Debarkation in Miami

[MoBro713]

Good Morning,

 

We will be doing a Caribbean cruise on Grandeur that gets into Miami at 6am on November 7.  We are booking our own flights and will not use Regent transportation to the airport.  Will taxis be available?  Is it possible to make an 11:15am flight out of Miami?

 

Many thanks

[rcandkc]

That may be ok, but I wouldn’t book a flight until noon.  I don’t like stress. 

[edgee]

2 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

That may be ok, but I wouldn’t book a flight until noon.  I don’t like stress. 

Taxis should be easily available, but may have to line up and wait a bit. Chances are you will just make it with no time to spare. If you have TSA per check that will help but Miami airport can be prone to traffic issues. Personally, I would not be comfortable taking a flight that leaves before noon.

[GMIAC]

We got a Lyft at Miami for an 11AM flight. We were at the airport 1/2 hour after we got off the ship. The ride share pick-up area is right across the street from the terminal exit door. We left the ship around 8:30, and had two hours to kill at the airport. You'll be more than fine with an 11:15 flight.

Edited June 3 by GMIAC

[DeepFreeze63]

I wouldn't do any flight from MIA before Noon; Port of Miami is infamous for delays in debarkation - baggage handlers and immigration. Another ship (big) is coming into port with you! Yes, easy to get to the airport once you get out of the terminal.

[edgee]

1 hour ago, GMIAC said:

We got a Lyft at Miami for an 11AM flight. We were at the airport 1/2 hour after we got off the ship. The ride share pick-up area is right across the street from the terminal exit door. We left the ship around 8:30, and had two hours to kill at the airport. You'll be more than fine with an 11:15 flight.

Perfect example of what happens when things go well. Does not always happen, so your decision relates to level of risk of missing your flight you are willing to accept. I would guess your chances of things going fine are about 85 percent. About 10 percent chance of things going okay but with stress involved due to frustrating delays and just barely making it. About 5 percent chance you miss your flight. Some may quibble that my last scenario is rated too high.

[GMIAC]

39 minutes ago, edgee said:

Perfect example of what happens when things go well. Does not always happen, so your decision relates to level of risk of missing your flight you are willing to accept. I would guess your chances of things going fine are about 85 percent. About 10 percent chance of things going okay but with stress involved due to frustrating delays and just barely making it. About 5 percent chance you miss your flight. Some may quibble that my last scenario is rated too high.

 

I don't fret about a domestic return MIA-ORD flight. I might build in more time internationally, but generally I don't agonize about what *might* happen, and I rarely have a delay; the stats you quoted above, if correct, have borne that out.

Edited June 3 by GMIAC

[labonnevie]

I don’t think the issue you would have is getting to the airport. 
It is more likely to be in the airport. Miami can be an absolute zoo. 
Personally, I would allow more time, like after 12 or even 1 pm. 

[BettyDol]

In December 2023 we had an 11:30 am flight from Miami.  Our scheduled departure from Splendor was 8am. Well , 8am came and went , 8:45 also. at 8;50 the cruise director arrived and told us none of the luggage had been offloaded due to an unexpected labor dispute. The other good news was that no one would be allowed to depart until All of the luggage was unloaded.  To make a long story short, we were in at the airport at 10:45.  The Splendor departure was a fiasco, but the Miami Airport was a nightmare.  I was struggling walking, due to a bum knee, when an airport employee, driving a shuttle cart stopped and had us get on.  We were a gate 56 and our departure gate was Gate 5.  The driver said the distance to the gate was over a half MILE.  WE arrived at the gate 3 minutes before the aircraft door was to close. The Port of Miami is famous for Labor disputes involving serious delays.  With no problems, the airport is pretty close to the port.  With problems the stress is significant.  I would not book a morning flight out of Miami ever again.

 

[-Lew-]

I would not recommend you depend on finding unreserved taxis available at disembarkation.  In two Miami Terminal J disembarkations we noticed all taxis arriving were either Uber, Lyft, or reserved limos. 

 

If you don't use Uber or Lyft, book a transfer in advance.

[PaulaJK]

 

[PaulaJK]

Your 6am arrival does not mean that you can debark at 6 am. There are many immigration formalities plus all luggage must be unloaded before anyone can leave the ship. Often debarking does not begin until after 8am..then luggage must be collected and the taxi line mastered.

