NON FTTF debarkation

[216Cruiser]

Hello, ship (Horizon) is supposed to be in Miami at 8am. What would you say is the expected reasonable time we can be off the ship without FTTF. I know things can happen and be different from cruise to cruise, customs, etc. but just looking for a ballpark estimate of when we can reasonably expect to be off the ship and hailing an Uber or whatever else. Thanks. 

[dbrucern]

I don't know for the Horizon we are not on her until January but with all of our other 31 cruises we have been in port at 5;30am.  The earliest we have been off is 7:30 had to catch a flight so did self assist and the latest we have been off is 10am.  If everything goes smoothly then it depends upon if you are taking your own bags off (self assist) or having the ship take them and what number you get for disembarking

[BNBR]

If you do self assist, you can tell them you have an early flight and be off quickly.  Standard disembark I'd say by 9am or so.  Almost impossible to say as it depends on your zone.

[Organized Chaos]

Onboard Valor right now waiting to debark. We’re doing express (self assist), but we have to wait until they call our deck (8). Well, everyone is supposed to wait for their deck, but a ton of people think the rule doesn’t apply to them. It’d go much smoother if they’d just wait their turn. 

 

They’re only on deck 2 right now. After all decks get called for self assist, then they start with those who checked their luggage.

[evandbob]

So if you don't use self assist, you can wait until 9:30 or 10:00 AM to disembark.  Perfect for those who want a non rushed departure or have an mid afternoon flight.

[BNBR]

5 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

Onboard Valor right now waiting to debark. We’re doing express (self assist), but we have to wait until they call our deck (8). Well, everyone is supposed to wait for their deck, but a ton of people think the rule doesn’t apply to them. It’d go much smoother if they’d just wait their turn. 

 

They’re only on deck 2 right now. After all decks get called for self assist, then they start with those who checked their luggage.

 

Nobody waits.  We walked off Magic with early flights and Platinum and what not, had to be 1,000 people already in the terminal... 

 

It's best to just go early and say you have an early flight.  They don't check.

 

[216Cruiser]

Welllllllll, the reason I'm asking is: I had a flight booked out of FLL at 10:40 which I thought was probably pushing it a liiiiiittle bit but should probably be ok based on prior experience across several cruise lines. I have cruised Carnival before and also have cruised out of Port of Miami but never the two in sync. Well, now the airline changed the flight time (didnt even send me an e-mail or anything, just happened to check out of curiosity how much the flight had gone up or down $ wise) to a 10:00 departure and now that sounds almost impossible. They also changed the inbound flight but that's not really a problem. 

 

I always self assist and this time we will be on deck 2, trying a cove balcony for the first time. This is making me too nervous and I think I should just contact the airline and see if I can switch to the next flight. The current flight is a non-stop and would have been perfect and have me home at 1:00. Wanted to be home in time for the Superbowl, dahhhh!

I did purchase flight trip insurance, not sure if that helps me here. From what I understand, the airline has a right to move the time up to an hour either way without recourse. I've had FTTF before and loved it but read that with Port of Miami, it's so smooth it's not even worth it and I checked last night and it's sold out anyway. 

What to do what to do what to do. I've flown 100 times and honestly never even heard of them changing the time of the flights (other than gate delays and such). So I'm not even sure what my options are here but keeping this 10:00 flight doesn't sound like one of them. Sigh.....this just adds to the mountain of stress I am under right now due to other things. 48 days....

[groundloop]

6 hours ago, evandbob said:

So if you don't use self assist, you can wait until 9:30 or 10:00 AM to disembark.  Perfect for those who want a non rushed departure or have an mid afternoon flight.

 

As a stress reduction move I'd go with a later flight and have a leisurely breakfast on the ship.  We opted for a late disembark from on a previous cruise and it was great.  

Edited December 7, 2019 by groundloop

[BNBR]

Is leaving the next day a possibility?  Hang out local and watch the super bowl at a restaurant or bar.

