Is this enough time?

[krisjan76]

Hi all. My family is sailing on RCC in 6/16 and the ship is scheduled to depart at 5pm. We are flying in to Miami arriving at 2pm. Are we cutting it too close?

[kitty9]

You need to be on board the ship, not just in the terminal, at least 30 minutes before departure. If your flight is even a little late, you could cut it short. And if you're flight is not direct, you could experience delays and you could be late arriving in Miami. And for the record, Miami is one of the worst airports in the US. I waited for nearly an hour for my luggage to come off the plane and onto the luggage conveyor. Can you fly in the day before?

[krisjan76]

yeah i figured we should arrive at least in the AM just to give us a cushion of time just in case something like a delayed flight happened. unfortunately i wasn't involved in booking the flights :(

[Putterdude]

First of all one little glitch and you won't make the ship. Secondly I believe homeland security requires you to be aboard at least 2 hours (and may be 3 hours) prior to sailing so you may not be allowed aboard. For what it is worth we always fly or drive to the port the day before, unless it is Vancouver which is only 2 hours away.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You are cutting it way too close.

[wrp96]

Way too close. You have to be checked in and onboard the ship no later than 3:30pm for a 5pm departure (Homeland Security rules). MIA is 20 to 30 minutes from the pier. So now you are back to 3pm. Last time I flew into MIA it took 1.5 hours for the luggage to come off the plane. If that happens to you, you've missed the ship right there (that's even without any delays in the flight itself, traffic jams, etc).

[PhoenixCruiser]

Does the airline have an earlier flight?

 

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[mics pics]

Yikes, that would scare me. Especially flying from Virginia to Miami in summer. Can we say thunderstorms? Notorious airline delays that way.

Morning would be better, day before would be best.

Hope you can change the flights. I'd be much more willing to pay to change my air tickets than miss the ship!

[cruiser2101]

I totally agree with those who said that's cutting it way too close. You can't depend on the airline arriving on time, especially with everything you read about air travel. I would be in a total panic if I had such a tight schedule. Plus, getting your bags and making your way to the cruise terminal in that amount of time would be tricky to say the least. I would fly in much earlier that day or better yet, the day before and stay in a close hotel.

[krisjan76]

thanks for the advice guys. this has been very helpful reading. i will try to convince my mother who booked the flights to change to an earlier time (or date if possible.) as stubborn as she is, i may direct her to this forum to read up on your responses.

 

do you know if airlines charge a penalty for changing flights?

[PhoenixCruiser]

thanks for the advice guys. this has been very helpful reading. i will try to convince my mother who booked the flights to change to an earlier time (or date if possible.) as stubborn as she is, i may direct her to this forum to read up on your responses.

 

do you know if airlines charge a penalty for changing flights?

 

It all depends! What airline?

 

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[krisjan76]

sorry, i believe we are flying american

[cb at sea]

Yes--they will probably charge a fee--between $25.00 and $50.00 is the usual fee.

But, unless the cruiseline booked those flights, I would definitely get something much earlier! You want to get to the ship early anyway--this is the 1st day you've paid for and you're wasting it in an airplane and taxi!

[wrp96]

sorry, i believe we are flying american

 

It depends on the fare class you booked. Usually there is a change fee of $100 plus any difference in fares. Last time I changed my flight on American the fare had actually gone down so I only ended up paying $40 (the $100 change fee less the $60 drop in fares).

[caviargal]

thanks for the advice guys. this has been very helpful reading. i will try to convince my mother who booked the flights to change to an earlier time (or date if possible.) as stubborn as she is, i may direct her to this forum to read up on your responses.

 

do you know if airlines charge a penalty for changing flights?

 

Southwest is one of the few that does not. Penalties with the big players average 100 per ticket, plus any applicable increase in fare (or decrease).

 

cb at sea, I have not seen change penalties that are 25-50 in a very long time.

 

Personally, I would not cut the flight this close. Miami is a zoo on a good day and you can multiply that by ten on cruise days. Any small delay could cost you your cruise.

