Return home day in Miami

[CruisingAwayKatie]

We have always purchased the carnival transport and went straight to the airport from the cruise ship.  This has lead to sitting in the Miami airport for more hours than I'd like to think about.  There will only be 2 of us on my upcoming trip and I was wondering if we could fill that time with some last minute fun before flying home.  Our flight is at 2:25 out of MIA and our departure from the ship is scheduled to start at 8am. Anyone have any ideas or experience?  Carnival offers 2 excursions, the everglades tour or south beach tour. I wouldn't be opposed to either. 

[riffatsea]

If you haven't been to the Everglades then that is interesting and different.

South Beach is a place you could visit on your own that is not much different from other artsy beach areas.

[Organized Chaos]

A few years ago, we went down a couple days early just so we could visit Everglades National Park. We drove down there and entered the park outside of Homestead, FL. There's a highway (9336) that runs from there to the southern coastline. It wasn't what I thought it'd be. Not the classic Everglades wetlands you think of along this route. There just wasn't much to see. Some spots to stop with some nature trails, a boardwalk trail through some mangroves, etc. About the only wildlife we saw were birds and a turtle or two at one stop. If we were to ever go again, I'd definitely want to do some type of airboat tour. So if the Everglades tour excursion you're seeing is something like that that gets you out in the wetlands, I think that'd be more fun. But you might want to contact Carnival to see if they can give you an accurate excursion duration so you know if you can make your flight.

[evandbob]

Carnival has a 3 1/2 hr Everglades tour that ends when they drop you off at the airport.  Sticking point is its intended for those with flights after 3:30PM and OP has a 2:25PM flight.  One of the reviewers said they did this tour with a 2:55 pm flight time.

 

South Beach tour might be better for the OP, or just going to the Miami Aquarium and taking a taxi from there to the airport might kill those in between hours.

 

 

[thundercrack]

We have an 11:56am return flight from FLL.  Have FTTF and bought Carnival transfers to FLL.  Should I worry that is too early a departure?

[Garth2]

3 hours ago, CruisingAwayKatie said:

We have always purchased the carnival transport and went straight to the airport from the cruise ship.  This has lead to sitting in the Miami airport for more hours than I'd like to think about.  There will only be 2 of us on my upcoming trip and I was wondering if we could fill that time with some last minute fun before flying home.  Our flight is at 2:25 out of MIA and our departure from the ship is scheduled to start at 8am. Anyone have any ideas or experience?  Carnival offers 2 excursions, the everglades tour or south beach tour. I wouldn't be opposed to either. 

 

You could hang around the ship until "last call".  2:25 is not that bad, considering they want you their 2 hours before, but you can also buy airline lounge passes where it's usually quiet and there's free food and drinks.

[keywest1]

37 minutes ago, thundercrack said:

We have an 11:56am return flight from FLL.  Have FTTF and bought Carnival transfers to FLL.  Should I worry that is too early a departure?

If Carnival sold you the transfers for that flight time, then it should be fine.

Airport is very close to cruise port if you are sailing out of Port Everglades.   If you are sailing out of Miami, it would be a tighter time line.

Edited August 12, 2019 by keywest1

[Garth2]

35 minutes ago, thundercrack said:

We have an 11:56am return flight from FLL.  Have FTTF and bought Carnival transfers to FLL.  Should I worry that is too early a departure?

 

If your ship returns to Ft. Lauderdale, it's probably not a problem, since the port is close to the airport.  From Miami it's another story.

[thundercrack]

1 hour ago, Garth2 said:

 

If your ship returns to Ft. Lauderdale, it's probably not a problem, since the port is close to the airport.  From Miami it's another story.

Sailing from Miami.  My understanding is it is only 30-40 minutes to FLL from there, am I incorrect?  Debarking on a Sunday so would think traffic would be lighter.  With FTTF I will be first off ship.

[RWolver672]

10 hours ago, thundercrack said:

Sailing from Miami.  My understanding is it is only 30-40 minutes to FLL from there, am I incorrect?  Debarking on a Sunday so would think traffic would be lighter.  With FTTF I will be first off ship.

