Does 23 minutes really make a difference?

[disneydiane61]

I posted this on the Florida departure board but was hoping that fellow Celebrity Cruisers who have cruised out of Miami may be able to share their experiences

 

I am looking at 2 flights. Both are LAX to FLL. We are cruising out of MIAMI and understand that the trip from POM to FLL takes about 40 minutes.

 

We are sailing on Celebrity Reflection and docking is posted @ 7am.

 

My first option is JetBlue which leaves @ 11:37 am or Virgin America which leaves @ 12pm. A difference of 23 minutes. The jet blue flight is $110 less and your first bag flies free which is another $50. For 2 people that is a savings of $320 for the two of us, which could pay for private transport if necessary. Just need advice and suggestions. Also, recommendation for reasonably proved private transport.

[Constance331]

What are the ARRIVAL times into FLL for the two flights? Also, what is the ship's departure time from Miami?

[Shake]

I have been through delayed customs when arriving back in Florida, it's not up to the cruise line when you disembark, it is when the ship is cleared and it can be delayed by customs.

 

Also FLL is usually slammed with passengers all wanting to get home. Remember there are multiple ships all arriving back. Last time I was there it was a major struggle for me to make a 12:45pm flight. Checking in your bags and getting through security is a massive cluster at FLL.

 

Wouldn't book either of your two flights. You would be better to end you vacation stress free and catch a 1:30 or later flight.

Edited September 14, 2014 by Shake

[Constance331]

I posted this on the Florida departure board but was hoping that fellow Celebrity Cruisers who have cruised out of Miami may be able to share their experiences

 

I am looking at 2 flights. Both are LAX to FLL. We are cruising out of MIAMI and understand that the trip from POM to FLL takes about 40 minutes.

 

We are sailing on Celebrity Reflection and docking is posted @ 7am.

 

My first option is JetBlue which leaves @ 11:37 am or Virgin America which leaves @ 12pm. A difference of 23 minutes. The jet blue flight is $110 less and your first bag flies free which is another $50. For 2 people that is a savings of $320 for the two of us, which could pay for private transport if necessary. Just need advice and suggestions. Also, recommendation for reasonably proved private transport.

 

Confused now - are you going to FLL are out?:confused:

[hallasm]

We did sail Reflection in March and disembarked at 8 - no waiting at customs.

So, I do not think 11:37 is realistic - we used Super Shuttle

Enjoy Reflection:

[YOUTUBE]3Ob9v-jfToI[/YOUTUBE]

[Nachosdelux]

Some things to consider:

 

- Port of Miami to FLL airport in 40 minutes is pretty optimistic, considering there may be delays due to construction, traffic, waiting for ride, etc. I would allow at least 1 hour.

 

- check in at FLL on cruise days can be long/hectic

 

- may be delayed getting off ship, even with walk off.

 

Personally I would look at later flights if reasonable. Have you priced American Airlines out of MIA or Southwest out of FLL (no baggage fees)?

[WestLakeGirl]

The OP is asking about Calif to Florida, it appears, not disembarking Florida and going back to Calif but its a confusing post?

[rkacruiser]

Just me because I do not like to have to rush. Just me because I do not need my blood pressure to rise wondering if I will make the flight.

 

The later the flight--within reason, of course--I can book, the happier I would be.

 

23 minutes CAN make a big difference!

 

Will you have flight delay insurance?

Edited September 14, 2014 by rkacruiser

[cynbar]

It depends on how much of a risk you want to take, and if the resulting worry will disrupt your cruise. Many of the cruises I have disembarked in Florida have gone smoothly, but not all of them have. Sometimes there is a delay before customs clears the ship, for a variety of reasons. We have also had issues that slowed us down, such as a (temporarily)lost bag and a private transfer who was late arriving due to traffic. Also, remember that flights will be very full on a winter Saturday out of Florida ---- it will likely be tough to rebook for that day if you do miss your flight. Some posters here will say go ahead, others will say no way, but the only opinion that matters is yours. Certainly no one here can or will tell you that an early flight is risk free, it's just not true.

[Nachosdelux]

OP, can you please clarify where the cruise ends (where are you getting OFF the ship?)

[disneydiane61]

So sorry about the confusion. The flight is LAX to FLL round trip. So I was asking about the return flight. FLL to LAX.

