4 Hour Window - Minimum

[wrp96]

If you have to travel same day (either going or coming), I have always subscribed to a 4 hour minimum window from the scheduled time of disembarking or leaving. Today, just confirmed that.

 

I flew today to catch the Brilliance of the Seas out of Miami. I didn't have a choice I couldn't fly in any earlier. I took the earliest flight possible to get me to Miami from Little Rock, but I still had to make a connection. We got into DFW early, but then we had to sit just off the gate waiting for someone to direct us to park, then we had to wait for somebody to connect the jetbridge. No problem making the 2 hour connection, but if it had been a short connection we would've been in trouble. Flight to Miami left early and landed 30 minutes early, we taxied to the gate arriving about 20 minutes early but our gate was still occupied. We kept waiting and waiting and waiting. Finally at about 12:35 they switched us to another gate because the flight at out gate was "having an issue with a passenger." The gate they switched us to was as far from baggage claim as possible, and took about a 15 minute walk. Got to baggage claim, and waited. And waited, and waited some more. And waited some more. Finally about an hour after we parked at the gate they moved us to a different carousel -because a flight that came in 45 minutes after us were getting their bags. Finally at 1 hour 15 minutes after we parked, bags came off, and my bags came off about 1 hour and 30 minutes late. It was 3:00 before I got onto the ship and that was with landing at 12:20 - all due to baggage delays.

 

If you have to fly the day before, take the earliest flight. Give yourself plenty of time for baggage delays and traffic jams.

[LUCY55]

Also experienced extremely slow baggage delivery in Miami airport. They were removing luggage off the belt from a prior flight. And this large baggage handler (a women) was literally slamming the luggage down on the floor. What an attitude! It wasn't my luggage but I had to think of that old Samsonite advertisement where the gorilla tosses the luggage. LOL