[FTLCruiseGal]

With Miami traffic, I would not risk a 10AM flight out of FLL.  Even on weekends, traffic can back-up.

[216Cruiser]

46 minutes ago, BNBR said:

Is leaving the next day a possibility?  Hang out local and watch the super bowl at a restaurant or bar.

 

If I could change the flight without any major penalties, sure. When I tried to do so ( just the next flight out, same day) online they wanted to charge me a $400.00 fee ON TOP of the more expensive flight. Jeez. And then also, flying out of MIA/FLL the day after the Superbowl, Jesus Murphy the rates are sky high. I'm going to call United right now and see if they'll work with me. There is a flight leaving at 11:40 the same day that would be just fine in my opinion. 

[216Cruiser]

And on top of the flight prices the day after the Superbowl, I'm sure the hotels the night of are ridiculous as well. 

[TNcruising02]

If you keep the same flight, be sure to go to guest services before the end of your cruise and get them to print the information for early flights.  There is a special place for people with early flights to wait and you can walk off of the ship very early.

Also, I would suggest packing carry-on only bags so you do not have to deal with checking luggage.  Getting pre-check saves a lot of time at the airport.

The last time I cruised out of Miami with Carnival, I was at the Fort Lauderdale airport by 8:20 am.

Edited December 7, 2019 by TNcruising02

[Jerseygirl1416]

20 minutes ago, 216Cruiser said:

 

If I could change the flight without any major penalties, sure. When I tried to do so ( just the next flight out, same day) online they wanted to charge me a $400.00 fee ON TOP of the more expensive flight. Jeez. And then also, flying out of MIA/FLL the day after the Superbowl, Jesus Murphy the rates are sky high. I'm going to call United right now and see if they'll work with me. There is a flight leaving at 11:40 the same day that would be just fine in my opinion. 

You have to call the airline and tell them you don’t accept the time change of your flight and rebook at no additional costs. I’ve never been charged when they change the flight time and I’ve never heard anything about the hour change rule. Just last week I saw that United changed an upcoming flight from 7:45am departure to 7:09 I called and changed to the 10:00am with no charge,

[216Cruiser]

9 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

You have to call the airline and tell them you don’t accept the time change of your flight and rebook at no additional costs. I’ve never been charged when they change the flight time and I’ve never heard anything about the hour change rule. Just last week I saw that United changed an upcoming flight from 7:45am departure to 7:09 I called and changed to the 10:00am with no charge,

Thank you. I'm going to call them soon. Just looking for some ideas or what to expect when I do. 

 

But this is from United's website directly:

"When a schedule change happens, we try our best to provide you with options that minimize the disruption to your travel plans. In cases where the new flight options don't work for you and one of the following scenarios applies, we may be able to offer you a refund:

• The scheduled departure or arrival time changes by two hours or more."

[HillBilly Bob]

12 hours ago, 216Cruiser said:

I know things can happen and be different from cruise to cruise, customs, etc. 

You have forgotten the most important delay that no one can predict.....THE WEATHER.    We didn't get off the Legend until 6 hours after docking time.   Que Sera Sera.....good luck!

[216Cruiser]

Ok well, as much as I loathe talking to any type of customer service here's how it went:

At first they tried charging me the $400.00 "change fee" just like when I mentioned above when I tried on their website. Plus $130~ something for the more expensive flight and I balked at that. I was actually willing to pay the $130 change begrudgingly but not the $400. Asked him why am I paying a "change fee" when you guys are the ones who changed things. Politely. And he did the old "let me check brb" deal and came back with 0.00 charge for anything and flight changed to 11:40 AM which I feel much better about. This one isnt non-stop but that's life, I guess. I'll still be home in time for the SuperBowl which my beloved Browns most certainly wont be a part of. As long as it aint the Steelers or Ravens, I'm ok with that too lol.

Thanks for the help and moral support lol I was stressing about this.