[need2bespoiled]

My first suggestion would be to split the difference and spend the $320 and fly on Jet Blue on Sunday assuming the price is the same. Find a hotel in FLL with an airport shuttle. You'd still need to get a ride to your FLL hotel. You could stay at a Miami hotel, but it is harder to get a good deal from a Miami hotel to FLL then from the Miami cruise port to FLL. You may be able to get an earlier flight even cheaper, because your not competing with other cruise passengers.

 

You'd need a hotel = $150

Decent Dinner = $100

Car = $50

 

You spent $300 of your savings, BUT you just remove any stress regarding rushing off the ship, AND extended your vacation for "free". Well, this is how I would justify it anyway.

 

Option 2 is go for the JetBlue flight, if I had to be back, I would, but I would plan my "escape" well.

 

For the record, I flew out of EWR recently on 10:20am flight after leaving the Summit two weeks ago today. I'm experienced, well traveled and planned it well, which helps with things like having TSA pre-check and priority at the airport for check-in. We also had a private driver waiting and have very easy to roll luggage. We were off the ship at 08:15, in our car by 08:30 and through airport security by 9:00am or so. SO, if i had to be back, I would go for the cheaper flight, as 23 min probably wouldn't matter, BUT I would swet it, until I was walking through the scanner at TSA Security.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[pris993]

You may have more options from LAX. We always fly out of San Francisco to Florida.

 

Tell you what we do, we always take a non stop flight, that means we fly in to Miami no matter which port we are leaving from Miami or Ft Lauderdale. Less problems on a non stop. We try for the earliest flight of the day, once again less problems earlier in the day, leaving from California.

 

We always go at least one day in advance.

 

We stay either at the Hilton Miami airport or the Embassy Suites on 7th SW in Ft Lauderdale.

 

We use a taxi from the airport... doesn't cost more and is easy. Would do the same on the return, we usually get off the ship early.

 

When it come to a return flight we never book a return before 1:30 pm, if we can get a non stop that is our priority but late in the day.

 

After many years of travel... we feel doing it this way is best we don't like to be rushed, like to be on time and to avoid problems as much as possible.

[Cathy Maneri]

I live in Miami, well 30 miles south, but I cruise all the time out of FTL and MIA.

 

If the cruise ends on a weekday, there will be A LOT of traffic. Saturday is a bit better, but not great. Sunday is great in the am, but the in the afternoon there will be more traffic.

 

I would fly into MIA. Get a non-stop flight first flight out of CA or fly in the day before and get a hotel for one night in MIA and going back a non-stop out of MIA in the afternoon or early evening.

 

Flying is not easy anymore, the weather always takes its toll on passengers.

[patty1955]

On our cruise on the Reflection we took Virgin American out of FLL to SFO. We got to the 12:00 PM flight with time to spare.

[Algebralovr]

OP, your post is confusing. Are you planning to fly in day of the cruise and trying to determine if you'll make the ship? If so, I would be nervous. Please fly in the day before if at all possible.

 

If you are looking at your flights home, it is hard to say. We have done the trip 3 times so far. The first two, we disembarked and had no issues getting to the airport, POM to FLL, leaving the ship at 7:30 or so, and at the airport by about 9am. We arranged a shared shuttle, through SAS, and it was fine. We did, however, have one crazy line once we arrived at FLL. Once, it took nearly 3 hours to get through bag drop and security. One problem was that we arrived after a whole bunch of Allure of the Seas passengers.

 

Last February, we disembarked on a Friday in Port Everglades, and were told that Customs was being extra vigilant after receiving word of a "credible threat". That time, we had a disembarkation time of 7:30, but we were held on board until after 8:30. Once we left the ship, we were again held about 20 minutes in line, before we could collect our luggage. We finally were allowed to collect our bags and get in line for Customs, and waited in another long and slow moving line. We were lucky, as we didn't fly out until 5 pm, and just planned to rent a car for the day and head to the beach. The people behind us missed their 10:30 am flight out of FLL. We finally reached our shuttle to the rental agency about 11 am.

 

Keep in mind, Customs doesn't allow cell phone use in the Customs area (for some reason they choose not to divulge). The people who missed their flights had to finish getting through the customs ares, then call to see how they could rearrange their missed flight.

 

Based on that experience, I'm no longer going to book any flights out before 1 pm in Florida. It just isn't worth the stress. I'd rather book a late flight and a rental car and spend a few extra hours on vacation.

[Sloop-JohnB]

My first suggestion would be to split the difference and spend the $320 and fly on Jet Blue on Sunday assuming the price is the same. Find a hotel in FLL with an airport shuttle. You'd still need to get a ride to your FLL hotel. You could stay at a Miami hotel, but it is harder to get a good deal from a Miami hotel to FLL then from the Miami cruise port to FLL. You may be able to get an earlier flight even cheaper, because your not competing with other cruise passengers.

