Can I make an 11:33 flight out of FFL?

[kalliekae]

Taking advantage of all that has been posted-can a real focused family of 4 make the 11:10am flight?

 

 

I say YES! There were 4 ships in port the day we disembarked last month and we had no problem walking off the ship at 8:15 am, getting a taxi at the curb with no wait, arriving at the airport, getting through security and then waiting, waiting, waiting for our 12:30pm flight...all because I listened to the advice on here to book a flight after noon. Sorry, but I would rather take my chances and book an early flight than sit for hours at the airport. We are taking another cruise in a couple of weeks and have booked an 11:30am flight. BTW, we will be disembarking from the Oasis so I will let you know if we are delayed due to the "mega ship" syndrome. :)

[cruiser 101]

Assuming the ship arrives in port as expected and you choose the "Luggage Direct" option our past experience is that we are at the airport around 8:30AM, which should allow plenty of time for your flight. As I mentioned all you do is walk off the ship, go through customs, and get your taxi to the airport. You will have only your carryon luggage to handle.

 

The taxi fare again is around $20 with a tip.

 

Mike

 

Thanks so much-the only obstacle now will be changing our flights. We have to call Jet Blue early on disembarkment day and see if it's a go. Again thanks for giving us hope.

[jtl513]

Taking advantage of all that has been posted-can a real focused family of 4 make the 11:10am flight?

Barring any problems arriving on time, or getting the ship cleared, or getting to the airport, or at the airport, you can make it. Better have a Plan B, though.

[Randyk47]

Barring any problems arriving on time, or getting the ship cleared, or getting to the airport, or at the airport, you can make it. Better have a Plan B, though.

 

Absolutely agree. After numerous cruises we had one where we missed a 1:30 PM flight due to late ship arrival and clearing issues. Stuff can happen so at least know what are the next series of flights. American Airlines was actually very understanding and we caught a 3 PM flight and got home about an hour later than with our original set.

[Typhoon1]

11:30 is fine, barring the unforeseen, of course.

[anaco_angler]

Ship returns on Sun at 7AM. I searched and found a post that recommended flights after 12:00. But the 11:33 is a bit cheaper than the next flight (at 1:40) and has a better layover for our connecting flight.

 

Am I cutting it too close?

 

The Zuiderdam was delayed arriving FLL on 12/3 by 2 1/2 hours due to a mechanical problem. We had to reschedule our original 1130 departure on Delta, paying $450 in fees for the rebooking. We just learned that our travel insurance will not cover the cost since it was "carrier caused." Not sure what that means other than we're out a bunch of money. So yes, an 1133 departure should be do-able, but if there's a problem, be prepared to pay the extra money. We would not have made our 1130 flight, but did make a 1:15 flight. The security lines at FLL can be a mess. Also, with the late arrival by the Zuiderdam, it seemed everyone wanted to self-debark, even people who were getting in their cars and driving home to cities in FL. The staff did not do a good job of allowing passengers with tight air connections to get off first. It was a snarly scrum.

[Linda&Vern]

The Zuiderdam was delayed arriving FLL on 12/3 by 2 1/2 hours due to a mechanical problem. We had to reschedule our original 1130 departure on Delta, paying $450 in fees for the rebooking. We just learned that our travel insurance will not cover the cost since it was "carrier caused." Not sure what that means other than we're out a bunch of money. So yes, an 1133 departure should be do-able, but if there's a problem, be prepared to pay the extra money. We would not have made our 1130 flight, but did make a 1:15 flight. The security lines at FLL can be a mess. Also, with the late arrival by the Zuiderdam, it seemed everyone wanted to self-debark, even people who were getting in their cars and driving home to cities in FL. The staff did not do a good job of allowing passengers with tight air connections to get off first. It was a snarly scrum.

As I previously posted - we were also on this cruise. It seems one can give all kinds of examples ... but people think it won't happen to them. Let me give everyone history of our four cruises and you'll see why we arrive a day early and leave a day late from port city:

 

First cruise - Maasdam arrived into port late afternoon instead of 7:00am.

 

Second cruise - Maasdam arrived into port early afternoon instead of 7:00am.

 

Third cruise - Veendam on time all around.

 

Fourth cruise - Zuiderdam. Our SW flight was originally delayed 3.5 hrs to FLL. Cruisers for that day had to rush to get put on other flights in order to try and make it to the port on time. (We were not cruising until the next day - for this very reason.) And as noted above, the Zuiderdam did not dock until around 9:45am at the end of our cruise. Then there was some type of immigration problem. We were in one of the first groups off - quickly got luggage - jumped into taxi - arrived at hotel near port at 12:00 noon. That's why we fly out to next day.

 

So ... 3 out of 4 of our cruises were NOT according to schedule. Stuff does happen with airlines and with ships. I don't understand those that want to end their vacation in such a panic mode. There was lots of "snarly" on the ship Friday morning!

