Fort Lauderdale - Disembark and flight time

[SuperCurmudgeon]

My partner and I will be on a HAL Eastern Caribbean cruise arriving back in Fort Lauderdale at 7am on Dec. 11th. We do carry-on only, so will do a walk off. The ship is expected to arrive at 7am. We both have NEXUS.

 

Originally, the flight (Air Canada) was to depart at 11:25am. AC has moved it to 11:05am. I know it's only 20 minutes, but it's in the wrong direction. It's the one time I wouldn't mind if it left later. The next flight isn't until 4:40pm.

 

Even with walk off, is this too risky if there's a delay somewhere? Should I change to the later flight? I'm trying to avoid having to hang around the airport for the bulk of the day. 

[vswan]

I haven't been to Fort Lauderdale airport since covid, but here are my thoughts. The cruise port is very close to the airport. Do not take the HAL shuttle, grab a cab or uber. The shuttle will wait for  it to fill. If you were flying within the US, I wouldn't be as concerned. Not sure what procedure you will have to go through with customs as a Canadian - someone else may be able to answer that. If it was the Miami airport I would be very concerned. Last time we flew home from there it was a royal mess and the lines were long...

 

Backing up the timeline - if you can actually walk off with carry bag at 7 or 7:30, go through customs within an hour, take cab to the airport you should be at the airport at 9ish, that's 2 hours prior to your flight - with an international flight is that enough time? And that is assuming you have no problems with the ship being cleared when it should be.

[leaffan5]

We just did this on Sunday.  Our flight was also 11:05.   We did self assist.  grabbed an uber and was at the airport by 8:30.   Plenty of time.  Also Air Canada.

[MichiganFisherman]

Florida departures forum as this is asked almost every day in there since its flight related , not HAL. 

[Tennessee Titan]

10 minutes ago, MichiganFisherman said:

Florida departures forum as this is asked almost every day in there since its flight related , not HAL. 

Very much HAL related, as getting off the ship and through port formalities is not an exact science....

[0106]

I frequented the FL departures forum prior to my cruise.  Everyone said they thought I was crazy.  Here’s what happened.  Departed the Oosterdam at 7:45 with our luggage .  In a cab by 7:55.  At MIA by 8:25 ($46 less than the $58 for 2 the HAL shuttle would have charged.). Through security by 8:45.  Waited an hour at the gate for 9:55 flight.  
 

I know I am giving you a MI A experience compared to FLL.  Most importantly, I am able to fly Southwest which gives me many more options if I miss my first flight.  Also, we carry our own luggage and lined up at 7:15 waiting for the ship to clear.  Bottom line—- I’d be comfortable with an 11:05 flight from FLL.

[CruiserBruce]

1 minute ago, 0106 said:

I frequented the FL departures forum prior to my cruise.  Everyone said they thought I was crazy.  Here’s what happened.  Departed the Oosterdam at 7:45 with our luggage .  In a cab by 7:55.  At MIA by 8:25 ($46 less than the $58 for 2 the HAL shuttle would have charged.). Through security by 8:45.  Waited an hour at the gate for 9:55 flight.  
 

I know I am giving you a MI A experience compared to FLL.  Most importantly, I am able to fly Southwest which gives me many more options if I miss my first flight.  Also, we carry our own luggage and lined up at 7:15 waiting for the ship to clear.  Bottom line—- I’d be comfortable with an 11:05 flight from FLL.

You might note you really didn't wait at the gate for an hour...when did the plane start to board?

[0106]

You are correct, plane started to board at 9:25 but since the internet was so bad on the ship I was unable to check in 24 hours before my flight so I was part of the last boarding group.  I think I lined up about 9:40.

[SuperCurmudgeon]

1 hour ago, leaffan5 said:

We just did this on Sunday.  Our flight was also 11:05.   We did self assist.  grabbed an uber and was at the airport by 8:30.   Plenty of time.  Also Air Canada.

Good to know. What time did you actually walk off? And are there kiosks to print your boarding pass?

 

And in response to the others ...

 

Yes. If it was Miami I would be very worried. Last time we went through there it was very busy. Also, we will be doing Uber or a cab. We vowed to never do a shuttle again.

[Crazy For Cats]

2 hours ago, SuperCurmudgeon said:

My partner and I will be on a HAL Eastern Caribbean cruise arriving back in Fort Lauderdale at 7am on Dec. 11th. We do carry-on only, so will do a walk off. The ship is expected to arrive at 7am. We both have NEXUS.

 

Originally, the flight (Air Canada) was to depart at 11:25am. AC has moved it to 11:05am. I know it's only 20 minutes, but it's in the wrong direction. It's the one time I wouldn't mind if it left later. The next flight isn't until 4:40pm.

 

Even with walk off, is this too risky if there's a delay somewhere? Should I change to the later flight? I'm trying to avoid having to hang around the airport for the bulk of the day. 

We disembarked the NA this past Sunday.  We weren’t able to leave the ship until a little after 8.  We only had carry on luggage.  There were six ships in port. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 11:03 and we were past airport security by 9:30.  

[510picker]

We got off the Nieuw Statendam this past Saturday and had a 10 AM flight. There were issues connecting the gangway to the ship. We did not get off until 8:10 AM. I am in a wheelchair so we had to wait for an accessible taxi. We made it to our gate at 9 AM. It was stressful, but I would probably do it again. 

[REOVA]

Unless the Port or airport closes due to a Hurricane(are we done yet), getting a taxi (lined up right outside the terminal) and to the airport (<4 miles) is quick and easy. 

[SuperCurmudgeon]

11 hours ago, REOVA said:

... getting a taxi (lined up right outside the terminal) and to the airport (<4 miles) is quick and easy. 

On that topic, how much should a cab normally cost to get to FLL? The last time we arrived in port (many years ago), the driver took us all over the place. When we got to the airport, I gave him what I thought it should cost. He didn't make a fuss. He was on his phone the whole time (didn't understand the language) asking for what I thought were directions. I think he and us were seeing the city for the first time.

[REOVA]

27 minutes ago, SuperCurmudgeon said:

On that topic, how much should a cab normally cost to get to FLL? The last time we arrived in port (many years ago), the driver took us all over the place. When we got to the airport, I gave him what I thought it should cost. He didn't make a fuss. He was on his phone the whole time (didn't understand the language) asking for what I thought were directions. I think he and us were seeing the city for the first time.

The sign at the port taxi stop states what the taxi fare is and supposedly they can't charge for certain things (luggage?). I think minimum stated was $13 with cost being a base approximately  $2.50 and $2.50 per fraction of a mile. For "no toll " route it's about 5 miles so you get the minimum. My cabbie just said minimum was $16 when we stopped but I was going to give $20 anyway so it wasn't an issue. 

[SueMo]

A month ago we took a cab from the port to FLL and the charge was $12-13.  The ride only took about 10 minutes.  We just gave him a $20 and he was happy.

[vicd1969]

HAL at FLL has some pluses and minuses for disembarkation. That said, you should be okay making your 11 AM flight though there may be some anxious moments.

 

Pluses:   

• Taxi line is very organized and moves relatively quickly despite the long line
• Short distance to airport
• Going through port immigration a pretty quick process now that they have facial recognition machines - no officer manually checking you unless the machine has issues (should be rare)

 

Minuses:

• As already mentioned, the bridge gangway could be down and delay disembarkation
• HAL passengers tend to cluster early near the stairs to the gangway. Can be very crowded and zero social distancing if you wish to leave early.
• No guarantee ship will arrive on time at 7 AM