Flying into US the day after Thanksgiving (or Saturday) for NCL cruise out of Miami??

[European_CruiseGirl]

Hi all, we are a group of 15 Europeans (extended family) who are cruising NCL Pearl out of Miami on Dec 1st 2013 (Sunday). We have several flight options and as the designated trip coordinator I'm trying to figure out which flights to book for us.

 

I noticed that Thanksgiving is on Nov 28th this year so I'm wondering how that might affect our flights and the whole process of immigration which can be a bit of a daunting experience from time to time particilarly as we are travelling with children...

 

So our favourite options at the moment are:

 

1. Nov 29th (Friday) via New York to Miami in the afternoon (we'd need to wake up only at 9AM LT and would be in Miami at 10PM LT)

2. Nov 30th (Saturday) via London (LHR) to Miami early in the morning (we'd need to wake up already at 5AM LT but would be in Miami already at 5:30PM LT)

 

I'd appreciate any info on flying around Thanksgiving as for us Europeans (or at least me :p ) the effects are a bit unclear. Would the Friday after Thanksgiving be a significantly quieter day at the airports than Saturday? Or the other way around? Any other thoughts or things I'd need to consider? The idea of changing flights in Europe does sound nice but so does also waking up at 9AM instead of 5AM :D so both options would be equally good for us. Moneywise the Friday flight is a bit cheaper but when you calculate the extra hotel night in Miami it will cost about the same.

 

Thanks all! :)

[Warmer Climes]

The most quiet day in the airport would be Thanksgiving day. Both Friday and Saturday will be fairly busy at US airports but really I don't think it should be a problem for you either day. Have a great cruise!

[lambchoplady]

I agree with the PP. If you can fly on Thanksgiving, that would be the best day. The airport will be very busy on the other days.

[terrydtx]

Can you get a non stop flight into Miami from Europe? We usually cruise the weekend after Thanksgiving and are on the Jewel leaving from New Orleans on Dec 1st. Two years ago we cruised from Ft Lauderdale the day after Thanksgiving and flew there on Thanksgiving day. We flew from Birmingham Alabama to Atlanta Georgia to Ft Lauderdale. We booked months out and our flights changed 4 times as flights that had low bookings from Atlanta to FLL got cancelled. On Thanksgiving the airport in Atlanta was really uncrowded. Friday is also a good day to fly as it is another light travel day in the US. I hope this helps you some. BTW when we got to FLL on Thanksgiving we found most of the restaurants were closed for dinner including the hotel we were staying at.

[MeHeartCruising]

I'll agree with the postings that Thursday is a pretty quiet travel day. Passenger volumes will increase each day as you progress through that weekend. Friday is not that bad. Saturday will be a little heavier, but still not awful. Sunday is crunch time as people return home after a long weekend visting relatives and such. Since you mention Customs and Immigration, I would expect that there MAY be some slowdowns all 4 days of the long weekend compared to normal as there may be government employees who have taken vacation time for this popular weekend. So they may not be staffed to maximum volume of employees. I doubt there is much of a difference over the 4 day holiday however. It will be what it will be with respect to workers to process you through as you arrive. Your plan of coming in Friday or Saturday should work fairly well either way you choose.

[rajones007]

For our Epic cruise just this past November we flew into Miami on the Friday after US Thanksgiving. It wasn't bad at all. Pretty quiet actually, but no better or worse than any other US airport on any other day of the year.

 

It probably has more to do with your airline than anything else. Check what other airlines fly into your terminal. It's the domestic US airlines that cause a lot of the congestion in the terminals. We fly Air Canada, and the only US domestic airline that uses the same terminal J is US Airways, so it was a barren wasteland (relatively speaking), both coming and going.

 

I can't comment on immigration, however. One of the perks when flying out of a major Canadian city (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, et al) to the USA is that we do all the US Customs & Immigration mumbo-jumbo while still in Canada. Then when we land in the USA, our flight is treated as a domestic flight and we walk right off the plane and directly to the baggage retrieval area, and then out the door. So, like I said, I can't comment on what US C&I is like at Miami Airport.

[DDD06]

The busiest travel days of the year in the states are typically the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I would think you'd be fine traveling either the Fri. or Sat. after the holiday.

[Twinkstarr]

I flew down from Detroit to Miami Friday after Thanksgiving. 10 am sug flight and it was pretty quiet. I had my bag checked and through security 20 minutes after I walked in the door.

 

Miami airport wasn't busy when I got there either.

[NMLady]

I would say to avoid Saturday after Thanksgiving flights. Many people are returning home already by then.

 

As others have said, Thanksgiving Day itself would be your best day for flying. The next day, Friday, would be an acceptable choice.

 

Whatever day you decide, book your flights as soon as possible since flights fill up quickly for that time of year.

[elaine5]

Friday is much better. Most people have gotten where they are going and are not leaving until Sat or Sunday.

[kcdancerkc]

Can you consider flying to Ft. Lauderdale airport? It is usually cheaper to fly there and to stay in hotel there. -- cheaper than Miami

 

Then you book your shuttle/van/car to go down to Miami the day of the cruise - 45 min. drive

 

Have fun !

 

when looking at places to stay -- look at ratings on tripadvisor.com

 

:D

[Demonyte]

So our favourite options at the moment are:

 

1. Nov 29th (Friday) via New York to Miami in the afternoon (we'd need to wake up only at 9AM LT and would be in Miami at 10PM LT)

2. Nov 30th (Saturday) via London (LHR) to Miami early in the morning (we'd need to wake up already at 5AM LT but would be in Miami already at 5:30PM LT)

 

In the terms of ease of travel, we always try to avoid having to do connections in US so we always fly connecting in one of the big hubs in Europe. Lately we have been using Lufthansa which has pretty constant stream of specials to North America (every 2-3 months so when we know when to go, we just wait for the next special to come to book the flights) and has excellent and efficient connection (at least to us from Finland) in Frankfurt.

 

So my advice would be to choose the connection in LHR (altough it's not the best place to do connections, it's definitely not the worst). :)

 

Can you consider flying to Ft. Lauderdale airport? It is usually cheaper to fly there and to stay in hotel there. -- cheaper than Miami

 

From Europe it rarely is, there is a lot more supply for the direct flights from European hubs (Frankfurt/Munich, Amsterdam, London, Madrid, Paris) to Miami and hence the prices are almost always lower. If you are willing to sacrifice more time (like our 14+ hrs with only 1 quick connection wouldn't be enough ;)) and do multiple (2+) connections, then FLL could be a viable option.

[flcruiser1969]

I agree with flying on Thanksgiving. Will be much less busy than the the day or two after. However, I ended up in an Atlanta airport for 32 hours and would have easily missed a cruise so I now assume and plan for flight delays. You 'll be more relaxed come day of cruise.

[shelly11]

I would fly direct to Miami. If a snow storm delays the airports up north you might miss your cruise.

[European_CruiseGirl]

Thanks all! I truly appreciate! :)

 

Demonyte: I'll definitely also check Lufthansa and Frankfurt. That might be an option for us too! Thanks!

[Barb Nahoumi]

I think that option #2 would be preferable if it is a nonstop into Miami. If you land in New York, you'd have to go through Customs there, before boarding your flight to Miami.