Earliest Flight Home from New Orleans

[jakzak10]

This is going to be our first cruise from NOLA and was wondering what the earliest flight time cruisers who have done these cruises in the past would recommend? Thanks

[jgmpuma]

It depends at least partly on your risk tolerance. It is about a 30 minute trip from the port to the airport. There are plenty of cabs available at the port, and Uber/Lyft have pickup spots. There is no construction going on right now, and weekend traffic tends to be fairly light. Anything noon or after would be safe. 11:00 a little less so, but probably doable. If there are any major events going in in NO, a longer safety margin would be recommended.

[dctravel]

jgmpuma is correct. The unknown factors should be considered thought. These include slowness in the ship being cleared by customs, how fast people get off, lines for immigration, lines at the airport for TSA, etc... We sailed on the Carnival Dream in March 2016 and the ship was not cleared until almost 9 because of a medical disembark and issues with customs having enough officers. Once we were off the ship, the ride to the airport was quick, but the line for TSA was more than an hour long. Thankfully our flight left around 1 pm, but it could have been an issue if we went earlier.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

dctravel