Early flight out of MIA - How it went for me

[soremekun]

Ship - Celebration 
Port - Port Miami

 

10:19am flight from Miami International Airport.  Boarding starts at 9:44am.

 

-Disembarkation started at 7am for Diamond, Platinum, Suite, and Faster to the Fun guests

-Next group - guests waiting in the casino on deck 7.  Disembarkation started at 7:25am for this group.  (I disembarked with this group)

-Made it through customs and outside the building - 7:38am

-Shuttle is pulling off at 7:43am ($10 fare + $3 tip) - Not pre-planned.  A rep from a shuttle company approached several people and I accepted.  Probably only waited three minutes for two more passengers.  Shuttle was then full.

-Arrived at the entrance of my terminal at the airport - 8:06am

-Finished TSA pre check - 8:15am

-Sitting in my gate area - 8:22am

 

Things worked out for me but YMMV.

Edited April 21 by soremekun

[jimbo5544]

11 minutes ago, soremekun said:

Ship - Celebration 
Port - Port Miami

 

10:19am flight from Miami International Airport.  Boarding starts at 9:44am.

 

-Disembarkation started at 7am for Diamond, Platinum, Suite, and Faster to the Fun guests

-Next group - guests waiting in the casino on deck 7.  Disembarkation started at 7:25am for this group.  (I disembarked with this group)

-Made it through customs and outside the building - 7:38am

-Shuttle is pulling off at 7:43am ($10 fare + $3 tip) - Not pre-planned.  A rep from a shuttle company approached several people and I accepted.  Probably only waited three minutes for two more passengers.  Shuttle was then full.

-Arrived at the entrance of my terminal at the airport - 8:06am

-Finished TSA pre check - 8:15am

-Sitting in my gate area - 8:22am

 

Things worked out for me but YMMV.

Glad it worked.  

[nydney1]

You are a very brave soul. 

[BarJen]

glad it worked out!

[Saint Greg]

Thanks. I have an 11:30 next time out of MIA.

[mz-s]

Think it would still have been doable without pre-check? Sounds like it.

 

Of course this all has to be perfect and normal for it to work. Normal on-time arrival at the pier, normal traffic on the highway, no delays at the airport.

[tidecat]

1 hour ago, soremekun said:

Ship - Celebration 
Port - Port Miami

 

10:19am flight from Miami International Airport.  Boarding starts at 9:44am.

 

-Disembarkation started at 7am for Diamond, Platinum, Suite, and Faster to the Fun guests

-Next group - guests waiting in the casino on deck 7.  Disembarkation started at 7:25am for this group.  (I disembarked with this group)

-Made it through customs and outside the building - 7:38am

-Shuttle is pulling off at 7:43am ($10 fare + $3 tip) - Not pre-planned.  A rep from a shuttle company approached several people and I accepted.  Probably only waited three minutes for two more passengers.  Shuttle was then full.

-Arrived at the entrance of my terminal at the airport - 8:06am

-Finished TSA pre check - 8:15am

-Sitting in my gate area - 8:22am

 

Things worked out for me but YMMV.

Did you check any luggage?

[soremekun]

7 hours ago, tidecat said:

Did you check any luggage?

I carried off to ensure a speedier process.  I also have a passport so I just had to scan my face.  Whew!  I'm glad I'm not wanted in any of the 50 states or territories.... I would have missed my flight!

Edited April 21 by soremekun

[soremekun]

@mz-s

The regular security screening lines didn't look too bad.  But that would have added to my stress.

Edited April 21 by soremekun

[soremekun]

8 hours ago, nydney1 said:

You are a very brave soul. 

A woman I chatted with in the casino while we were waiting said she was flying out of FLL and had a 10am flight!  I think that's really pushing with.  She also caught a shuttle but was placed in the FLL shuttle.  We wished each other well.

Edited April 21 by soremekun

[mamiamjo]

That seems a bit tight, but glad it all worked out so well. 🙂

We have a 12:08 flight out of Miami next month so I'm hoping all goes just as smoothly for us!🤞

[mz-s]

44 minutes ago, soremekun said:

@mz-s

The regular security screening lines didn't look too bad.  But that would have added to my stress.

