Flights out of Tampa

[Murphs]

We have a cruise booked for late February on Brilliance out of Tampa. Wondering how long it typically takes to get off the ship thru customs and to the airport in Tampa. Its been a few years since we were there and just not sure what it is like these days. Probably not going to do self assist walk off as we ussually have too much luggage for that. Just wondered as we are looking at flights and wondering what a safe departure time would be from the Tampa airport.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

 

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Edited May 10, 2014 by Murphs

[cruisingsince94]

We like to be cautious about having a real early flight as any type of delays can create issues. We have done Tampa twice in the past 2 years and booked flights for anytime after 11am. This allows for a delay in disembarkation, slow customs, traffic, TSA!! That being said we had NO issues with any of the above.

We tend to be off the ship around 8am and on our way to the airport within 30 minutes. Its your call as some will say you can do it even earlier and book an earlier flight.

[Justmekaren918]

Litterally just off Brilliance. Excellent choice she is an amazing ship. Was in 7040 and it was great.

 

I was one of the last people off and picked my luggage from my section and the line was maybe 10 minutes. The cabs were there and it took a little longer due to am rush traffic an accident so maybe 30 hr. I flew jet blue and checked bags at curb and they checked me in and handed me my boarding pass. Which took another 5 to 10 and made my 1:00 flight just fine. People were using the inside JB and it was a pretty good wait. Thought they had computers to use. I was really tired since I went to sleep after pix of sky all lit up.

 

Have a great cruise.

[Langley Cruisers]

Tampa's tough because among the variables is weather - fog delays are not uncommon. The worst one I ever read about on these boards was at least 6 hours. I say this not to make you nervous or anxious, but to give you a heads up that I think you need a realistic window. Is there any way you can stay in Tampa overnight? At the very least, I think you should aim for a later flight, and maybe rent a car or take an excursion for the day. :)

.

[majarosh]

Also be advised...The port is located at the opposite end of Tampa...The AM traffic usually BAD BAD BAD.as the main HWY into and past DOWNTOWN Tampa is the direction you will be heading (west) expect bumper to bumper from 630 am to 830 (ish)..weekdays...little less crazy on the weekends...you should expect 45 plus minutes AFTER customs...we here in Tampa call the 275/ I 4 merge area MALFUNCTION JUNCTION

 

IMHO I would rather be early to the airport...than have to sprint...also..As much as I love TIA..it's not sprintable

 

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[Murphs]

Thanks for the feedback. So do you think we would be pushing it to take a noon flight, we would be flying out on a Saturday.

 

Thanks again

 

Mike

 

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[Eng23]

Fog is a common occurence in Tampa in Jan.-Feburary and can cause ships to be delayed in arriving. It is something to figure into your decision for planning your flights. A flight later in the day is safer than an early one when fog hits the Tampa area. I was in Tampa this past Jan. and fog closed the port all morning one day, ships could not get to the terminals until noon or later.

[Margy23]

Litterally just off Brilliance. Excellent choice she is an amazing ship. Was in 7040 and it was great.

 

I was one of the last people off and picked my luggage from my section and the line was maybe 10 minutes. The cabs were there and it took a little longer due to am rush traffic an accident so maybe 30 hr. I flew jet blue and checked bags at curb and they checked me in and handed me my boarding pass. Which took another 5 to 10 and made my 1:00 flight just fine. People were using the inside JB and it was a pretty good wait. Thought they had computers to use. I was really tired since I went to sleep after pix of sky all lit up.

 

Have a great cruise.

We agree that Brilliance is an amazing ship. We sailed on her for the first time in February - in Cabin 7540. We have sailed in both 7040 and 7540 several times on Jewel, another favorite ship of ours, and our one trip on Radiance was in 7040.

 

Radiance Class ships meet all our needs and wants, and we enjoy the decor on each ship. Our only mistake was treating ourselves to a balcony once - that was probably 8 or 10 cruises ago and we haven't been able to go back.

 

Living in Florida, between Tampa and Port Canaveral, is certainly an advantage in retirement. We don't have to arrange and pay for flights or worry about flight times or luggage valet service.

 

Happy Cruising!

 

Margy

Edited May 12, 2014 by Margy23

[wieslaw]

Fog is a common occurence in Tampa in Jan.-Feburary and can cause ships to be delayed in arriving. It is something to figure into your decision for planning your flights. A flight later in the day is safer than an early one when fog hits the Tampa area. I was in Tampa this past Jan. and fog closed the port all morning one day, ships could not get to the terminals until noon or later.

 

Hi,

is the fog also a common problem for December as well ?

[Mommy oooo]

Last February (2013) we sailed out of Tampa (NCL Dawn). The night before disembarkation, the ship stopped at around 11 PM due to extremely dense fog. Long story short, the next morning we still hadn't moved. The ship finally got clearance to proceed into port (still 4 hours away)around noon. We finally got to port shortly after 4 and then by the time customs was cleared, we finally got off the ship shortly before 6PM. So needless to say we missed our noon flight, and couldn't fly out for 2 more days. So even if you have a later flight you never know. In our case, any flight that day we would have missed.