'll get a taxi right away and you'll be at the airport within 20 minutes!! We do this on every cruise ending in Fort Lauderdale and have never had a problem!! AND you beat all the other post-cruisers rushing to the airport! No stress ever if you can do it this way! The key is: EXPEDITED DEPARTURE!

I have missed flights. I have been put on the next flight out. At no cost. Sometimes I have had to fly to a hub and connect from there. They are good that way. I would risk it.

One thing to keep in mind, a quote from RuthC, from about a year and a half ago:

What is keeping you from booking the service is the time of your flight. Even in Ft. Lauderdale, where the airport is within spitting distance of the pier, the earliest flight allowed for Luggage Direct is 11:30. In Seattle you need a lot more time than this, as the airport is the other side of town from the pier.

Are there any better options out of Miami? If so, perhaps your airline would let you switch to flying out of there since their change isn't giving you good options out of FLL.

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What day do you get back? If it's not Saturday or Sunday, it should be doable.

We live in Fort Lauderdale and I'd be comfortable with a 10:00 flight, especially if you do carry off.

Definitely get the TSA mobile passport app so you can use the speed line. We use it even though we have Global Entry.

FLL is about the only port will we feel good about flights that early, As long as your ship docks on time, and the US Authorities are not having a really bad day, you will be fine. In your case we would have a "Plan B" which is how to deal with the airline if something did cause you to miss that early flight. You simply go to Alaska and make the case that missing the flight was their fault because of the change. It is likely they would accept this argument, waive the change fee, and put you on the later flight.

 

Hank

Diann, I'd be careful with Luggage Direct. Once when we were cruising with family, we all signed up for Luggage Direct. Boy was I surprised when I got pulled over into a special room after disembarking. Apparently, some Luggage Direct users are pulled for random searches and I was one of them. Everyone was waiting for me for our ride to the FLL airport! It all worked out but I was concerned at first before I knew what was going on. I did sit in the special room for a while before I was called over as they searched my luggage.

Anyway, my point is, if you have to get to the airport, walk off with your own luggage. I do think you have a good chance of making your flight. And the advice to have a backup plan is a good one. Enjoy your cruise!

Diann, I'd be careful with Luggage Direct. Once when we were cruising with family, we all signed up for Luggage Direct. Boy was I surprised when I got pulled over into a special room after disembarking. Apparently, some Luggage Direct users are pulled for random searches and I was one of them. Everyone was waiting for me for our ride to the FLL airport! It all worked out but I was concerned at first before I knew what was going on. I did sit in the special room for a while before I was called over as they searched my luggage.

 

 

 

Anyway, my point is, if you have to get to the airport, walk off with your own luggage. I do think you have a good chance of making your flight. And the advice to have a backup plan is a good one. Enjoy your cruise!

Exact same thing happened to me. 55 minute delay. Last time I used any luggage service.

Btw, I’ve done 10:00 am ish flights out of FLL with no problem. It can be done. One time I was at my gate at 8:30am after getting off the Maasdam at 7:30 am.

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Thank you, everyone! We've decided to carry our own luggage off and take our chances. I feel a bit better about our odds now. :D

Thank you, everyone! We've decided to carry our own luggage off and take our chances. I feel a bit better about our odds now. :D

Wise decision and you should be fine :). As to luggage services, while we have friends who are big fans of Luggage Direct we are not! Why? The problem is that when you get home, if your luggage is not at the airport then you file the normal missing luggage claim with the airline. But alas, sometimes the airline will say "your luggage was never loaded and we have no idea why?" Then what . You go to Luggage Direct and say the airline never got our luggage (this all takes time) and perhaps Luggage Direct comes back and says "we delivered your luggage to the airline" Then what? When you depend on Luggage Direct you are assuming that 34 different parties (the ship, the Longshoreman, Luggage Direct, and the airline) all do their job without any issues. At any step in the process something can go wrong. When it does, you are now dealing with 4 parties....all of whom could deny doing anything wrong.

Consider the alternative. If you claim your luggage in the terminal and its not there you know it happened between your cabin and the port and the cruise line must take responsibility. When you personally check-in your luggage at the airport you have proof...and if it does not show-up at your destination you can go after the airline. If you are flying Delta (or some other airlines) you can load their app which actually tracks your luggage. Perhaps we are a bit paranoid about luggage, but then again we have never lost a bag in over forty years of extensive travel (domestic and International). Our luggage has gone missing on multiple occasions, but finding it was usually a simple matter. The only time we ever had a real problem was when we used a post cruise Princess hotel/tour package in Buenos Aires and our luggage (along with about 20 others) completely disappeared between the ship and hotel. The cruise line, their local reps, and the transfer company were worthless. But our Hotel Concierge, using his personal contacts, found everyone's luggage many miles away at the airport. The cruise line reps still would not help so the hotel sent their own truck to retrieve everyone's luggage. And no, we did not get an apology from anyone. But at least our hotel came through (and many large tips did change hands).

Hank

You might want to check your flights again. Our flight on Alaska Air fro FLL was changed from 11:50 to 10:00 but now it's at 11:10. Closer to the original time. I'm just saying they can make you crazy with their time changes!

Leslie

Oh wow.

First, Hank, thanks for your insights into Luggage Direct. I only really read up on them when this schedule change first happened and I confess, it sounded like the very best thing in the world. Now that I have a better idea of the potential pitfalls, I’ll be much more wary. Bullet dodged.

I have had luggage go astray but it wasn’t the fault of the airline or any outside service. I was flying home to the “Burbank, Hollywood, John Wayne, Brad & Angelina Airport” up the street and dutifully queued up at the outdoor baggage claim where I waited and waited. Eventually all the peeps and bags had gone and I was left standing alone with the one unclaimed bag that looked exactly like mine and could have done a very nice impression of BEING mine except for the fact that it held someone else’s clothes.

Clearly, this bag’s owner had mistakenly absconded with my bag. Unfortunately she lived in San Diego and would not realize her error until long after I planned to be asleep. The main lesson I learned – do not save carry-on weight by tucking your house keys into the outside pocket of your checked bag! I ended up having to wake a neighbor to let me in.

And Leslie, apparently, we’re on the same flight. I have loved Alaska Airlines for a million years (and still do) but TWO schedule changes without notification? I confess, I’m not really happy with them right now. (I’m not actually religious but things went downhill when they stopped giving you the little prayer on the lunch tray. JK!)

Thanks everyone for your tips and tricks!

Di

FLL is about the only port will we feel good about flights that early, As long as your ship docks on time, and the US Authorities are not having a really bad day, you will be fine. In your case we would have a "Plan B" which is how to deal with the airline if something did cause you to miss that early flight. You simply go to Alaska and make the case that missing the flight was their fault because of the change. It is likely they would accept this argument, waive the change fee, and put you on the later flight.

 

Hank

Great advice. It is airline's fault you are booked on a flight leaving so early........

Good luck

Let us know how it goes Diann