Is a 10am MIA feasible?

[akowilm]

Booked airfare to and from Fort Lauderdale, sailing out of Miami, a GREAT deal, however, the return flight doesn't leave until 8:50 pm.......I have found a one-way flight leaving out of Miami that would have me home and unpacking by 2pm, but it leaves at 10am. What are my chances of making that flight? Anyone have experience with a flight that early? Would I be disembarked first? Thanks ahead of time!

[3dog]

Booked airfare to and from Fort Lauderdale, sailing out of Miami, a GREAT deal, however, the return flight doesn't leave until 8:50 pm.......I have found a one-way flight leaving out of Miami that would have me home and unpacking by 2pm, but it leaves at 10am. What are my chances of making that flight? Anyone have experience with a flight that early? Would I be disembarked first? Thanks ahead of time!

 

Feasible? Yes. Would you actually make it with time to spare? Probably. But there isn't a lot of wiggle room should there be a delay to disembark. If you choose to book this, make sure you have an alternate plan.

[akowilm]

Thanks! I will still have the late flight out of FLL, and for what I paid, it would be fine as my back-up.......just hate arriving at 9:51 at night with a 2 hour drive....

[alcpa1]

You will have to self disembark and leave the ship no later than 7. When do you dock?

To make things work consider the following:

You must be able to handle your luggage from cabin to cab. This may entail carrying your luggage down stairs if the elevators are full. If you cannot maintain one hand on the escalator you will be directed to the elevator as you disembark the ship into the terminal.

Check in online and print your boarding passes and pay any baggage fees when your airline opens the check in window.

Fill out your customs and immigration forms correctly and completely. Be aware that random searches are always a possibility.

Do not exceed your duty allowances. Payment of excess fees or filling out duty forms can easily take 20 minutes. This can include the purchase of tobacco products and liquor.

Do not wear any new jewelry.

Keep receipts handy.

Do not remove any food from the ship.

Do not attempt to bring back any forbidden items.

Also take into consideration the ever present possibility of a change in the alert status by Homeland Security which will make the madness of MIA even more trying. It will also affect the processing through CBP at the pier.

Would I do it again - absolutely not!

[donaldsc]

You will have to self disembark and leave the ship no later than 7. When do you dock?

To make things work consider the following:

You must be able to handle your luggage from cabin to cab. This may entail carrying your luggage down stairs if the elevators are full. If you cannot maintain one hand on the escalator you will be directed to the elevator as you disembark the ship into the terminal.

Check in online and print your boarding passes and pay any baggage fees when your airline opens the check in window.

Fill out your customs and immigration forms correctly and completely. Be aware that random searches are always a possibility.

Do not exceed your duty allowances. Payment of excess fees or filling out duty forms can easily take 20 minutes. This can include the purchase of tobacco products and liquor.

Do not wear any new jewelry.

Keep receipts handy.

Do not remove any food from the ship.

Do not attempt to bring back any forbidden items.

Also take into consideration the ever present possibility of a change in the alert status by Homeland Security which will make the madness of MIA even more trying. It will also affect the processing through CBP at the pier.

Would I do it again - absolutely not!

 

You forgot to add - how many ships are also docking on the day that you arrive?

 

I agree - the OP is bonkers.

 

DON

[akowilm]

Yep, that late flight from FLL is sounding a little better!

[Scrapnana]

If this is for your January 10th cruise, upon your return there will be four ships in Miami and six in Fort Lauderdale for a possibility of about 36,000 passengers total.

[Adammara]

Plus, of course, the ship may not dock on time! Most recommend hiring a car for the day, or getting a hotel day room, Avoid the stress!

[Andy]

Booked airfare to and from Fort Lauderdale, sailing out of Miami, a GREAT deal, however, the return flight doesn't leave until 8:50 pm.......I have found a one-way flight leaving out of Miami that would have me home and unpacking by 2pm, but it leaves at 10am. What are my chances of making that flight? Anyone have experience with a flight that early? Would I be disembarked first? Thanks ahead of time!

 

Hi Akowilm,

 

You asked if a 10 am flight is feasible. If *everything* aligned perfectly ? The answer is possibly.

 

Would I try it ? Absolutely not. Quite frankly, I'd never want to stress myself out like that, and end a wonderful cruise vacation that way.

 

Please do yourself a huge favor. Consider purchasing one of the many Celebrity shore excursions offered, and take the later flight. I hope this is helpful, and have a wonderful cruise !

Edited October 9, 2014 by Host Andy

[Caribbean Chris]

OP, I live near you on the NC coast. Sounds like the two hour drive would be from Raleigh? Are there really only two possibilities the entire day?

 

Have you looked at other airports like Jacksonville or New Bern? Various connections through Atlanta or Charlotte sometimes work.

[akowilm]

My booked ticket is through Myrtle Beach. Spirit does ridiculous fares from there. When I booked, I was traveling with my husband. Now I am not, and I would rather just fly into ILM and get home. It looks like I am going to have to pay a little more and take a book flight. The 10 am isn't looking good!