 

From experience, Florida does not know what lighter traffic is.  😣  Keep in mind that there may be several ships unloading and loading passengers on a Sunday.  There will be a lot of traffic.  

[BNBR]

11 hours ago, thundercrack said:

Sailing from Miami.  My understanding is it is only 30-40 minutes to FLL from there, am I incorrect?  Debarking on a Sunday so would think traffic would be lighter.  With FTTF I will be first off ship.

 

Yes, it's 30-40 minutes and no, there will not be heavy traffic unless there is a major accident. On Sunday, the highway is going to be practically empty. Very quick and easy drive. 

[evandbob]

11 hours ago, thundercrack said:

Sailing from Miami.  My understanding is it is only 30-40 minutes to FLL from there, am I incorrect?  Debarking on a Sunday so would think traffic would be lighter.  With FTTF I will be first off ship.

 

FTTF does not make you first off the ship. Others like Diamonds and Platinums will be in front of you.  You will probably be assigned an area to wait in while those walk offs go first.

[thundercrack]

42 minutes ago, evandbob said:

 

FTTF does not make you first off the ship. Others like Diamonds and Platinums will be in front of you.  You will probably be assigned an area to wait in while those walk offs go first.

Sorry, group right after diamonds/platinum to debark.  This will be my 6th time with FTTF and I have never been off the ship and in my car later than 8:30am.  I know ships can be delayed in debarking, I was just curious in normal debarking in Miami, would an 11:56am flight from FLL be iffy.  Doesn’t sound like it from other posts/posters.

 

Thanks for all the replies.

[mdin]

I did the Best of Miami Tour and it was a great way to spend a few hour before heading to the airport. Unfortunately, I believe it's only available for flights leaving after 4pm.

[blarko]

I did the South Beach tour and thought it was a great way to kill a few hours prior to my afternoon flight. The great thing about purchasing a Carnival excursion is that they store your luggage for you (on the bus) while you’re on said excursion. It’s been a few years since I did the excursion but if I recall correctly, they drop you off at the airport around noon-ish ( I might be a bit off on the exact drop off time, but it wasn’t much later than that).

[Organized Chaos]

3 hours ago, evandbob said:

FTTF does not make you first off the ship. Others like Diamonds and Platinums will be in front of you.  You will probably be assigned an area to wait in while those walk offs go first.

 

That's only if they follow their own procedures. We had FTTF last year and were assigned to wait in the mid-ship MDR for debarkation. They had the lobby roped off in such a way that there was only one way to get to the MDR from the stairwell. We walked by one of the Fun Squad members who was directing people and she told us to get in the debark line. I told her it wasn't our turn yet and we were trying to get to the MDR. She told us just to get in line and debark, so we were off with the P/D's. We tried to follow their rules, but she wouldn't let us. 😕

[beshears]

Since SWA takes us to Ft. Lauderdale and we would like to see what Miami is like, as well as leaving for our cruise there, someone mentioned the Southwest Beach tour, etc.?  If you have done it, can you give me an idea of what it is like, and the cost?

[blarko]

3 hours ago, beshears said:

Since SWA takes us to Ft. Lauderdale and we would like to see what Miami is like, as well as leaving for our cruise there, someone mentioned the Southwest Beach tour, etc.?  If you have done it, can you give me an idea of what it is like, and the cost?

 

I did the South Beach tour with airport transfer. As I mentioned above, it’s been a few years since I did it, so I don’t recall every detail. You board a tour bus right at the cruise port and are given a narrated tour of the sights of Miami while being driven to the Art Deco district of Miami. The bus lets you off at the area of the main streets (Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue, Lincoln Road) to shop, eat, walk to the beach, sightsee, basically whatever you want to do for about an hour or so. The nice thing is that your luggage stays locked up on the bus so you don’t have to lug it around with you. After the free time, the bus drops off at both airports ( MIA and FLL). As far as the cost, you’d have to check Carnival’s site to see what they are charging. It would be listed under shore excursions/airport transfers.

[cmichael1279]

I know it won't work this time, but I like to book the latest flight possible and rent a car and make the drive down to Key West and back.  It's a long drive, but it's something different to do and adds a bit of time to the vacation!

[beshears]

Thank you for letting me know how to find out about the South Beach tour.