 

You'd need a hotel = $150

Decent Dinner = $100

Car = $50

 

You spent $300 of your savings, BUT you just remove any stress regarding rushing off the ship, AND extended your vacation for "free". Well, this is how I would justify it anyway.

 

Option 2 is go for the JetBlue flight, if I had to be back, I would, but I would plan my "escape" well.

 

For the record, I flew out of EWR recently on 10:20am flight after leaving the Summit two weeks ago today. I'm experienced, well traveled and planned it well, which helps with things like having TSA pre-check and priority at the airport for check-in. We also had a private driver waiting and have very easy to roll luggage. We were off the ship at 08:15, in our car by 08:30 and through airport security by 9:00am or so. SO, if i had to be back, I would go for the cheaper flight, as 23 min probably wouldn't matter, BUT I would swet it, until I was walking through the scanner at TSA Security.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Great suggestion !!

 

We find both Fort Lauderdale & Miami Airports to be a zoo & very stressful

 

When we cruise we intentionally come in a day earlier, and leave a day later to alleviate some of that

 

Also means you don't have to join the CRAZY human rush hour that ensues for Pax to get off the ship

 

You can more leisurely enjoy your last day / hours aboard... Savour breakfast, a cup of coffee (maybe even a morning libation if you have a Bevvy Pkg) sit up on deck somewhere and soak in the rays.

 

You will be rewarded...

 

1- You will zip down the Elevators, thru Baggage Pick Up & Customs... You will be curb side in no time (especially so if it is in the hour between 9 and 10 AM)

 

2- You have a nice day to wind down in sunny Florida. Sit by the hotel Pool or on the beach... have a leisurely Lunch, take a water taxi to sightsee, or have an afternoon nap to catch up on that very little sleep you got overnight (I never sleep well or long last night coming into port at 4 or 5 am)

 

3- Maybe even a financial award awaits you too !! Saturday is often the most expensive day to fly. Sunday could prove out to be cheaper. And remember, Airlines now offer one way fares that are competitive to return fares... So check to see if you cannot do better switching airlines for the two legs

 

Hope this helps,

 

Cheers!

[miched]

When we were working we would fly in a day early just for the cushion and to be more relaxed on embarkation day. We never worried about delays on the last day.

 

Since we are now retired and time is not a issue we drive instead of flying, it doesn't really save us anything but we don't like the policies, crammed conditions and other issues with flying. Since we started driving we have been delayed many times getting back into the port on time. Some were due to weather conditions such as the storm Sandy, and others were equipment malfunction, and medical evacuations. All were either after 4 pm or the next day. It didn't affect us but those that were flying had real problems. If I were still flying I would spend a extra night. The flights may be cheaper and there would be no stress or worry about making a flight, and if there were a delay you would be covered.

 

Happy crusing 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[marshacruises]

Most of the time, you can get off the ship with no big delays...but I have been on two cruises recently where the ship was not letting anyone off until they found a couple of people who had not taken care of paying off their bill. At first, the ship's purser was just asking for so-and-so to call extension ??, after fifteen minutes, they announced the names and cabin numbers with the same message, another fifteen minutes later, they announced the names, cabin numbers, and asked the passenger(s) to go to guest relations to make financial arrangements on their account.

 

Another time, there was a problem with someone not showing up to immigration officials when they were scheduled to be there. Again, names, cabin numbers, then reason they were being called.

 

No one was allowed to leave the ship until the passengers were found. Each time, it was over an hour and a half delay before they started allowing passengers to leave the ship.

 

Each of these times, no one got off the ship on time, and people were calling their airlines or travel agents while on the ship (paying the on-board rates for their cell phones, not cheap) to reschedule because they had early flights.

 

It certainly was not the fault of the cruise line that we were held up, it was the inconsiderate one or two passengers that held up a ship full of people who needed to get off.

 

If I were in your situation, I would be looking into later flights or staying the night and leaving the next morning like a few other posters have suggested.

 

Hope all works out for you, and enjoy your cruise.

[need2bespoiled]

Most of the time, you can get off the ship with no big delays...but I have been on two cruises recently where the ship was not letting anyone off until they found a couple of people who had not taken care of paying off their bill. At first, the ship's purser was just asking for so-and-so to call extension ??, after fifteen minutes, they announced the names and cabin numbers with the same message, another fifteen minutes later, they announced the names, cabin numbers, and asked the passenger(s) to go to guest relations to make financial arrangements on their account.

