How early can we disembark in Miami?

[Lollipop0406]

Hi there, looking for some expertise! We booked an 11:40 flight from Miami thinking that given the port is close to the airport we would be OK on time...but now second guessing myself.  How early can we disembark if we take our own bags?  Thanks for any insight 🙂

 

[graphicguy]

22 minutes ago, Lollipop0406 said:

Hi there, looking for some expertise! We booked an 11:40 flight from Miami thinking that given the port is close to the airport we would be OK on time...but now second guessing myself.  How early can we disembark if we take our own bags?  Thanks for any insight 🙂

 

So many variables......

 

Will the ship clear customs quickly?  Have weather delays?  Customs lines?  

 

I've seen it as early as 7:30 and as late as 11:30.  Personally, I'd shoot for a flight early afternoon.

[Homosassa]

Don't equate distance in miles (kilometers) with time it may take to travel the distance.

 

If it is a weekday, you will be leaving the ship during the morning rush hour and traveling the distance with locals who have learned to drive with machismo. If it is the weekend, there might be an event  or accidents (remember, machismo) to mess up traffic.

 

It will probably take approximately an hour, or longer, once you have cleared immigration to find your ride and travel the airport.

 

You will need two hours once at the airport to check in, go through security and find your gate.

 

If you can be leaving the port terminal door by 8 AM to find your airport ride, you will probably make the 11:40 flight.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, Lollipop0406 said:

Hi there, looking for some expertise! We booked an 11:40 flight from Miami thinking that given the port is close to the airport we would be OK on time...but now second guessing myself.  How early can we disembark if we take our own bags?  Thanks for any insight 🙂

 

It is fine. We book a 10 am flights. We do self assist and carry our own bags off the ship. We have priority check in at the airport and Pre-Check, but are normally at the gate an hour early. 

[www3traveler]

May depend on where your cruise went.  For a Caribbean cruise, you might be fine.  If it is a cruise through the Panama Canal (Partial or Full), disembarkation can take a very long time-- no idea why it just does.

 

Too many risk factors for me, I always early early to mid afternoon flights when heading to the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

[Lollipop0406]

Thank you for all the input, I appreciate it!

 

[david_sobe]

The port is a hop, skip and jump from the airport.  If ship is on time and no major problems with disembarkation it should not be a problem. 

[agrimm01]

Don't take the chance.  Early afternoon flight will get you there without the high blood pressure.

[IAcruising]

The word is that 11:40 am will work 99.63% of the time.

 

You'll be fine.

 

[forgotmyCCname]

We routinely take 10am-ish ( even 9:15 once when the flight changed while we were at sea) from Miami. We take 11am and later if we fly from FLL

We  have not had an issue yet.

 

[Pitzel]

We have had issues flying back out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale after cruises. One April in Miami, we got caught in a huge pop-up storm that flooded a lot of the roads in the area. Our taxi driver had to reroute several times just to find a way to get through to the airport. We also got soaking wet in the process, which meant that we had to completely change clothes as soon as we got to the airport, costing us precious time.

In Fort Lauderdale, we had a delay in getting off of the ship at the time that we wanted due to a credit card issue on our account, which required a visit to the guest services desk before we could disembark. Once we got to the airport, we ran into an hour plus long line just to check bags in at the counter and then ran into about 30-45 minutes of a wait in the security line. I had planned for about 30 minutes from curb to gate at the airport, not 1.5-2 hours.

If you are able to get off the ship early, you should have plenty of buffer to weather setbacks like these. If you take your time disembarking, though, even a minor setback (like not being able to get an Uber right away because of so many people disembarking on the same morning) could throw off your timing.