Flying out of FLL, how early is too early?

[christmascarole]

Thanks so much for all of your honest replies. I think after hearing all of this, I'm not sure I want to risk it. I guess my next decision now is trying to figure out how to spend the day in Fort Lauderdale. Any suggestions??

[Bright1]

You can go to Cruisett.com to see what other ships are in port on any given day. Start with your ship then go to the month & year for the info. It's a great resource for planning your excursions, too.

[sackman]

Thanks so much for all of your honest replies. I think after hearing all of this, I'm not sure I want to risk it. I guess my next decision now is trying to figure out how to spend the day in Fort Lauderdale. Any suggestions??

 

The old stand-by is the Everglades airboat tour. I've done it and I really enjoyed it. It's a good way to kill about three hours.

[waltd]

We were just off the Pacific Princess on Sunday. Ship should have gotten in by 7 am but they were running about 30 to 40 minutes late. Our walk off was 7:20 but we did not leave till around 8 am. We were 3rd in line for a taxi. We were at the airport at 8:30. I have to agree with most others that nothing before 11 am unless you don't mind flying standby for another flight if the ship runs into delays arriving in port. Have to say there was quite a line going through security at the airport at 8:30 am.

[StLouisCruisers]

I am very confused by all of this. We are looking at a departure from Fort Lauderdale airport at 10:58 am we will be coming in on April 6, 2013 on the Caribbean Princess at Port Everglades. With getting off the ship early taking our own bags can we make the flight if we take a cab?

 

 

checking cruisett.com I see 6 ships in port that day with over 18,000 passengers. Get off early and take a cab.

[tothemall&beyond]

Thanks so much for all of your honest replies. I think after hearing all of this, I'm not sure I want to risk it. I guess my next decision now is trying to figure out how to spend the day in Fort Lauderdale. Any suggestions??

 

We drove home from Dania Beach (airport/port area) the other day via A1A and it refreshed our recollection of just how wonderful the Ft. Lauderdale beach is. If you can figure out what to do with your luggage, and it's a nice day, go enjoy a vibrant, fun beach scene.

OR

Just across the street from Terminal 2, over the 17th St Causeway Bridge, is the Pier 66 Hotel and Marina. A few lovely restaurants along the intracoastal to sit with a drink and enjoy yacht-watching. Or at the top of the Pier 66 Hotel at their restaurant/bar.

[smoosh21]

Anything before 11:00 am I would consider too early. We have cruised out of Port Everglades many times and always try to get a noon or later flight time.

 

 

Agreed. You never know what is going to happen with weather, or with customs, etc. Additionally, FLL has been awful lately for TSA. It could take you 45-60 minutes to get through security on a Saturday or Sunday morning in Lauderdale.

[michaelvpa]

Just got off Caribbean princess this morning. Had "walk off A" and walked right off at 7:10. We were thru customs and getting a cab by 7:30. At the airport thru security by 8. Flight was at 9:55. Very smooth - but like others have said, "no guarantees" and with a very slight chance, be willing to miss your flight.

[Minoushka]

Be advised customs maytake up to 45 minutes once ou have retrieved your luggage ...add ride to airport. By. Cab anther 20 minutes ...checking in..../security ....20 to 30 minutes

Add it up not before 11or noon

[hcw80]

I live in FLL and would never count on getting through TSA on a heavy cruise day without a wait. I have seen lines around the terminal. My recommendation is rent a car and see some local sites, get a day pass to a hotel, or take a tour to the Everglades through the ship. They will drop you off at the airport. Get there early as mentioned earlier, security can be dreadfully long. Cruise day is hectic at our little (but expanding) airport. However, a bad day at FLL is better then a good day at MIA (just my opinion).

[toberman]

I've been reading various threads and I'm totally confused. We will be cruising on the Caribbean Princess in April. According to the itinerary, we don't arrive in Fort Lauderdale until 7:00am the Saturday that we return.

 

Scheduled to arrive, and actual arrival time can vary. It could be 1 hour before til 1 hour after ! I've seen a tanker broken down in the channel that they had to get tugs to pull out of the way for cruise ships to enter.

 

I've seen Immigration people late for work, or refuse to work til they've gotten their coffee and pastries from the cruise ship (yes... actually witnessed this from my balcony). I don't take walk-off with my bags, and don't plan a departure from the airport before 11am.

 

Glad to see the OP has decided on a later flight. Most cruise lines offer tours at the destination which include baggage handling. They take your bags from the ship to the bus... take you on a tour (whatever you decide) and deposit you and the bags at the airport at least 2 hours before your flight time.