[Lsimon]

There are always reports of people on these boards that make those early flights but they are definitely a bit risky. Because of that I'd normally recommend against them. But you your case, if you don't have a problem spending the extra money then I don't see why you don't go for it since you still have the later flight as a backup. If you don't make the MIA flight you can just rent a car and use it to transport you and your luggage around the area while you kill time while waiting for your late FLL flight then just drop the car at FLL.

Edited October 9, 2014 by Lsimon

[curiouscat]

My booked ticket is through Myrtle Beach. Spirit does ridiculous fares from there. When I booked, I was traveling with my husband. Now I am not, and I would rather just fly into ILM and get home. It looks like I am going to have to pay a little more and take a book flight. The 10 am isn't looking good!

 

OH ! Spirit :eek::eek:....no way would I take a 10 am flight with them.. and seriously I would avoid booking with them.. You truly get what u pay for. If you take Delta, Us air then if you miss a flight there are other flights they can put you on..

 

Miss a spirit flt or if it's over booked you are SOL>>>> Rule of thumb don't ever Book Spirit...

 

OK rant over but you will have to trust me on this one ! :D

[Dick in Falls Church]

For what it may be worth--we missed a noon flight out of FLL. and obn another trip almost missed another (because could not check in on-line or at the station, and had to wait for long agent line). Now, both these were transAtlantics, which could have made some difference.

[thebutlerdidit]

I'd like to know how the earlier flight works out for you, OP. When do you sail?

 

I'm stressing out over the flight I have booked out of Miami on Delta. When I booked, departure was 11:35. It has been moved up to 11:02. I've never sailed out of Miami before, so I'm not sure if I should be in a panic or not. How would you experienced cruisers feel about this flight change? :confused:

[hcat]

For what it may be worth--we missed a noon flight out of FLL. and obn another trip almost missed another (because could not check in on-line or at the station, and had to wait for long agent line). Now, both these were transAtlantics, which could have made some difference.

 

Would greatly appreciate more details on your missed noon flight at FLL,,

When was it? Day of week? Where did the ship dock, what time and what caused the delay?

 

We are set to disembark Reflection arriving at POM at 7 a.m & have a 12:15 pm flt out of FLL on a Saturday...big cruise day. We plan to self disembark and grab taxi but will need to check bags at airport and go thru security. Most everyone says we shoukd be OK but still nervous!

 

To OP...we did self disembark off Navigator/Royal C a few yrs ago, cleared customs and grabbed a cab and arrived very early at Miami airport,,.. it was mostly us and the cleaning crew at the gate area..,,could easily have made an early flight but no guarantees things run so smoothly all the time,,and I can't recall if it was weekend or weekday...traffic makes a big difference!

Edited October 9, 2014 by hcat

[grandgeezer]

Another option, how about spending the night in Florida and then fly out the next morning, at your convienience?

[akowilm]

Unfortunately, work keeps me from flying in a day early, and to top it off, I have a huge work related event the day after I fly home, which is why I was looking to get back earlier....I can't wait to retire, lol!!

[RickT]

Folks, if you read the OP's posts she clearly states she will still have a return flight at 8:50 which is on another airline and won't be cancelled unless she doesn't show up.

 

Depending on the cost of the 10:00 flight I'd be open to giving it a try if you are OK losing the money if you miss it. I agree with others that it will be tight making it but it is doable.

 

If you self debark and don't dilly dally on your way to the airport you could easily make it. As others have said, any number of things can happen to hurt your chances but if you're willing to take the risk the call is yours. It's been a while since I've sailed out of FLA but most times I could have easily made a 10:00 flight if I had tried and if I had a cheap backup plan in the event I missed it.

 

Given you have a back up at 8:50 with time to spare to get to catch your original flight and won't be at the mercy of the airline to rebook you I don't see what you have to lose other than the cost of the 10:00 flight.

Edited October 9, 2014 by RickT

[phoenix_dream]

I have had two cruises (out of 30) where due to Custom's issues we were not able to disembark until around 9:30 am. That's approx. a 6% chance. Delays can and do happen. Do you feel lucky?? I would never book before noon if I could not afford to miss the flight.

[Dick in Falls Church]

Would greatly appreciate more details on your missed noon flight at FLL,,

When was it? Day of week? Where did the ship dock, what time and what caused the delay?

 

We are set to disembark Reflection arriving at POM at 7 a.m & have a 12:15 pm flt out of FLL on a Saturday...big cruise day. We plan to self disembark and grab taxi but will need to check bags at airport and go thru security. Most everyone says we shoukd be OK but still nervous!

 

To OP...we did self disembark off Navigator/Royal C a few yrs ago, cleared customs and grabbed a cab and arrived very early at Miami airport,,.. it was mostly us and the cleaning crew at the gate area..,,could easily have made an early flight but no guarantees things run so smoothly all the time,,and I can't recall if it was weekend or weekday...traffic makes a big difference!

 

Honestly cannot recall which trip it was, or what day is was. Best I recall, main delay was due to Homeland Security--coupled with a shortage of cabs that day at that pier.

[akowilm]

I waited it out and found one out of FLL at 1pm for $132, so my total cost is $250 with a back up plan if I miss the first one. This new flight goes to my home town, and gets me there by 5pm! Its a WIN!!