Fort Lauderdale day trip on the last day

[Jo and Rob]

Has anyone done the Fort Lauderdale Princess trip on the last day. We would really like to do the Everglades and perhaps the Wildlife as our flight is not until 4.20pm but we are wondering if that would be a bit tight. (Princess says it is fine if your flight is after 4pm)

I would like information from anyone who did a trip either with Princess or independently. We have a courtesy room at Miami West International and don't know whether to book with them instead? If we did go with Princess for the trip would we have to carry our flight bags throughout the trip or would we be able to leave them on a coach?

Is this something we could do in the morning before lunch? Does anyone know what time the transfer to Miami West Continental is?

Any help with this would be much appreciated

many thanks

Jo :)

[Avalon35]

Hi - we did the Ft Laud excursion this past Sat in the freezing cold. If the weather is nice it is a great trip. The everglades airboat ride is fun and the Flamingo gardens was quite nice. We spent too much time shivering to appreciate it but would have loved to have a nice day. The bus takes all your luggage with you and they get to the FLL airport 1:30 to 2ish - so you will have plenty of time.

[Jo and Rob]

Hi - we did the Ft Laud excursion this past Sat in the freezing cold. If the weather is nice it is a great trip. The everglades airboat ride is fun and the Flamingo gardens was quite nice. We spent too much time shivering to appreciate it but would have loved to have a nice day. The bus takes all your luggage with you and they get to the FLL airport 1:30 to 2ish - so you will have plenty of time.

 

We are flying from Miami, does that cause a problem?

[kestrel]

We took the Airboat and Flamingo Garden excursion. We were asked to arrive at a specific location on the cruise (don't remember which one) by 8:20am. Then we got off the cruise with the group, collected our luggage, went through the immigration, and then boarded the tour bus. Our luggage was stored at the bottom of the coach. We had some carry-on bags. We were allowed to leave the carry-on in the bus during our tour, but we were asked to bring all valuables with us all the time. At the end of the tour, the bus went to FLL first, and then to MIA. We arrived in MIA before 2pm. Therefore, I don't think you will have problem making the 4:20 flight.

[davekathy]

Has anyone done the Fort Lauderdale Princess trip on the last day. We would really like to do the Everglades and perhaps the Wildlife as our flight is not until 4.20pm but we are wondering if that would be a bit tight. (Princess says it is fine if your flight is after 4pm)

I would like information from anyone who did a trip either with Princess or independently. We have a courtesy room at Miami West International and don't know whether to book with them instead? If we did go with Princess for the trip would we have to carry our flight bags throughout the trip or would we be able to leave them on a coach?

Is this something we could do in the morning before lunch? Does anyone know what time the transfer to Miami West Continental is?

Any help with this would be much appreciated

many thanks

Jo :)

 

A few Cruises back we did a Fort Lauderdale City Tour through Princess. The tour included land and water. The price was reasonable. This allowed us to kill some time before our return flight (4:15 PM). You luggage will be on the same tour bus as you.

[Toto2Kansas]

They will get you to the Miami airport in plenty of time to catch your flight. They leave a lot of wiggle room between the end of the tour and the 4:00 cut off time, so they will arrive in plenty of time to get you through security after checking your bags. It is a great way to spend the day touring instead of sitting at the airport not being able to check in your luggage until a few hours before your flight leaves.

[geoherb]

We tried to do the Everglades tour after our cruise. These excursions can only be booked while you're on board. The excursion desk sent us the tickets on Thursday, but then a note on Friday saying that the excursion was canceled due to lack of participants. Amazingly, they had an opening on the more expensive Everglades and Flamingo Gardens tour ($20 more per person).

 

We opted to stay on the ship as long as possible and just catch a cab to the airport. We had a couple of hours of wait time in the lobby area before the airline would check us in. There were plenty of chairs in the waiting area. I had expected a mob since this was the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

[Toto2Kansas]

We tried to do the Everglades tour after our cruise. These excursions can only be booked while you're on board. The excursion desk sent us the tickets on Thursday, but then a note on Friday saying that the excursion was canceled due to lack of participants. Amazingly, they had an opening on the more expensive Everglades and Flamingo Gardens tour ($20 more per person).

 

We opted to stay on the ship as long as possible and just catch a cab to the airport. We had a couple of hours of wait time in the lobby area before the airline would check us in. There were plenty of chairs in the waiting area. I had expected a mob since this was the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

 

Yes, there is a notice on these tours, that they must have a minimum number of passengers book them before they will go. We have never been denied the tour before, but it could happen if there isn't enough participation.

[Canalchick]

Like Avalon we also did the Everglades and Flamingo Park tour this past Saturday (Avalon, I was the person who stayed on the bus/in the snack bar rather than suffer through the cold rainy windy open air airboat and tram--I think the windchill was 35 degrees). It was brutal, but I imagine a later tour (like past mid-February, perhaps) would pretty much always have warmer weather.

 

DH survived the boat ride and he loved the Flamingo Park--it is quite large, with animals, birds, and awesome flowers and other vegetation and there would be a lot to enjoy on a better day (they didn't even open the gift shop when we were there).

 

We didn't book it until the fourth day of the cruise, I think, and by the last day DH noticed it was sold out, so you have a couple of days on the ship to decide if you want to do it (and to check the weather forecast for Florida :) ).

 

The tour operator wrote down our airlines and airports and got a consensus of when we all needed to leave; the bus went to both Fort Lauderdale and then to Miami in plenty of time.

 

We booked it only because we had a 6:40 pm flight out of Ft. Lauderdale and we wanted something to occupy a few hours.

[Liz54]

We booked the airboat ride, but were sitting on the bus at the pier and the driver told us our timeline was too close. We stepped off and got a refund. After sitting for hours at the airport we saw our bus mates coming into the airport. We did have enough time, but Princess was VERY cautious, I would go ahead and book. They will decide if you have allowed enough time!

[Coolmama_1]

We did this tour twice; once in 2006 when it was freezing cold and again in 2008. They will get you to the airport in plenty of time. I believe the website says it is good for flights out of Miami after 4, which means they should have you at the airport around 2. I think both times we went we were at FLL by 1:00.

Enjoy your cruise!

[phabric]

I am wondering if I would have enought time for a post tour. My flight time is 2:50pm to Canada.

[Coolmama_1]

I am wondering if I would have enought time for a post tour. My flight time is 2:50pm to Canada.

 

You need to check the excursion list. It does say that it is recommended for flights after a certain time. On our last cruise, it was 2:30 but this time it is for flights after 4:00 ( I think). We have the opportunity to catch a direct flight out around 1:00 so I think we are going to pass this time around.

[kymbakitty]

We tried to do the Everglades tour after our cruise. These excursions can only be booked while you're on board. The excursion desk sent us the tickets on Thursday, but then a note on Friday saying that the excursion was canceled due to lack of participants. Amazingly, they had an opening on the more expensive Everglades and Flamingo Gardens tour ($20 more per person).

 

We opted to stay on the ship as long as possible and just catch a cab to the airport. We had a couple of hours of wait time in the lobby area before the airline would check us in. There were plenty of chairs in the waiting area. I had expected a mob since this was the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

 

Any idea whatsoever why the tours on the day you end are excluded from the prebooking process? You'd think they would want to know this ahead of time....odd.

 

Dawn