What's Your Thoughts - 11 AM Flight???

[seamare]

I usually have booked a return flight from Fort Lauderdale at 1:00 but there is a flight that leaves at 11:05 that I'm soooo tempted to take. It sure beats sitting on your luggage at the airport waiting to check in.

My question is can we carry our own luggage off so that we are not searching through the sea of suitcases??? Has anyone booked a flight this early? Any secrets as to how to make this happen?

[Pam in CA]

If everything goes right and there isn't a delay in disembarkation, you should be able to make it. You can make arrangements to not put out your luggage the night before and carry it off, but you'll need to be able to take it down hallways and escalators, and through Immigration.

[janetz]

We had an 11:30 flight and where at the airport before 9:30. When you get into the luggage terminal, hold up a few dollars and call for a porter. They will have you and your luggage out so fast and get you a taxi too! :D

[Jayne315]

You should not have a problem. Just be sure Princess give you an early tag to get off the ship. You should be off by 8:45 am....grab a cab and will you will be at the aiport by 9:00.....take bags inside and do automatic check in yourself. Print boarding passes on ship day before. If you are really nervous you can take your own bags off the ship in the morning and just fly. Which ever is easiest for you.

[RlrCstr]

Although this was not a Princess, in March the only way I could take the cruise was to be on the 11am flight nonstop back to California. Even that one left me only a little over an hour to get to work. I went to the front desk, and asked them as nicely as I could how I could beg and bribe them to insure that I was in the first group off the ship. I truthfully told them that I had never ever asked for a favor and the only way I could take the cruise was to be back on time, which meant the only flight I could be on was the 11am. I was placed in the second group, which was called within 5 minutes of the first. Got a porter to help with luggage, told him I had to get to FLL quickly. He had me in a cab before I could realize how quickly he had handled it, had told the cab driver to hurry me to the proper terminal. I had no problems and was in plenty of time. But if the ship had been late, or not cleared paperwork, or had there been too few cabs, etc. it could have been a mess.

It worked for me, I hope it will work for you as well.

[cruisingpeople]

We've flown out of FLL after multiple Caribbean cruises on Princess and have never booked a flight later than 11:15. Have always gone to the pursers deck on the last day of the voyage and informed them that I had an early flight and they always send up the Red 1 or Red 2 tags which indicate first or second disembarkation and we still let them take our luggage the night before. Of course, as previously stated, if there is a problem (ie. customs, mechanical, etc.) there isn't much you can do. In April, when we were on the Sapphire, we had engine trouble on the last day and arrived in port 9 hours late. So even booking a flight with time to spare can be pretty much useless. It's always going to be a crapshoot

[Harrypr]

I booked a First Class Ticket (first ever) since I'm traveling solo on the Caribbean Princess in December. It will be nice to avoid the regular baggage check in lines at the Delta counter. I booked my airfare thru Delta not Princess, but I did get the Princess transfers- so I faxed my flight info direct to Princess. I was told it was fine as long as your flight was not before 10:30am....Harry

[Harrypr]

I booked a First Class Airline Ticket (first ever) since I'm traveling solo on the Caribbean Princess in December. It will be nice to avoid the regular baggage check in lines at the Delta counter. I booked my airfare thru Delta not Princess, but I did get the Princess transfers- so I faxed my flight info direct to Princess. I was told it was fine as long as your flight was not before 10:30am....Harry

[TheParrotHeads]

I usually have booked a return flight from Fort Lauderdale at 1:00 but there is a flight that leaves at 11:05 that I'm soooo tempted to take. It sure beats sitting on your luggage at the airport waiting to check in.

My question is can we carry our own luggage off so that we are not searching through the sea of suitcases??? Has anyone booked a flight this early? Any secrets as to how to make this happen?

 

You should be fine. I would take it. We had a flight that left around 12:00p.m.and were in the gate area around 9:30am. Granted it was off season and we were in 1st so we never waited in the standard lines.

 

Also consider not putting your luggage out the night before. You will have to roll it off yourself and move through immigration with it. I have never done this, but we travel lightly, so I am considering doing this on our next cruise. Not sure if it is faster or not? :confused:

[SilentTraveller]

You will save a lot of time if you skip the airport transfer and take a taxi.

 

In December I had a Red 1 tag since I had one of the earliest departures at FLL and was one of the first off the ship. I found my luggage quite easily and went to the bus for the first transfer. I guess all the other Red 1's weren't ready to disembark when called, the driver waited almost one hour for the bus to fill up before leaving for the 10 minute drive to the airport. Then when we got to the airport, there was construction in the bus area and the driver had to pull quite a distance from the terminal door.

 

Plus, I believe the taxi fare is only $10 and the transfers are $10 per person. So it is both cheaper and faster to go by taxi.

[chasetf]

I usually have booked a return flight from Fort Lauderdale at 1:00 but there is a flight that leaves at 11:05 that I'm soooo tempted to take. It sure beats sitting on your luggage at the airport waiting to check in.

My question is can we carry our own luggage off so that we are not searching through the sea of suitcases??? Has anyone booked a flight this early? Any secrets as to how to make this happen?

But that is me. What add to the anxiety worring about if the ship will be a little late, take a while to be cleared, run into traffic ....

 

But then we are in no rush.... long flight for us from Ft Lauderdale for us anyway