Yes you can make an "early "flight off the reflection

[shadowlover]

Just off the reflection. Had a discussion on this board prior to the trip that a 1030am flight from Miami would be very difficult if not impossible. I found that hard to believe as the ship docks at 7am and the airport is 15-20 minutes away. I mean if I were staying in a hotel how early would I leave to get to the airport??? Can things go wrong? sure but not likely. The only port that I would not choose to get an early flight from is Tampa because of the fog- this is a usual occurrence. I also like to fly in a day early because airlines are less predictable. Cruise ships in my last 10-12 trips have been super reliable as far as time reported docked and actual time docked.

We did walk off which was the easiest walk off I have ever experienced. There was no line whatsoever. The ship docks around 6am. Walk off began around 615 but we chose to walk off around 7:15. After going through customs (took one minute) we left the ship and were immediately met by several shuttles etc trying to get our business. They tried to charge us 40 bucks for four but I knew the taxi rate so I said nope and they dropped the fee to 30. Took us straight there...We were at our gate by 8am. This includes checking a bag. Miami airport is old and chaotic- I will say that. I could see that later in the day security would be an issue as the line may get long just as it does in other airports. We flew united which had port side check in (which would have been even easier). We chose self assist kiosk and printed our luggage tag, handed the bag over and headed to the gate.

Just decided to post because I know that this is frequently discussed and I just do not agree that you have to book a flight after 12 noon. I HATE sitting in airports especially dingy ones like Miami. Oh also, the ship would have gladly assisted us getting to an early flight had we needed them to. There was a message the night before we arrived telling us as such.

[BlueHerons]

Just because you made does not mean everyone will make it.

 

If you reread, we said a 10:30 flight out of Miami was impossible disembarking at Port Everglades.

Edited January 11, 2016 by BlueHerons

[JohninDC]

Glad it worked out for you. sometimes ships are delayed, sometimes there are customs/immigration hold ups. I would never count on making a 10:30 flight

[shadowlover]

Glad it worked out for you. sometimes ships are delayed, sometimes there are customs/immigration hold ups. I would never count on making a 10:30 flight

 

 

I realize that there are many on this board who don't feel comfortable with early flights. My purpose for this post is for those who are like ME. I wanted a reasonable answer as to whether you can make a 10:30 flight from the reflection to MIA. EVERYONE onboard last saturday could have made that flight especially if you walk off. I realize that delays are possible! The reasonable response to "are there delays with getting into port and clearing customs in miami?" is very very rarely. i would love to see the actual statistics on this. The reflection is stated to dock at 7am but in reality pulls in to port well before this.

Again...this is a post for those who are like me and would like a reasonable answer to this specific question...

[Irishman45]

Personally think you can make 10:30 flights off any ship (that docks between 7-8am) if your sailing/flying to/from Ft Lauderdale or sailing/flying to/from Miami neither is a long drive (BTW we've made early flights at both when sailing flying to from the same city). It's just most choose to err on the side of caution something might happen at some point to someone so it isn't suggested. Can you- YES is it always going to work well for everyone- NO. Heck something might be going on in the city and the airport might have long lines even before the cruise crowd shows up. Seems to happen more often in Miami than Ft Lauderdale.

 

We've has some close calls an some easy breezy debarkations. We had one issue they let us off the ship at 8:10 we were the 5th in our line at customs and it took 25min because three of the four people ahead of us had paperwork issues an something in one of their bags had to be inspected. Once we got to the customs agent showed them our paperwork an we were out the door in 2minutes an within 5 minutes we were in the cab pulling away from the terminal. (Really helps to know what the heck you are doing and have information you need out BEFORE you get to the customs agent)

 

Anything COULD happen that is why it isn't suggested to book early flights but heck yes it is possible IF everything goes smoothly.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Irishman45
something left out