 

I've had good luck at MIA. MCO is a different story...but not too bad there either, this time of year.

[tidecat]

2 hours ago, soremekun said:

I carried off to ensure a speedier process.  I also have a passport so I just had to scan my face.  Whew!  I'm glad I'm not wanted in any of the 50 states or territories.... I would have missed my flight!

I was actually inquiring about whether you checked luggage for your flight.

[soremekun]

5 minutes ago, tidecat said:

I was actually inquiring about whether you checked luggage for your flight.

I'm sorry, I misunderstood.  I did not initially check my luggage.  However, when it was announced at the gate they will do a courtesy check for groups A thru D, I decided to have my suitcase checked.

[Tapi]

Glad it worked for you! 😀 Always awesome when all stars align.
 

Earliest flight we’ve ever made was at 8:30am (and it was from FLL). We arrived at the port of Miami at 6:30am, in our Uber by 7:00am, through security at FLL a little after 7:30am, and at our gate 45 minute before departure. 
 

Self assist debarkation, we had passports, Uber showed up 2 minutes after requesting it, no checked luggage, and zero lines at FLL security. 
 

For the record, this wasn’t our original flight. We listed as standbys on the earlier flight as we were driving to the airport. 

[Colorado Beach Bum]

3 hours ago, soremekun said:

A woman I chatted with in the casino while we were waiting said she was flying out of FLL and had a 10am flight!  I think that's really pushing with.  She also caught a shuttle but was placed in the FLL shuttle.  We wished each other well.

We’ve caught 9:30 flights out of FLL and checked bags.  

[soremekun]

4 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Earliest flight we’ve ever made was at 8:30am (and it was from FLL).

 

Just now, Colorado Beach Bum said:

We’ve caught 9:30 flights out of FLL and checked bags.  

Amazing!!!!  I would have had major anxiety.  I'm glad y'all made it.

[Colorado Beach Bum]

1 minute ago, soremekun said:

 

Amazing!!!!  I would have had major anxiety.  I'm glad y'all made it.

Yeah, it can be. Done it a few times. One time we rebooked a SW flight on the way to FLL cause we got off ship right at 7 and didn’t want to wait for a noon flight.  Easily made that 9:30 flight. 

[teknoge3k]

11 hours ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

We’ve caught 9:30 flights out of FLL and checked bags.  

I've not done 9:30 flights, but I've done 10:30 flights from FLL numerous times. We let Carnival take our luggage, eat breakfast on the ship and take our time debarking. Once we get outside of the terminal, we get an Uber. We drop our luggage at the skycap at FLL, have Precheck, and have been at our terminal by 9:15 at the latest. If we skipped breakfast and carried our own luggage off, we could definitely do a 9:30 flight also. 

[cruisegal40]

This gives me hope for our 11:40 flight.  Good job on your part. Always stressful of all the unknowns. 

[dmwnc1959]

I was reading on one of the Carnival boards this morning that disembarkation on one ship had been delayed well past 9am due to a fire alarm going off in the terminal, causing the terminal to be evacuated. I would never risk an early-morning flight. 

[nhraformula00]

Too many thing can go wrong, been there done that, this is why we stay an extra day. No worries.  

[Cienfuegos]

Thanks for this report on your experience, I'm glad you made it with time to spare.  Sounds like everything lined up perfectly for you

 

For what it's worth, Fort Lauderdale airport has had widely varying experiences with TSA. Sometimes the process is like greased lightning, other times it is slow as molasses. Even from terminal to terminal.

[Buffettfan 225]

On 4/21/2024 at 3:36 PM, mamiamjo said:

That seems a bit tight, but glad it all worked out so well. 🙂

We have a 12:08 flight out of Miami next month so I'm hoping all goes just as smoothly for us!🤞

Please let us know, we are sailing end Feb on Magic, and haven’t booked airline yet.