Post-disembarkation Tours

[mevs904]

Following our cruise our flight home doesn't leave until 8:00 in the evening. We are looking at booking one of the post-disembarkation tours that Princess offers, particularly one that goes to the Everglades for an airboat ride. Has anyone had any experience with these tours? What time do they generally leave the ship on disembarkation day? Any other ideas for killing time?

Edited December 16, 2016 by mevs904

[fishywood]

Usually the disembark tour groups are the next ones off the ship after the self-assists and the first tag group of Elite/Suite passengers. So even the combination Flamingo Gardens/Everglades Airboat Ride tour has you ending at FLL airport around 11:30-12:00.

 

With a whole day before your flight you certainly don't need to be off the ship so quickly. Perhaps renting a car will be a more cost-effective way to see more and spend more time ashore. Or you can do EZCheck to have your luggage sent to the airport ahead of you so you can explore on your own even without a car: catch the Sun Trolley or water taxi to Beach Place or Las Olas Blvd, take the Jungle Queen or Carrie B boat tour of Ft Lauderdale (cheaper to book on your own than through Princess, and less crowded if you wait until after the ship's tours), a leisurely late lunch then an easy taxi or Uber to the airport.

[mevs904]

Thanks, Fishywood. We had given some thought to renting a car for the day. Would we be able to rent a car at the port and return it to the airport or would we need to bring it back to the port and then taxi/Uber to FLL? We also wondered about EZCheck. Are your bags sent directly to your airline And do all airlines participate? We are flying SWA and have found that they often do not participate in transferring bags directly to the airport, not for Disney cruises anyway. Right now the idea of renting a car and sightseeing is appealing.

[caribill]

Thanks, Fishywood. We had given some thought to renting a car for the day. Would we be able to rent a car at the port and return it to the airport or would we need to bring it back to the port and then taxi/Uber to FLL? We also wondered about EZCheck. Are your bags sent directly to your airline And do all airlines participate? We are flying SWA and have found that they often do not participate in transferring bags directly to the airport, not for Disney cruises anyway. Right now the idea of renting a car and sightseeing is appealing.

 

SWA has been participating at FLL for the EZCheck program.

 

When we took the Everglades/Flamingo Gardens tour we left the ship around 8 AM and were at FLL around 1 PM.

[Bill B]

I'm not one for ship-booked tours. However, I did the exact same post-disembarkation tour you are thinking of when I got off the Emerald after a northern TA in Ft. Lauderdale back in 2011. I really enjoyed it and thought is was pretty good value for the money. It was a great way to 'kill the time'... and so convenient.

Edited December 16, 2016 by Bill B
I can't spell.

[Eboracum_d]

We took the ship's tour (with our luggage) to Everglades from Fort Lauderdale though the end point for us was Miami Airport where there is a reasonable restaurant. We thought the tour was pretty good value particularly as we had not been to Everglades before.

 

 

 

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[wintersno]

Thanks, Fishywood. We had given some thought to renting a car for the day. Would we be able to rent a car at the port and return it to the airport or would we need to bring it back to the port and then taxi/Uber to FLL? We also wondered about EZCheck. Are your bags sent directly to your airline And do all airlines participate? We are flying SWA and have found that they often do not participate in transferring bags directly to the airport, not for Disney cruises anyway. Right now the idea of renting a car and sightseeing is appealing.

 

This is very easy and conveniant and I have just done it with Alamo. They have a bus shuttle from the port to the rental car facility at FLL airport (10 minutes ride). You could even return the car to MIA airport without additional fees.

[mevs904]

Thanks to all for the feedback on the Everglades tour. It looks like we will do this one way or the other. The problem with the excursion is that it gets us to FLL at 1:00 and we will still have 7 hours to kill before our flight. For the record we knew what we were getting into when we booked our flight, but the earlier ones were significantly ($100+ pp) more expensive. In addition, the late flight is non-stop to Albany.

We will definitely look into EZCheck. I was wondering about that because I wasn't sure that the airline would take our luggage that many hours before our flight.

I think we will check with Budget and Alamo about renting a car for the day. That way, if we want to, we can bring our luggage with us if we want to. We can carry our luggage off of the ship if we want to, can't we? I realize that we will have to go through customs.

[grandmarnnurse]

We have the same problem. Our flight home after our cruise is not until 8pm, but because it was not only significantly cheaper, it was also a non stop flight---a big plus for us. We investigated lots of options, one being booking a day room at a hotel and having their hotel shuttle us to airport. We ended up booking the Everglades airboat excursion, and arriving at airport way too early. And FLL is a crappy airport to hang out in. Seems like we always end up there, mostly due to price. Oh, well. What would be the best option next time would be to schedule an additional night in Florida, and go direct from hotel to airport the next day. Who can argue with an additional vacation day? Not me!!

 

 

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[Viv0828]

We checked out things to do in Fort Lauderdale, picked a few, rented a car, put our luggage in the trunk and had a fun day.

 

 

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[LeeW]

Following our cruise our flight home doesn't leave until 8:00 in the evening. We are looking at booking one of the post-disembarkation tours that Princess offers, particularly one that goes to the Everglades for an airboat ride. Has anyone had any experience with these tours? What time do they generally leave the ship on disembarkation day? Any other ideas for killing time?

 

We liked the tour (several varieties to Everglades Park are available), although the airboat is very large and metal roof does restrict visibility. If you have seen Gator Boys on TV, these are the same folks that put on the alligator show. You do get to the Ft Lauderdale airport around 1, so pretty early for you (may not be able to check in luggage that early).

 

Agree with other posters you might want to rent a car. Avis outlet is at the Hilton Marina, Hertz is across the bridge at the Hyatt. Alamo is just west across 17th. All could be walked easily from the port if you are at the normal terminal 2, but Hertz picked us up at the pier last time we rented from them. The trick is to NOT reserve from the airport but use one of the local outlets - no point going to the airport just to rent a car (and costs more as well).

Edited December 16, 2016 by LeeW
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[DrivesLikeMario]

Having done a few post-cruise tours, for that late of a flight that you have, I would rent a car. The tours are usually great and a good deal considering they include the airport drop off, but the ones that are offered in the FLL area are too short and you get back to the airport with way too much time to waste. This is one area I would rent a car. Other areas, no, but FL, yes. ;)