Super Bowl Sunday dash from Ft Lauderdale to Fort Lauderdale Princess cruise terminal

[WallyNDiane]

We are sailing out of Ft Lauderdale on Super Bowl Sunday on Princess. We couldn't get reasonable Hotel and air to come in early for the cruise. So we are flying in the day of the cruise.

 

Assuming no air delays, we are scheduled to land at 11:30 am and our ship leaves at 4 pm. There are 4 of us cruising and we had planned to catch a taxi from the airport to the Princess dock, I have flown into Lauderdale on two previous cruises but we took the ship transfer as the ship was departing from Miami.

 

So, what is the lowest cost way to get 4 people from the Ft Lauderdale airport to the Fort Lauderdale Princess cruise terminal?

 

What time would you estimate for the can ride to the terminal?

 

Lastly, if our flight is delayed and we need to get to the cruise port ASAP, is a taxi still the best way to get us there.

 

We always go in early on cruises to avoid a mad dash to the ship, but the Miami Super Bowl prohibited us from doing that.

 

Thanks all.

[BlueHerons]

I'm reading this and I'm a little alarmed.

 

Don't worry about traffic, that will not be an issue.

 

Your first issue is that you plane lands at 11:30 and the latest you can board your ship will be 2 or 2:30PM.

 

You have to wait to get your luggage.

 

If it is snowing anywhere in the US, your flight will be delayed.  

 

You have a small window of time to get to the ship.  If you can change your flight to an earlier one I'd do that.  Even flying into WPB or MIA at 8AM would be preferable to what you have going on.

[skrufy]

1 hour ago, WallyNDiane said:

We are sailing out of Ft Lauderdale on Super Bowl Sunday on Princess. We couldn't get reasonable Hotel and air to come in early for the cruise. So we are flying in the day of the cruise.

 

Assuming no air delays, we are scheduled to land at 11:30 am and our ship leaves at 4 pm. There are 4 of us cruising and we had planned to catch a taxi from the airport to the Princess dock, I have flown into Lauderdale on two previous cruises but we took the ship transfer as the ship was departing from Miami.

 

So, what is the lowest cost way to get 4 people from the Ft Lauderdale airport to the Fort Lauderdale Princess cruise terminal?

 

What time would you estimate for the can ride to the terminal?

 

Lastly, if our flight is delayed and we need to get to the cruise port ASAP, is a taxi still the best way to get us there.

 

We always go in early on cruises to avoid a mad dash to the ship, but the Miami Super Bowl prohibited us from doing that.

 

Thanks all.

1. Cab or Uber

2. 15 minutes

3. Yes

 The only concern I would have is, getting to FLL at midday for a 4 pm departure. You don’t have to 4 pm to board, it’s usually 230 or 300pm. I always arrive as early as possible on cruise day, when I have no choice and  always before 9am, and never on connecting flights. Have you looked into flight prices to Orlando.Then a rental to Port Everglades, a 3 1/2 hour car ride. Tampa, Melbourne, and Sanford/ Orlando are other airports you might consider. All are within 5 hrs of P.E. Not the best choices but might get you to P.E. a day early.

Edited November 20, 2019 by skrufy
Addition

[WallyNDiane]

I am a bit alarmed as well, thus the post. We tried to look at alternative flights but found none. We were forced to book with Princess Air. Plus we purchased the vacation insurance. We are flying from Pittsburgh to Philadelpha then on to Lauderdale.

 

So as a precaution, I need to know my options on a cost effective and FAST way to get from the airport to the cruise terminal.

[BlueHerons]

A cab will take ten minutes or so.  That will not be an issue.

[capriccio]

51 minutes ago, BlueHerons said:

A cab will take ten minutes or so.  That will not be an issue.

 

And a van taxi (since you have 4 passengers plus luggage) is the same price as a sedan.  Good luck!

[Cienfuegos]

My experience with Fort Lauderdale airport's baggage handling has been very favorable. And, the day of Super Bowl is possibly a lighter travel day than usual. Both are positive elements.

[bouhunter]

12 hours ago, WallyNDiane said:

I am a bit alarmed as well, thus the post. We tried to look at alternative flights but found none. We were forced to book with Princess Air. Plus we purchased the vacation insurance. We are flying from Pittsburgh to Philadelpha then on to Lauderdale.

 

So as a precaution, I need to know my options on a cost effective and FAST way to get from the airport to the cruise terminal.