[newbiecruiser09]

Don't know what airport in VA you are flying out of but I would think that is way too close. Even if you assume the flight is on time and luggage comes out quickly (like THAT ever happens!) and the transport to the ship is right there and ready to go as soon as you get there, you may still miss the 90 min boarding requirement. I would definately change the tickets to earlier in the day (I personally would not want to arrive any later than 12 noon to MIA) or even to the night before if you can. Weigh the cost of changing the airline tickers vs missing the ship and having to either catch up at the next port (if you can even do that with the new regs) or losing out on the cruise all together.

[krisjan76]

alright thanks for all the advice guys. we are definitely cutting it way too close. unfortunately american airlines wanted to charge $130 per ticket to change the flight to an earlier time. so we ended up cancelling since the cancel fee was only $100. i'm having difficulty finding an early flight from washington national or dulles airport that arrives early enough.

 

so here's what i'm considering now...flying into fort lauderdale at a significant discount. my question is, are there shuttles that will take me from ft lauderdale to the miami ports? do people ever do this (fly into ft lauderdale and sail out of miami) to save money? seems miami is very expensive to fly into! i have found a great deal with jetblue that flies into ft lauderdale at 10:30 AM, and i'm thinking this will still give us enough time to hop on a shuttle or cab to make our cruise.

 

what do you think?

[kitty9]

First of all one little glitch and you won't make the ship. Secondly I believe homeland security requires you to be aboard at least 2 hours (and may be 3 hours) prior to sailing so you may not be allowed aboard. For what it is worth we always fly or drive to the port the day before, unless it is Vancouver which is only 2 hours away.

 

 

Homeland Security doesn't have a say on when you have to be on the ship--they only have a say on when the cruise line must submit a passenger manifest. We've gotten on board with less than an hour before departure, with no problem. Most lines say 30 minutes, but many are now establishing an hour before departure.

 

To the OP, yes, people fly into FLL and cruise out of Miami all the time. I think it's a great move for you to make the change. You can go to the port either with a shuttle company like SuperShuttle, a private car and driver, the ship's transfer bus or taxi. It's about a 45 minute drive from FLL to the port of Miami. The least expensive would be SuperShuttle---just make sure you make a reservation for their service.

[CruisnGram]

I know the NCL has shuttles from Ft. Lauderdale to the Miami ports and RCCL probably does as well.

 

There will also be commercial shuttles you can arrange. Fly into Ft. Lauderdale and relax.......you made a wise decision! :D

[montekat]

Some airlines don't show all their schedules on sites such as Travelocity, Expedia, etc. You might try JetBlue, Airtran or Southwest on their own websites. I know JetBlue has an early flight from Dulles to FLL. You also have Reagan National and BWI to pick from. Hopefully you will be able to fly in a day early. It is so much better than worrying about delays, etc. Then you can take advantage of a lower fare later in the day. Good luck and have a great cruise!

[alcpa1]

The last time we sailed out of Miami with a flight to Ft. Lauderdale we rented a mini van. I can't remember which company, but there are several that have an office at the pier with no drop off fee.

[Putterdude]

Homeland Security doesn't have a say on when you have to be on the ship--they only have a say on when the cruise line must submit a passenger manifest. We've gotten on board with less than an hour before departure, with no problem. Most lines say 30 minutes, but many are now establishing an hour before departure.

 

We are both incorrect, the manifest must be provided one hour before sailing. http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2417

[caviargal]

There are lots of shuttles to the port from FLL and that is always our airport of choice. Google for recommendations and visit the Fort Lauderdale Port of call board. We paid $15 per person each way.

 

Unless you are spending a full day, it is far too much time and hassle to rent a car.

 

BTW, HAL requires passenger to be checked in 90 minutes to sailing.

[krisjan76]

once again, thanks for all the helpful info and suggestions here.

 

i booked jetblue into FLL for an AM flight on the day of our cruise and take a shuttle over the the port of miami. for our return flight, we are flying southwest out of miami intl.

 

even counting the $100 cancellation fee we had to pay american airlines, we still saved $200 :D from the first time we booked tickets.

 

now we've got more money to spend on excursions or a nice limo ride to the ship to start our cruise off right.

 

i can't say how helpful you guys have been. i'll make sure to recommend my friend come here first and read up before booking their first cruise.

[caviargal]

SWA does not service Miami Airport, FYI