Will I make it?

[desperatehousewife]

I just wanted advice on time frames here..

I usually fly out of Fort Lauderdale but was able to find a direct flight out of Miami back to Chicago, non-stop.

Flight leaves Miami at 11:20... if I self assist will I make it?:confused:

Thanks!;)

[yst347]

If you're cruise is returning to Miami, you have a pretty good chance of making it if all goes as usual. If your cruise is returning to Ft. Lauderdale I doubt you will make it. You would need to be at MIA by 10:00 at the absolute latest, that means you would need to be on the road from Ft. Lauderdale by 9:15. Possible, but any number of minor incidents could screw things up for you.

[desperatehousewife]

I'm sorry, I was unclear.

Yes, we dock at Miami.

[wmsherwood]

I agree with yst347--- Miami port should be an easy make! Self-assist debarcation when we got back into Miami in January was 7:30 - plenty of time! If your cruise is back into Ft Lauderdale, then it will be tighter but you should still be fine.

 

Of course, all of this hinges on the ship getting back into port early am on the arrival date -- anything that delays that (although rare) would throw your plans up in the air.

 

Bottom line, though, is that you should be fine! Enjoy!

 

I posted while you were posting -- with your Miami arrival, you should have no problem. Heck everyone was off the ship by 10:30 when we got back, so the early flight and self-debarc passengers were long gone!!

 

bill

[desperatehousewife]

Thank you!

[betcat]

Can someone tell me why people have to have a direct or nonstop flight? I see it posted all over and is there a big fear of a plane change on the whay home or anywhere. I dont think in my whole life i have ever had a nonstop or direct flight. It might be nice if it happen, but is it really worth the extra money.

[desperatehousewife]

I like to have a direct flight for several reasons:

1. Comfort... plain and simple. I do not like to have to change planes... hassle! Also, if you don't change, you end up sitting there for awhile. I want to get on with it!
   
2. Lost luggage increases.I speak from experience, the few times I have NOT had a non-stop, there have been luggage issues: delays, lost, etc. If you have to switch planes, so does your luggage!!!
   
3. Time....Who wants to delay their vacation any longer than necessary? The whole point of flying for me is to get there QUICKLY... not leave my house and sit on the tarmac forever and a day.

I guess I MUST be high maintenence, but if I am then it is OKAY by me. I have had only NOT had a non-stop flight twice. I really don't know why you believe it is difficult OR expensive, as I find it to be neither!;)

If you shop around, non-stop can be just as cost friendly as the other.

 

so, YES, it is TOTALLY worth it to me, although I usually do not pay more. If I did, it would not be much. ;)

[divetrash]

I have to agree with desparatehousewife's reasons for avoiding a connection. And I'll add one more:

 

When you add another flight to your plan you increase the possiblity for delays and missed connections exponentially. I've had it happen on several occasions where my first flight was delayed and made me miss my second flight.

 

Last summer, I was flying down to the Bahamas taking a nephew on a diving trip. I fly out of the New York area. The cheapest flight I could find was a USAir flight from Newark->Philly->Nassau. I checked flying direct from Philly and the direct flight by itself was $200/person more!. So I booked the connection. We took off about an hour and a half late from Newark, because the airline only had one gate agent working 2 gates. I and several people on my flight missed the Nassau flight. They told us there were no more flights to put us on and they would bus us back to Newark so we could try again the next day (they also claimed there were no hotels available to put us up in, we found out later that was a lie)! No dice. We declined the bus option and asked to be put on the earliest flight out of Philly to Nassau the next day. It screwed us up really bad because after that BahamasAir, who told me I could get on the afternoon flight to Andros the next day, dropped the ball and lost the change. The only reason I made it to my destination only one day late was because I was friends with the owner of the lodge I was staying at and he happened to be a pilot who hopped over to get us.

 

And that's just to most recent example. Thinking about it, I think the last three or so trips that I have taken with connections have gotten screwed up in at least one direction. Newark to Houston to Honolulu to the Big Island, the flight from Houston took off two hours late and I missed my Hawaiian Air connection to the Big Island (fortunately, got stand by on the evenings last flight). El Paso to Dallas to JFK, flight from El Paso had mechanical problems and took off two hours late. Was put on a later flight to Newark from Dallas, while waiting out the delay, almost missed that as well, had to seriously run from one side of the terminal to the other.

 

Call me crazy, call me paranoid. I avoid connections like the plague. If the difference in price is less than a hundred dollars, I'll take the direct flight everytime. And I have to say that 95% of the time the direct flight is cheaper. Of course in instances like El Paso, you have no option but to take a connection.

 

I also pack small and dense and do all carry-on to allow myself to be more flexible in changing flights if there is a problem and mainly, because I've had enough problems to make me paranoid about that too.

 

Laura

[jerseygirl3]

I always book non-stop. Living in the Northeast, it's easy to get non-stop flights. If you book a flight with a stop, unless you are remaining on that same airplane and it's just making a stop, you run the risk of missing your connection.

 

Example: we had a 4:15 p.m. flight out of Miami last weekend. Severe thunderstorms caused the airport to shut down for 3 hours. People who had to make connecting flights elsewhere were freaking.

 

To the OP, you should be fine, but just keep in mind that ships do get delayed sometimes. Last week the Valor did not start debarkation until 10 a.m. We arrived in port at 7 a.m., which was about an hour later than the Captain had anticipated. I'm not sure why it took so long to start debarkation. But if that happens on your sailing, you'd probably miss your flight. That's why we had an original flight of 4:15 p.m. It's later than I would have liked, but my only other option was too early and I knew we'd never make it. I don't want to end a relaxing vacation on a stressful note running to catch a flight.

[desperatehousewife]

I have to agree with desparatehousewife's reasons for avoiding a connection. And I'll add one more:

 

When you add another flight to your plan you increase the possiblity for delays and missed connections exponentially. I've had it happen on several occasions where my first flight was delayed and made me miss my second flight.

 

Call me crazy, call me paranoid. I avoid connections like the plague. If the difference in price is less than a hundred dollars, I'll take the direct flight everytime. And I have to say that 95% of the time the direct flight is cheaper. I also pack small and dense and do all carry-on to allow myself to be more flexible in changing flights if there is a problem and mainly, because I've had enough problems to make me paranoid about that too.

 

Laura

 

 

My point exactly...You are totally right about connecting flights and the disasters they can carry!!:eek:

Non-stop, direct is the ONLY way to go for me.

[seamama1]

If all works well, you should have no trouble making your flight...However, Carnival recommends later departures. Just cross your fingers that the ship arrives at dock OK. Make sure you prepare for early debark.

 

Opinion: I love nonstop flights too and it is fairly easy finding flights to Florida from Philadelphia (my airport)...but, I don't really care. Once it's "wheels up", I am on vacation! After that, I don't care. I always fly down day before cruise so if connecting flights are delayed, my fanny is covered. Never lost luggage and wouldn't get all fretted out about it if it was. I only pack things I am prepared to never see again anyway:) No valuables, no booze, no jewelry. If it gets lost, it'll show up somewhere, sometime.....HA!