[Himself]

I would say if you are out of the terminal by 9:20 or so, you should be able to make the flight. If the ship comes in late, you could be in trouble/

[mproudler]

We just got off the Eurodam on Saturday, Dec. 4th. We used the expedited service disembarking and arrived at the FLL airport at 7:30 a.m.! We had to wait 4 hours for our flight. If I would have known it was so quick, I would have booked an earlier flight ourselves. Enjoy your cruise.

[DeepWaterMariner]

As I previously posted - we were also on this cruise. It seems one can give all kinds of examples ... but people think it won't happen to them. Let me give everyone history of our four cruises and you'll see why we arrive a day early and leave a day late from port city:

 

First cruise - Maasdam arrived into port late afternoon instead of 7:00am.

 

Second cruise - Maasdam arrived into port early afternoon instead of 7:00am.

 

Third cruise - Veendam on time all around.

 

Fourth cruise - Zuiderdam. Our SW flight was originally delayed 3.5 hrs to FLL. Cruisers for that day had to rush to get put on other flights in order to try and make it to the port on time. (We were not cruising until the next day - for this very reason.) And as noted above, the Zuiderdam did not dock until around 9:45am at the end of our cruise. Then there was some type of immigration problem. We were in one of the first groups off - quickly got luggage - jumped into taxi - arrived at hotel near port at 12:00 noon. That's why we fly out to next day.

 

So ... 3 out of 4 of our cruises were NOT according to schedule. Stuff does happen with airlines and with ships. I don't understand those that want to end their vacation in such a panic mode. There was lots of "snarly" on the ship Friday morning!

 

I hope you're not on our next cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. We've never had a problem (knock on wood) with flights at 11:30 and have even managed to move to earlier flights when we arrived at the airport at 9:00 or earlier. Our last two arrivals were both on Saturdays with six or seven ships in port, including the Oasis, and we had no problem with getting a taxi. The key for us has been getting off the ship early, one of the first groups, which gets us to the airport ahead of the rush for check in and security. Late arrivals or a late group off the ship would be a different story.

[Typhoon1]

As I previously posted - we were also on this cruise. It seems one can give all kinds of examples ... but people think it won't happen to them. Let me give everyone history of our four cruises and you'll see why we arrive a day early and leave a day late from port city:

 

Since we always cruise in winter, we arrive FLL four days early and depart a day or two after disembarkation. The extra day or two avoids the madness at FLL.

 

Sure, it costs a few extra dollars, but it's cheap insurance.

 

There's nothing more relaxing than ending your cruise by not having to rush to the airport with the masses. I refuse to be caught in the mass of humanity at FLL on Saturday or Sunday.

[Linda&Vern]

. . . There's nothing more relaxing than ending your cruise by not having to rush to the airport with the masses. I refuse to be caught in the mass of humanity at FLL on Saturday or Sunday.

I wish we had stayed over for more than the one day. Returned to NC to 32 degree weather with blowing, sticking to the ground snow. All we said was "how dumb - we could have stayed in FLL for the weekend!"

[caymancouple]

This past Sunday, Dec. 5th. We were on the Neiuw Amsterdam, Holland America. We walked our bags off. We were the 3rd and 4th people off the ship. We made (and checked luggage) the 8:25 American Airlines flight to Dallas. Could not believe it....

[bepsf]

My roomie and I are also sitting at the FLL airport. We left the ship at 7:15 a.m. and were through security by 8:00 a.m.

 

We were the 3rd and 4th people off the ship. We made (and checked luggage) the 8:25 American Airlines flight to Dallas.

 

 

It would be terribly unfortunate for someone to read anomalies such as these and expect that they should be able to do exactly the same - After all, 2000 passengers cannot expect to be off any ship within the first 30 minutes.

[IIcaptain]

Fll may be the easiest port to arrive and depart through.

Taxis ar plentiful and inexpensive,hotels nearby,beaches nearby,airport nearby.

 

Would you agree??

[Boytjie]

Since we always cruise in winter, we arrive FLL four days early and depart a day or two after disembarkation. The extra day or two avoids the madness at FLL.

 

Sure, it costs a few extra dollars, but it's cheap insurance.

 

There's nothing more relaxing than ending your cruise by not having to rush to the airport with the masses. I refuse to be caught in the mass of humanity at FLL on Saturday or Sunday.

 

Hear, hear!

 

Two years ago we spend a week prior to the February cruise in Florida and opted to fly back when we disembarked. I don't want to do that again! We did not have any issues with getting off the ship or getting to the airport - it was that miserable couple of hours spent at the airport waiting for our flight - which was delayed a couple of hours too.

 

It's much nicer to get off the ship when we fell like it and crash at our friend Robert's house. (Yes, we are lucky to have that option!)