FLL is usually pretty quick with luggage.  Walk out and get in a taxi - no problem.  Or a short walk to rideshare area for uber.  Obviously a taxi might be 10 minutes faster than waiting for an uber.  Either way, if your flight is on time you have no worries about getting to the port it is VERY close to the airport :) 10-15 minute ride.

 

Of course, pray there are no snow storms anywhere in the US to interfere with the flights.

Edited November 20, 2019 by bouhunter

[bouhunter]

12 hours ago, BlueHerons said:

 

 

If it is snowing anywhere in the US, your flight will be delayed.  

 

.

Seriously???   It snows all over in the US in the winter.  Flights can be delayed sometimes, if the snow is bad.  But to say "if it is snowing anywhere in the US your flight will be delayed" is ridiculous.

 

FYI we live where the average annual snowfall is 150-200"+

Edited November 20, 2019 by bouhunter

[BridgeMates]

Out of the ordinary for us, but we recently flew into Vancouver the day of departure.  Booked the Celebrity transfer instead of using cab/uber as usual.  Someone from the cruiseline meets you at the airport and there are generally others in the group.  You might want to check with Princess.....if they're doing transfers for your flight, you have a better chance of the ship waiting for a bus load of people. 

[ransrider]

On 11/19/2019 at 7:15 PM, WallyNDiane said:

We are sailing out of Ft Lauderdale on Super Bowl Sunday on Princess. We couldn't get reasonable Hotel and air to come in early for the cruise. So we are flying in the day of the cruise.

 

Assuming no air delays, we are scheduled to land at 11:30 am and our ship leaves at 4 pm. There are 4 of us cruising and we had planned to catch a taxi from the airport to the Princess dock, I have flown into Lauderdale on two previous cruises but we took the ship transfer as the ship was departing from Miami.

 

So, what is the lowest cost way to get 4 people from the Ft Lauderdale airport to the Fort Lauderdale Princess cruise terminal?

 

What time would you estimate for the can ride to the terminal?

 

Lastly, if our flight is delayed and we need to get to the cruise port ASAP, is a taxi still the best way to get us there.

 

We always go in early on cruises to avoid a mad dash to the ship, but the Miami Super Bowl prohibited us from doing that.

 

Thanks all.

Hi WallyNDiane,

We noticed the same problem with inflated flight and hotel prices for our Embarkation of Jan 31 on Celebrity Reflection. We decided to fly into Orlando the day before, rent a car and drive to Melbourne, FL for a night stay at the Hampton Inn (HH members with points for a free night) and then drive on to FLL the next morning, return car and get onboard. We will then fly out of FLL on Monday, Feb 10, long after the SB frenzy is over. This way was much cheaper than a round-trip flight for us. Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

[lx200gps]

On 11/19/2019 at 9:26 PM, WallyNDiane said:

I am a bit alarmed as well, thus the post. We tried to look at alternative flights but found none. We were forced to book with Princess Air. Plus we purchased the vacation insurance. We are flying from Pittsburgh to Philadelpha then on to Lauderdale.

 

So as a precaution, I need to know my options on a cost effective and FAST way to get from the airport to the cruise terminal.

If you booked the flights through Princess EZAir, they specifically allow arrival "day of" (which is almost universally frowned upon here on CC), and in fact it's the default selection on their website. Having the flights booked through EZAir should somewhat reduce your risk, as they consider your late-arriving itinerary on Embarkation Day as "acceptable". The best way to ensure you would be OK would be to book the transfer from FLL to PE via a Princess transfer, thus shifting the responsibility of getting you from your home airport to the ship from you to them. WITHIN REASON, they will hold the ship for passengers arriving on THEIR transfers. Not sure how strong their guarantee would be if you used EZAir for the flights but did the DIY thing by taxi for the last mile.

 

That being said, we did the (opposite) PE to FLL run yesterday after leaving the Regal at Terminal 2, and as others have said, it takes but a few minutes and cost us a bit over $13 before tip. If you elect to take a taxi from FLL to PE, there will be a ton of them. We did notice yesterday, though, that traffic around the ring on the arrivals level at FLL was particularly horrendous.

 

Have a great cruise.

[jdemps]

If it were me I would get a cab or even two depending on how large your luggage is.  Will one cab take 4 people and their luggage?  I wouldn't worry about cheapest way but rather the fastest way.  You're already saving because you didn't have hotel fees night before.  Good luck and have a great cruise.