 

Another time, there was a problem with someone not showing up to immigration officials when they were scheduled to be there. Again, names, cabin numbers, then reason they were being called.

 

No one was allowed to leave the ship until the passengers were found. Each time, it was over an hour and a half delay before they started allowing passengers to leave the ship.

 

Each of these times, no one got off the ship on time, and people were calling their airlines or travel agents while on the ship (paying the on-board rates for their cell phones, not cheap) to reschedule because they had early flights.

 

It certainly was not the fault of the cruise line that we were held up, it was the inconsiderate one or two passengers that held up a ship full of people who needed to get off.

 

If I were in your situation, I would be looking into later flights or staying the night and leaving the next morning like a few other posters have suggested.

 

Hope all works out for you, and enjoy your cruise.

 

I am sure it varies by country, but I have seen it handled very differently with respect to financial matters. What line were you on?

 

On Celebrity, if there is a problem with you bill, instead of the very pleasant "BingBong" when your Sea Pass card is scanned when you leave, it gets a BUZZ, and they pull the person to the side, not letting them off. I've never seen them hold up getting passengers off. Why would they, it's a captive audience and they have to leave through security.

 

Imigration is another matter, but I still can't see them waiting until the last morning if they don't have what they need. Now local officials may request to see someone before clearing a ship.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Big_G]

On our last two Reflection cruises we flew in and out of FLL. We booked SAS Transportation to and from Miami. They picked us up at the Port of Miami by 8:00am and we were in the Southwest terminal at FLL by 9:00 am for a 10:45am flight. I should add that we carried our own luggage.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Big_G

[CathyCruises]

On our last two Reflection cruises we flew in and out of FLL. We booked SAS Transportation to and from Miami. They picked us up at the Port of Miami by 8:00am and we were in the Southwest terminal at FLL by 9:00 am for a 10:45am flight. I should add that we carried our own luggage.

 

What was the charge for the POM to FLL leg?

[sail7seas]

I would not book that flight. IF everything went perfectly, you'd be okay but there can be such long lines clearing Immigration, then at the airport checking your luggage, security line and don't forget possible traffic and/or delays between POM and the airport.

 

[sail7seas]

Most of the time, you can get off the ship with no big delays...but I have been on two cruises recently where the ship was not letting anyone off until they found a couple of people who had not taken care of paying off their bill. At first, the ship's purser was just asking for so-and-so to call extension ??, after fifteen minutes, they announced the names and cabin numbers with the same message, another fifteen minutes later, they announced the names, cabin numbers, and asked the passenger(s) to go to guest relations to make financial arrangements on their account.

 

Another time, there was a problem with someone not showing up to immigration officials when they were scheduled to be there. Again, names, cabin numbers, then reason they were being called.

 

No one was allowed to leave the ship until the passengers were found. Each time, it was over an hour and a half delay before they started allowing passengers to leave the ship.

 

Each of these times, no one got off the ship on time, and people were calling their airlines or travel agents while on the ship (paying the on-board rates for their cell phones, not cheap) to reschedule because they had early flights.

 

It certainly was not the fault of the cruise line that we were held up, it was the inconsiderate one or two passengers that held up a ship full of people who needed to get off.

 

If I were in your situation, I would be looking into later flights or staying the night and leaving the next morning like a few other posters have suggested.

 

Hope all works out for you, and enjoy your cruise.

 

I am sure it varies by country, but I have seen it handled very differently with respect to financial matters. What line were you on?

 

On Celebrity, if there is a problem with you bill, instead of the very pleasant "BingBong" when your Sea Pass card is scanned when you leave, it gets a BUZZ, and they pull the person to the side, not letting them off. I've never seen them hold up getting passengers off. Why would they, it's a captive audience and they have to leave through security.

 

Imigration is another matter, but I still can't see them waiting until the last morning if they don't have what they need. Now local officials may request to see someone before clearing a ship.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

We, too, have experienced the wait for someone to answer a page about their bill or some other matter and they have not permitted anyone to leave until they find those people. We have definitely been delayed close to an hour several times due to people who did not resond when paged.

 

[wallie5446]

The Reflection sails on Saturdays. We did this last year in Nov. If you carry off your luggage ASAP when the ship is cleared, the earlier flight is doable. Just don't over sleep!:D or have that last wonderful order of eggs Benedict. Get up and get off.:(