[GMIAC]

2 minutes ago, PaulaJK said:

Your 6am arrival does not mean that you can debark at 6 am. There are many immigration formalities plus all luggage must be unloaded before anyone can leave the ship. Often debarking does not begin until after 8am..then luggage must be collected and the taxi line mastered.

And if a frog had wings it wouldn't bump its ass a-hoppin'.  

[DeepFreeze63]

16 minutes ago, GMIAC said:

And if a frog had wings it wouldn't bump its ass a-hoppin'.  

HUH!

[irishwitchy]

5 hours ago, DeepFreeze63 said:

HUH!

Obscure 1980/1990 movie quote - google it!  

[GMIAC]

11 hours ago, irishwitchy said:

Obscure 1980/1990 movie quote - google it!  

Impressive!  ❤️

[Whinenowine]

Tia Carrere to Mike Meyers.  Great movie, if you like that sort of thing.

[GMIAC]

17 minutes ago, Whinenowine said:

Tia Carrere to Mike Meyers.  Great movie, if you like that sort of thing.

Not the one I was thinking of, actually. Earlier than that. Raising Arizona.

[jeb_bud]

20 hours ago, GMIAC said:

And if a frog had wings it wouldn't bump its ass a-hoppin'.  

When I was a kid, way before 1980, if I used the word “If” my dad would say that, except he said “If a bullfrog had wings…”. This is the first time I have encountered this saying outside my family!

[irishwitchy]

Raising Arizona was where my head was.  I can tell You have never heard anyone say this in New Jersey! 

[Gpilon]

My 2 cents worth here….and applies only to us. We are healthy, but not the 17 year old buffoons we once were. For us, after a terrific, and hopefully relaxing cruise, we would not want the stress of perhaps missing a flight home due to time constraints.  We take our time…..head to Airport lounge and have a drink or three and reminisce about our cruise. Then we have a relaxing flight home.

Edited June 4 by Gpilon

[Dolebludger]

I agree that navigating the Miami airport can be more of a problem than getting to it. We arrived there after our Splendor cruise on March 31. The airport is spread out with some gates a mile away from others (not kidding). We could not find any trams, busses, people movers, or signs directing to the various gates. The worst airport we have ever visited, an a good place to get lost.

 

Also, the Miami port departure terminal is no better or faster. There were eight passport check station, and only one was manned. Luggage comes off of a conveyer belt, but some finds its way to a table (?) and no one notifies of that.  Needless to say, it can take a long time to get out of that port terminal. 
 

We found that getting a cab wasn’t easy either. Multiple lines of people waiting for cabs, and cabs  just driving by. The drivers were saying that they were “reserved” (?). 
 

Bottom line, we would not book a flight after a cruise terminating in Miami before early afternoon. But I doubt that we will ever book a cruise again involving the Miami airport and cruise terminal.

Edited June 4 by Dolebludger

[Dolebludger]

Also, I was discussing the mess in Miami with a TA. She said the another line (Celebrity) was moving many of the “starts and/or ends” of their cruises away from Miami and to other Florida ports. She said that the “word on the street” is that the change is due (at least in part) to the hassle at the Miami port and airport. Of course, I don’t know if this is a reason for the port changes, but it makes sense. And, for the subject of this thread, allow plenty of time to get off the ship, get through the port and get to the airport, and get through the airport in Miami. 

[GOARMY]

Gpilon's and Doleabludger's comments need little amplification.

 

This topic periodically resurfaces every two or three years on CC Regent Threads.  Old news and posts remain similar to more-current comments.  Nothing has changed much related to Miami Port.   

 

Having contributed earlier cautionary entries, no repeat other than--based on our three debarkation experiences--schedule NO departures from Miami Airport before 1230H; schedule NO departures from Ft. Lauderdale Airport before 1300H. 

 

Our fourth arrival at Miami will be in January 2025 following a Grandeur cruise.  No issues there.  We are extending our stay three days to stay with relatives residing nearby. 

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

 

[Scout16]

At some point we need to list the various problems with embarkation and debarkation ports, but I have few problems with Miami.  There are hotels in abundance, the road system is not bad nor long distant, and the port terminal physical facilities and reasonable.  There are ports that I would avoid including transfer airports which lack these things.  I will admit that you may have problems if the port city has a visit by to Pope, an economic conference, or a large sporting event which you could not plan for.