[PatriciaF]

Monday of last week we had a 9 AM SW flight out of FLL. We arrived at 7 AM, had to check luggage, and were finally through security by 8 AM. When I asked one of the airport employees was the huge line usually that way, he said yes if it was Saturday, Sunday, or Monday and especially if there were lots of cruiseships in port it could be worse.

 

We have a 10:55 AM flight in March, but it is on a Wednesday. I hope it is plenty of time, as it is only 5 minutes earlier than Princess's suggested time.

[tommy47]

hi- i just got off the caribbean princess yesterday sat. feb 2nd. here is the full exact story. they say the ship comes back for 7 am but the ship got back earlier. the first people started getting off the ship at 7:05 according to the guy that was in charge of taking us off the ship. my wife and i had a later flight of 11:35 so we got off at 8:05. there were 7 ships at port. we got off and got in the taxi line and because there arent enough taxis they have some larger vans that will take you. they charge 11.00 each person. because we werent in a hurry we waited for the taxi. it cost us a total of 12.50 for the taxi. we got to the airport and checked in and went down stairs to go through security. it was now 8:55. we got in the long line to go through security and it took 25 minutes. it moved along pretty fast. we were at our gate at 9:25. so it took 1hour and 20 minutes from the minute we left the ship to our planes gate. now if you tell them you want to get off first at 7:05 i think you can take off 10 - 15 minutes off because there wont be as many people at the taxis and there wont be as big of lines yet at security at the airport. if you get off at 7:05 i feel you will be at your plane at around 8:15-8:20. i know i would make one of 3 choices here. i would either spend the day in fort lauderdale and take the later flight or go for it and do the 9:30 flight. i know i wouldnt want to sit in the airport until 5:30. the other choice is take your time getting off the ship and stay overnite and spend a nice day in fort lauderdale and take the early flight on sunday. i really think that you will have no problem making your 9:30 flight. like everyone says something could go wrong but i would do it. i hope this helps

[pablo222]

checking cruisett.com I see 6 ships in port that day with over 18,000 passengers. Get off early and take a cab.

 

The record for port everglades is more than 49,000 in one day.

[caribill]

The record for port everglades is more than 49,000 in one day.

 

Isn't that the count of both disembarking and embarking passengers? In order words, about 24,500 disembarking.

[flparalegal]

My brother had a 12:05 pm flight out of Fort Lauderdale last Saturday (2/2) on Southwest. He arrived at the airport at 10:30pm and dropped off his luggage curbside and immediately went to get in line for TSA security. He said there were at least 500 people ahead of him and thought for sure he would not make his plane. At around 11:30 am, all people on his flight who were in line were allowed to go to the head of the line in order to make the flight. He made the flight but obviously, the flight left late. He was told by other people in the Southwest waiting area that it is always very crowded every Saturday and Sunday due to the cruise ships arriving and departing.

[Illinimom]

We just returned from FLL and the Caribbean Princess on Saturday. I too was afraid to book a flight before 11:00 a.m., so our flight didn't leave until 6:00 p.m. We rented a car from Hertz (their office is just a few blocks away, and their shuttle vans run constantly while the passengers are disembarking). Anyway, we spent the day driving North on A1A sightseeing...beautiful scenery and Fort Lauderdale beach is a blast on Saturday! Headed to the airport around 4:00 and dropped the rental car there...we were very happy with our day :)

[CintiCruzer]

You WILL BE cutting it close... we landed last Sunday and did the early departure from the ship... we were waiting in the casino until 8:45am (arrived there at 8am) we were not the first group to leave... the customs line was long, but it moved - took about 20 minutes to find your bags and clear customs... the delay was with the cabs!!! we waited 45 minutes to get a cab!!! it seems the have about 20 cabs that make the loop to the airport - we arrived at FLL at 10am, then waited another 15 minutes to check the bags curbside, then of course waited to get the "pat-down" at airport security finally to get in the airport at the gate at 10:45 !!! only to have our plane delayed until 3:30pm!!!!

bottom line, you really need two hours from boat to gate... if you are lucky to get off by 7:30am you will make it...

[Pam in CA]

I just booked our flights for next October on AA. Very few flights from FLL to LAX or SNA so we booked out of MIA on a 3:30pm flight. We get into LAX at about 6:30pm. Used FF miles for First Class which limited our options. I'm very happy with the flights.