Earliest out of FLL?

[Jeanie821]

I'm going to be on Enchantment of the Seas from 2/12/07 to 2/17/07. Despite searching the Royal Caribbean website, I couldn't find any information as to the earliest time one could depart from Fort Lauderdale. Arriving is not a problem - I plan to arrive the day before - but what's the earliest time one can depart by air from Fort Lauderdale? And just in case we get hit with a snowstorm again, what's the latest arrival time?

[superjerryw]

Cruise lines normally advise not to book a return flight prior to noon. The ship has to be cleared by U.S. Customs before anyone can get off. I have been on cruises where they started to let the passengers off at 7:30 AM and others where no one was allowed off before 9:30AM. It's better to wait a couple of extra hours in the airport than to book a flight that is too early and miss it because debarkation was delayed.

[Jeanie821]

Cruise lines normally advise not to book a return flight prior to noon. The ship has to be cleared by U.S. Customs before anyone can get off. I have been on cruises where they started to let the passengers off at 7:30 AM and others where no one was allowed off before 9:30AM. It's better to wait a couple of extra hours in the airport than to book a flight that is too early and miss it because debarkation was delayed.

 

Thanks! Now... what's the latest I can get into FLL?

[cmich068]

Port Everglades is around 10 minutes away from FLL...

 

Fly in a day early if possible, but if not then.. Get in as early as possible.... better to wait at the port than miss the ship.... plus if something happens to your flight, you still have time to find another way down.

[atljoo]

We caught an 11:45 AM flight in FLL when we disembarked in MIA off of the Explorer. No problem. We actually could have made the 10:30 AM. To be safe, I would only fly on an 11:00AM or later flight.

[dougp26364]

When we sailed in Dec we could probably have made a flight as early as 10:00 AM and that was using the RCI transfers. I'm sure a cab would have been even faster.

 

However, having learned the hard way that things can an do happen, the latest flight possible or even a flight the next day is preferable. We missed our flight out of Barcelona thanks to an unannounced fisherman's blockade of all the ports in Spain. Finding a hotel room at the last minute wasn't easy as most were booked that night for a festivale in Barcelona. It cost us $1,400 for alternate flight arrangements home and the kicker was our travel insurance didn't cover the cost. Unannounced blockades preventing the ship from reaching port seemed to be excluded for trip interuption/travel delay.

 

So I learned two lessons. #1 read my insurance policy VERY CAREFULLY before purchasing (most have a 10 day free look provision) and #2 Don't book the earliest flight possible home.