The truth about early flights in FLL off the Regal/Royal

[Todd320]

I agree if you do not have a need for an early flight out of FLL then don’t do it. It can be stressful during the cruise just thinking about it. As everybody knows things can go wrong that could cause you to miss an early flight.

 

Both the Royal and Regal are scheduled into port at 6:00 AM not 7:00. This morning the the Royal was along side slightly before 6:00 and we on the Regal were right behind and along side the pier by 6:10. We did 5 cruises on the Royal last winter and found the scheduled arrival time to be fairly accurate.

 

For those who have flexible airline tickets who have the ability to move to earlier flights then I’m here to say those flights can be made. Example today I didn’t leave the ship until 7:00 AM and was at the Delta gate by 7:25 and caught the 8:00 flight. I know it sounds crazy but true. I was planning on catching the 11:35 flight but thought maybe there will be delays with 6 big ships in port so after breakfast I walked off at 7:00 and when in the taxi I changed to the earlier flight. Last season off the Royal when we actually tried to catch an earlier flight we were 3 for 3 with flights between 7:30 and 7:55.

 

You must have walk off A passes and must be in position to walk off at 6:00 AM even though actual walk off time normally will be closer to 6:15.

Global Entry will help, a must if your not in the first handful of passengers off the ship. Don’t forget your GE plastic card because thats what you need to prove to the Princess agent so you can get into the GE line. They do not have GE machines at the port. It’s only a 10 minute taxi ride to the airport. Our experience is that at that time you beat the rush for bag check in and security lines are non existent even though we have pre check. Our only experience out of FLL is on Delta.

 

Again I’m not recommending early flights but just pointing out that it is possible. If you have a non changeable airline ticket then no way would I try a flight before 11:00 AM. If you try an early flight then you better be comfortable with a plan B.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Totally agree that you should always travel with a Plan B and even a Plan C in case things go awry. I don't think I'd ever try to make anything under 11am there, but that's just me. I've been on a ship when it arrived late into FLL and the havoc it caused was horrible, but everyone is different.

[easyboy]

Having done it multiple times, I agree with you that having early flights is doable, and not just luck. But I still won't take that risk of an early flight by not making it, no matter how slim it is. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[Cruzinbabe06]

Thank you for the info.

[eandj]

We usually do a flight a bit before 11. Gives us a non stressful last morning. Leisurely breakfast and no need for an early wake up call. Anything before 9 would keep me up all night, afraid I'd miss early disembarkation. :o But yes, possible.

[happiness is cruising]

I agree with Todd320... as I was on the Regal .. got off and was at FLL airport when they were calling final boarding for a 9am flight.. this is TODAY.. and 6 ships were in port !! VERY DOABLE [emoji6][emoji6][emoji6]

 

 

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[Todd320]

 

 

You must have walk off A passes and must be in position to walk off at 6:00 AM even though actual walk off time normally will be closer to 6:15.

Global Entry will help, a must if your not in the first handful of passengers off the ship. Don’t forget your GE plastic card because thats what you need to prove to the Princess agent so you can get into the GE line. They do not have GE machines at the port. It’s only a 10 minute taxi ride to the airport. Our experience is that at that time you beat the rush for bag check in and security lines are non existent even though we have pre check. Our only experience out of FLL is on Delta.

 

One little tip that I forgot to mention. In terminal 2 upon entering the terminal you cannot use the escalator and have to wait for the elevator unless you can visually show them that you have one hand free. For safety reasons they are strict. I blew by 35 people waiting for the elevator on Sunday.

[pablo222]

One little tip that I forgot to mention. In terminal 2 upon entering the terminal you cannot use the escalator and have to wait for the elevator unless you can visually show them that you have one hand free. For safety reasons they are strict. I blew by 35 people waiting for the elevator on Sunday.

 

I had to ride down with 1 bag, run up the stairs, and

ride down with the 2nd bag.

 

It made me cranky, as there was a huge line for the elevator,

and I could easily have managed 2 bags on the escalator.

[pablo222]

You must have walk off A passes and must be in position to walk off at 6:00 AM even though actual walk off time normally will be closer to 6:15.

