NCL arranged flight and shuttle to the port questions / advice needed

[Ruminant]

My husband and I are sailing on our very first cruise March 5-12 on the NCL Encore.  We aren't big travellers - mostly drive everywhere and we had NCL book our flight and they will be getting us to the port from Miami airport.  Just wondering if anyone has experience with NCL arranged travel and how it works so we kind of have an idea of what to expect.  How do we find the shuttle to the port?  Does it run on a schedule somewhere or is it like a limo service type thing where they pick us up at baggage claim.

 

They booked us on a redeye flight out of Pittsburgh and we arrive in Miami around 8:50am - not sure yet when we will be allowed to board.  They also put us on a 7:50 PM flight out of Miami so once we have to get off the ship (hopefully not early ones) we'll have a long wait at the airport. Neither of us have ever been to Miami.

Edited January 30, 2023 by Ruminant

[hallux]

4 minutes ago, Ruminant said:

or is it like a limo service type thing where they pick us up at baggage claim.

There will be a representative at baggage claim, they will have a clipboard with a list of names of those that paid for transfers, your name should be there.  They will put people in groups to board the buses.  My experience at LAX was that the bus was not filled at any one terminal, there were some loaded at each terminal so there was no one place emptied first.

 

6 minutes ago, Ruminant said:

They also put us on a 7:50 PM flight out of Miami so once we have to get off the ship (hopefully not early ones) we'll have a long wait at the airport. Neither of us have ever been to Miami.

You might consider booking a post-cruise excursion that ends at the airport.  It won't fill the time completely but it will reduce the time you're waiting at the airport.  When I flew out of that airport on Southwest last year they wouldn't let me through security until 2 hours before the flight, and there aren't a lot of places to sit or eat while outside security (at least near the Southwest security checkpoint).  You might also consider getting a room at a hotel for the day, as a place to stash your luggage, maybe find one with a shuttle to the airport so you can save that money.  For the hotel option you will want to cancel the post-cruise shuttle, I think if you book a post-cruise excursion they will do that for you.

[www3traveler]

8 minutes ago, Ruminant said:

My husband and I are sailing on our very first cruise March 5-12 on the NCL Encore.  We aren't big travellers - mostly drive everywhere and we had NCL book our flight and they will be getting us to the port from Miami airport.  Just wondering if anyone has experience with NCL arranged travel and how it works so we kind of have an idea of what to expect.  How do we find the shuttle to the port?  Does it run on a schedule somewhere or is it like a limo service type thing where they pick us up at baggage claim.

 

They booked us on a redeye flight out of Pittsburgh and we arrive in Miami around 8:50am - not sure yet when we will be allowed to board.  They also put us on a 7:50 PM flight out of Miami so once we have to get off the ship (hopefully not early ones) we'll have a long wait at the airport. Neither of us have ever been to Miami.

Yes, NCL offers a shuttle service from the airport in Miami to the terminal.  There will be people in the baggage area and point you in the right direction.

Check with the Shore Excursion Desk to see if there will be a tour of Miami available at the end of your cruise ending at the airport.

[Ruminant]

2 minutes ago, hallux said:

There will be a representative at baggage claim, they will have a clipboard with a list of names of those that paid for transfers, your name should be there.  They will put people in groups to board the buses.  My experience at LAX was that the bus was not filled at any one terminal, there were some loaded at each terminal so there was no one place emptied first.

 

You might consider booking a post-cruise excursion that ends at the airport.  It won't fill the time completely but it will reduce the time you're waiting at the airport.  When I flew out of that airport on Southwest last year they wouldn't let me through security until 2 hours before the flight, and there aren't a lot of places to sit or eat while outside security (at least near the Southwest security checkpoint).  You might also consider getting a room at a hotel for the day, as a place to stash your luggage, maybe find one with a shuttle to the airport so you can save that money.  For the hotel option you will want to cancel the post-cruise shuttle, I think if you book a post-cruise excursion they will do that for you.

Thank you so much for the info.  We were looking at excursions or even a day pass at AA's admiral's lounge at the airport.  

[www3traveler]

You might want to check into getting a "day room" at one of the hotels near the airport.

[hallux]

31 minutes ago, Ruminant said:

or even a day pass at AA's admiral's lounge at the airport.  

Do they still offer that?  I thought some airlines discontinued those last year.  If you can get one, it might not be a bad idea, but you're still going to be there for 8+ hours.

 

Oh, something else - the latest you can be on the ship is 10 or 10:30 AM (they might start making final calls around 9:30 if people were quick getting off), though the cruise line would prefer you to be off as early as possible so they can clear the ship for boarding the next cruise.  Yes, your disembarkation time will be based on your flight time if you're using NCL-booked flights and shuttles.  If you do a post-cruise excursion you will meet for that much earlier, around 7:30 or so.

[greatestvalue]

On 1/30/2023 at 12:46 PM, Ruminant said:

They also put us on a 7:50 PM flight out of Miami so once we have to get off the ship (hopefully not early ones) we'll have a long wait at the airport.

Any excursions for Miami the day you disembark will be listed in your MyNCL account, where you would book all other excursions.  This way NCL will also keep your luggage while you get to see Miami.