Will we be ok?

[grandgeezer]

We are going to book the Oct. 3 - 17 Panama Canal cruise ending up in Miami. Under normal conditions can we make an 11:45am flight out of either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale? There appears to be 4 ships in Miami, and 3 ships in Ft. Lauderdale that day.

[debshomespun]

Under normal circumstances, making an 11:45 out of Miami would be no problem. Going to Fort Lauderdale should also be no problem. But, there could be many many problems that could arrise. First, you should be sure to do self assist when leaving the ship, and have a car waiting to take you to Fort Lauderdale airport. We did the Jewel last Nov. returning to Miami, and we had an 11:30 flight out of FLL airport, and were at the airport by 9:00. We did not encounter any problems, but we could have ran into many. There were 8 of us, and I had arranged for a car service to pick us up at 8:30, and we actually left a little after 8:00 to up to FLL airport. It takes about 45 min. with no traffic issues.

 

If you are leaving from Miami airport, when you get off the ship, grab a taxi. It is almost a 20 min. ride to Miami airport from the Port.

[BaumD]

Under "normal" conditions, Miami -MIA can be done by 11:45. Miami to FLL will be tough.

 

If conditions are not "normal". late debarkation, customs issues, etc. you will have problems.

[robtulipe]

You should be fine if you do an express walk off disembarkation where you are off first but must carry all of your luggage off yourselves, so pack light, and grab a cab. Since MIA is the closer airport, 20 minutes away, I would try for a flight out of there which isn't a bad idea since FLL, being a much smaller airport, is a real zoo on weekends when the cruise ships are in.

Last Dec. we used the express walk off after our X Century TA cruise to Miami and we were off by 7:30AM and there were at least four ships in that day and maybe five.

[Gracie115]

My sister had 11:50 flight out of Ft. Lauderdale she booked transportation with Royal Caribbean and they were first off the ship in Miami, bus filled up by 8:15 and they were at the airport by 900AM. So even if there had been a problem that delayed them an hour or so they would still have been fine. Unless there is something DRASTIC you should be too.

[cb at sea]

Hey--we always do the 11:40am flight out of MIA--we do NOT carry off our own bags and STILL get to the airport with major time to wait.....Just let the ship know that you have an early flight, and you'll be in one of the 1st groups off....the airport is only about 20 mins. away (faster, if you have a speedy cab driver!!) Do take a cab--not a shuttle!

[NYCRUISR]

its the extra 25-30 minutes to fort lauderdale that can make a difference. We'll be doing the same thing next summer. Arranging transportation in advance will be how we do it just to be sure. Local taxi's may have a problem with the trip.

[cruiselvr04]

We came back on a Monday last month into Miami and got to the FLL airport around 10 a.m. If all goes well you should be fine. We left the ship to start through the customs line about 0830. My rule of thumb is no earlier than noon out of FLL from the Port of miami. I think a taxi might be your fastest option but we use SAS. You really can't plan your life around possible delays. Always use travel insurance. You should be fine.

[Motorman23]

I sure hope you can because I am on that cruise and have an 11:10 flight out of Miami. If I miss it, oh well I will catch a later one.

 

You should be fine based on my past experience but as others said, something unplanned can throw any schedule off. Just be prepared with a back up plan.

 

Mike