Earliest flight after disembarking Allure

[Oshawapilot]

I know this has been covered here before but I can't seem to find a thread specific to Allure and Ft. Lauderdale airport.

 

IIRC our itinerary shows us arriving back in port at 7AM on the Sunday of our arrival back in Florida. Given time to disembark and get to the airport, what would people consider the earliest reasonable flight we could catch? I have no idea (being first timers) if we can 100% count on the ship being in port at 7AM. Earlier? Later? If we arrive before 7AM, can we disembark early to catch an early flight?

 

I see all sorts of flights leaving in the 8:30A range but I can't see that being very realistic if we don't bump the pier until 7AM..but I'd like to get out of dodge as soon as possible on the Sunday since we have a long flight home and then have to return to work on Monday.

 

Thoughts?

[paul929207]

You may want to post this in the RCCL section

[Carolin]

The rule of thumb is to not book anything before noon. Stuff happens

[klfrodo]

Since you're new, we'll start at the beginning.

 

Once the ship bumps the pier when it returns,,, the ship no longer belongs to the cruiseline. The ship is under the direct control of US Customs and US Immigrations. All passengers on the manifest PLUS crew has to be cleared by US Immigrations. (95% of this is done behind the scenes). The ship also has to clear US Customs. (All that luggage that was taken the night before? The drug dogs have to sniff all of it). Once the ship is cleared,,, THEN people can begin to debark.

 

(Note: The ship ship actually bumps the pier around 5AM while guests are still sleeping and the clearing process begins)

 

Having said all that,,,,, I still would not purchase return flights from FLL before 11:30 AM

An hour to get off ship

20 minute ride to airport

arrive at airport the recommended 2 hrs prior to check in and get thru security.

[LHT28]

Book a later flight NOON at least

Just because the ship docks at 7am you still have to wait for immigration to clear the ship

All non U.S. citizens have to report in person to them ...it takes time ;)

[Oshawapilot]

Invaluable advice..thanks all. We are contemplating a lot of flight options right now (airfare in/out of Ft. Lauderdale is ridiculous!) and flexibility is key. Southwest has a noon departure that I think is reasonable for us to catch. I'm assuming taxi's will be plentiful at the terminal, so whatever the cost, as soon as we're off we'll beeline it for the airport.

 

I know the 2-hour guideline for arrival at the airport is what the airlines would prefer, but based on experience, 1 hour will do. ;) Despite being Canadians we will be flying to/from Buffalo, so we will be considered a domestic flight..hence no customs or international delays at either end.

 

I had kind of hoped we could have a bit of a relaxing morning on disembarkment day, get up, have a coffee, etc..but airfares in the afternoon will cost us an extra $400 or so (between the 4 of us), and as serious as I take my coffee, $400 is not worth it. ;)

[Keith1010]

Invaluable advice..thanks all. We are contemplating a lot of flight options right now (airfare in/out of Ft. Lauderdale is ridiculous!) and flexibility is key. Southwest has a noon departure that I think is reasonable for us to catch. I'm assuming taxi's will be plentiful at the terminal, so whatever the cost, as soon as we're off we'll beeline it for the airport.

 

I know the 2-hour guideline for arrival at the airport is what the airlines would prefer, but based on experience, 1 hour will do. ;) Despite being Canadians we will be flying to/from Buffalo, so we will be considered a domestic flight..hence no customs or international delays at either end.

 

I had kind of hoped we could have a bit of a relaxing morning on disembarkment day, get up, have a coffee, etc..but airfares in the afternoon will cost us an extra $400 or so (between the 4 of us), and as serious as I take my coffee, $400 is not worth it. ;)

 

Noon is perfect.

 

Taxis will be plentiful.

 

Print out your boarding passes while on the ship to save time at the airport.

 

Keith

[kitty9]

Invaluable advice..thanks all. We are contemplating a lot of flight options right now (airfare in/out of Ft. Lauderdale is ridiculous!) and flexibility is key. Southwest has a noon departure that I think is reasonable for us to catch. I'm assuming taxi's will be plentiful at the terminal, so whatever the cost, as soon as we're off we'll beeline it for the airport.

 

I know the 2-hour guideline for arrival at the airport is what the airlines would prefer, but based on experience, 1 hour will do. ;) Despite being Canadians we will be flying to/from Buffalo, so we will be considered a domestic flight..hence no customs or international delays at either end.

 

I had kind of hoped we could have a bit of a relaxing morning on disembarkment day, get up, have a coffee, etc..but airfares in the afternoon will cost us an extra $400 or so (between the 4 of us), and as serious as I take my coffee, $400 is not worth it. ;)

 

Be aware, that many airlines, Southwest included, now close their flights 15 to 20 minutes before their scheduled departure. So, you must have butts in seats a lot earlier than you might be used to. On our last cruise out of FLL, we flew Southwest and they closed the doors 20 minutes before the flight was scheduled to depart. A number of people missed the flight because they didn't make it to the gate area in time.

 

There is a reason why those early flights are so cheap. Airlines know that cruise passengers cannot make those flights, so consequently the later flights are a lot more expensive. You can count on 45 minutes just to check in at the airport and maybe another 45 minutes in the security line. So, your idea of only needing an hour at the airport is very incorrect. FLL is very jammed packed on weekends and you really do need the two hour window to get to your gate.

[1025cruise]

Noon should be OK. A couple of things to keep in mind, Allure has 6000 passengers disembarking at once, and it won't be the only ship in port.

[Keith1010]

Believe it or not RCI has mastered how to board and disembark these 5,400 passenger ships. We have friends who sailed on Allure and said it was the speediest disembarkation they ever had.