 

My experience has been -- if you want to be in one of the first

groups, and there are a lot of walker-offers, they carefully check

your card, and will only let you leave with your group.

[MauiLvrs]

The good news is that it isn't like flying in the day of departure ...

 

No matter what happens ... you won't miss the ship :D

 

Sometimes they have good stay aboard options... ;)

[Hlitner]

We have been on many cruises (more then 100) and normally prefer to book late flights and purposely be the last off any ship (we pay to be on the ship...not to leave early).

 

However, this past Sunday we were forced to book a 10:20 flight out of FLL (we have booked a last minute Regal cruise and this flight was the only remaining decent option). So, it was our first experience at self express debarkation. On the Regal they issued "A," "B" "C" and "D" self disembarkation tags. We got an "A" (probably because we are Elite) which was the earliest group (the B's actually left about the same time. We were to be at our dining room meeting spot at 6:15. Getting down to deck 5 with our 2 large suitcases (plus 2 carryons) was a bit of a hassle. Our dining room meeting place was crowded. At 6:45 we were finally allowed to disembark and we moved along the typically slow moving queue to get off the ship. Once in the terminal there was already a pretty long line for immigration...but we used our Global Entry (Port Everglades is the only port that has Global Entry priority) to bypass the long line. Within 5 minutes we were through immigration, outside, and walked over to the taxi queue to find no line. We were at FLL by 7:20. Our Global Entry let us bypass the lone security line and we could have been at any gate before 8!

 

What I have described is the near perfect scenario for those wanting to catch an early flight. However, we have previously been on cruises that were not quickly cleared by the authorities for various reasons (the worst was a ship held until 9:30). NOBODY gets off any ship until the ship has been cleared...so you are at the mercy of CBP.

 

Personally, given the airline penalties for missing a flight we would not generally book a flight departing FLL before 11 (we actually prefer 1pm flights). But with a little luck, making a 9:30 flight is possible (helped if you have Global Entry).

 

Hank

[Todd320]

 

However, this past Sunday we were forced to book a 10:20 flight out of FLL (we have booked a last minute Regal cruise and this flight was the only remaining decent option). So, it was our first experience at self express debarkation. On the Regal they issued "A," "B" "C" and "D" self disembarkation tags. We got an "A" (probably because we are Elite) which was the earliest group (the B's actually left about the same time. We were to be at our dining room meeting spot at 6:15. Getting down to deck 5 with our 2 large suitcases (plus 2 carryons) was a bit of a hassle. Our dining room meeting place was crowded. At 6:45 we were finally allowed to disembark and we moved along the typically slow moving queue to get off the ship.

 

Hank

 

If I remember correctly the vista lounge was the waiting area for platinum and elite passengers on the Regal last Sunday. They open at 6:00AM and those walk off A passengers should be escorted first. Last Sunday I just walked off at 7:00 without going to a meeting place.

We have never had a problem getting walk off A passes but we keep an old one just in case.

[riclop]

Yes early is very doable.

[pris993]

Treading this thread with interest since we will be returning to Florida on a TA, on the Royal next year.

 

We will book a 2 pm flight out of Miami so we can get a non stop flight... going to the west coast.

 

I thought I would share an experience I had with Princess on my last cruise. As we were about to leave the ship, we where told there was a problem with our final bill payment, we had not heard any one paging us... even though my sister later said she did. When we were stopped, I left my husband with the luggage and return to the Customer Service desk, where I was told my credit card had not approved the full amount of our bill. I did not understand how that could have happened because I knew I had plenty of credit available on the card. I did not have another credit card on me, so had to go get husband's card and come back. Which I did. I was glad I was at my home port and did not have a flight to catch because this delayed us about 45 minutes getting off the ship. When I got home I called my credit card company to ask why the charge was denied... bank said they did not deny any charge... so apparently in the late night processing of credit charges Princess made a mistake that cost us 45 minutes. Luckily we did not have a flight to catch. Lesson learned I now will carry two credit cards with me just in case. I will also look at the statement they leave at our cabin in the morning more carefully... I only glanced at the amount to see if it agreed with what I thought we owed. I did not notice that we had not been cleared with a "0" balance.

 

Point is things happen... allow time for the unexpected.