 

I tend to be on the conservative side when it comes to flights but a 12:00 Noon flight is very doable.

 

Keith

[cb at sea]

If there is a flight a bit before noon that you like, don't be afraid to book it....noon is MORE than doable. You will most likely be sitting around the airport for a couple hours before you board the plane!

The airport is only about 10 mins. from the ship!

[LHT28]

You may also want to check flights to IAG

http://www.niagarafallsairport.com/

[mrsfuzzmo]

It's not unreasonable to fly into/out of MIA. If hte price is much better, that's definitely an option. We get better prices from MKE by flying into FLL, and when we cruise out of/into Miami we usually fly to FLL and take a cab. It's almost the same distance from FLL to Port of Miami as it is from MIA airport to Port of Miami. That being said, the FLL airport is very near the cruise terminal and so you wouldn't have a very long drive flying in there, BUT if the price were a hundred or couple hundred $$ cheaper, you might want to consider it.

[Oshawapilot]

You may also want to check flights to IAG

http://www.niagarafallsairport.com/

 

Yes, we looked at that option. I initially got excited about Spirit Airlines as the prices seemed too good to be true.

 

The old addage holds true though when you look for reviews on Spirit. It sounds like a gong show from start to finish, and after all the surprise fees that they screw you with just before you board the potential savings go away. A few "Redirected and stranded" stories sealed the coffin on that idea.

 

It's not unreasonable to fly into/out of MIA. If hte price is much better, that's definitely an option.

 

I just looked, and Miami appears to be quite a lot more expensive, at least from my origin point options.

[JanineM]

Yes, we looked at that option. I initially got excited about Spirit Airlines as the prices seemed too good to be true.

 

The old addage holds true though when you look for reviews on Spirit. It sounds like a gong show from start to finish, and after all the surprise fees that they screw you with just before you board the potential savings go away. A few "Redirected and stranded" stories sealed the coffin on that idea.

 

 

 

I just looked, and Miami appears to be quite a lot more expensive, at least from my origin point options.

 

Check out West Palm Beach airport. You'll have to do some research on taxi or shuttle fares, but we flew in to West Palm in the spring and it was considerably cheaper than FLL or MIA.

 

MIA will cost you upwards of $60 each way for taxi, unless you use the ship's shuttles.

 

But back to your original question, ships USUALLY arrive on time but I have been on more than a few sailings where there was some sort of delay and we (earliest self-disembarkation) weren't heading off the ship until 8:30, then had to go through customs/immigration. Which meant we weren't in the car, on the road until close to 9:30. Far better to book a later flight and have a calm last morning of vacation. If you get to the airport early, some airlines will allow you to fly standby for free.

[Oshawapilot]

We ended up booking airfare for Friday and Monday, so we have a few days to kill now. Even with the cost of the hotels and such it was still dramatically cheaper (by almost $1000 for the 4 of us) versus flying Saturday arrival, and Sunday departure.

 

Contemplating hotel options now. I'm the sort of guy who likes to negotiate, so I think we'll arrive at the airport and I'll get busy on the phone, or head up to the area North of the airport where there are a lot of hotels clustered and negotiate at the desk. I never pay rack rate no matter where we stay, once got the Holiday Inn Express for $41/Night. :p

[Keith1010]

We ended up booking airfare for Friday and Monday, so we have a few days to kill now. Even with the cost of the hotels and such it was still dramatically cheaper (by almost $1000 for the 4 of us) versus flying Saturday arrival, and Sunday departure.

 

Contemplating hotel options now. I'm the sort of guy who likes to negotiate, so I think we'll arrive at the airport and I'll get busy on the phone, or head up to the area North of the airport where there are a lot of hotels clustered and negotiate at the desk. I never pay rack rate no matter where we stay, once got the Holiday Inn Express for $41/Night. :p

 

When are you going to be in Fort Lauderdale. Just keep in mind that if it is during the busy season then you might want to make a reservation somewhere that you can cancel prior to day 5:00 PM with no penalty just to be on the safe side.

 

Keith

[LHT28]

Try Priceline if you like to gamble the "Name your own price" feature can get you some good deals

read up on betterbidding dot com on how it works

Once the bid is accepted it is non refundable

[1025cruise]

With the number of cruise passengers handled at FLL, don't wait until the last minute. A lot of people fly in the day before and take a shuttle to the port. If there is something major going on in FLL or the nearby area, that adds to it. Last year a lot of people were complaining that they couldn't get rooms due to the boat show and the SuperBowl.

[JanineM]

We ended up booking airfare for Friday and Monday, so we have a few days to kill now. Even with the cost of the hotels and such it was still dramatically cheaper (by almost $1000 for the 4 of us) versus flying Saturday arrival, and Sunday departure.

 

Contemplating hotel options now. I'm the sort of guy who likes to negotiate, so I think we'll arrive at the airport and I'll get busy on the phone, or head up to the area North of the airport where there are a lot of hotels clustered and negotiate at the desk. I never pay rack rate no matter where we stay, once got the Holiday Inn Express for $41/Night. :p

 

You're talkiing about flying in over Thanksgiving Weekend ... in two weeks, right? No wonder the flights are expensive. Thanksgiving is HUGE in the States - bigger travel time than Christmas. Lots of people also stay in hotels.

 

IMO you're better off to book now on Priceline, rather than be stuck in an unsafe part of town, or somewhere so far out that you'll spend $70 or more on taxis to get there. Some of the hotels up north, say towards West Palm, are miles from restaurants and any entertainment. So you may pay less for the hotel but you'll pay more to get to/from everywhere.

[Keith1010]

Book a flight closer to Noon.

 

Keith